Tuesday, July 3, 2012
Thursday, June 28, 2012
Auto-lavaggio
Today is June 28, 2012 and it is another glorious morning here in Mezzegra, Italy. I continue to wake up quite early and today is no exception. Not really a problem however because I have a quick cup of coffee, throw open all the doors and windows and let the beautiful sunshine filter in and at the same time enjoy the early morning breeze. We have been experiencing very warm afternoons and quite a bit of humidity so the mornings are extra special. After parusing the internet for the overnight news, sports, and stock market closing I usually lie down on the very comfortable couch and do some reading on my Kindle. A Kindle is great device here since Joan and I no longer need to lug over a heavy stack of books. I have found some great bargins on Amazon for the Kindle (some completely free and some in the $2 range). Not famous authors but still books which are entertaining and enjoyable. Murder mysteries, WW2 stories, and such. Joan will spot topics I might enjoy and surprises me with new titles also. I’m easily entertained.
My brother Pat and his wife Leanne have landed in Frankfurt this morning and will be leasurely driving down to see us arriving sometime tomorrow afternoon. We are looking forward to seeing them. This will be the first leg of a four week tour for them with the current plan of spending most of their time in southern France. Pat and I are heading out Monday morning to play golf at the Cadenabbia-Menaggio Golf Club just seven miles from the house. It is a very hilly but a magnificent layout with outstanding views. I really don’t care what I shoot but since I have been playing twice a week in Phoenix for sometime now I expect a decent round. The results will be posted in a later blog.
Joan had mentioned in an earlier entry that we finally washed the new car in Lenno, a small town next to Mezzegra. After 1500K it was a total mess. I found an automatic car wash that was very slick indeed! A simple process, really. You position the car in front of the machine, get out and select the process you wish (I paid for the 9 Euro deluxe wash) put your money in and stand back and watch. I pushed the button and……nothing!! Of course all the instructions are in Italian so I was a bit perplexed. Next thing I know there is an old man yelling at me, “Rosso, Rosso, Rosso!!” I’m thinking, “the car is sliver why is he yelling Red, Red, Red? I sort of wave to him and he continues to repeat himself. I look at the machine and there is a green light on but there is an unlit red light. I look back at him and he motions that I must pull the car up closer to the device. In I get and creep forward and, bingo, the red light goes on. A big smile from my Italian friend but I know he thought I was just another foreign idiot! With the red light on I pushed the start button again and the machine did its job. Facinating to watch and what a beautiful job when completed! I was proud of my accomplishment, moved the car for the next customer, dried off a few wet spots and went back to the house.
The next day (yesterday morning) we decided to drive to a major indoor outlet mall in Switzerland for a little shopping and lunch. Mendrisio is only 40K from the house, a nice drive and an easy crossing of the border. At least it is normally easy. We crossed the short “no man’s land” fifty feet between the boarder check points and the Swiss said “Halt!”. Yuh oh, this isn’t good. Our front license plate was non existent! One must understand we are crossing at a remote spot, not the big Autostrada (Douane) boarder. Not a lot of English spoken here. Anyway there is a big concern about the missing license plate but after showing our papers (passport please!) they let us through. But what happened to the plate? My immediate reaction was that some Italian decided to remove it for a souvenir and that was the end of that. It’s a special plate that clearly indicates it’s only good for two months but is recognizable by boarder agents as very valid and belongs to a foreigner who took a European delivery. This was going to be a continual hassle because not only do the local police pull you over indiscriminately but the “financial police “ pull the Italian citizens over to find out how they can afford an expensive car like ours. They match up poor Tony’s tax records with the price of the car. If it appears Tony can’t afford such a car on the basis of his tax return he has very big problems. With no front license plate we were looking at an annoying four weeks in front of us. At this point Joan questioned whether the plate fell off during the washing process. Possible, but very doubtful!
After our outing at the mall we headed back to the house knowing we needed to pass the border back into Italy. I’m anticipating another problem and I wasn’t disappointed. The Italian agents were none too pleased about a plate missing. I gently say, “do you speak English and he says, not so gently, “no and pull out of line and park your car over there!!” His non English was very clear. We waited a minute and another guy comes over and I hand the paperwork over to him while getting out of the car to try explain the problem. I simulate with my hands the plate falling off the car while driving. He looks at me with a suspicious eye, looks at the paperwork, looks at the rear license plate and finally says what I interpret to be, “get the hell out of here and don’t come back”. We were back in Italy at last. We decided to drive to the car wash on the off chance that it did come off there. I mean, what were the chances if it did fall off there that it would still be there 30 hours later? There was an attendant present (not there the day before) and I approached him with our issue. He looks at me with a smile and in very broken English says that, of course, he found the plate and gave it to the local “policia”. I’m thinking, are you kidding me??? He directs me to the police station and we go in. Very quiet but we do find a gentleman who speaks English (somewhat). He understands what we are looking for and telephones a cop in a police car and informs us that he’ll be here in a couple of minutes. After some confusion (I think he thought we were there to surrender for some horrific crime) he understood the issue. No English but a big smile. He comes out of a room with the missing plate and then proceeds to take a photo copy of all our documents (why, I have no clue) has me sign the copies and hands over the plate. It had been adhered to the car with heavy two way tape and had come loose when the deluxe washing had scraped it off with the “brushless” brushes. Today we look for some more tape, the extra strengh variety. Never a dull moment.
Wednesday, June 27, 2012
Lately
Tiarra and Shalei left Sunday morning. Anna came to Lenno on Saturday and stayed at Albergo San Giorgio for 2 nights. We all had dinner Saturday night in Lenno at Hotel Plino, a favorite spot of ours. It is right on the lake and the food is excellent. On Sunday after Gene had made the drive to and from the airport in Milan we visited Marisa, a friend of Anna's, at her villa just north of Menaggio. A beautiful place right on the lake, the kind of place we would like to rent if we could find it and afford it. Gene took a few photos with his phone which I hope to post later.
We went to Orta San Giulio on Friday and then on to the Alessi factory and store for a lot of shopping. The weather has been quite pleasant although the humidity is always high. We have been doing a lot of driving, 2000K already with the trip down from Munich and long day trips to Cinque Terre and Lake Orta. This week we are staying close to home. It is stressful with the large car on narrow roads and small parking spaces. Gene has been coping pretty well making adjustments when he needs to, also freaking out a lot.
Yesterday he took the car to the Auto-lavagge and had the car washed. Quite an accomplishment. He will tell his story in his next blog post. Last night I made Grilled Italian Bread Salad with Feta and Basil for our dinner. It was very good and a much needed lighter option after all the pasta we have been having. Time to cut down on all the bad carbs.
Grilled Italian Bread Salad
View towards Lenno
The other direction towards Tremezzo
Tiarra's pizza
We went to Orta San Giulio on Friday and then on to the Alessi factory and store for a lot of shopping. The weather has been quite pleasant although the humidity is always high. We have been doing a lot of driving, 2000K already with the trip down from Munich and long day trips to Cinque Terre and Lake Orta. This week we are staying close to home. It is stressful with the large car on narrow roads and small parking spaces. Gene has been coping pretty well making adjustments when he needs to, also freaking out a lot.
Yesterday he took the car to the Auto-lavagge and had the car washed. Quite an accomplishment. He will tell his story in his next blog post. Last night I made Grilled Italian Bread Salad with Feta and Basil for our dinner. It was very good and a much needed lighter option after all the pasta we have been having. Time to cut down on all the bad carbs.
 |
| Interesting gelato flavor, PUFFO O VIAGRA. I wonder if it works. |
 |
| Lenno towards Villa del Balbianello |
Friday, June 22, 2012
Cinque Terre
Five small towns on the Mediterranean Sea
Written by guest blogger, Tiarra.
Yesterday we drove three hours to Cinque Terre. It is a rugged portion of the coast on the Italian Riviera in the Liguria region of Italy. We took an intercity train from La Spezia to the first town of Riomaggiore. Our plan was to walk to all five of the towns, but because of torrential rains and mudslides that happened in October of 2011 this was not possible. We visited three of the towns each with their own breathtaking views. We walked up 382 stairs to get to the third town of Corniglia, had lunch, and decided to take the train back to La Spezia because our parking was about to expire.
We stopped at the Bennet grocery store on the way home to stock up on more carbs and then drove home to get started on our insulin induced coma (dinner).
The last few days have been very pleasant and uneventful. Gene is on a roll. He has not done any damage to the new car for four days. Although now he is very nervous and drives like an 80 year old man.
Today we are going into Mezzegra for dinner, and tomorrow we are headed to the Alessi factory store and to Orta San Giulio.
Town of Manarola
Looking back at Manarola
Gene and Joan on walking path
A lonely boat
Terraced hill side of Corniglia
382 steps up to Corniglia
Written by guest blogger, Tiarra.
Yesterday we drove three hours to Cinque Terre. It is a rugged portion of the coast on the Italian Riviera in the Liguria region of Italy. We took an intercity train from La Spezia to the first town of Riomaggiore. Our plan was to walk to all five of the towns, but because of torrential rains and mudslides that happened in October of 2011 this was not possible. We visited three of the towns each with their own breathtaking views. We walked up 382 stairs to get to the third town of Corniglia, had lunch, and decided to take the train back to La Spezia because our parking was about to expire.
We stopped at the Bennet grocery store on the way home to stock up on more carbs and then drove home to get started on our insulin induced coma (dinner).
The last few days have been very pleasant and uneventful. Gene is on a roll. He has not done any damage to the new car for four days. Although now he is very nervous and drives like an 80 year old man.
Today we are going into Mezzegra for dinner, and tomorrow we are headed to the Alessi factory store and to Orta San Giulio.
Tuesday, June 19, 2012
No deductible!!!
It's 6AM Monday morning Lake Como time. Joan and I left Phoenix Wednesday morning . The time is flying by but the last five days have been exhilarating, exciting, frustrating and a little bit irritating! Let me explain. Normally we would fly to Milan, pick up our rental car and then head for the rental house in Mezzegra on the shore of Lake Como. This is our fifth year out of six that we have done this. This year, however, we chose to replace Joan's seven year old car with a new BMW and took advantage of the European delivery program. This is offered by BMW through one's local dealership. It couples a significant discount with the ability to do away with the rental fee of a vehicle during our stay.
Instead of flying into Milan we went straight to Munich for the factory pick up. All went according to plan and we met Tiarra, our daughter in law and BMW enthusiast (she drives an M3) in Atlanta and left a few hours later. After a free day in Munich and a great meal at a recommended restaurant we got a good night's sleep and arrived at the factory, museum and delivery center at 8AM. Friday morning. Folks who take a factory delivery are treated like royalty and everything is absolutely first class! (See pictures) After the tour and a stroll through the museum we were on our way for the 300 mile drive to Lake Como.
This is the point where my concerns and fears were soon to be realized! In one of my not so brilliant moments I decided that we would avoid the autobahn as much as possible and take the scenic route. Although magnificent views were seen at every turn the roads themselves were tight, tight, tight!
I should preface this by telling you as part of the purchase price an insurance policy with zero deductible is included in the price. Very, very important, especially the part with zero deductible.
Coming into a small town with very narrow streets a low curb made from solid granite reached out to our car and gouged out a chunk of our aluminum front right wheel. The crunching noise was unmistakable and I instantly knew I had done some damage. I kept my cool but pulled over to check it out. Yes, just as I suspected. I "broke" the car in before we had driven 100 miles! Oh well, we just continued on our way. We ended up overnighting in a beautiful Austrian ski town, St. Anton. We got up on Saturday morning for the continuation of our journey to the lake. We had already been to Germany, Austria and were soon to pass through Liechtenstein, and Switzerland and finally into Italy.
Decision time: do we stay on the autobahn or take the incredible scenic route over the Splugenpass, saving about 35 miles. The fateful decision: Splugenpass. I had driven this route twice before but Joan and Tiarra had never been on it and I thought they would enjoy the experience. Not a good idea! Our car is the 750 li model meaning it is very long. All was well for a while but the turns were being negotiated as slow as 3MPH to accommodate the car, the traffic and comfort. This road is one of the engineering marvels of the word. You wonder why they even bothered but it was built before the Swiss and Italians decided to bore 10 mile long tunnels bypassing the treacherous Alps. We were negotiating the turns quite well until we had to come to a complete stop and wait for an oncoming car on the mother of all hairpins! We were going down hill and as I turned hard right the right rear tire and wheel dropped off the pavement and the rear bumper bottomed out on the very rough and rocky ground. A good hard scrape!! We checked it out a little later and found that I had scraped off about one square foot of the underside of the bumper. We needed to get on our hands and knees to see it (not viable from any other position) but still plenty irritating. Because of the insurance policy the car will be checked over very carefully and fully repaired at no cost to us. It still looks beautiful and no damage can be seen, except for the wheel if you look very carefully. Joan and Tiarra continually reminded me that we could have been cruising comfortably along the autobahn, but no, Mr. Macho man needed to attack the Spugenpass. It is safe to assume I have seen this road for the last time.
Our "villa" overlooking the lake is in fine shape and we are really looking forward to our six week stay. On Sunday morningTiarra and I drove out to the Milan airport and picked up her friend, Shalei Webb and she will also be spending this week with us. We look forward to a good time and a lot of trouble free driving.
Instead of flying into Milan we went straight to Munich for the factory pick up. All went according to plan and we met Tiarra, our daughter in law and BMW enthusiast (she drives an M3) in Atlanta and left a few hours later. After a free day in Munich and a great meal at a recommended restaurant we got a good night's sleep and arrived at the factory, museum and delivery center at 8AM. Friday morning. Folks who take a factory delivery are treated like royalty and everything is absolutely first class! (See pictures) After the tour and a stroll through the museum we were on our way for the 300 mile drive to Lake Como.
This is the point where my concerns and fears were soon to be realized! In one of my not so brilliant moments I decided that we would avoid the autobahn as much as possible and take the scenic route. Although magnificent views were seen at every turn the roads themselves were tight, tight, tight!
I should preface this by telling you as part of the purchase price an insurance policy with zero deductible is included in the price. Very, very important, especially the part with zero deductible.
Coming into a small town with very narrow streets a low curb made from solid granite reached out to our car and gouged out a chunk of our aluminum front right wheel. The crunching noise was unmistakable and I instantly knew I had done some damage. I kept my cool but pulled over to check it out. Yes, just as I suspected. I "broke" the car in before we had driven 100 miles! Oh well, we just continued on our way. We ended up overnighting in a beautiful Austrian ski town, St. Anton. We got up on Saturday morning for the continuation of our journey to the lake. We had already been to Germany, Austria and were soon to pass through Liechtenstein, and Switzerland and finally into Italy.
Decision time: do we stay on the autobahn or take the incredible scenic route over the Splugenpass, saving about 35 miles. The fateful decision: Splugenpass. I had driven this route twice before but Joan and Tiarra had never been on it and I thought they would enjoy the experience. Not a good idea! Our car is the 750 li model meaning it is very long. All was well for a while but the turns were being negotiated as slow as 3MPH to accommodate the car, the traffic and comfort. This road is one of the engineering marvels of the word. You wonder why they even bothered but it was built before the Swiss and Italians decided to bore 10 mile long tunnels bypassing the treacherous Alps. We were negotiating the turns quite well until we had to come to a complete stop and wait for an oncoming car on the mother of all hairpins! We were going down hill and as I turned hard right the right rear tire and wheel dropped off the pavement and the rear bumper bottomed out on the very rough and rocky ground. A good hard scrape!! We checked it out a little later and found that I had scraped off about one square foot of the underside of the bumper. We needed to get on our hands and knees to see it (not viable from any other position) but still plenty irritating. Because of the insurance policy the car will be checked over very carefully and fully repaired at no cost to us. It still looks beautiful and no damage can be seen, except for the wheel if you look very carefully. Joan and Tiarra continually reminded me that we could have been cruising comfortably along the autobahn, but no, Mr. Macho man needed to attack the Spugenpass. It is safe to assume I have seen this road for the last time.
Our "villa" overlooking the lake is in fine shape and we are really looking forward to our six week stay. On Sunday morningTiarra and I drove out to the Milan airport and picked up her friend, Shalei Webb and she will also be spending this week with us. We look forward to a good time and a lot of trouble free driving.
Saturday, June 2, 2012
We're back
We are returning to Villa degli Angeli this summer. We are flying into Munich on June 13 with Tiarra and picking up a new BMW. We will have it for the 6 weeks we are in Italy and then have it shipped home to Arizona. It should arrive around October 1. There have been some changes at the villa since we were there 2 years ago and we can't wait to see Lake Como again.
We didn't go to Italy last year because Dan and Annie's second child was born on July 19 and we did not want to miss the big event. Malcolm will turn 1 this July and we will miss his birthday but will be staying in Mountain View, CA for the months of August and September. We will be there to celebrate Phoebe's 3rd birthday in September.
Sadly our friend Dennis Bava passed away in January of 2011. We will certainly miss him this year but will definitely see Anna while we are here.
We didn't go to Italy last year because Dan and Annie's second child was born on July 19 and we did not want to miss the big event. Malcolm will turn 1 this July and we will miss his birthday but will be staying in Mountain View, CA for the months of August and September. We will be there to celebrate Phoebe's 3rd birthday in September.
Sadly our friend Dennis Bava passed away in January of 2011. We will certainly miss him this year but will definitely see Anna while we are here.
Wednesday, August 25, 2010
Just around
 |
| Lawn mowers next door |
 |
| Sven, Nicolas and Charlotte swimming in the lake |
 |
| Balbianello |
 |
| Balbianello |
 |
| Balbianello |
 |
| After the rain |
Tuesday, August 24, 2010
Winding down
Today is August 24, 2010 and Joan and I are just four days from returning to Arizona. We have been here in Mezzegra for more than nine weeks and can’t believe it has gone by so fast. However after nine weeks we feel it will be good to get back home. I’m sure we have a massive pile of mail waiting for us, lots of junk, magazines, and, of course, bills. We are able to pay our bills on line so we should be up to date. I tease Joan about there being no Scottsdale Fashion Mall and no Nordstrom here so there should be no surprises when we get home.
As the weeks go by we have been doing less sightseeing and a little more lying around reading. We both enjoy this and don’t have too much guilt doing nothing. However we have had a few adventures to report. We recently took a walk from the rental down to the shore in Lenno (right beneath us) and continued to walk along the promenade to the hillside road leading to the beautiful Villa del Balbianello. This Villa is built on a beautiful point on the lake that can not be seen except from the lake itself even though it’s only about two kilometers from the our house. We had been out there a couple of years ago but had only walked in the gardens as the house tour was full. The villa grounds are immaculately cared for and the lawns look like they have been manicured with scissors. Great pride is taken by the permanent crew to have EVERYTHING perfect and it shows. As we approached the ticket kiosk the gentleman asked us if we were there for a tour. We said yes and he responded that an English tour was starting in two minutes. We paid our money and off we went. I don’t have the skill to describe the entire tour so I urge you to check out the website: www.faibalbianello@
Denis Ducey left after his stay with us and headed for Lucca, Pisa and the Italian Riviera and we were greeted by a massive amount of rain! Up until then the weather had changed from oppressively hot to very nice , in the low 80’s. While not unusual it was a little tiresome. One event we look forward to is the Lenno fireworks weekend where they are shot off right below us. The entire event was rained out and re-scheduled for Sepember 4th when we are safely back in Phoenix. I guess we can’t have everything so our way.
Last Saturday we welcomed Dr. Sven Becker and his two children to our home for the weekend. Sven is an oncologist gynecologist from Tubengen , Germany. And how did we meet him? He was our exchange student in Arizona back in 1984-1985! We have stayed in touch with him and his family all these years and have really enjoyed this relationship. He has delivered over 1500 babies in his career, but now specializes in surgery for women with cancer. One of his biggest accomplishments is authoring the definitive medical book in Germany on all types of female cancers. I asked him to bring a copy so I could see it. Unbelievable tome!!!! About seven hundred pages, complex text (all in German) and more than 400 sketches of the female anatomy. This book is considered the bible!!! He was going to give me the copy but I told him I just wanted to see it with his name on the cover and besides it had to weigh 20 lbs., is in German and would have been impossible to carry home. I think I’ll wait for the English version. By the way, the cost of the book? Over four hundred Euros, about $550 dollars. Needless to say we are very, very proud of Sven!! His wife, Graziella, stayed home so that she could study for finals as she pursues a degree on her own. The kids were fun and loved swimming in the pool. We went on walks, Joan fixed a great meal, and we had a great pizza meal down in Menaggio topped off by delicious gelato. It was fun reminicing about old times.
So as I said, we are wrapping up here, Dennis and Anna will stop by Friday night to pick up our unused food and we’ll be on a plane on Saturday morning heading for home. Dennis continues to fight cancer with chemo and will be getting some results in this fight this week. He looks great and is positive about the ultimate outcome. We leave from Milano, go to JFK, connect through Nashville and arrive in Phoenix 20 hours later. Thank God Joan was able to get us an upgrade into business class so it won’t be as painful as it could have been. I only hope I can find some pants that still fit me and not cut off circulation at the waist line. That’s it for now but I intend to have one more posting after we get home.
Thursday, August 12, 2010
During the week
 |
| Risotto with saffron and zucchini flowers |
 |
| Cooking class at Ristorante Il Caminetto. Denis and Joan making tortelloni. |
 |
| Monte Generoso |
 |
| At the park watching the boats |
 |
| Start of the regatta |
 |
| A rainy day in Mezzegra |
Today is Wednesday August 11, 2010. We woke up this morning to thunderstorms and rain but now at noon it is cloudy and probably around 80 degrees. We have had some cloudiness recently as finally the “monsoon” has arrived. This is similar to Phoenix but, of course, not nearly as hot. Quite livable and a nice change from the oppressive heat and humidity we had right after we arrived in middle June. Our friend, Denis Ducey is visiting us now and will be here until this coming Sunday when he ventures out on his own for about five days. He plans to visit Lucca, Pisa, the Cinque Terra and the Portofino area. Should be a lot of fun for him. We have had a few excursions to talk about for the last few days. I had noticed a sign in town about the annual regatta taking place this last Saturday. The sign was fairly large and looked like it was expensive to produce so I naturally thought this must be a very big deal and that we should check it out. I told Joan it was a race but she thought it might just be a showing of boats. Anyway we decided that we would walk down to the “starting line” and check it out. As most of you know we’re up on a high hill overlooking the lake so what goes down must come up!! “Hey, it’s going to be worth it to see a boat race” The weather was nice, a little warm but the walk down was pleasant. We don’t “power walk” so by the time we got to the lake we were just a little sweaty. But wait a minute. Where is everybody and where are the boats? The large sign was right behind us so we knew we had the right day. After one false start because of bad directions from an Italian woman we started walking up the lake road which consists of some sidewalks but mostly just the main road, with cars flying by. We finally got up to a beautiful park setting and spotted the boats lined up for the start. (See picture) As you will notice they are all identical and are powered by a standing two man crew. They headed off and the best we figured is that the finish line was somewhere in the far distance. Boring!!!! I believe we were the only ones in the park that had the least amount of interest in the event. Pretty much a big joke on us, the Americans. Of course now it was later, hotter and stickier than earlier and we had the trek back up in front of us. The good news is that we did make it back and no one died, literally, although all three of us died figuratively.
On Monday we took Denis to one of our favorite destinations, Monte Generoso, a mountain in Switzerland about 40 miles from our home. Even though we have been to the top at least four times in the past the ride over is beautiful on a one lane road through a forest. We drive about half way up, catch a cog wheel train to the top, eat lunch, enjoy the spectacular views and then walk back down to the car. This walk is about an hour and a half and, of course, is all down hill. Really not difficult at all as long as you really watch your step because of extremely uneven terrain and many large roots running along the ground. It can be difficult on your calves but I found out the hard way that because of the steepness of the trail my toes kept mashing into the front of my shoes. My feet were barking big time when we arrived at the car. I suffered a toe nail injury that most people would be hospitalized for but I just ignored it. I can still feel a little pain today but I think I will live. Joan thinks I’m a big baby! She could be right!!
Yesterday we headed over to Perledo, a small town on the far east side of the lake. A ten minute ferry ride from Menaggio to the lake side town of Varenna and then up the mountainside about eight kilometers. Our destination was a small restaurant that offers a cooking class a couple of times a week. Our host, Moreno, who owns the restaurant with his family showed us how to prepare two delicious pasta dishes and a rice dish called risotto. There were 11 of us in attendance and he did a masterful job in explaining the procedure, the ingredients, the measurements and the cooking times. We were asked to assist him at various times and almost everyone (not me) did some of the work. After everything was prepared we took a little break while he cooked it all and then, of course, we all sat down to a delicious lunch. The family made it very pleasant for us with plenty of wine, bread, bottled water, coffee, cappuccinos, etc. The price for this experience was 35 Euro each. We all thought this was a good value. We finally left around 3PM, caught the ferry back, stopped for a gelato at our favorite spot in Menaggio and came home and skipped dinner! Another great day in Italy!!
Wednesday, August 4, 2010
All in a day
 |
| Angular cloud |
 |
| Dinner on the terrace prepared by Joan: meatballs, pasta, salad with Gene's tomatoes and focaccia |
 |
| Bellagio |
 |
| Sailboat on the lake |
Tuesday, August 3, 2010
The Dolomites: My Road Trip
 |
| View of the river Boite from my room |
 |
| Rock wall |
Had a wonderful dinner, grilled tuna with herbs, miles from the ocean. The bed was very Austrian, with a duvet, but VERY HARD pillows. I left in the morning for Cortina and it took me about three hours, with several stops along the way. All those alpine towns cater to hikers in the summer. There were hundreds of people hiking, some with cute outfits like lederhosen, stockings, and hiking shoes; and those were just the middle aged men! Most of the young people wore shorts and tee-shirts and backpacks. Most of the hotels had “Wellness Center” signs, with spas etc.
I finally arrived in Cortina around 1pm. I drove all around the town, up into the hills with private homes, and also found the Stadium from the 1956 Winter Olympics. It was the first Olympics to broadcast to a multi nation audience, and the last to have Ice skating as an outdoor event. There wasn’t enough snow for the Alpine events, so the Italian government had to truck in tons of snow from elsewhere. Next I found a bed and breakfast inn “The Nevada” and left my stuff there and went down to the “Centro” of Cortina. I walked all around and even went to the local modern art museum. I also saw some young women who were teaching rock wall climbing. Joan told me they were constructing the wall when they were there earlier in the month. I also had great gelato! Cortina is very lovely, there are hiking and biking trails everywhere. There is a river, the Boite, and my room was right above it, so I could hear it all night. That’s what I need at home! Had another great dinner, this time across the road from the B&B. The people were so friendly, as they came into the restaurant, they’d say buona sera, as they passed my table. One lady stopped to talk to me when she saw my Kindle. She had heard about it and knew Amazon. Maybe she’ll get one now.
I left Cortina in the morning and drove the fast way home. I tell you, the Italian drivers are the best! Very easy driving with no crazies! Finally got back around 4. I’d definitely make that trip again! (Gene only exaggerated the danger!) I'll let his photos tell the story, they're way better than mine; I just included these two.
Your guest blogger,
Kathie
Monday, August 2, 2010
Around and about
 |
| Looking towards Lenno |
 |
| Is the road wide enough for both of them? |
 |
| Sunflowers |
 |
| Almost ready |
 |
| Caught in the spider's web |
 |
| Lake Maggiore from Mottarone |
 | ||
| Looking towards Bellagio |
Monday, July 26, 2010
Lunch at Villa D’Este
As those who read our blog know Tiarra posted some pictures from our visit to the world famous Villa D’Este hotel in the town of Cernobbio just down the lake road from our rental on Lake Como. Although it was a rainy and gray day the setting was just breath taking. We strolled through the grounds when Joan and my sister, Kathie insisted they we spurge and have lunch there. We had been talking about it but I thought it was just a suggestion. We weren’t really dressed up at all but apparently it doesn’t really make a difference. Lots of guests mingling around in various levels of dress, meaning from twenty dollar t-shirts to two thousand dollar suits. We were closer to the t-shirts than the suits. We wanted to sit outdoors but the wind was kicking up so we were escorted to the pavilion adjacent to the garden. Very spacious and while indoors you kind of feel like you’re still in the garden. We were given a table that was preset pretty much like a five star wedding. Then menus were presented to us and I immediately knew we were in financial trouble when I was the only one whose menu had pricing with the selections. Hey, if you have to ask the price you can’t afford it!! The girls certainly didn’t want the maitre’d to see or hear them asking the price so we quickly worked out a pricing hand signal code. Thumbs down, you ain’t getting it! Thumbs up, it’s within our loan limit. Oh, did I mention I filled out the loan application for lunch and was quickly approved? The maitre‘d handed me the paper work without Joan , Tiarra and Kathie even noticing. I think he had a lot of experience with this procedure. I hate to even think what the consequences are if you get turned down. Maybe they just ignore you for good and that after a few days without service or eye contact you finally get the message. We finally ordered our food and were pleased with the quick service and, honestly, everything was very very good!! What we had is really inconsequential. Pasta stuff with exotic names (fettucini and spaghetti)and some drinks. Oh yeah, you might be interested in the pricing. I had my usual local beer. Of course everything is in cl. measurements but it’s essentially the same as 12 oz. A mere ten Euros, about 13 dollars!!!!!!!!Hey, at least it had alcohol in it. The 8oz. Coke Zero’s were ten Euros each, and the tall bottle of water was nine Euros. Each of the entres’ were 26, 27, 26 and 34 Euros each. Final bill? 153 Euros, about $197. For sure we walked out with a wonderful meal in our stomachs but a great big gaping hole in our wallets. As least the management was kind enough to part the skies for us so that we were able to walk to the car without getting wet!
Saturday, July 24, 2010
Villa d'Este
Today we had lunch at the historical Villa d'Este hotel. The hotel is located in the town of Cernobbio and is a former 16th century residence of the Cardinal of Como with beautiful gardens and views of Lake Como.
 | |||
| Grounds of Ville d'Este' |
 | |
| Gardens in the Front of the Hotel |
 |
| Gardens |
 |
| Restaurant |
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)