Our Second Week in Italy

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Thursday, September 6

Margaret here. Mike and I drove to Ponte di Piave, where my father was born and near where he lived his first 8 years. I cannot remember where the house is that Tarcisio (my father's first cousin) took Kate and me to (was it 2001?). It is right on the edge of the river Piave, where the battle was. He told us that Louise and the two boys were living there with Julius' parents (it was their house) and Louise's brother Giacomo came and made them move to Treviso with him. After the war, they moved back. I hope to find it while I'm here....

We stopped at a memorial for WWI, and listed on the walls were names of soldiers who died in the big battle there. I found Sargent Major Giovanni Gaino. I assume that he was an uncle of my father. I will try to find out more about him.

While we are with Sara’s family, Mike gets into full grandfather mode, playing with the children. Since we had been invited to dinner with them, we stopped at a huge mall and picked up some Legos for the kids. The mall was interesting. From the outside, one cannot tell that it is a mall at all. It has a very industrial look, and at first we thought it was a factory. Then we saw some small signs that were clearly store brand names. Inside, it looks just like any big mall in the U.S.

We drove home to clean up a bit. The toilet still isn’t working. Off to the farm to meet with everyone. This evening it was just Sara, Massimo, Asia, and Andrea. We followed them to the restaurant. Out in the middle of nowhere, in a rural farm community, sits a lovely restaurant. Pizza is very popular here, and it was apparent that this is considered to be a very good restaurant for pizza. Each person gets their own pizza, although they are actually big enough to share. We were well fed. Again.

Mike here. One of the things we did back in Chicago was buy a 2015 Fodor’s guide to Italy. While we couldn’t bring ourselves to rip up the Rick Steves guide to Italy, the older book was fair game and we ended up with a ¼ inch stack of northern Italy material. That has proved to be very helpful as we plan our activities. Before we left we identified towns and places we wanted to explore and a rough timeline. But once here time, weather and opportunities rearranged our plans. For instance, Thursday at dinner we talked about our Friday activities. Hmmm…rain coming in all over northern Italy…might be a good day to go to Venice and stay in the museums…whoops the Venice film festival-complete with celebrities and crowds also trying to duck out of the rain. Not sure what we will do on Friday now.

All the driving I’ve been doing with the up and down shifting through roundabouts has given my left, clutch leg a workout. The roads in the surrounding villages are narrow and built up above the wet ground. We are frequently traveling on roads just barely wide enough for 2 small cars to pass each other and looking down (without guardrails or any barrier at all) on 10-foot deep drop-offs of ditches or canals. Margaret gets to look around, I’m laser focused on driving.

Friday, September 7, 2018

Margaret here. It is raining cats and dogs. I think the Italians have a name for this too, but I can’t remember. So this morning we lazed around trying to decide what to do when I got a message from Sara that the plumber was outside. YAY! It took him about a half hour or so, and now we have a working toilet. It was still raining and we were feeling very lazy. About 2:00 the rain stopped and we agreed it was time to get out and take a walk. And walk we did. By the time we returned home, we had logged over 10,000 steps. Good for us!

Since we had no specific destination, we just wandered around. We found the main church, the duomo San Michele Arcangelo. And we found the Villa Morosini and the Villa Belevedere. On the grounds of the Villa Belvedere is an enormous magnolia tree that is about 150 years old. More wandering led us to a cute little gelatoria where we each enjoyed a cone of gelato. More wandering and we found the hospital. By this time, we needed to have the gps rescue us and lead us back to the square. It was then time for a Spritz. Whenever one orders drinks, they always bring out a small bowl of potato chips. The weather had turned nice and people were beginning to come out for their evening stroll. This is definitely the time of day to meet and greet one’s neighbors.

Hungry, our waitress suggested to dine at the Albergo Restaurant in the Hotel 5 Colonne. It was so charming, the walls were covered with art, the table covered in various cloths. And the food… yummy!

Saturday, September 8

Margaret here. Again, we slept way too late. However, we felt pretty good, so getting off to a late start did not deter us. My goal for this whole trip was to explore the smaller towns and cities in the northeast. We had a long list, which of course changed upon arrival. Today was one of those excursions. We headed off to Montagana first. It’s a town just west of Padova with a walled city that’s still intact and of course there’s a castle. Then to Este for another walled city, although not as well preserved but an awesome castle. Then to Monselice. We were hoping to see more of the same, but there was a festival in town and the roads were blocked. We could see walls and castle structures on adjoining hills but couldn’t find a way to get there. So, we just headed home. Stopped and picked up a few things at the grocery, and enjoyed a glass of delightful wine. Buone notte!

Mike here. After all of my praise of Google Maps and T-Mobile, today was their darkest hour. After driving for about an hour to Montagana, when we got back to the car Google said it couldn’t find us for the next leg or even how to get back to Mirano. So we backtracked and got far enough away that Google Maps came back, went to the next two towns and again Google was lost both times when we got back to the car. Now I know to bring the paper maps for the next trip.

Sunday, September 9

Margaret here. Today was our first trip to Oderzo, to meet up with the other side of the family. We met at the home of Valentina and Alberto. Their house is right next to Antoinette’s house. She is Valentina’s mother. The homes look very much alike, typical Italian home in the countryside. Antoinette’s husband Tarcisio (now deceased) was a shoemaker for a few years as a young man. While he changed jobs for a more stable income, he continued to make shoes as both a hobby and Antoinette still has his tools hanging in the garage. My niece Sandra (the shoe lady) is anxious to see them when she comes later this month.

Everyone was late getting to the house because their church service ran over. We arrived first, and Antoniette came out to tell us they would be there soon. Alberto and Valentina arrived, then their daughter Donatella, her husband Alessandro, and three of their children arrived. Then Valentina’s sister Louise and her husband Julius arrived, and we chatted for a while, then headed off to a restaurant for lunch/dinner. Here we met up with others – 18 in all – for one terrific meal. The restaurant had a beautiful setting, with an open area and a play lot for the children. The food was amazing. Meat ravioli in a mushroom sauce, then gnocchi in a vegetable sauce, then meat and potatoes. Then dessert. Then Prosecco, then a lemon something. We were there for over 3 hours.

And, the family presented Mike and me with birthday gifts. They gave me a beautiful lace table runner and a table cloth. They gave Mike two bottles of really good Prosecco.

We headed back to Valentina’s house and sat outside and chatted for a while. I noticed Mike’s eyes were closed, so I nudged him awake. We left about 6:00. Another great day. We will return on the 23rd with Sandra.

Mike here. A really nice day in Oderzo with the Casanatos. What a great family. We worked our way through several lively discussions despite limited English and Italian. We got back in the car and Google Maps again couldn’t find our way home but we remembered the last few turns and it eventually gave in. My sleepiness after the meal looks the beginning of cold. Margaret and I both struggled to get to sleep and we dosed up with Benedryl and anti-virals. We have changed our plans for tomorrow and will stay in Mirano. Verona on Tuesday if we are up to it.

Saturday, September 8

Margaret here. Again, we slept way too late. However, we felt pretty good, so getting off to a late start did not deter us. My goal for this whole trip was to explore the smaller towns and cities in the northeast. We had a long list, which of course changed upon arrival. Today was one of those excursions. We headed off to Montagnano first. It’s a town just west of Padova with a walled city that’s still intact and of course there’s a castle. Then to Este for another walled city, although not as well preserved but an awesome castle. Then to Monselice. We were hoping to see more of the same, but there was a festival in town and the roads were blocked. We could see walls and castle structures on adjoining hills but couldn’t find a way to get there. So, we just headed home. Stopped and picked up a few things at the grocery, and enjoyed a glass of delightful wine. Buone notte!

Mike here. After all of my praise of Google Maps and T-Mobile, today was their darkest hour. After driving for about an hour to Montagana, when we got back to the car Google said it couldn’t find us for the next leg or even how to get back to Mirano. So we backtracked and got far enough away that Google Maps came back, went to the next two towns and again Google was lost both times when we got back to the car. Now I know to bring the paper maps for the next trip.

Sunday, September 9

Margaret here. Today was our first trip to Oderzo, to meet up with the other side of the family. We met at the home of Valentina and Alberto. Their house is right next to Antoinette’s house. She is Valentina’s mother. The homes look very much alike, typical Italian home in the countryside. Antoinette’s husband Tarcisio (now deceased) was a shoemaker for a few years as a young man. While he changed jobs for a more stable income, he continued to make shoes as both a hobby and Antoinette still has his tools hanging in the garage. My niece Sandra (the shoe lady) is anxious to see them when she comes later this month.

Everyone was late getting to the house because their church service ran over. We arrived first, and Antoniette came out to tell us they would be there soon. Alberto and Valentina arrived, then their daughter Donatella, her husband Alessandro, and three of their children arrived. Then Valentina’s sister Louise and her husband Julius arrived, and we chatted for a while, then headed off to a restaurant for lunch/dinner. Here we met up with others – 18 in all – for one terrific meal. The restaurant had a beautiful setting, with an open area and a play lot for the children. The food was amazing. Meat ravioli in a mushroom sauce, then gnocchi in a vegetable sauce, then meat and potatoes. Then dessert. Then Prosecco, then a lemon something. We were there for over 3 hours.

And, the family presented Mike and me with birthday gifts. They gave me a beautiful lace table runner and a table cloth. They gave Mike two bottles of really good Prosecco.

We headed back to Valentina’s house and sat outside and chatted for a while. I noticed Mike’s eyes were closed, so I nudged him awake. We left about 6:00. Another great day. We will return on the 23rd with Sandra.

Mike here. A really nice day in Oderzo with the Casanatos. What a great family. We worked our way through several lively discussions despite limited English and Italian. We got back in the car and Google Maps again couldn’t find our way home but we remembered the last few turns and it eventually gave in. My sleepiness after the meal looks the beginning of cold. Margaret and I both struggled to get to sleep and we dosed up with Benedryl and anti-virals. We have changed our plans for tomorrow and will stay in Mirano. Verona on Tuesday if we are up to it.

Monday, September 10

Margaret Here. Mike picked up a cold, and I wasn’t feeling so well myself, so we opted to take a day off. Lounged around the house, found a farmacia and got some meds for Mike, then sat at a café for hours trying to upload photos. We took a long walk to a small restaurant and had a disappointing dinner before walking home to a good night’s sleep. Until we got another phone call from Kate at 12:45am. But that’s another story, one for her to tell.

Tuesday, September 11

Margaret here. We set off for Verona mid-morning. Not a bad drive until we got into the city. Crazy Italian drivers made for a hair-raising search for a parking spot. Finally found, we walked about a half-mile to the arena. Purchased a Verona city pass, and started our tour of the arena. I was very disappointed to learn that we missed a concert by Andrea Bocelli on 8 Sept. I was also disappointed to see how electronics have invaded the arena. But, it was interesting to read of the building’s history and see photos of the restoration.

Next stop was the Castel Vecchio that held a museum full of unique statues and paintings.

Upon leaving the castle, the heat was overpowering and I almost fainted. So we stopped at some empty tables outside a closed restaurant, Mike took off to get fresh cold water, and rested for a while.

Then to the cathedral St. Anastasia. Be sure to look at the photos, as this church is amazing. We will add details later….

Mike here. As per usual we dawdled and got on the road mid-morning. Filled up the car with gas and then the road to Verona was all highway.

It’s a 3-lane highway but the informal rules are different. Trucks keep to the right lane but don’t hesitate to pull into the center lane to make progress or avoid upcoming merging. They just move over so you have to always be alert. If you are in the center lane you are expected to be driving reasonably fast or they expect you to be in the right lane. Except for passing slower center lane traffic the left lane is always open…because there is always somebody with a fast car who will suddenly and I do mean suddenly appear on your bumper. Even the fast movers are not immune as there is always a faster car who comes up on their bumper. It is just business as usual and people move in and out of the center lane in a constant dance. It is a little unnerving to have somebody pass you and then quickly move over in front of you with little clearance and, of course, no turn signal. I am never relaxed when driving anywhere here.

We went too deep into central Verona and I was driving through narrow single lane streets forcing tourists to move out of my way. Eventually I turned into a lane where parked motorcycles and scooters had left too narrow a passage and with Margaret’s help I reversed back and extracted us by driving the wrong way down a one-way passage. After that, we left central Verona and parked on the other side of the river and walked back to the center.

We took advantage of our Verona Card admissions to escape the heat in the S. Anastasia church and then headed slowly back to the car. We kept replenishing our water but the heat was just too much for Margaret. The heat did make us rethink our priorities and rather than scoot all over the region we will plan to spend more quality time in Venice, itself.

On the way back to Mirano we saw a large castle complex on the side of a hill at Soave. I don’t think we will find the time to see it this trip. And that’s the problem with Italy, always another castle, villa, walled town, etc. And I thought a month was a lot of time.

Wednesday, September 12

Margaret here. Today was a day off to do laundry, tidy up a bit, and go to the restaurant to upload photos and update our blog. We appreciate having access to fast internet, but still didn’t finish until after 4:00.

It seems like we are doing a lot of planning, which I was trying to avoid. However, our niece Sandra (the Shoe Lady) is arriving Venice on Friday the 21st, so we had to make sure we have proper times allotted. She will be staying at Lina’s B&B. On Saturday, we will go to Canova museum in Possagno, and on Sunday to Orderzo to meet that part of the family and tour the archaeological museum there. On Monday, we will take her into Venice so we purchased tickets to the secret corridors of the Doges Palace.

Mike and I thought we would spend more time in Venice and were thinking we would go on Thursday. But Lina really wanted to take us to see a Grappa distillery, so we changed our plans and picked her up at 9:00 a.m. We had no idea that a surprise was in store for us…. (see Week 3)

This evening was very pleasant, and at about 5:00 we took a stroll into the square in Mirano. What a surprise! People were busily working to set up a carnival, with rides and booths. We sat a restaurant and had a spritz while watching children play, ride bikes, and all of the adults chatting with each other around the fountain. One little boy, about 2 years old could kick a soccer ball better than most of the older children. So cute!

Mike here. We lug our MS Surface Pro on all of our trips and Margaret does a lot of posting, planning and scheduling. Why is it that as soon as she sits down for an intense session with the Surface I immediately come up with things I could be doing on it as well? This happens on our cruises also. Not ready to lug a 2nd device on trips but we both are internet dependent.

It was one very hot day in Verona...