travelingidahogirl

March

I really enjoy keeping this blog. Of course you’d never notice it from my infrequent updates!

This month saw my first stint as travel guide. My husband’s parents, his sister, and her son came to visit us for two weeks. Coming all the way from Oregon, this was definitely their biggest trip, and we were pleasantly surprised that everything came together for them to make it.

Of course, three weeks before they arrived, I started planning. I’m not always this supremely organized (or anal)—anyone who has witnessed my lax house-cleaning could attest to this—but when it comes to making the most of a vacation, I like to have a solid plan. Here is a sample of my obsessiveness:

That’s page one. And the printed version that I carried around was also covered with little notes reminding me to “thaw chicken,” and “prep soup” (yea, the meal plans are on page two).

I think the visit went well. The in-laws really enjoyed themselves and saw the major sights of the area. I guess some people would consider a trip to Italy without Rome or Florence a bummer, but considering what we did in our time, I think they can proudly proclaim the trip a success. Plus, I don’t know how this was possible, but we had such beautiful weather the entire time they were here. Maybe one morning could be described as overcast. But I went jacket-less everywhere. The power of sunshine should not be underestimated.

I would like to think that I will cover the various sights individually in my blog, but my list of “future posts” is filling up. I will try to give some highlights and maybe, just maybe, delve into some places with, well, future posts.

We had a day of travel in the Veneto countryside. This included a trip to Nove, the town known for their ceramics (the factory we visited makes items for Williams & Sonoma, Lenox, Pier 1, & Pottery Barn, to name a few—yea, they all come from the same place); Marostica, a small town on a hillside with castle walls encircling it (also, they have a human-chess-piece game played on the town square every odd year, re-enacting a 1454 game played for the princess’s hand in marriage); Bassano del Grappa, site of a beautiful Palladian bridge; and finally, the Villa Barbaro (another of Palladio’s works) in the tiny town of Maser.

Day two, we went to Lake Garda, to the town of Sirmione on a thin peninsula at the southern end of the lake. This was our first trip here and the place is very touristy, but for good reason. At the entrance of the peninsula is the Rocca Scaligera, a castle, complete with moat and walled harbor. Because it was Women’s Day (or weekend), only Hubby and FiL (father-in-law) had to pay, so it was definitely a bargain. You can walk the entire ramparts and even climb to the high tower, which gives a fantastic view.

While Hubby worked and T was at asilo, I took the family to Padova two days in a row. We visited St. Anthony’s Basilica, had a picnic lunch on the Prato delle Valle (a fantastic oval-shaped “square” surrounded by a statue-lined canal—I totally have to do a small blog post on this), shopped the markets in Piazza dei Frutti and Piazza delle Erbe, saw inside the Palazzo della Ragione (large horse statue & fresco-covered walls), did a quick walk through of the Eremitani Museum, and visited the Scrovegni Chapel. I got to see some of the University—and I think Padova is going to be one of my favorite hangouts. I would say I already prefer it to Verona.

Which we also did a day of visiting. (Verona). Here we saw the Arena, Juliet’s house (totally made-up tourist trap, but come on, I’ve taught the play nearly a dozen times now; I had to go & rub Juliet’s bronze breast for luck in love), climbed (ok, rode the lift) the Torre dei Lamberti, a 275-foot tower—more great views; saw the gnomes of Sant’Anastasia Church; and wandered across the Adige river to see the old Teatro Romano, a 1^st century BC Roman theater (I want to see Juliet here).

In the midst of the in-law visit, my own mother made a trip to Italy with an EF Tour. T and I went to join her in Venice for a day and had a great time. I had my first visit to the Doge’s Palace, which was pretty amazing and requires further visits before blogging.

Then the next two days, we all returned to Venice (mom went off to Florence). We rode the vaporetto down the Grand Canal, visited St. Mark’s Basilica, wandered the streets—including a walk-through of the Jewish Ghetto, and went out to the island of Murano, where all the Venetian glass is made.

We did have a day in Vicenza, but it was their last one here, so we took it easy. One interesting point occurred on Monte Berico, a plaza on the small mountain which overlooks the city. I was returning our picnic bag to the car when I heard “baa-ing” and “clippity, clippity” sounds. I turn to see a small pony and five or six sheep running through the parking area. There weren’t very many people around, and I just looked at FiL, as if to say “Are you seeing this?” The animals ran around a light post and back through the circle before a white van maneuvered them back up the road. The whole thing lasted maybe a minute.

So, again, I’d say the visit was a success. I’m feeling pretty proud of my tourist guide credentials now. And now I’m planning a visit from my college friend (yea, I pretty much only had one—or at least, only one I have kept in contact with) at the end of May, including a few days in Barcelona, Spain, where I also plan to meet up with my best friend from high school. Super excited.

posted by travelingidahogirl @ 7:03 PM