Dec 3, 2012 - Verona

Saturday in Milan was rainy and overcast, so we stayed “home” and chilled out. We left Camping Citta di Milano just before mid-day yesterday and the drive to El Bacan Camp (N 45°26'43.9074" E 10°50'3.9474") near Verona was easy and uneventful. Again there was no one about when we got there, so we sited ourselves amongst the kiwifruit vines and expected someone to call by later in the evening but we didn’t get a visit from anyone. This morning we awoke to brilliant blue sky and ice on the bedroom skylight! The view of snowcapped mountains...

Oct 5, 2012 - Back to Verona

Friday October 5 - Evening Back in Verona around 6:30, we walked straight back to the hotel and crashed for an hour. Neither of us was really hungry but we strolled out of the hotel to find something easy to eat. Less than a block away we passed a Mexican Restaurant where we went in and enjoyed a small plate of nachos, Caesar salad with a cold Dos Equis beer... all we needed to end a great day!

Oct 4, 2012 - Leaving our friends and on to Verona

Thursday October 4 Lorenzo and Pietro both left for school quite early and we said our farewells to them. We ate breakfast with Monica and Gianluca. Then it was time to say goodbye to Monica who was being picked up by a colleague to go t work; the time together had gone too quickly by. We followed Gianluca and Rita in our car as they led us to small but famous village in the area named Crespi. The village is a UNESCO World Heritage Site; an industrial village built by the Crespi family in the 1800s with houses for the workers and with an...

Sep 26, 2012 - Looking for two gentlemen

Shakespear told us there were a couple of gentlemen in Verona so Carol and I decide that we should go and find them. We didn't but we did find Yuil along with Denise and Romeo! Couldn't believe the luck we had with the weather for our stay there. We booked into a hotel 7kms out of, town - a lot cheaper than in the centre but quite convenient as it was on a bus route which went till 11 at night. Verona is beautiful cobnled streets narrow roads river running through posts of old buildings. The was a festival on while we were there...

Jun 29, 2012 - Vérone ... Roméo et Juliette

Jour 4 Départ en train de Venise vers Vérone. La journée débute avec 2 bons cappuccini et « caffé latte » suivi d’une dernière visite du quartier avant la pause « Spritz ». Nous avons une vue face à la mer et accès au « Vaporetto » express vers la gare de train de Venise Santa Lucia. Nous prenons le temps pour faire une dernière visite de Venise qu’est le quartier du Ghetto juif ainsi que le casino à proximité du train. Le prix des billets de train régional est de 14 euros pour 2 personnes. Nous sommes dans un train moderne, rapide et...

Jun 16, 2012 - Italy - Verona

5th June 2012 (Bed 43) Verona is one of the most beautiful cities in Northern Italy and it is located 70 miles west of Venice. We are not going to Venice this holiday as we were there in 1991. This prosperous city on the Adige River is famous for being the home of Romeo and Juliet (we realised this when we noticed that the sovereign shops had statues of them everywhere) but its ancient Roman architecture, medieval churches, and plentiful Renaissance art was a must see. We started off with a walk in the Piazza Bra. Originally the Roman...

Apr 22, 2012 - A Sunday in Verona, then on to the Italian Tyrol-Bolzano

Up and at ‘em as we are on our way to our next location. Just about the time you get comfortable in your place, it is time to go. But while the views and location of the Hotel Cipressi are fantastic, the bed was a little hard, so I think we are ready to try something new. We begin with our bus and our driver Michele, a young handsome Italian who handled the bus very well so far. The bus is about 50% bigger than our group, so we all had plenty of room to move around. We drove along the east side of the lake with hit after hit of breathtaking...

Apr 5, 2012 - Relaxing day???

Good morning all...Paola had a wonderful spread out for me this morning: breads, coffee, jam, hard boiled egg, yogurt!!!! And, nice conversation! She took off and I proceeded to update my journal, and checked train schedules for tomorrow! I took off about 10:30 and went to the Castel San Pietro....of course, many steps up! But what a view of Verona! Even on a cloudy day! I then went destra ( right) and followed some kids into a church ( they had musical instruments in their cases).... The church was Santo Stefano, so.... I lit a candle,...

Apr 4, 2012 - Verona! Oh my!

Ok, for all my family and friends who " require Westins or Carlton Ritz" ...u know who u are ( and I love it when my tax return is healthy, and it fits in my budget....ok, I have no budget because my math sucks!!!) either way, this has been a ~~~~~~ excellent day, damn, I need new words from an English thesaurus ......the hotel Johnson ( not Ritz) ;) provided me with my breakfast ..cornettes , yogurt with cereal ( my moms favorite!!!) and of course double macchiatos (3)...checked out at 10 am, left luggage in office and uploaded pics for...

Sep 29, 2011 - Back in the Saddle and on the road again

23rd September Last day on the boat, and in Slovenia. We have been here for ages and, although it is a wonderful country that we will return to, we are itching to be off to pastures new. We have decided to abandon Istanbul and cycle home instead staying as far south as we can to keep warm and then getting a train if it’s too miserable. Having said that we would be kicking our heels, the last few days with the boat to ourselves have been really relaxing and a good transition for getting stuff ready to go on the bikes again. We have managed...

Sep 24, 2011 - Off to Verona, Italy

Didn’t bother to eat the breakfast offered- It was more of the same – breads, eggs & pork cold cuts. Trying not to overload the gluten tolerance in my system. I don’t get sick from eating breads over here like I do in Arizona. But I don’t want to push it. * The bus took us to Verona. We were given less than 2 hours to explore the Old Town, but the bus dropped us off 20 minutes away by foot. Made it into the Old Town – past the overly expensive fashionista ships of Givenchy, Prada, Gucchi & so on. The guide took us to Juliet’s Balcony – a...

Sep 21, 2011 - Verona, Italy

With heavy hearts we must leave the beautiful Lake region of Northern Italy! After a short drive we arrived at the medieval city of Bergamo. This city dated back to 200 BC when the Romans built the city as a fortress to guard the northern routes for trade and the army. Most of the time was spent in the beautiful central square Piazza Vechicco. Amazing pastry shops side by side with quaint shops showing local crafts were everywhere. We visited the palace of the ruling family made famous by the mercenary lord that had the fortune to have 3...