Yes, it's true. I just returned from a wonderful trip to Italy with my friend Betty. I will attempt to give you a summary of our trip without boring you to death.
Because Betty had been to Italy several times she knew where to stay. She picked the darling town of Bergamo for our home base. We stayed at the Hotel Piemontese because it was just steps from the train station.
After our long airplane ride, we took a walk and had our first gelato.
We saw the sights near our hotel.
Bright and early the next morning we took a train to Verona.
In the movie, the notes to Juliet were attractively placed in
the wall in the courtyard. In reality, they are taped to the wall of the tunnel leading into the courtyard.
It was fun to see the exact same place that was in the movie.
I even got my picture by the statue, sans the embarrassing hand placement.
The town of Verona was so cute and charming. I really loved it there.
We ate lunch in a sidewalk cafe.
I had my first Italian food and Italian Fanta.
The obligatory photo in front of an Italian fountain.
Verona had an old arena, but we didn't go inside.
After our day in Verona, we took the train back to Bergamo, where we discovered our favorite Bergamo restaurant.
I had my first bruschette. It was super yummy.
We shared this amazing sishkebob.
The next day we decided to explore the upper part of Bergamo, called Citta Alta.
We took a tram up a steep hill. At the top we explored an ancient castle, used to protect the city from it's enemies.
There were amazing views of Bergamo below.
We had fun shopping in Citta Alta's narrow streets.
Bergamo is famous for it's polenta. Here is a dessert made from polenta which was really, really good.
We had lunch, which ended with this chocolate cake.
We purchased merchandise.
That evening we had dinner at our favorite Bergamo restaurant again, but it was too cold to eat outdoors. Betty's dinner had a face. I'm glad I ordered the ravioli.
The next day was a long train ride to Venice. It was worth the long ride. I actually got to go to Venice!!
One of the coolest things in Venice was the Venitian glass.
Because Betty had been to Italy several times she knew where to stay. She picked the darling town of Bergamo for our home base. We stayed at the Hotel Piemontese because it was just steps from the train station.
After our long airplane ride, we took a walk and had our first gelato.
We saw the sights near our hotel.
Bright and early the next morning we took a train to Verona.We went straight to the Casa de Guiliette.
Three weeks before, we went to see the movie, Letters to Juliet, and we were so enchanted by the movie that we decided to take a trip to Italy.
In the movie, the notes to Juliet were attractively placed in
the wall in the courtyard. In reality, they are taped to the wall of the tunnel leading into the courtyard.
It was fun to see the exact same place that was in the movie.
I even got my picture by the statue, sans the embarrassing hand placement.
The town of Verona was so cute and charming. I really loved it there.
We ate lunch in a sidewalk cafe.
I had my first Italian food and Italian Fanta.
The obligatory photo in front of an Italian fountain.
Verona had an old arena, but we didn't go inside.
After our day in Verona, we took the train back to Bergamo, where we discovered our favorite Bergamo restaurant.
I had my first bruschette. It was super yummy.
We shared this amazing sishkebob.
The next day we decided to explore the upper part of Bergamo, called Citta Alta.
We took a tram up a steep hill. At the top we explored an ancient castle, used to protect the city from it's enemies.
There were amazing views of Bergamo below.
We had fun shopping in Citta Alta's narrow streets.
Bergamo is famous for it's polenta. Here is a dessert made from polenta which was really, really good.
We had lunch, which ended with this chocolate cake.
We purchased merchandise.
That evening we had dinner at our favorite Bergamo restaurant again, but it was too cold to eat outdoors. Betty's dinner had a face. I'm glad I ordered the ravioli.
The next day was a long train ride to Venice. It was worth the long ride. I actually got to go to Venice!!
One of the coolest things in Venice was the Venitian glass.
After too short a stay in Venice we had to get on the train and return home.
The next day was a long train trip also. We went down to Genoa and then down the coast. There are five coastal towns that people refer to as Cinque Terre. We only had time to visit the town that was farthest north.
The first thing we did was eat lunch at a little place overlooking the ocean.
Every day we had gelato at least two times.
It was my favorite Italian food.
Looking at the ocean was not enough for me. I had to at least go get my feet wet.
It was so beautiful, we hated to leave.
That evening back in Bergamo we were consoled by another meal at our favorite restaurant.
I think this was the best pizza we had all week.
The next day was a long train trip also. We went down to Genoa and then down the coast. There are five coastal towns that people refer to as Cinque Terre. We only had time to visit the town that was farthest north.
The first thing we did was eat lunch at a little place overlooking the ocean.
Every day we had gelato at least two times.
It was my favorite Italian food.
Looking at the ocean was not enough for me. I had to at least go get my feet wet.
It was so beautiful, we hated to leave. That evening back in Bergamo we were consoled by another meal at our favorite restaurant.
I think this was the best pizza we had all week.
The next day we took the train north to a little town called Verenna where we took a boat across the lake to Bellagio, on Lake Como.
On approach to Bellagio.
The Grand Hotel.
Bellagio was the quintessential Italian village complete with narrow stone streets and wonderful shopping.
Geroge Clooney owns a villa in Bellagio. We were really hoping to meet him and become best friends so he would invite us to be his guests. It didn't happen.
While George's super-model girl friend was somewhere eating celery for lunch, we had this great lunch with a view of the lake.
On approach to Bellagio.
The Grand Hotel.
Bellagio was the quintessential Italian village complete with narrow stone streets and wonderful shopping.
Geroge Clooney owns a villa in Bellagio. We were really hoping to meet him and become best friends so he would invite us to be his guests. It didn't happen.
While George's super-model girl friend was somewhere eating celery for lunch, we had this great lunch with a view of the lake.
Goodbye Bellagio.
Hello Varenna.
On our return trip to Varenna, we noticed the church steeple. We had time to explore before our train left, so we were able to find the church.
Inside the church was a wedding!
Inside it was dark, but it had beautiful stained glass windows.
Worshippers didn't seem bothered by the tourists.
They let people go up on the roof. The detail on the carvings was amazing.
Across the plaza from the duomo was this very,very high end shopping mall.
Milan is the fashion capital of the world, so this mall is home to many high class designer stores.
Gucci is on the third corner of this junction and guess what is on the fourth corner?
Hello Varenna.
On our return trip to Varenna, we noticed the church steeple. We had time to explore before our train left, so we were able to find the church.
Inside the church was a wedding!
The next day we took the train and the Metro to Milan's biggest tourist attraction.
Isn't this duomo incredible?
Inside it was dark, but it had beautiful stained glass windows.
Worshippers didn't seem bothered by the tourists.
They let people go up on the roof. The detail on the carvings was amazing.
Across the plaza from the duomo was this very,very high end shopping mall.
Milan is the fashion capital of the world, so this mall is home to many high class designer stores.
Gucci is on the third corner of this junction and guess what is on the fourth corner?It's unbelievable, but yes, the golden arches.
We did NOT eat at McDonald's. Instead, we paid too much for lunch at this really nice restaurant.
Excellent pizza was all we could afford.
We did NOT eat at McDonald's. Instead, we paid too much for lunch at this really nice restaurant.
Excellent pizza was all we could afford.
Then it was time to return to the train station, Milano Centrale, and head home to Bergamo.
Once back in Bergamo, we took a bus to Citta Alta and we were able to go inside the church there.
We were so lucky because they were just starting a free concert. It was nice to be sitting in this beautiful church listening to a choir.
Then we had dinner at a nearby restaurant.
Once back in Bergamo, we took a bus to Citta Alta and we were able to go inside the church there.
We were so lucky because they were just starting a free concert. It was nice to be sitting in this beautiful church listening to a choir.
Then we had dinner at a nearby restaurant.
This beef was so tender it was almost like cotton candy.
The next morning we were off to the airport.But, unfortunately, since we didn't have a computer to check the status of our flight, when we got to the airport we had the bad news that our flight was cancelled. We took turns standing in lines to get our tickets changed and our instruction about the hotel, etc. we would have to stay in that night in Milan.
We stood in this one line for 2 1/2 hours.
It took until 3:00 in the afternoon for us to be bussed to our hotel and be ready to go see some sights in Milan. We wandered around for about an hour looking for our bus stop that would take us to the castle. The girl at the front desk in the hotel said it was just out front and to the left.
A group of us, 2 families from Utah and a guy from Arizona, finally found a bus stop. The bus schedule informed us that we had to wait another 1/2 hour before the bus would come. Oh well.
The day turned out pretty good because we were able to see this 600+ year old castle.
We were lucky because this guy, Mark (from AZ), who was a fellow strandee had spent 2 years as a tour guide here when he was a student.
He gave us a personal tour.
One of the many painted ceilings.
This is Michaelango's final work of art before he died. As you can see, it was never completed.
One room was full of armor and weapons.
Well, it was a day late, but we finally were able to fly home.
The next morning we were off to the airport.But, unfortunately, since we didn't have a computer to check the status of our flight, when we got to the airport we had the bad news that our flight was cancelled. We took turns standing in lines to get our tickets changed and our instruction about the hotel, etc. we would have to stay in that night in Milan.
We stood in this one line for 2 1/2 hours.
It took until 3:00 in the afternoon for us to be bussed to our hotel and be ready to go see some sights in Milan. We wandered around for about an hour looking for our bus stop that would take us to the castle. The girl at the front desk in the hotel said it was just out front and to the left.
A group of us, 2 families from Utah and a guy from Arizona, finally found a bus stop. The bus schedule informed us that we had to wait another 1/2 hour before the bus would come. Oh well.
The day turned out pretty good because we were able to see this 600+ year old castle.
We were lucky because this guy, Mark (from AZ), who was a fellow strandee had spent 2 years as a tour guide here when he was a student.
He gave us a personal tour.
One of the many painted ceilings.
This is Michaelango's final work of art before he died. As you can see, it was never completed.
One room was full of armor and weapons.
Well, it was a day late, but we finally were able to fly home.
Goodbye to Italy as we fly over the Alps.
It was a wonderful trip. I want to go back and see Tuscany next time!
It was a wonderful trip. I want to go back and see Tuscany next time!
4 comments:
Glad you had so much fun!
so jealous! I love Italian architecture! I'm glad you took pics of all that.
Well Italy might be on our next place to go in this world. What a trip- so devin's first question is "did she really see the movie and then book a flight to italy right after?" was the trip planned before the movie? if not you put together an amazing trip in a short time!
Oh my goodness! I'm jealous too, but only in the best way! I'm so excited you went to Italy. When I got there too (someday) you must tell me all the best sites.
By the way: loved your description of George Clooney and his girlfriend. Laughed out loud and shared it with Jeff. And the McDonald's in Milan? That was funny too.
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