Category: Italy

Italy

Venice

Ahhh Venice. We all grew up seeing the images, Italian gondolas on the canals and James Bond racing across the rooftops. The good news is that Venice does not disappoint. It is just as picturesque and charming as it seems.

The first thing to know is that Venice and surrounding areas are actually a bunch of Islands. So just getting from the airport or train station is most likely going to Involved a boat ride. Connected to the airport are a series of docks where you can hire a private water taxi, or simply board a commuter service boat. Our one way ride from the airport to Lido was a flat fee of eighteen euros each.

Once you leave the airport area and get in closer to Venice you can purchase a multi-day pass that works for both land-based busses and water buses. There are very few places that you cannot get on the water buses.

We stayed on Lido Island, one side of which faces the Adriatic Sea, with white sandy beaches, beach bars and row after row of beach cabanas. The other side of this long thin Island is a nice residential area with an Italian flare. Buses run the length of the island and unlike make of the local island, personal cars are allowed.

A short water bus ride gets you to Venice, which teems with bars and restaurants, cathedrals and public squares. The most famous of these squares is St Marks square, bands play, children chase pigeons and old charm oozes out of every corner.

At one side of the piazza is St Mark’s Basilica. It is hard to describe the beauty and craftsmanship that is on display. Even if you aren’t the least bit religious, and a self guided tour of the inside is well worth it.

Bars serving spritzes are everywhere. Most allow you to choose the Aperitif you want. There of course Aperol, which is not really that great tasting but had an amazing marketing program. My favorite is Select, which was created right there is Venice in 1920. There is even one bitter made from artichokes, but I would not recommend it for a spritz. If you would like to know more about how to make an authentic Italian spritz, check out this video, from the Cocktails with George YouTube channel.

Other must-see Island accessible with your mutli-day bus pass include Murano and Burano. Murano glass is famous the world around. Once could easily spend a whole afternoon just wandering from shop to shop looking at ornate blown glass creation. You can see everything from tine desktop pieces to elaborate chandeliers.

A little past Morano is Burano, an island famous for two things. First the brightly painted buildings in every color of the rainbow, and secondly the lace. Burano lace is considered among the best and most ornate in the world.

We had a great time in Venice.  We met our friends Matthew and Stephanie from San Diego. Matthew took, many of the photos in this article. We also made some new friends, ate amazing food, drank lots of spritzes and did loads of touristy things.  It was a very nice week altogether!

Italy

Fun in Napoli

After having a great time with our friends in Nice France, we headed down to meet up with other friends in Naples Italy. This involved three different trains, including one overnight sleeper train. We can tell you now that each sleeper train is a bit different. The comfort and level of service we experienced in Thailand was quite different that we what we found in a second-class sleeper car in France/Italy. And the train we rode on the way down in Italy, while similar, was different than the one we road backup to France later.

We arrived in Naples and were pleased to find that our Airbnb home for the week was a very short walk from the central train station. Our gracious host, Fabrizio, allowed us to get into the apartment early. He met us outside and unlocked the gates to a large courtyard that was shared by all the units in the building. From there it was up 4 long flights of stairs (no elevator) with our bags. Did we mention that our roller bags weigh 20 kilos (about 40 pounds) each. The apartment was great with a well equipped kitchen and a very comfortable bed upstairs. The only challenge was that the ceilings and door jams were all quite low, George banged his head a few times before he got used to ducking when he moved through the house.

After a good night’s sleep, we were off to explore Naples, and all of its quirkiness and culture. While we thoroughly enjoyed Naples; we must be honest and say that the town and was not nearly as clean or well-maintained as other Italian towns (such as Genoa). If our friend Christopher the real estate expert were in this town, the phrase he would use would surely be “deferred maintenance”). In addition, once you got out of the main tourist districts (like up near the central train station), the city did not feel terribly safe. Fabrizio even suggested, if we had to be in those areas after 11pm, that we take a taxi, rather than walking on the streets.

If you look beyond the somewhat dingy exterior, Naples has a lot to offer. For instance:

      • The pizza is some of the best we have ever had in the world.
      • The cannoli were worth searching for. We went to a shop that we are sure has the best cannoli in town, which is located very close to the central train station. When you enter Cuori di-Sfogliatella  a friendly staffer takes you through the process of creating a culinary masterpiece. First you choose your shell size (mini, regular or large), then your shell flavor (original or chocolate), Next you choose the filling flavor: original cheese, pistachio or chocolate. Finally, you choose what you want sprinkled on the ends (mini chocolate chips, chopped pistachios or candied fruit). We went traditional with a large regular shell, original cheese filling and mini chocolate chips. It was AMAZING!

     

      • Most of the “traditional” music you hear in Italian restraints anywhere in the states comes from Naples: O Solo Mio, Fabriculi-Frabricula etc. During our visit we attended a performance of classic Napoli music, including a fun sing along of these well known songs. If you are in Naples, it is well worth paying the ten euro (include a complimentary beer, wine or soft drink) to attend the Napulitanata Traditional Music Concert. Plan to sing loud, dance and just have fun in general.

What made our exploration of Naples extra special is that we got to meet up with our dear friends Matthew and Stephanie. We wandered the city, and ate and drank our way through many wonderful experiences for a delightful day.

The next day it was off the train station to meet even more friends in Central France. More on that later…