Italy cont'd-Venice;Masks and Mayhem
Oct 27th, 2011, 04:44 PM
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Italy cont'd-Venice;Masks and Mayhem
Today was day three of our trip, we had done so much already! We woke up early and after a hot shower in a very weird tub/shower thingy, we fortified ourselves with cappucinos and croissants, threw on our backpacks and headed for the train. Since the train ride was about two hours, my daughter used that time to complete some school work. She is enrolled in Connections Academy which is an online school, so as long as she has a computer she can work anywhere, even on a train to Venice!
The train ride was pleasant enough, we watched the scenery and chatted about what we planned on doing. Our excitement started building once we saw the land give way to water. We could hardly wait for the train to stop! We jumped off and found our way to the water taxis. Water Taxis! How cool is that! Our driver sensed our excitement or was looking for a good tip, either way he took the "scenic route" to our hotel and it was just lovely. Seeing the look on my daughters face as went under bridges and caught glimpses of statues that she had seen in her favorite movie "The Thief Lord" just made my heart sing. Eventually we arrived at our hotel The Malibran which is situated pretty close to St. Marks Square. Once we dropped off our backpacks we walked to St. Marks and just stood dumbstruck at the awesomeness of everything. The bells brought me back to reality and I realized that I was starving. So we headed back to The Malibran where we gorged ourselves on really good pasta. I found it strange that in Italy they don't serve alot of vegetables. They cook with them but they don't serve them as a side dish like we do hear. After dinner I wanted to go explore some more but my body was demanded sleep so I crashed at 8:30 and slept like a rock until 7 the next morning.
When we woke up we headed downstairs to the breakfast that the hotel provides. It was actually pretty tasty for being included in the price of the room. We had yogurt, cappucinos, rolls, fresh fruit and cereal. There was also alot of salami and cheeses available. After finishing up our breakfast we take off exploring. My daughter stumbles upon a mask shop that makes masks exactly like the ones from "The Thief Lord" so of course we buy it for her. It is actually the style of mask the locals wore during The Plague, but it makes her happy! We just aimlessly wander through the streets, letting our daughter lead the way, and watch as she gleefully takes pictures of everything.
For lunch we decided to stop at the outdoor market and get some fresh fruit, bread and cheese. We take our purchases down to the dock and enjoy our repast while pigeons greedily peck up our crumbs, (Italian pigeons like tomatoes!) My daughter puts some crumbs in her hand and soon she has pigeons crawling all over her, she trys to outrun them but they follow her. It reminded me of The Birds!
We finish up our lunch and my daughter says she is not feeling too well, me being a bit on the dramatic side, immediately think to myself she has contracted bird flu from the pigeons. So we head back to the hotel to let her rest up a bit. My husband goes out in search of something to soothe her tummy and I just put up my feet and read. After a few minutes of quiet both of us, me and my daughter, look at each other because we hear water. Just then my daughter reaches up and wipes her forehead while glancing up at the ceiling at the same time. I follow her eyes as she says "mom the ceilings leaking!" I jump off the bed and call the front desk. The housekeeper comes traipsing up the stairs, nonchalantly, the look on her face is one of not being very concerned. However when she comes into the room and sees that the ceiling is now cracking and water is coming down on both beds she starts yelling in Italian and thats is when all mayhem breaks loose.
Apparently, the man above us had let the shower run onto the floor and now our ceiling was about to cave in from all the water. My husband comes up the stairs from his errand and sees that everyone is in our room and has no idea what is going on. I quickly explain the situation and we move our backpacks downstairs to see what management will do.
I have to say that the Hotel Malibran really took care of us. They did not have anymore rooms available for us so they called a different hotel The Hotel Santa Marina and they were more than happy to accomodate us at no extra charge. Hotel Santa Marina is a lovely hotel and the room they placed us in had a separate room for my daughter so she loved that! Breakfast was also included at this hotel but the Malibran let us eat at their hotel for the remainder of our stay and they also gave us a discount on our dinners. Very, very good service!!
After settling in and resting up a bit from our adventure we went out and explored some more. I bought an Italian leather purse, very buttery soft and smells so good! Then we headed back to our first hotel for another night of yummy pasta and then off to bed.
The train ride was pleasant enough, we watched the scenery and chatted about what we planned on doing. Our excitement started building once we saw the land give way to water. We could hardly wait for the train to stop! We jumped off and found our way to the water taxis. Water Taxis! How cool is that! Our driver sensed our excitement or was looking for a good tip, either way he took the "scenic route" to our hotel and it was just lovely. Seeing the look on my daughters face as went under bridges and caught glimpses of statues that she had seen in her favorite movie "The Thief Lord" just made my heart sing. Eventually we arrived at our hotel The Malibran which is situated pretty close to St. Marks Square. Once we dropped off our backpacks we walked to St. Marks and just stood dumbstruck at the awesomeness of everything. The bells brought me back to reality and I realized that I was starving. So we headed back to The Malibran where we gorged ourselves on really good pasta. I found it strange that in Italy they don't serve alot of vegetables. They cook with them but they don't serve them as a side dish like we do hear. After dinner I wanted to go explore some more but my body was demanded sleep so I crashed at 8:30 and slept like a rock until 7 the next morning.
When we woke up we headed downstairs to the breakfast that the hotel provides. It was actually pretty tasty for being included in the price of the room. We had yogurt, cappucinos, rolls, fresh fruit and cereal. There was also alot of salami and cheeses available. After finishing up our breakfast we take off exploring. My daughter stumbles upon a mask shop that makes masks exactly like the ones from "The Thief Lord" so of course we buy it for her. It is actually the style of mask the locals wore during The Plague, but it makes her happy! We just aimlessly wander through the streets, letting our daughter lead the way, and watch as she gleefully takes pictures of everything.
For lunch we decided to stop at the outdoor market and get some fresh fruit, bread and cheese. We take our purchases down to the dock and enjoy our repast while pigeons greedily peck up our crumbs, (Italian pigeons like tomatoes!) My daughter puts some crumbs in her hand and soon she has pigeons crawling all over her, she trys to outrun them but they follow her. It reminded me of The Birds!
We finish up our lunch and my daughter says she is not feeling too well, me being a bit on the dramatic side, immediately think to myself she has contracted bird flu from the pigeons. So we head back to the hotel to let her rest up a bit. My husband goes out in search of something to soothe her tummy and I just put up my feet and read. After a few minutes of quiet both of us, me and my daughter, look at each other because we hear water. Just then my daughter reaches up and wipes her forehead while glancing up at the ceiling at the same time. I follow her eyes as she says "mom the ceilings leaking!" I jump off the bed and call the front desk. The housekeeper comes traipsing up the stairs, nonchalantly, the look on her face is one of not being very concerned. However when she comes into the room and sees that the ceiling is now cracking and water is coming down on both beds she starts yelling in Italian and thats is when all mayhem breaks loose.
Apparently, the man above us had let the shower run onto the floor and now our ceiling was about to cave in from all the water. My husband comes up the stairs from his errand and sees that everyone is in our room and has no idea what is going on. I quickly explain the situation and we move our backpacks downstairs to see what management will do.
I have to say that the Hotel Malibran really took care of us. They did not have anymore rooms available for us so they called a different hotel The Hotel Santa Marina and they were more than happy to accomodate us at no extra charge. Hotel Santa Marina is a lovely hotel and the room they placed us in had a separate room for my daughter so she loved that! Breakfast was also included at this hotel but the Malibran let us eat at their hotel for the remainder of our stay and they also gave us a discount on our dinners. Very, very good service!!
After settling in and resting up a bit from our adventure we went out and explored some more. I bought an Italian leather purse, very buttery soft and smells so good! Then we headed back to our first hotel for another night of yummy pasta and then off to bed.
Oct 27th, 2011, 06:18 PM
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"I found it strange that in Italy they don't serve alot of vegetables. They cook with them but they don't serve them as a side dish like we do hear. "
Italians serve plenty of vegetables. You purchase them separately from the contorno secton of the menu and receive a plate of vegetables for the table to share. Sorry you did not notice this on the menu (or mentioned in your guidebooks).
Italians serve plenty of vegetables. You purchase them separately from the contorno secton of the menu and receive a plate of vegetables for the table to share. Sorry you did not notice this on the menu (or mentioned in your guidebooks).
Oct 28th, 2011, 09:31 AM
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Wow! This morning I woke up at 1:00 a.m. LA time which would be 10 a.m. Italian time. Jet lag has hit big time. So, on with the report about Venice...
On the fifth day of our trip my daughter and I decided to go in search of breakfast at a local cafe. She was in desperate need of pancakes, ("I will die if I don't get pancakes"...teen angst insertion and rolling of eyes here!) So we left my sleepy husband behind and hit the cobblestone streets. Now, my daughter absolutely loved Venice, me on the other hand, not so much. Let me explain. When we woke up I expected to hear the usual sounds of birds, see bees buzzing around and maybe have a picnic underneath a tree on a grassy area. Where we were staying, near St. Marks, there were no birds, other than pigeons, and no grass or trees. Just lots and lots of people who smoke like chimneys and get in your face if you bump them.
We found a cafe and since the closest thing to pancakes is crepes, she settled for that. I had a mozzarella sandwich, cappucino and some sweet rolls. We finished up our meal and headed back to the hotel to get my husband. I had scheduled us to go the Academie in Venice today so we hopped on a water bus, which was very fun! It dropped us off practically right at the door of the museum and we just spent a few pleasant hours admiring works of art. The museum is currently undergoing restoration, but we still had access to most of the rooms. I REALLY liked this part of Venice, it was filled with grassy spots, trees, not as many people and it was just pleasant to walk around and enjoy the sights and sounds. I told my husband that next time we would stay in an area like this one and use the water bus to get to the touristy spots.
While we were admiring the canal and soaking up the delicious Venice sunshine, my daughter and I saw the most remarkable sight. A huge Princess Cruiseship was headed down the canal. We both just stood there with our mouths open wondering how it was going to fit! It looked so out of place next to the old buildings, it was very surreal. I looked at my husband and said "guess where all those people are going to be tonight!" Sure enough, that night in St. Marks it was innudated with the people from the cruise ship.
After the museum outing we took another water bus back to our side of Venice and wander over to Harrys Bar to have a Bellini. I know, it is what everybody does, but yes, that is why I did it too! We took some cheesy pictures and headed back to our hotel.
That evening, after another delicious dinner, we decided to take a gondola ride, and it was so worth the money we spent. Our gondolier took us all over, down the grand canal, in and out of little waterways and pointing out historical landmarks as we passed. When he came to our hotel he explained that the building right next door to our hotel was Marco Polos residence. I looked at my husband and just started laughing, that explained why there were sooooo many people around us! I absolutely loved Venice at night. The quiet of the canal, the lapping of the oar, watching the busyness up above but not being apart of it for the moment. It was a lovely time for us.
After the ride we stopped off at a cafe and had some sweets and coffee. My daughter sketched the buildings and streets and I did some writing and we just peacefully said our goodbyes to Venice.
Next up.....Florence!!
On the fifth day of our trip my daughter and I decided to go in search of breakfast at a local cafe. She was in desperate need of pancakes, ("I will die if I don't get pancakes"...teen angst insertion and rolling of eyes here!) So we left my sleepy husband behind and hit the cobblestone streets. Now, my daughter absolutely loved Venice, me on the other hand, not so much. Let me explain. When we woke up I expected to hear the usual sounds of birds, see bees buzzing around and maybe have a picnic underneath a tree on a grassy area. Where we were staying, near St. Marks, there were no birds, other than pigeons, and no grass or trees. Just lots and lots of people who smoke like chimneys and get in your face if you bump them.
We found a cafe and since the closest thing to pancakes is crepes, she settled for that. I had a mozzarella sandwich, cappucino and some sweet rolls. We finished up our meal and headed back to the hotel to get my husband. I had scheduled us to go the Academie in Venice today so we hopped on a water bus, which was very fun! It dropped us off practically right at the door of the museum and we just spent a few pleasant hours admiring works of art. The museum is currently undergoing restoration, but we still had access to most of the rooms. I REALLY liked this part of Venice, it was filled with grassy spots, trees, not as many people and it was just pleasant to walk around and enjoy the sights and sounds. I told my husband that next time we would stay in an area like this one and use the water bus to get to the touristy spots.
While we were admiring the canal and soaking up the delicious Venice sunshine, my daughter and I saw the most remarkable sight. A huge Princess Cruiseship was headed down the canal. We both just stood there with our mouths open wondering how it was going to fit! It looked so out of place next to the old buildings, it was very surreal. I looked at my husband and said "guess where all those people are going to be tonight!" Sure enough, that night in St. Marks it was innudated with the people from the cruise ship.
After the museum outing we took another water bus back to our side of Venice and wander over to Harrys Bar to have a Bellini. I know, it is what everybody does, but yes, that is why I did it too! We took some cheesy pictures and headed back to our hotel.
That evening, after another delicious dinner, we decided to take a gondola ride, and it was so worth the money we spent. Our gondolier took us all over, down the grand canal, in and out of little waterways and pointing out historical landmarks as we passed. When he came to our hotel he explained that the building right next door to our hotel was Marco Polos residence. I looked at my husband and just started laughing, that explained why there were sooooo many people around us! I absolutely loved Venice at night. The quiet of the canal, the lapping of the oar, watching the busyness up above but not being apart of it for the moment. It was a lovely time for us.
After the ride we stopped off at a cafe and had some sweets and coffee. My daughter sketched the buildings and streets and I did some writing and we just peacefully said our goodbyes to Venice.
Next up.....Florence!!
Oct 28th, 2011, 09:33 AM
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ellenm,
yes, you are right they do serve vegies and they are listed on the menu as a separate course. I guess what I was trying to say was that here we serve meat or fish, some sort of carb and a vegie on one plate. In Italy they cook with their vegies and if you want to have vegies you order them separately, they are not just automatically given to you with your entree. Hope that makes sense
GG
yes, you are right they do serve vegies and they are listed on the menu as a separate course. I guess what I was trying to say was that here we serve meat or fish, some sort of carb and a vegie on one plate. In Italy they cook with their vegies and if you want to have vegies you order them separately, they are not just automatically given to you with your entree. Hope that makes sense
GG
Oct 28th, 2011, 02:20 PM
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Yes, it makes sense the way you just explained it. Your original mention made it sound like they weren't really available at all and I didn't want anyone to get the wrong idea.
Enjoying your report . ..
Enjoying your report . ..
Oct 31st, 2011, 08:16 PM
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Continuing with Florence...On this morning I awoke very early and set out into the city on my own. At his point in our trip my husband was ready to go home. I found out he does not travel too well! So from this point on we start doing things separately, which worked out well for us. So, I set out and just watched the city as it woke up. I was the only one in front of the Duomo at this hour and she (this duomo felt like a she to me,) looked so peaceful in the pale pink morning light. So quiet, so tranquil like she was just waiting for the masses to descend upon her like she had been for years and years. I said good morning to the shopkeepers who were just beginning to open up their shops. Chatting amongst themselves, fortifying their blood with hot cappucinos. This is one of the things I loved most about the people of Italy. How they embrace their day and their lives. They wake up with the sound of bells chiming throughout the city and it is as if they immediately jump out of bed, open the shutters and race into the day. They love life!
On this morning walk I had a cappucino and a delicious chocolate croissant. I took many pictures and just enjoyed this place, I truly love Florence.After my morning stroll I wander back to our hotel and rustled my family together so we could make our reservations to go see "The David." It was within walking distance from where we were staying which was very nice. In fact Florence is definitely a walking mecca. Pedestrians definitely have the right of way and everyone walks everywhere.
We walked to the museum and upon entering I quickly made my way to see David. I spent quite a bit of time just mesmerized by this magnificent masterpiece. It was at this point that my daughter fell in love with sculptures and for the remainder of our trip was just enthralled at how a person could take a hard piece of marble and turn it into a soft creation that exhibited emotion. That in itself made the trip worthwhile for me, seeing my daughter become passionate about art.
For lunch there is a little store across from this museum called art and food I think and the sandwiches were pretty good, but skip the pizza, it was nasty!
On the way back to the hotel I climbed the bell tower again with my daughter so she could take some pictures then it was back to our hotel to freshen up for dinner.
On this night my husband and I went to a nice little place around the corner from our hotel, I can't remember the name but they made homemade cannoli as well as pasta. It was delicious! We were serenaded by an accordion player which was very romantic. After dinner my husband took off with our daughter to have some one on one time with her in Florence and I just hung out at a cafe and did some sketching and writing. It was a very good day!!
Up next....Saying goodbye to Florence
On this morning walk I had a cappucino and a delicious chocolate croissant. I took many pictures and just enjoyed this place, I truly love Florence.After my morning stroll I wander back to our hotel and rustled my family together so we could make our reservations to go see "The David." It was within walking distance from where we were staying which was very nice. In fact Florence is definitely a walking mecca. Pedestrians definitely have the right of way and everyone walks everywhere.
We walked to the museum and upon entering I quickly made my way to see David. I spent quite a bit of time just mesmerized by this magnificent masterpiece. It was at this point that my daughter fell in love with sculptures and for the remainder of our trip was just enthralled at how a person could take a hard piece of marble and turn it into a soft creation that exhibited emotion. That in itself made the trip worthwhile for me, seeing my daughter become passionate about art.
For lunch there is a little store across from this museum called art and food I think and the sandwiches were pretty good, but skip the pizza, it was nasty!
On the way back to the hotel I climbed the bell tower again with my daughter so she could take some pictures then it was back to our hotel to freshen up for dinner.
On this night my husband and I went to a nice little place around the corner from our hotel, I can't remember the name but they made homemade cannoli as well as pasta. It was delicious! We were serenaded by an accordion player which was very romantic. After dinner my husband took off with our daughter to have some one on one time with her in Florence and I just hung out at a cafe and did some sketching and writing. It was a very good day!!
Up next....Saying goodbye to Florence
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