Oct 27, 2009 - Admiring the Villas

Our last day in Veneto. We were sad we had to leave that land. We liked a lot the culture and art, the food, the people. Before going to the airport we had time to see one more villa by Palladio in the neighbourhood of the city. Villa Almerico Capra is maybe the best of all the villas we have seen during our trip. The guide says the villa is one of the most important for the architecture in the world, because many artists in the future took inspiration from it and imitated it. It has a square shape with four gates on every side of the...

Oct 26, 2009 - Vicenza, a city of harmony and beauty

Unluckily we had to say goodbye to Marostica because we had booked another hotel in Vicenza. Vicenza is a delightful city, this is what everybody says , but Marostica was already in our heart and we were a little bit sad to leave that peaceful place, that little paradise town. Vicenza is a lovely city in the heart of Veneto, 25 kilometres from Marostica. The first thing that struck us was the sense of elegance of the city. It is a quite big city for this region, but it’s not chaotic and the downtown is a pedestrian area. The historical...

Jul 10, 2009 - Recent History - Last Sunday Palladio tour

Comune di Bassano del Grappa http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bassano_del_Grappa Bassano del Grappa (Venetian simply: Basan, italianized: Bassan or Bassàn) is a city and comune in the province of Vicenza, region Veneto, in northern Italy. It bounds the communes of Cassola, Marostica, Solagna, Pove del Grappa, Romano d'Ezzelino, Campolongo sul Brenta, Conco, Rosà, Cartigliano and Nove. The artist Jacopo Bassano was born, worked, and died in Bassano and took it as his surname. Bassano Del Grappa is also famous for the spirit Grappa. The city was...

Jul 5, 2009 - Domenica - last day living at Vicenza

It is now 7.27am on Tuesday 7.7.09 I have woken up to find that during this window of opprtunity I have .... internet. Don't know how or who, not even stopping to look, just racing to review, rotate, delete, label, all the sorts of tidy up journal activities that are not possible when the internet drops out after a minute or two. So sorry you have had to suffer looking at some pictures sideways, or in multiple copies. XX Jen

Jul 4, 2009 - FYI - Standing on ceremony....

Chatting with Dave, he mentioned my having my meals out 'still standing up'. I said yes - so far they have all been standing up, or on a high stool. He joked that when I come home I will want to eat in the same way. Maybe we should clear the mantle piece. But if you are wondering why .... I learnt ahead of time from my own personal Italian Journey Consultative Committee, ie. my Italian class (of 4, including teacher), that when in Italy, if you choose to eat sitting down at a table in a caffe, trattoria, ristorante etc - it costs more!...

Jul 4, 2009 - Sabato - Saturday - the weekend - what will I do today?

"What is the fatal charm of Italy? What do we find there that can be found nowhere else? I believe it is a certain permission to be human, which other places, other countries, lost long ago." ~ Erica Jong What will today bring? Allora - well, for starters, emails from home!!! Yay. Thank you darlings, it bring a smile to my face as I read the news from different corners of my world. You all must be having a weekend - hope it's a good one for you in chilly Sydney. As I wrote to Jake, I have been blessed today with the luxury of a sleep-in....

Jul 3, 2009 - some past history - last Friday morning a Vicenza

Ciao, and grazie (said with more of an Italian accent!) a Flora, Antonio e Carol per le email yesterday. When I return from my various wanderings - with their ups and downs - it is such a gioia when I turn on the computer to see the 'You've got mail' indicator. And Flora, you mentioned it's nice to see me in some photos - I won't feel so guilty now photographing myself as I do, on trains, in shop windows, and commonly, in the mirror!. Of course being here on my own, travelling alone, means all sorts of things. Tony - you mentioned the...

Jul 3, 2009 - preposizioni italiane, as exemplified by ... IN one ear, and OUT the other

Il professore, Signor Dario is a veritable goldmine. From very early on during the lessons I heard him say something that has completely changed my thinking about the Italian language. 99.9% of the class is given in Italian. We 12 students all come from different countries with differing native languages. Within this more elementary level of Italian there is a vast range of skill and experience with Italian. We also differ in our innate ability with languages generally. And then there is the motivation - why are we here, here in Italy,...

Jun 30, 2009 - Parco Querini - the green lungs of Vicenza

Parco Querini - Vicenza centro città - via Rodolfi, via Rumor 36100 Vicenza Yesterday while up the hill chatting with the friendly couple of dog owners, Katia's family, we discussed where there are patches of green in the otherwise intensely built-up town of Vicenza. I had visited the large park near the station, Campo Marzo, and also a smaller park near the supermarket which in fact was closed for spraying against 'infestation'. They mentioned Parco Querini, and instantly I recalled it as a large splodge of green on the map that I had used...

Jun 29, 2009 - Monte Berico - you get the picture (s)?

Monte Berico - the hill behind my house As I started out on my Monday walking trip I was headed towards the station, taking photos at every turn. An elderly Italian man on his bicycle, wearing simply shorts and sandals, stopped to give me some advice. He was a man whose stature suggested he had eaten plenty of pasta, and he was now sweating profusely from his ride. He was very keen for me to know about the most beautiful 'chiesa', the church at Monte Berico, the hill behind my flat. In italiano we conversed, (Si', I am getting a few...

Jun 29, 2009 - Another hurdle

Well amongst all of the challenges I have had to grapple with so far, this one is clearly not the most painful. Nonethless, with so many gelaterie from which to choose, and then the dilemma of cone or dish, the decision of a miserly one scoop, a modest two, or a gluttonous three, all this to be navigated before getting to the final test - which flavour? Well I confess, before today I have already had two gelati here in Vicenza, and I didn't stop to photograph. But today, knowing that there are some who are deriving pleasure from the journal...

Jun 29, 2009 - Un giorno grande - a big day.... the bank

After the incident with the key resolved happily, I was ready to face the unknowns of this day. I certainly didn't know then that from before 10 in the morning until almost 6 in the evening I would be using my legs to transport me all over town, with barely a moment of sittng down to restore myself. Covering so much ground I am obviously starting to get more of a map in my head, and mostly I dont use a map. (the writing is too small on the only map I've been able to get hold of) I just keep on walking till some landmark other steps up like...