I bought these polka dot mugs in Italy and they make my mornings so happy! I have a thing for polka dots; I have a whole board on Pinterest with polka dot items.  Polka dots make me so happy. They are round and bubbly and cheerful. I once had a white t-shirt that had tiny little polka dots around the bottom hem. I slaved over that t-shirt, to keep it clean and white looking so I could wear it over and over again!

I usually like to buy things while traveling that are unique to that region or that depict or bring to mind the area. This time though, I bought these mugs just because I HAD to have them. I passed them in a shop window near our hotel every day in Sorrento. On our last day, I decided I needed them. The shop was closed! I almost cried. Fortunately it was just closed for the afternoon and was open again that evening when we walked by.

I bought these polka dot mugs in Italy and they make my mornings so happy! I have a thing for polka dots; I have a whole board on Pinterest with polka dot items.  Polka dots make me so happy. They are round and bubbly and cheerful. I once had a white t-shirt that had tiny … Read more →

I’ve got a guest post up on Donna Hull’s amazing travel site, My Itchy Travel Feet with advice and tips about how to find unique souvenirs on your travels that will make excellent mementos. I hope you will check it out!

I’ve got a guest post up on Donna Hull’s amazing travel site, My Itchy Travel Feet with advice and tips about how to find unique souvenirs on your travels that will make excellent mementos. I hope you will check it out!

I’ve been telling you all about the amazing things we ate and did in Italy. Now it’s time that I come clean and tell you about the things I didn’t like.

Water

Italian cities are filled with beautiful fountains that dispense clean, fresh, cool, drinking water. You carry a water bottle with you and fill it up as you go through the city. This is a lovely benefit. But if water is so fresh, clean, and accessible why couldn’t we get a glass of tap water in a single restaurant? They claim not to have any available. Which is a lie. They just plan on your $3 bottle of mineral water as part of the meal. And we always had to order 2-3 per meal.

When you do order water, they will pour no more than 2 inches in each glass. I think they assume you’ll be hydrating with wine.

Ice

Water and drinks are served without ice. There are no ice buckets or ice machines in hotels. I was so tired of drinking lukewarm beverages. Even the water sold in stores is not cold. One day we bought a bottle of water from a street vendor before heading into the Roman Forum and it had been frozen, so it was blissfully cold. I have never tasted anything so delicious in my life. This was the only cold beverage we had.

The Heat

Yes, we went in late July-early August. We didn’t have a choice with our kids’ school and activity schedules, so we ended up there in the hottest time of the year. It was 99 degrees. The coolest it got was 92 I think. It was uncomfortably hot every single day. There was never a cloud in the sky. There was not a drop of rain. There was no wind, but a few breezes when we were lucky.  I don’t think I’ve ever sweat so much in my life. When we got to Sorrento, it was 86% humidity.

The Air Conditioning

I insisted on hotels with air conditioning. We were able to get the rooms just about comfortable by putting the AC on high all day, every day. The AC in stores and restaurants was a joke. Many places had signs up saying they had it, but they leave the doors open! So even if you dined or shopped somewhere that was air conditioned, you were always in a light sweat. I wore a money belt and when I took it off at the end of the day, the Euros in it were sopping wet.

The Pushiness

While the people in Italy were overwhelmingly friendly and kind to us, once we got south of Rome, it changed. Here everyone was trying to upsell us. My daughter ordered a glass of wine and the waiter wanted her to buy a half bottle. We took a cab to a nearby beach and the driver wanted to take us to a town half an hour away then on a tour down the coast. I ordered a fish dish and the waiter wanted me to order it for two people. I picked out a few things in a shop and the saleswoman took me downstairs and tried to sell me $3000 pieces of furniture. It was constant and unrelenting and tiring.

When we went to the Blue Grotto, we knew the rowboat man would expect a tip, so we gave him one and then he told us it was not enough and demanded more.

Bathrooms

Once you figure out that you can walk into any bar (which is really a cafe) and use their bathroom, you aren’t so reliant on public bathrooms, which are few and far between. Most public bathrooms are not free and some even require exact change. There were some very unpleasant bathrooms. One restaurant on Murano had what was really a hole in the ground with a very low bowl over it. If you needed to sit, you squatted with your knees in your face. None of the toilets had the same flushing mechanism. Many had a push button on the wall. One had a foot pedal. I was always hunting around, looking for the button and it was always in a different shape or location.

It also seemed that the bathrooms in museums and other attractions were always in the basement!

Airports

We did not enjoy our airport experiences! At the Naples airport, after going through security I still had to show a boarding pass to be allowed to buy a pack of gum. When it was time to board our plane, they had us get on a standing only bus which literally drove 20 feet to the steps to the plane. Then they told half of us to board from the back, but didn’t do so by seating assignment, so the aisles were full of people trying to get past each other. The Rome airport was insanity. There was a holding area for our gate with 8 seats and 300 people. They roped everyone inside the area, then told them to come out and line up. There was no line, just people pushing. It took an hour to board the plane and they did so in no order at all.

Seating

There’s nowhere to sit in Italy. I kid you not. They do not have benches in piazzas, museums, churches, towns, at train stations, in airports, at ferry stations or ANYWHERE.  If you spend the day walking around the city, you end up sitting on tiny little shop window sills or dirty curbs because you are so completely desperate to get off your feet.

Getting the Bill

I understand that meals are very different in Italy, but we got so tired of trying to get the bill every night. You have to ask for it because it is never brought to you. And then you wait and wait and wait for it to come. Most restaurants in Italy have handheld credit card swipe machines they bring to the table, so that makes paying easier, however tipping is another issue. Many places, particularly in the north, add a service charge to the bill, so tip is included. In the south though, they do not. And you cannot add a tip to the bill when you charge. So you have to plan to be able to tip in cash.

Bread

Here at home, we think of Italian bread as quite delicious. We found that each city we went to seemed to serve one kind of bread with dinner no matter where we ate. In Venice, it was rolls. Elsewhere it was sliced bread. None of it excited me – the bread I’ve had at home is much better. And none of it was served with butter or olive oil. Once only we had a bottle of olive oil and a plate for dipping come with it, but that was it.

The Wardrobe

Before we went, I read everything and talked to a lot of people. EVERYONE told me women do not wear shorts in Italy. NEVER EVER EVER. Men don’t either, I was told. Everyone told me to bring capri pants and skirts, and pants for the men. This advice was completely 100% wrong. Most of our female guides wore shorts. Most of the people (Italians and tourists I saw on the streets were wearing shorts. We were so, so HOT and knowing we could have been in shorts made us very cranky! Yes, there is a requirement that shoulders and knees be covered in churches, but honestly, I found it was not enforced most of the time and certainly not at all for men! There were men in shorts in the Vatican, the Duomo, and San Marco. No one cared. Women in tank tops were told to buy scarves to cover their shoulders, but I saw many women in short skirts in churches and no one had a problem with this. Next time, I would bring shorts and only wear capris for the churches to be safe. I can certainly believe that when it is not 99 degrees Italian women are not wearing shorts, but at the height of the summer, we were the ones sticking out like sore thumbs in our long clothing. Next time, I will pack what makes me comfortable and not worry about trying to fit in.

No Tourism Info

Anywhere you go in the US or Canada, you will find tons of tourism brochures, maps, and flyers in restaurants, shops, hotels, airports, etc. And you will frequently find tourism booths in busy areas. Italy has none of this. The only map we got for free was the one our hotel gave us in each city. If you didn’t know what you wanted to see and do before you got there, there were no helpful brochures to give you ideas. I think you could literally drop out of the sky into any major US area without a lick of planning and be able to get your hands on all the info you needed within 10 minutes. Maybe the Italians assume people are using the internet for info? I don’t know, but I missed having all those great suggestions. I almost always find something I didn’t know about when I pick up free brochures.

Now that you’ve read my list of complaints, I have to tell you they are minor ones and although the heat made the trip difficult and some of the way things were done are not what we are accustomed to, we really had the time of our lives!

I’ve been telling you all about the amazing things we ate and did in Italy. Now it’s time that I come clean and tell you about the things I didn’t like. Water Italian cities are filled with beautiful fountains that dispense clean, fresh, cool, drinking water. You carry a water bottle with you and fill … Read more →

During our trip to Italy, we spent a few hours in Pompeii. If you’re in Italy, this is a must-see. I took Latin in high school, so I knew a lot about Pompeii, but this is definitely one of those places that must be seen to be understood and appreciated. Pompeii was a Roman city that was buried when Mount Vesuvius exploded in 79 AD. The city was completely taken by surprise and the citizens died from the poison gas. The city was literally buried in ash, which completely preserved it in an intact state in the middle of daily life. Excavations are still taking place and there is still much of the city that has not been uncovered.

You will not believe the size of the city. This was a large, independent,

metropolis. It is a huge area. We were there for two hours and saw only a fraction of it.

The Highlights

I was blown away by how real this made the Romans feel to me. You walk their streets, peer into their shops and walk through their homes. We had a private guide for our visit, who was able to point things out and show us details we would have missed. You are walking through a city that is just missing most of its roofs. For me, there were three highlights:

• The Baths. We visited a carefully preserved spa that had men’s and women’s locker
  

  Inside the baths

  rooms, baths, and steam rooms. The women’s side is preserved intact, so you can see the mosaics and finish work. The men’s side is taken apart so that you can see the clever duct work that moved the hot water and created steam. The baths were an important part of Roman life and until you walk through them and feel how carefully designed they were, you don’t really understand the lifestyle.

• The whorehouse. This was completely legal and considered necessary.
  

  The menu

  Pompeii was a seaport so many sailors came into town seeking company. The whorehouse has stone beds and the walls have frescoes that are a menu of sorts, depicting the different acts available so that sailors could select their services even if there was a language barrier. Along the streets, there are carvings of male genitalia pointing the way so sailors could easily find their way to the house. This was one of the busiest spots on the tour and our private guide was able to get us in past the crowds. Before we went, she took me aside and asked if I was ok with going there, since our 14 year old son was along. I appreciated her asking, but had no problem with it.

• The villa. In recent years a beautiful villa has been excavated and left open to the public so you can walk through the home and see the frescoes and mosaics and really feel what it is like to be inside a Roman home, which is very different from our homes. This made the Romans come to life and was an experience of a lifetime.

Other Sights

We also enjoyed seeing the gladiator training school. The gladiators lived in dorms and practiced on a practice field and in a small arena here before being sent to the Colosseum in Rome. It was fascinating to see the Colosseum in Rome then come here and see where they learned their skills.

I also loved the streets themselves. There is something amazing about walking down a street where Roman carts went before you. They also have stepping stones across the street to allow pedestrians to cross without getting wet or muddy. It was all very thought out and the streets were laid out like a grid.

We were also struck by the suburban strip mall feel to the main streets, where shop after

shop is lined up. Our guide told us they had pocket doors on the shops, since the city was so tight. Those clever Romans.

I wish we had had time to go to the museum in Naples where most of the artifacts have been taken. Unfortunately, Pompeii is mostly just empty shells of buildings. We did see a few casts of people (my son was fascinated, I found them slightly horrifying). The actual body was essentially vaporized, leaving a cast behind.

Preparing for Your Visit

If you go:

• Wear sneakers. The streets are cobblestone and there are hills.
• Bring water. There are fountains throughout the city, but when we were there, they were not functioning.
• Wear a hat. There is NO shade anywhere inside Pompeii.
• Plan out your walk. If you are on your own, get a map and choose the highlights you want to see. You cannot see it all without dropping dead from exhaustion, so choose the highlights.
• Allow lots of time. We were there for 2 hours and I wish we had had more time.

A Shopping Tip

I have one last tip for you about the area. Outside the gates of Pompeii there are tons of

tacky souvenir stalls (and they are really bad), but our guide steered us into a cameo shop. I would never have seen it.  If you are facing the entrance gate, it is on your right hand side in the building behind the outdoor restaurants. They claim to be a place where cameos are handmade and you are walked past an old man who is working, but it’s hard to believe he alone produces all the product they have there (I’m not questioning the handmade nature of the cameos, just that it is unlikely that one older man is making them all when they are selling many every day). There is a short video you can watch about how cameos are made (they are carved from shell commonly today, but used to be from stone and glass) if you’d like some history. Downstairs is the actual shop, with cases and cases of cameos. If you select a cameo they will not only size rings on the spot, but the artisan will sign the back of it and inscribe your initials onto the back. I thought the prices were reasonable and the quality was excellent.

During our trip to Italy, we spent a few hours in Pompeii. If you’re in Italy, this is a must-see. I took Latin in high school, so I knew a lot about Pompeii, but this is definitely one of those places that must be seen to be understood and appreciated. Pompeii was a Roman city … Read more →

I’ve titled this post SPQR, which stands for Senātus Populusque Que Rōmānus (the Senate and people of Rome), and is an abbreviation you see on manholes all over Rome and which was used in ancient Rome. My husband and kids all bought t-shirts that say this. Rome was really about history for us and we really enjoyed this city immensely.

Spanish Steps

We started our visit by walking to the Spanish Steps. They’re interesting, but really, it’s just a big bunch of steps (if you go, plan so that you emerge at the TOP of the steps and can walk down them. You will definitely enjoy your visit here more: this is what we did in a burst of genius because there are a LOT of steps). There is a lovely fountain in a piazza at the bottom of the steps that is a big tourist gathering place. If you go at night, beware of the aggressive vendors trying to sell roses. They were literally hitting my daughter with roses saying, “You are so special to me,” trying to get her to take one so we would have to pay for it. This is a lovely area though and a nice photo op. The streets surrounding this area had some shops and we stumbled upon one of the best restaurants of our entire trip in this area (coming soon in a post about the food on the trip!).

Trevi Fountain

We also visited the Trevi Fountain, which is within walking distance of the steps. This is a

mob scene, particularly at the height of summer when we were there, but if you are patient, you can get a spot on the edge of the fountain where you can toss two coins in and take a nice picture. People tend to move in and out of this area pretty quickly, so even though it looked really crowded, we didn’t wait very long. While we were there, some star (athlete, movie star, we don’t know!), walked through the piazza, followed by screaming girls. It was quite a site!

Pantheon

While we were on our own, we went to the Pantheon, which is a beautiful round temple, originally Roman, and converted to Catholicism. The architecture was stunning, as was the scale of the building (we also found some great shopping nearby).

Capuchin Crypt

Beneath a church in Rome, there is a museum of artwork made of human bones. Can you tell I have a teenaged son? This was a must-see on our list. (photos were not allowed, so you can watch this video if you’d like to see it). This little unassuming church has a museum you pay to get into, filled with religious artifacts and some religious history. Underneath the church are rooms where the bones of monks are used to create designs and art. Each little “room” used a specific type of bone, so there was a femur room and a skull room, etc. The idea was to remind us all that we will all be reduced to bones one day. I found it to be quite creepy, but the rest of my family thought it was fascinating.

Bus Tour

We had not planned to take a bus tour of the city, but after we arrived and were blown away by the architecture we were driving past (not knowing what any of it was), we decided to pay for a hop-on-hop-off bus tour with a recorded message telling you what everything was. It helped us get our bearings in the city and it identified a few buildings, but overall, it was a waste of time and I wouldn’t recommend it. The headsets did not work sometimes and it seemed they spent a lot of time giving too many details about some buildings and then not identifying other places we were passing by. So, I don’t recommend the Trambus for this, unfortunately.

Le Domus Romane di Palazzo Valentini

Another bit of the trip that was lacking was this new museum that seems to be run by the tourism department for this region of the country. It wasn’t in any of my guidebooks and I happened upon a mention of it on TripAdvisor.  The web site is a bit deceiving. The general idea was supposed to be this: they found an actual Roman villa (home) underneath another building and it was pretty well preserved. They excavated it and you get to go in and using virtual technology, they show you how the rooms used to look, so you can experience a real Roman home. That’s what it was supposed to be. In actuality, they built glass floors over some ruins. They shine lights on them and use lighting to complete some mosaics that are partially destroyed. It did not bring it to life for us very well at all. The tour lasted an hour and a half and we simply stood on glass floors the entire time (not a bench or chair in site at this place), until 15 minutes before the end, when we were shown a movie about a nearby monument that seemed completely unrelated. The tour didn’t make a lot of sense. If they had shown us a map or given us information about the layout of the home it would have made more sense. At this point, I just don’t recommend this museum.

The Vatican

We took two guided tours that we greatly enjoyed. The first was of the Vatican Museums. We decided to go with this tour because it allowed us to skip the line to get into the Sistine Chapel and St. Peter’s Basilica. It also took us to see some of the art in the Vatican, which frankly, we weren’t that interested in. I did enjoy having someone tell me what to look for when I was looking at the Sistine Chapel and in the Basilica.  Of all the art we saw, I enjoyed the tapestries and maps the most. A lot of it is a blur: it was incredibly hot and crowded in the museums and just keeping up with the guide was a challenge.

The Sistine Chapel was impressive, but was somehow smaller than we thought it would be. The room was packed with people. There were no signs directing people to be quiet, yet there were guards who would say “shhhh” and “silence!” occasionally – then the noise level would slowly build again until they would say it again. It seemed a bit silly. We were pleased to be able to see this important work of art. The Basilica was beautiful and I thought the Pieta was moving.

We did walk around the Vatican area and shopped and had lunch nearby. We saw lots of nuns, but only one priest in a cassock. The grounds of the Vatican looked gorgeous from what I saw of them and St. Peter’s Square was fun to see in person.

Ancient Rome

Our other guided tour was of ancient Rome. We started at the Collosseum. It may have been one of the most impressive things on the entire trip. It was fascinating to stand inside it, gaze down at the stage, and imagine the stadium filled with Romans, an emperor, and gladiators. To be in such a place with such a deep history was really a moment I won’t forget. And our guide allowed us to skip the line to get in, which was also terrific (he said people wait 2-3 hours often just to get inside). This was a not-to-be-missed stop in our trip.

The tour then took us into the Roman Forum, which is not as well-preserved at all. To walk

down roads that the ancient Romans walked on was quite a feeling! We saw the tomb of Julius Caesar (which gave me chills, because he has always seemed like such a fictional person, but to feel his humanity was really something), the Arch of Constantine, and the remains of many buildings. It was a remarkable place to walk through. I took 4 years of Latin in high school and so did my daughter, and my son will also. Being able to walk through an ancient place that you learned about in school makes it so much more real and important.

Rome Overall

We really loved Rome. It had this great quality of delivering the unexpected. You would turn a corner and there would be ancient Roman ruins next to (and in some places actually built around) modern buildings. It had the feel of a very cosmopolitan city, yet it felt completely accessible (we felt this way about London too, perhaps because it is not filled with skyscrapers like American cities?). We found the people to be friendly and the streets to be very walkable. We loved the sense of history, coupled with the feeling of a very modern and with-it city.  I would have loved to see the Appian Way and to find more shopping, but we used our time well here. It was a beautiful city with a deep history that spoke to me.

Still to come: posts about Pompeii, Capri, Sorrento, FOOD, and hotels in Italy.

 

I’ve titled this post SPQR, which stands for Senātus Populusque Que Rōmānus (the Senate and people of Rome), and is an abbreviation you see on manholes all over Rome and which was used in ancient Rome. My husband and kids all bought t-shirts that say this. Rome was really about history for us and we really … Read more →

I’m halfway through my posts about all of our stops in Italy, so let’s take a rest stop and talk about shopping (don’t worry, there will be lengthy foodie posts to come as well!)

Pre-Shopping

Before I leave on a trip, I try to find out what the specialty items of the area are. For Italy, I determined that I should look for handmade glass and lace (and locally made lace is hard to find and expensive since most of it is just made in factories in Asia now) in Venice, handcrafted paper and leather in Florence, and lemon products and custom-made sandals in Sorrento. Cameos are another specialty in Italy. I also read about glass or stone mosaics throughout the country.

I have several specific collections I am always looking to add to: bookmarks and magnets are the cheapest, although bookmarks can be hard to find. I always am looking for Christmas ornaments, Easter eggs and cups, handmade baskets, locally made soap, fun food items to bring home, and watercolor paintings depicting the area. It helps to have specific things to look for.

Venice

The shopping in Venice was fantastic. There were so many stores, it was hard to focus. This was also our first city, so we were jet lagged and trying to adjust to the terrible heat! We took a vaporetto to the island of Murano which was

an amazing place to visit, but they had so much glass that is made there on the island that it was hard to choose! Some of the glass is very expensive. One shop had a few glass mosaic pieces, but none were right.

I found two great bookmarks in Venice, one with a tassel (which they sell many of in Venice) and one with Murano glass.

We bought our Venice painting from an artist in the campo right in front of our hotel, next to a canal. It was one of those perfect settings.

Florence

There was a lovely shopping section in Florence on the far side of the Arno, just past the Ponte

Vecchio, but I wish it had been bigger. This area had some terrific artisan shops where we bought leather items and a beautiful painted tray. My husband bought a wallet and we got the leather trays I photographed. I found bookmarks here and little books of paintings from each city which will hang on my book tree in my office.

I bought my painting in Florence (the long narrow on in the front of the photo below) in a small courtyard outside the Uffizi where artists were selling their work. Artists were also selling things in the Plaza Repubblica at night. I find that areas where

tourists gather in the evenings are good places to find local paintings that are inexpensive. I rarely pay more than $20 for paintings like these.

I looked at gorgeous stone mosaics in Florence, but could not bring myself to spend a minimum of 250 Euros for one. So those have now taken up residence in the museum in my mind (all the things I wished I had bought and didn’t on all of my trips!).

Rome

Rome was a challenge for shopping, but we did find a nice little grouping of shops near the Pantheon. Everything else was junky souvenir shops or expensive designer shopping. There were several shops with nice pottery in Rome.

I bought a painting in Rome, but it’s a print that I saw lots of street vendors selling. I could not find any artists selling original paintings.

I saw a gorgeous handpainted leather purse I came very close to buying, but the back of it had some scratches. They didn’t have any others. Another item added to the museum of my mind.

Pompeii

We took a tour of Pompeii and I did not expect to buy anything there other than my fun little cheap magnet (I buy one every place we go and they decorate the file cabinet in my office). However, our guide took us into a cameo store, where an elderly man sits hand-making cameos.  They were beautiful and my daughter and I each bought one (ok, I bought two). The artist signed them on the back and also wrote our

initials on the back. I really wanted a blue cameo, but they told us those are always made in factories. The ones we bought are handmade from shells.

Sorrento

Sorrento had a wonderful shopping section, very quaint with narrow

alleys and cobblestone streets, just off the Tasso piazza. It was a shopper’s paradise. There were so many shops selling leather purses that I was dizzy!

My daughter had sandals handmade for her here (you go in and pick out the elements you want on them and they have it ready the next day: they do not actually hand-make the sole however – they just put together the pieces you select). Limoncello is a big product here, but I bought lemon soap and honey since we don’t care for alcohol.  My husband bought a beautiful leather bag and a belt here.

We had dinner one night down in Marina Grande, a tiny little beach area. There was an old woman selling lace just behind the beach. She was sitting and doing lacework, so there is a chance the lace I bought did not come from Asia, so I bought one lace doily.

We also stumbled upon a truly fantastic HUGE store called Gargiulio and Januzzi. They sold inlaid wood boxes and plaques, some glass jewelry and a big room of amazing Italian pottery and linens. Downstairs was a big room with marquetry inlay furniture which was gorgeous. I had to get out of that room or I would have had the entire thing shipped home. I bought some pottery and a table runner, as well as an inlay wood box (all still being shipped home, so no photos). Very high quality items and very good customer service. The shipping was free which was a nice bonus.

Capri

We visited the island of Capri on a tour, but only went to the town of Anacapri where the shopping was rather limited. I had high hopes for Capri, but didn’t buy much, other than the beautiful hydrangea glass plate I’ve photographed with my Murano glass. My daughter and I bought the lace bracelets I photographed with the lace doily here.

I could not find a painting on Capri (there was one shop in Anacapri with paintings and the owner was so aggressive, I could not even really look at his work. We ended up buying one in Sorrento of Capri the next day, so that worked out ok.

Not pictured are t-shirts and sweatshirts other members of the family brought home, as well as a couple pairs of earrings my daughter bought and promptly put into use!

We also had to make an emergency suitcase purchase at a train station! My daughter’s suitcase zipper broke. The train station in Rome had a big suitcase shop and we got a nice one for about 50 Euro, which was a nice bargain. We tried to throw out the broken suitcase, but everyone we asked told us to just set it outside the main doors of the station and someone would take it!

Overall, it was a successful trip in terms of shopping and now I am trying to figure out where to put it all! I have to get the paintings framed, which is always a challenge. I can often find frames and mattes at Michael’s but sometimes they are not standard sizes and I have to have them framed.

I always feel as though I am buying a ton, then I get it all home and it really isn’t a lot. It’s always so nice to have lovely little items to remind me of our trips!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I’m halfway through my posts about all of our stops in Italy, so let’s take a rest stop and talk about shopping (don’t worry, there will be lengthy foodie posts to come as well!) Pre-Shopping Before I leave on a trip, I try to find out what the specialty items of the area are. For … Read more →

Our two week trip to Italy began in Venice. It was love at first sight for me. This is hands-down the most romantic city I’ve ever visited. Venice is like something out of a fairy tale. It’s like a mystical kingdom: an island set off the shore where there are no cars, buses, taxis, or scooters. The only way to get around the city is by boat or on foot. What this means is that Venice is supremely quiet. There are no engines, horns, or tires squealing. When you are facing a canal, boats go by, but they are quiet (the Grand Canal is the exception – there is a lot of traffic there). The rest of the city is made up of quiet alleyways and calm squares (called campos, which mean fields in Italian).  It was this beautiful silence that first struck me. And all the streets are very, very narrow, not more than 4 people across.

Architecture

The second thing that captivated me was the architecture. Venice was most definitely

Italian, but because of its unique historical position as a gateway between the east and west, it has architecture that reflects French and Turkish styles. It’s an incredible combination of the most beautiful styles from all over Europe and it made the city feel very welcoming and inclusive. The buildings lining the Grand Canal were all originally palaces and the Grand Canal was their Main Street, so their elegant facades face this canal. All buildings situated on canals have doors that open (or once opened) to the canal. This was the front door. You can transport yourself to another time when you look at these palazzos. The buildings have many window boxes with flowers and this is the only greenery you will see in the city. There are no parks, no trees, no grass (except in some private courtyards). You also see a lot of laundry hung out the upper windows of buildings, which felt very Italian to me. And

then there are the doors. The city is filled with unique and wonderful doors. I took photos of many of them. I was hoping to find a poster of them, but didn’t see one.

The Bridge

The top tourist attractions in Venice are the Rialto Bridge, the biggest and most beautiful bridge spanning the Grand Canal. It is filled with souvenir shops. Climbing to the top of the bridge allows an excellent viewpoint of the Grand Canal. Either end of the canal is also filled with street stalls selling souvenirs. The bridge is pretty to look at, but is choked with junky stores and tourists.

Piazza San Marco

The other big attraction is Piazza San Marco, home to a huge open piazza. It is surrounded on 4 sides by buildings. There are hundreds of pigeons in this square. One end of the square is dominated by the stunning San Marco cathedral. We took a tour inside this beautiful church. The inside of the domes and many of the walls are covered with intricate stone mosaics. The amount of work that went into this art is mindblowing. The church also has a beautiful exterior with many statues. The marble pillars around the front of the building were fascinating because each is different – and

each was stolen from somewhere else in the world. The view from the balcony  is remarkable because it allows you to look out over the lagoon to the Adriatic Sea. You also have a stunning view of the piazza.

Next door to the church is the Doge’s Palace. The doge was the ruler of Venice, but he was not like a king. Our guide told us much about the forward-thinking government of Venice which was a republic ruled by nobles. The palace itself is not very exciting, although the maps painted on the walls were of interest because of how wrong they were, but also because they showed the travels of Marco Polo, native son of Venice and the man credited with opening China to trade with Europe.

We walked over the famous Bridge of Sighs which connected the prisons to the government rooms. Our tour allowed us to skip the lines to get into the church and palace and I highly recommend doing so (the lines were long and stood in the hot sun). I also think it is a good idea to take an actual tour so you can learn what you are looking at and why it is important. Our tour began with a little walking tour of Venice that included the area where Marco Polo was believed to have lived and our guide provided us with much background information that helped me understand the city.

We had lunch in the piazza, at the oldest cafe in Venice, called The Florian Cafe. You sit at a table in the open piazza and an orchestra plays. You, of course, pay through the nose for this experience, since there is a seating fee added to your bill and the food (which was absolutely fine but not amazing) is grotesquely overpriced. It is a once in a lifetime thing though, so we did it.

Shops

The shopping in Venice was overwhelming. I have never been in a place with so many shops. There was simply hours of shopping on the main pathways to the bridge and to the piazza. There’s lots of Murano glass to be bought and I did buy some here, but tried to wait for our trip out to Murano itself (an island a short boat ride away).

Transportation

There are several types of boat transport in Venice which I carefully read up on in advance. We took water taxis to and from the train station and airport. These are small wooden boats that reminded me a lot of the classic wooden boats you see on American lakes. They have an enclosed portion with benches. They can hold up to about 8-10 people it seemed, but our guides always took us alone in them. When we left the airport, our water taxi traveled on what was essentially a road through the water. It was a specific channel tightly enclosed by wooden pillars, that led the way from the airport to the city.

The rest of the time we were in the city and were not walking, we used vaporettos, which are like water buses or subway lines. You buy a ticket from an automated machine and get on when the boat comes to your stop. There is a specific line with stops listed so it is relatively easy to manage. We heard about, but did not ride in traghettos, small rowed boats that will take you across a canal. We had no need for them since there were plenty of bridges.

We also took a private gondola ride. Our gondolier did not sing (fine by me!) and we

traveled over part of the Grand Canal and many smaller canals. When we were on the smaller canals, it was a quiet, serene ride and was something to check off my bucket list!

Wandering

All the guidebooks warned me that it is very easy to get lost in Venice. If you are going to the main tourist sites, they are signs on the corners of buildings with arrows and you just follow them without issue. If, however, you are trying to find a specific restaurant, good luck. We had both a paper map and a digital map that tracked our location in real time and couldn’t find anything, ever. We saw a lot of interesting little alleys and campos this way (and as an aside, I have to say I never felt unsafe, even though most of the alleys and campos off the beaten track are as empty as ghost towns).

Overall Impression

My overall feeling about Venice was that it is a very European city and not a typical Italian city, particularly when I compare it to the other places we went in Italy. It made me want to see more of Europe, however. The people were all very friendly and spoke very good English, making it easy for us ignorant Americans to communicate. I felt very welcomed and comfortable in this city. Venice is the perfect city to wander in. Go see the top tourist sites, then allow yourself time to just explore.  Venice is now on my list of my all-time favorite places (the list also includes Maine, Savannah, Scotland, Hawaii, Sedona AZ, and the Bahamas). Someday I hope to go back to this mesmerizing city.

Our two week trip to Italy began in Venice. It was love at first sight for me. This is hands-down the most romantic city I’ve ever visited. Venice is like something out of a fairy tale. It’s like a mystical kingdom: an island set off the shore where there are no cars, buses, taxis, or … Read more →

We are just back from a magnificent two week trip to Italy. While I’m still recovering from jet lag and dealing with the laundry mountain, I want to start to share the trip with you. Be patient with me, dear reader! After 2 weeks away, I have lots to tell you, so I have many posts planned.

For today, I want to give you an overview of our trip. We decided to go with an escorted tour, which meant the tour company was responsible for arranging our air and train travel, hotels and transportation to and from airports and train stations. We then chose some specific guided tours of things we wanted guides for. The rest of the time we were on our own.

Venice

Our trip began when we arrived by plane at the Venice airport. Our guide met us and took

us by water taxi to our hotel. We spent 3 nights in Venice and explored the Rialto Bridge, the Grand Canal, San Marco, Doge’s Palace (guided tour of these last two), the island of Murano, and many little corners of Venice. We took a gondola ride that was almost surreal feeling. Our guide took us by water taxi to the train station at the end of our stay.

Florence

We enjoyed the train trip through Tuscany (I would love to go back and explore the countryside). Three nights in Florence were wonderful. Our guide met us at the train station and took us by van to our hotel, on the banks of the Arno. We explored the Ponte Vecchio, Pitti Palace, and took a guided tour that took us by bus to the Piazzelle Michealangelo (for the view) then to the Duomo and the Accademia where we saw the David. We took a train on our own to Pisa for an afternoon to climb the leaning tower. My husband managed to sprain his ankle coming down, so we didn’t get to explore the town.

Our Florence guide took us back to the train station from our hotel.

Rome

The train ride to Rome was relaxing and we had our first glimpse of the Mediterranean on the way. Our guide brought us to the hotel for our three night stay. Rome was a magnificent city. We explored the Spanish Steps, Trevi Fountain (where we threw coins in) and took guided tours of the Vatican and ancient Rome. We also visited the Pantheon. Our guide took us to the train station.

Sorrento

We traveled by train to Naples , where our guide met us and took us to Pompeii. Once there, we had a private guided tour of these impressive ruins. Our guide then drove us to

Sorrento for our 3 night stay, and we enjoyed the stunning views of the Bay of Naples, Mount Vesuvius and the mountainous Amalfi coast. We took an all day guided tour to the island of Capri (this was quite a day and involved 4 buses and 4 boats) where we went to the Blue Grotto and traveled up to Anacapri. On another day, we explored Sorrento’s seaport and swam in the Mediterranean with Mount Vesuvius behind us. Our guide took us to the Naples airport and we flew home from there.

It was the most memorable vacation we’ve taken, I think and my mind is swimming with all the experiences. There was lots of good food (there was only one really bad meal the entire time), I did some great shopping, we took some beautiful photos, and we learned so much about Italy. I will be sharing all of that with you in coming posts. I kept a notebook this trip so that I would be sure to remember the things I want to write about.

 

 

We are just back from a magnificent two week trip to Italy. While I’m still recovering from jet lag and dealing with the laundry mountain, I want to start to share the trip with you. Be patient with me, dear reader! After 2 weeks away, I have lots to tell you, so I have many … Read more →

My husband and I have been married for 23 years and have been traveling together for 24 years. We started small because we had no money, and drove increasingly further each year. We stayed close to home when the kiddos were little, but have been trying to explore more and more of the world ever since. It occurred to me that I’ve been to a lot of place and experienced a lot of amazing things over the years, so I want to share some of them with you.

One of the places that we have never forgotten is the Red Roost Restaurant. It’s located inthe middle of Maryland’s DelMarVa peninsula. When we visited (before GPS was invented), it was in the middle of nowhere and involved complicated directions like “turn right at the chicken coop.” We did find it and at the time it was a very nondescript building (an old chicken coop itself) set on a deserted road, with a parking lot full of pick up trucks.

We tentatively went inside and were seated at a booth that had a roll of paper towels and a squeeze bottle of what looked like melted butter on the table. The inside was plain and the highlight of the decor were the pendant lights covered with bushel baskets. The business was family owned, and it was clear many employees were part of the family. At that time, the menu was all-you-can-eat (today’s menu has some all-you-can-eat and some al a carte items). We ordered Maryland crabs, fried chicken, ribs, steamed shrimp, and clams. The waitress brought our food and literally dumped it on the table in front of us. It also included corn on the cob and some other sides I just don’t remember. We ate and ate and they brought as much food as we wanted (we were young and not worried about our waistlines!). It was all incredible, fresh, and intensely flavorful. It was simply eye-opening for us to find that food poured on the table could be better than almost anything we’d ever tasted.

After we stuffed ourselves, the waitress convinced us to have apple pie al a mode which may have been the best piece of pie I’d ever eaten. The night was not over yet though. The wait staff passed out song sheets in plastic protectors and everyone sang along. One of the waiters sang a heartrending version of Danny Boy I have never forgotten.

We left nearly in tears from the sensory overload of incredible food, intense homey atmosphere, and the music that brought everyone in the room together. We’ve never forgotten this meal, but have never been back in the area to try it again, so I can’t speak to what it’s like today. I only hope the new owners still pass out the song sheets at the end of a wonderful meal.

My husband and I have been married for 23 years and have been traveling together for 24 years. We started small because we had no money, and drove increasingly further each year. We stayed close to home when the kiddos were little, but have been trying to explore more and more of the world ever … Read more →

Yes, a whole post devoted to shopping. That’s how important shopping is! When we go on vacation, I always want to bring back items that will help me remember the true spirit of the place we visited. I long to buy items made by craftspeople and artisans who live in the place we visit and which are made with local products. Having these souvenirs keeps the trip alive for me and lets me take a piece of the place home. I have many treasured trip souvenirs: a sailor’s valentine from Cape Cod, English bone china from England, sheep from Scotland, a sea grass basket from Charleston, painted tiles with ocean scenes from Maine, a photo of the ocean and a sea turtle from

Hawaii, a lightship basket from Nantucket, as well as bookmarks and Christmas ornaments from many places. Because of this, a vacation is always judged by how good the shopping was!

People say there is good shopping in the Bahamas, but those who say that don’t understand the kind of shopping I crave. Yes, there are tons of t-shirt shops and straw items made in China, as well as jewelry and designer purses that are supposedly sold at good prices in Nassau. I wasn’t interested in any of that. Yes, we visited the Straw Market because you can’t go to Nassau without going there. The Straw Market is in temporary housing under a tent after a fire wiped it out years ago. It’s a tightly filled space with tons and tons of cheap junk for sale.  Interestingly, I have a straw purse my grandmother bought there when she went in the 60s and the items they sell today are identical. We didn’t buy a single thing.

After walking up and down Bay Street in Nassau where all the shops are clustered, I started to worry. I couldn’t find anything to buy! Soon after I discovered a small shop, Uniquely Bahamas, in our hotel that sold items made in the Bahamas. It was the mother lode. They had jewelry made from conch shells. I bought a bracelet and pendant. Teen Martha got earrings and a bracelet there. I also bought a fish carved out of conch and a small print of the ocean.

When we visited Atlantis, we took a walk through the Marina Village, a shopping center placed in a marina. In between gawking at the giant yachts, I managed to find a nice shop called The Plait Lady. This shop sold authentic Bahamian-made straw baskets. They are incredibly heavy and are water tight. I bought one of those as well as a Christmas ornament carved from conch. I also picked up a magnet – I’ve decided to buy a small magnet each place we go and stick them on the file cabinet in my office.

One last shop that I stumbled upon was in the Wyndham hotel, next to our resort (don’t stay there though – it doesn’t compare to the Sheraton – see my previous post). They had some very interesting wire sculptures. I bought one that has a woman sitting on a piece of coral, with a straw basket at her feet, holding a blanket that has the names of the different islands on it.

When we visited Goodfellow Farms for lunch (again, see previous post), I picked up their cookbook, Living Off the Land and Sea. I haven’t had a chance to read it, but it looked very interesting, with lots of recipes for seafood and tropical fruits. I’m thinking I need to start buying cookbooks on trips too!

I was happy that I came home with a few authentic souvenirs, but was surprised they were so hard to find. It was a stark contrast to Hawaii, which was filled with many beautiful shops selling handcrafted, gorgeous items.

Where have you done your best vacation shopping?

Yes, a whole post devoted to shopping. That’s how important shopping is! When we go on vacation, I always want to bring back items that will help me remember the true spirit of the place we visited. I long to buy items made by craftspeople and artisans who live in the place we visit and … Read more →