Now that we’ve been home for over two weeks, I’ve had a chance to sort my thoughts on this year’s European junket. Here are some words from this wiseacre if you’re planning to head to Europe in the near future: Getting Covid while on vacation sucks. Airports and airplanes, not to mention crowded public spaces, …
Tag: Italy
Permanent link to this article: http://ediblethoughts.com/2023/09/21/vacation-postmortem/
Sep 21
The Altana
You see these everywhere in Venice: a small platform on the roof of a building, often appearing rickety and precariously attached. This is a rooftop terrace (Altana, in Italian). Venetians have been building them for centuries, and they are used for a variety of purposes: hanging laundry out to dry, growing potted plants, or simply …
Permanent link to this article: http://ediblethoughts.com/2023/09/21/the-altana/
Sep 03
Opera Night
Opera isn’t our favorite musical genre, but we’ve gone to a few over the years. We’ve been to La Bohème and Carmen. I went to Rigoletto with our friend Bruce four years ago (my review is here). Julian wanted to see the Venice Opera House, affectionately known as La Fenice (The Phoenix) because it burned …
Permanent link to this article: http://ediblethoughts.com/2023/09/03/opera-night/
Sep 02
Venice as Theme Park
I’ve never been much for theme parks. I went to Epcot a couple of times when my mother was spending winters outside Orlando. I went to Six Flags Over Texas once. I’ve been to Las Vegas, a grown-up theme park, twice. Venice takes the cake as a theme park, in my estimation. Let me count …
Permanent link to this article: http://ediblethoughts.com/2023/09/02/venice-as-theme-park/
Sep 02
Orientation to Venice
Venice is an island. In fact, it’s numerous islands because of the canals. Bridges of varying sizes connect the islands. The bridges often have stairs, making the city a nightmare for disabled persons or tourists with lots of luggage. Venice has no land motor vehicles. The streets and alleys are far too narrow for even …
Permanent link to this article: http://ediblethoughts.com/2023/09/02/orientation-to-venice/
Aug 30
First Impressions of Venice
We landed in Venice yesterday afternoon. We bid our rental car farewell at the airport. Although it was the priciest option, we took a water taxi from the airport to St. Mark’s Square. The lagoon was full of other water taxis and craft kicking up wakes. I was having a blast bouncing up and down …
Permanent link to this article: http://ediblethoughts.com/2023/08/30/first-impressions-of-venice/
Aug 29
Misery in Misurina
We left Santa Cristina on Saturday and negotiated more hairpin turns in Guido Carducci. I wasn’t feeling well. We stopped in Cortina, a relatively large town in the Dolomites favored by the moneyed gentry. Cortina hosted the 1956 Winter Olympics and will do so in 2026 with Milan. The downtown area is full of designer …
Permanent link to this article: http://ediblethoughts.com/2023/08/29/misery-in-misurina/
Aug 28
Ciao d’Italia
Our next stop on the Canals and Cannolis Tour is Italy. We caught an early flight from Amsterdam to Venice on Tuesday. We rented a car so we could get to the Dolomite Mountains. Here’s this year’s model, an Abarth 595 (souped-up Fiat 500). Miraculously, we fit in all of our luggage with the back …
Permanent link to this article: http://ediblethoughts.com/2023/08/28/ciao-ditalia/
Aug 22
The Canals and Cannolis Tour
Julian and I are back on vacation in Europe. This time our itinerary included visiting his cousins outside Amsterdam. Later we flew to Italy for a week in the Dolomite Mountains and a week in Venice. We have the experience of canals in both the Netherlands and Venice and cannolis (we hope) in Italy. Our …
Permanent link to this article: http://ediblethoughts.com/2023/08/22/the-canals-and-cannolis-tour/
Sep 18
No Europe This Year
Way back in February, I was fully vaccinated and Julian had had his first shot. We were optimistic that COVID-19 was going to be beaten back. As a result, we decided to re-book the trip to Europe that we’d had to cancel in 2020. Julian scored great apartment rentals in Florence and Paris and almost-reasonably-priced …
Permanent link to this article: http://ediblethoughts.com/2021/09/18/no-europe-this-year/
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