I would like to give a special thanks to jent103! I am definitely going to sign up on kayak.com so I can receive an alert about ticket prices. I like the idea of setting a price for myself then going for it and not looking back. Definitely, under a $1000 per person is what I will be going for. My DH & I went to Paris in October 2008, our first trip to Europe, and paid $900 a piece. Also, I just finished reading your trip report and I am LOVING it! I can't wait for you to post more. You & I are a lot alike in our planning and travel styles. It's funny because my DH is like M...he is very laid-back. I am enjoying your report!
*I will post the same message on your trip report in case you don't check back on my original post.

jent - your description of the seppia dish made me smile. my normally picky DS fell in love with spaghetti con seppia on his first meal in Venice, and after that would always pick the dish with the seppia in it, leading to many walks home with black teeth!

BTW - the english for seppia is actually cuttlefish - squid is a different species.

louistraveler5, so glad you're enjoying it!

annhig, I always learn something from you. I didn't know if "cuttlefish/squid" was one of those "cookie/biscuit" things, but it gave me the gist!

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<b>Day 8: Rainin’ on Sunday (Sunday, May 15)</b>

(apologies to my fellow Nashvillian Keith Urban for the title)

According to Lorenzo, we had summer on Saturday, but now on Sunday... we get winter. The temperature <i>might</i> have gotten to 65 degrees Fahrenheit. We really couldn’t complain, though - this would turn out to be the only day of bad weather we had on the trip! We ate breakfast with everyone else staying at Ai Tagliapietra, this time taking Lorenzo up on that yogurt, and then headed to the Doge’s Palace along with everyone else in town. We waited in line for awhile, but it really wasn’t terrible, and the wait let me take some pictures of the pouring rain from under cover.

The Doge’s Palace was actually even more interesting than I was expecting. I didn’t know much about Venetian history, so I learned quite a bit about the role of the doge and setup of Venice at its wealthiest. We tried to follow the signs, despite my oft proven talent for accidentally going backwards through museums, and managed to see just about everything in its proper order! We ate lunch in the cafe downstairs - sandwich for M and tuna insalate for me.

Our tickets to the Doge’s Palace included entrance to Museo de Correr, and my Venice2Go app made it sound pretty interesting, so we headed across the piazza. It was interesting, although if it hadn’t been raining and “free” entry, I’m not sure I’d put it at the top of my Venice to-do list. Under the circumstances it was a good use of time, though.

After the museum, we wandered back through Piazza San Marco, still in the pouring rain. “M,” I said, “what I really want is tea and a scone. But we are in Italy.” “Well,” said M, “Lorenzo has tea and he said we could make it whenever we want.” “That’s true. Let’s go back for awhile.” So we walked. On the way we passed Pasticceria Canonico - perfetto! I got a scone-like thing with chocolate in it, plus a huge shortbread cookie with chocolate in the middle for later. M got some sort of scone-like thing with powdered sugar. We made ourselves at home in Lorenzo’s little kitchen and relaxed in our room awhile.

Still on my list to see were Santa Maria della Salute and the Frari church. Realistically we could only do one today, so I did the best I could to find opening hours online. I found one site that said Salute was open till 6:30pm, so we dilly-dallyed (as seemed fitting on this cool rainy day) and eventually left the b&b in search of it. We walked through Venice to Ponte dell’Accademia and meandered through Dorsoduro, stopping in a couple of glass shops. But when we got to Salute around 6pm, we discovered that it had in fact closed at 5:30! Well, poop. Oh well. Yet another reason to return...

Normally we would have walked back to Accademia and back to San Marco, but M spotted the Salute vaporetto stop and pointed out, quite correctly, that we might as well take the boat even if it was just one stop - have to get our money’s worth out of these 72-hour passes, after all! And we did, just barely. If we hadn’t visited the islands on Saturday, I’m not sure they would have made financial sense for us, but it turned out we barely “broke even” over our stay.

At this point, I confess without shame or remorse: We went to Hard Rock for dinner.

It’s true. After trying my squid and her bresaola the night before, and after a steady diet of Italian lunches and dinners, M said, “We might need a hamburger.” I agreed. And we agreed that we should get said burger now, before we got to Lake Como where there was very little chance of finding a good one. So we went to Hard Rock. Amazingly, on a Sunday night in shoulder season, we had to wait 15 minutes for a table. And I will tell you, that was a dang good burger.

After those yummy burgers and fries, we moseyed back to Piazza San Marco to head back to Ai Tagliapietra. We walked into the square and into an American tour group, who seemed to have just arrived in town. We were negotiating our way around them when we heard several yelling “Oh my goodness! It’s a rainbow!!!” We look up, and sure enough, there’s a perfect rainbow arcing from St. Mark’s up to the Campanile. Perfect. I scrambled for my camera and managed to catch it; it was gone after two minutes. What a great end to a dreary weather day!

Pictures from today: http://www.flickr.com/photos/jenthom...7626794846363/

jent...I've had those hamburger cravings when I travel too. And when we were in Alaska I was jonesing for pizza and couldn't find anything but big franchises, and I don't like them.
Great report so far! Thank you
CindyP.

This is great!!! I'm printing this to read on the plane

So glad you're enjoying it, tony! A few more days to come when I get photos edited, from Venice/Bellagio/Milan.

Cindy, thanks for understanding! That Hard Rock experience really came at the right time... though we had to convince our waitress that Tennessee was not, in fact, Texas. We drew her a map.

Hub usually had a mac attack. He tried to sneak in just in case someone we knew saw him eating at McD's in Rome or Paris. LOL.

I would have liked the seppia better if I didn't know what it was. Not too bad tasting, eh?

More great shots!

Is this a total coincidence or what? I was in Venice, and went to the Doges palace, on that exact same day! I was reading your account thinking, this sort of weather must occur frequently in Venice.....then I looked at the date! WOW, we totally could have walked right past each other not even knowing.... Not that I actually know you.....but it's interesting, don't you think? I was with a tour group and we all had green umbrellas, wonder if you saw us? Golly it was wet and cold that day! It was almost as freezing inside the Doges Palace as it was outside, and I, thinking the weather would be nice, hadn't brought my raincoat with me that day, had to sprint back to the hotel for it and then try to find the group in the crowds after visiting Doges. Spent the rest of the day on Murano ( and they did actually demonstrate glass blowing ) and Burano ( had a delicious seafood lunch there ), and went to a Baroque concert in the evening. I'll share the whole story in my trip report, which is still in progress, it's called 5 weeks in Europe with my Grandmother, the Report. Just in case you are interested in reading it. Love reading about your experiences

jent - will you forgive me if I impart some more information?

rather than queue to climb the campanile in san marco, you could have used your vaporetto passes to visit the island and church of san giorgio where there is another campanile which rarely if ever has a queue.

perhaps that is something to do on your next visit?- along with a trip to Torcello which is just beautiful. I loved the notice I saw in a corner of the Basilica - that it was LAST renovated in about the 12th century. and the views from the boat of snow on the dolomites as we left were stunning.

more excuses, if you need them, to return, I think.

jent103 - I am loving this report! Bikerscott was also overwhelmed on our first trip to Rome! Cant wait to hear more!!!

Loving the photos btw!!!!

I am enjoying your report. Your sense of wonder and ability to laugh about goof ups such as getting to Salute too late make it a fun read. I also love your photos--great job with the rainbow!

I completely understand about the Hard Rock--if I had seen it when I was there, I think I might have popped in. I was getting a real hankering for a hamburger about the time we got to Venice.

Thanks for sharing; we are all waiting for the next days and photos!

Ten years ago, on our first Italy trip, it rained one of our 4 days in Venice. But when we got home and I looked at my pictures (OMG, this was BEFORE digital!) I was amazed to see how gorgeous everything looked even on that rainy day. I love your rain pic, too

irishwhistler, that is crazy! I didn't notice a tour group of green umbrellas, but there were a lot of umbrellas that day!

annhig, my list of reasons to return to Venice is pretty long! Some of our breakfast-mates at Ai Tagliapietra actually suggested San Giorgio to us as well, and I would love to do that. However, by the time we got back from the islands, it was late afternoon, and we weren't sure how late the San Giorgio campanile was open. The one in San Marco was close enough where we could walk by and check the hours (I think it was open until 8pm). When we saw the queue, we got gelato and came back, and by that time we really only had to wait ten or fifteen minutes. Not bad.

jamikins - thanks! Reading your report/photos has made me think about France... but I still have lots to see in Italy. Decisions, decisions.

Irishface & uhoh, thanks! I figure there's no point in blaming someone else (sacred-destinations.com, cough cough) or kicking myself for things like that. Life's more pleasant that way. Plus it makes for better stories sometimes!

Hopefully more photos edited today... gotta mow the lawn and clean the kitchen and knit a baby a dinosaur first, though!

I really enjoyed hearing about your stay in Rome and Venice. We are heading to both places in 3 weeks as well as visiting Florence. Viewing your pictures has really gotten me excited about going! Thanks for your insight and tips. We will be sure to visit Gelateria del Teatro!

Realy enjoying your report, The lovers picture , was a classic for me

Im really enjoying your Rome-Venice report! My husband and I will be there in October. and your pictures are amazing and makes me rethink my little digital camera for our trip in October... and I am definitely looking into the cooking class! and Rome2Go app! I looking forward to your next post...

Traveler, I'm a little jealous that you get to go so soon! Have some tartufo e Greek yogurt for me.

jean253, I really do love that picture. Thank you!

monkeybutt - ask and ye shall receive. (Also, if you want to compare pictures from a point & shoot vs. the SLR, here's a link to photos from M's and my last big trip in 2007. These were all taken with a Canon point & shoot, whereas this Italy trip I took a Canon Rebel SLR. Photo editing covers a multitude of sins too! Thank you for the compliment.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/jenthom...7600396057506/ )

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<b>Day 9: We’re On a Boat! And Another Boat! (Monday, May 16)</b>

Of course after the dreary weather Sunday, Monday morning was perfectly sunny. Sad to leave, we said goodbye to Lorenzo and got our first (and only) Italian air kisses. (M said for the rest of the trip that it is a major regret of her life that we did not get a picture with Lorenzo. She told me: “You should write nice things about Lorenzo. He’s my favorite.”)

We still hadn’t done the ride down the Grand Canal, and our train to Milan wasn’t until 12:50, so we took the slow line all the way from San Zaccaria to the station. What a leisurely way to say goodbye to Venice! We got to the train station with over an hour to spare, so we walked down the street which Google Maps does not want to identify but which juts out northeast from the train station. We did a little more souvenir shopping <i>(Me: “This is per mi mamma.” Guy at Il Doge souvenir stand: “Is of the highest quality!” Me, internally: “For &euro;9? Oh, I’m SURE it is.”).</i> On the way back to the station, we swung by Brek to pick up some bresaola sandwiches for the train ride. (See? Now we’re back to Italian food!) M was hungry and went ahead and ate her sandwich once we got to the station. (M: “I’m kind of in love with this sandwich.” Me: “Yeah, you look like you’re in an Audrey Hepburn movie.”) We also found the first restrooms we’d had to pay for on the trip. No freebies in Venice! Finally our platform came up, so we joined the masses heading to Milan.

We found what we were pretty sure was our car, then found our seats, then realized that the only two people on the same car were two Italian gentlemen probably around 75 years old. Hmm. In these sorts of situations, I get a little nervous when I’m not where everyone else is. We’ve already gotten on the vaporetto going the wrong way and narrowly avoided causing traffic jams in the Doge’s Palace by going through the museum backwards, and that’s not to mention our map snafus in Rome. It is not out of the realm of possibility that we are on the wrong train altogether.

So I show my ticket to the nice-looking gentleman across from me, trying to ask if the ticket and train match up. He looks at me like, “Um, I have no idea what you are trying to say to or ask me.” Oops. Only the second Italian we’ve met who couldn’t speak better English than I can, and I’m asking for his help! Fortunately, his friend figures out what’s going on and checks my ticket. Yep, we’re in the right place, and though the entire car is empty except for our table, our assigned seats are right across from these lovely men. Well, so far they’re nice and helpful. And they continue to be, despite taking more of the under-the-table leg room than M really thought reasonable, but those are small issues. More people get on as the train rolls on to Milan.

We have about an hour before our train to Varenna, and much to my surprise, the train was at the platform around 30-40 minutes before it was scheduled to leave! Since most of my (admittedly limited) experience with Italian trains involves waiting for the platform to be announced and rushing to the right car with a few minutes to spare, this makes me nervous. It appeared to be the right train, but I was antsy all the way to Lecco until I was sure we were going the right way!

After getting off at the tiny Varenna train station, we made our way down the hill, following signs to the ferry. At the bottom the path stopped at a lakeside restaurant/cafe. We were a little perplexed. Fortunately a couple of people enjoying a beverage saw us looking around, called out “Ferry?”, and pointed to the left. Thanks, y’all. We walked up to the ticket counter and I asked for a ticket to Bellagio. &euro;3.70 and twenty minutes, the agent said. M walked up and asked for the same, at which point the ticket man said “BELLagio? o MENaggio??” We clarified. “Bellagio NOW!” he said, pointing behind him. Off we ran to the car ferry about to leave. We grabbed a bench downstairs and looked out at this gorgeous lake on this gorgeous day as the boat sailed off to BELLagio.

Our original plan had actually been to stay at Orange House b&b in Varenna. However, a few weeks earlier, I had gotten an email from them saying that, due to a “temporary but serious” health problem of one of the owners, they unfortunately needed to cancel our reservation. One of the drawbacks of booking a very small b&b, I suppose, and I do hope the owner is okay. On my end, this obviously caused a lot of last-minute web searches and Fodor’s posting, and we eventually booked with Hotel Centrale in Bellagio. For us, I think this actually worked out well, with the exception of the fact that our previously very inexpensive three nights were now some of our most expensive three nights. We were there in mid-May, which seemed like the very beginning of the season, so neither town was very busy at all. But Varenna seemed VERY quiet when we were there, whereas Bellagio was pretty quiet.

Hotel Centrale had asked us to call if we would be later than 6pm checking in, which we would be by a smidge, so we had called them from the Milan train station or somewhere. Since M had had to call our apartment owner in Rome in jet-lagged stupor, she informed me that it was my turn to talk to the hotel staff. Checking in a little late was no problem, so I asked for directions from the ferry. Something about up the hill and left. All righty. The only problem is that in Bellagio, there are quite a few ways to go uphill. After some standing around and looking, I left M at the shops on the lake with our luggage and went in search of the hotel. We packed light, but not light enough to want to lug suitcases up the steps of Salita Serbelloni unnecessarily! Though that’s exactly what we did, once I found the hotel.

We settled in and asked the very nice young man downstairs for restaurant recommendations. Trattoria San Giacomo was at the top of his list - “I have never had a guest be disappointed.” According to him, the wine bar across the street is owned by the wife of the trattoria owner, and the best pizza in town is down by the lake, where the chef is actually from somewhere near Naples. Perfect. For tonight, we head to Trattoria San Giacomo. We got there around 7:30 and had no problems getting a table, though we were indoors instead of at one of the outdoor tables. All the other customers we overheard at that hour were fellow Americans - I’m not sure how the clientele changes in Bellagio once it gets later! We were also the youngest by quite a few years, but again, whether that was the time or the town, I’m not sure.

Our food was good. I started with pasta e fagioli and had a local dish, perch with rice in sage and brown butter sauce. The soup was great, as was the perch; the rice tasted good, but it was a little rich for me, so I didn’t eat a lot. M got fusilli with pesto, and we split a torta di mele. After dinner we walked around town, mostly down by the lake, then headed back to our room to use the shaky wifi to look up some hikes for the next day.

Pictures from today: http://www.flickr.com/photos/jenthom...7626948272088/

jent - i don't understand how they allocate seat reservations either!

when i reserved my seat on the frecciabianca from orbetello to pisa, when i got on the train i found that they had stuck me in the corner of a carriage facing backwards, sat right next to someone else i didn't know, who had also reserved a seat.

there were some perfectly good facing forward seats with tables going spare so i moved to one of those. They probably just lumped all the reservations together on your train too.

Nothing to stop you moving so long as the seat you move to is not reserved for your part of the journey.

I laughed out loud at the picture of the "party bus"...