Greetings from rainy Verona-
Hope all is well. So Biden’s in for 2024. Mmmmmmm…. It’s going to be bruising; if it’s Trump/Biden again we’re in for a roller coaster ride. Trump somehow manages to have his missteps slide right off. As president and candidate, Biden will be scrutinized a great deal more. There are so many unknowns. With only 42% of Democrats supporting the reelection right now, Biden will need to get both Dems and Independents (and maybe some rational Republicans) enthused about his campaign. And Trump Republicans—well nothing to say there, as they continue to support him without question and without any sense of history or the potential of this megalomaniac in office. And so much can happen in the next 18 months.
OK, back to Verona which is a beautiful and historic city that dates back to the 1st century B.C.E, flourished during the 13th and 14th centuries, managed to take preservation seiously in later years, and continues today to be an example of a city that has developed continuously over a two-thousand-year period. But alas, or perhaps because of the beauty, the city is flooded with tourists (and it is not even high season). But they don’t venture far from the main pedestrian streets (which are no more than 20’ wide) within the old city, so as long as we move to adjacent streets and smaller lanes and alleys, we have the place to ourselves—well practically… We are walking the original street patterns that wind and follow the river’s edge which curves and curves throughout the town.
The city has definitely adjusted to tourism, and it drives the economy. Unlike everywhere else in Italy where shops close between noon and 2:30, Verona stores (at least in the center) remain open. While English is still not heard regularly, nearly all people in the hospitality industry can speak English easily. It is odd, though, to walk along beautiful streets lined with buildings that are centuries old and to see the ground floors of those buildings completely overtaken by chain retail behind floor to ceiling glass “sheets”—sort of homages to Zara and Guess and Sephora. In the center of the city is the amazingly large Arena—a Roman amphitheater built in 30 CE and still in use today as a venue for large scale performances.
A simple stroll from our hotel to the main piazza (Erbe) is testament to my comments. There is a large open-air market, probably the site of a market for thousands of years. Only now, there are no fruits and vegetables and no cheese — only souvenir trinkets at little stalls. So, the physical is wonderful, the spaces are reminiscent of history… but consumerism has overtaken the grounds (of the old center city).
We didn’t go inside the Arena because the lines were just too long and we were really in need of an escape route from the crowds who had identifying markers for their tour groups, so we found a truly nice walk to the river through local streets, which was great. Eventually, we stopped for lunch at a small café right on the river and lucked out in getting a table riverside. But our luck would not last long as the dark clouds started moving our way and we moved inside the restaurant…. And then we had to walk through wet streets and rain to get to the hotel to take shelter. Thus, while I still think it’s a great city, our experiences have not been stellar. We are headed out to dinner very close to the hotel—not by choice, but because we don’t really want to get stuck in more rain. We actually had a reservation at what looked like a great restaurant, but decided it was too dicey to walk that far. Hopefully this place will be ok..
Mike has now downgraded our hotel to ½ star! But it is clean and well located, and we’ve had some other amazing hotel experiences so one bad egg isn’t terrible.
Take care –
Fern
PS As we were about to leave for dinner, we realized that Mike had been carrying a cross-body carry bag (in which we were keeping things like raincoats when we walked) and it wasn’t in the room. We checked with the lobby of the hotel and then retraced our steps and realized he must have left it at lunch. But we had no idea of the name of the restaurant and so as we sat at our dinner place, we were both on iPhones trying to recall the name and location, which bridge was it near, what part of the river… Mike figured we’d just walk there tomorrow morning before we head out of Verona. But I knew better, than to wait for the last minute. Anyway, finally found the name and called. And the bag was there; good thing we dealt with it because they were closing tomorrow for a two-week holiday! Mike took off right after finishing dinner and I dealt with the check and headed to the hotel, where we both are sitting now. And the little local restaurant Greppia turned out to be quite good. Had amazing pumpkin ravioli with some sort of apple mustard and sprinkled with pistachio dust. Other dishes good too but this was really special.
14. Trieste to Verona via Treviso. April 24 2023
Greetings from Verona
We left Trieste after a very quick breakfast so that we could get on the road at a decent time.
Within about thirty minutes of driving, we were immersed in a huge downpour—as if the Adriatic just got dumped on our car and the road. At times, we could only see about 20 feet in front of us, maybe less. And as usual lots of trucks on the road—kicking up more water. Then a little before we got to Treviso, where we planned to have lunch and walk around the town, the clouds broke, and we actually had a few moments of sun and just drizzle for the rest of the day.
Given that it’s easier to have a destination to put into GPS as we drive into these towns around lunchtime, Mike decided to make a reservation for lunch in Treviso which is about halfway between Trieste and Verona (our next real stop). We’d heard good things about Treviso and we had never been, so we decided that would be the lunch and afternoon stroll location. Turns out that Treviso is quite delightful and definitely worth a stop.
Due to the rather leisurely lunch at Le Beccherie, which is located right on a small canal, surprisingly with water clear enough to see to the bottom (Le Beccherie was worth a trip all on its own) and the fact that the weather was so uncertain, we only had time for a very short walk to and from where we had to park our car (outside the historic center) and a few detours to see some great streets. So, Le Beccherie… we really were just looking to have a simple lunch…was a huge surprise. We shared a starter and a pasta and a dessert. But before we began the meal four incredible little “nibbles” – “gifts from the chefs” (which is the norm in the high-end restaurants) arrived at the table… one more aesthetic than the other and each just wonderful little bites, along with fennel bread sticks and fantastic olive oil. Our starter was a beef tartare that looked like dessert when it arrived at the table—beef with lemongrass foam and a tart green sauce, along with some other ingredients. The pasta was a homemade egg chitarra pasta with hazelnuts and miso butter topped with grouper tartare and a little caviar. For dessert we tried their supposedly famous tiramisu…which we were told was literally invented there in Treviso and also learned that the word “tiramisu” is one of the five most famous Italian words in the world.
The origin of tiramisu – or so the story goes—dates to when the then-owner of the restaurant, Alba Cameol, in 1955, was pregnant and her mother-in-law worried about her diet. She prepared hearty breakfasts each day and included zabaglione and coffee. She wanted to be sure her daughter-in-law had the energy to face the demands put on her by the restaurant and the pregnancy. Once the baby was weaned and she returned to work in the restaurant, she decided to add a new dessert into her menu.. and that dessert was inspired by those breakfasts. First there was a lot of experimentation and finally in 1972 they decided the new dessert was perfect and ready for inclusion on the menu. They had tested ricotta and other ingredients, and finally settled on fresh mascarpone. In that same year, Le Beccherie exhibited at the Milan Trade Fair and ended their menu with Tiramisu. I think that this recipe has received some sort of honor from the Italian government. So, how could you possibly pass that up… not us.
Treviso has about 80,000 inhabitants and the river runs throughout the town, so you are constantly crossing wonderful little foot bridges to get around town,
Once we located our car, we began the drive to Verona (population 280,000) where we will spend the next two days. We drove through beautiful countryside, vineyards, villages, and hamlets with what seemed like oversized churches for their location in such small villages. Nonetheless, they were lovely and impressive structures. Eventually we arrived in Verona—which looks delightful, but we had a really hard time finding the hotel. We are located inside the historic center which restricts cars. We had to have our car “licensed” in advance to be able to drive in just to unload our luggage. Then we parked in a public garage, where the car will sit until we leave Verona. As we strolled to dinner, we could sense that Verona has a great vibe, lots of young people (there’s a university), and wonderful amenities—lots to explore tomorrow. Anyway, the GPS somehow could not really pinpoint the hotel’s location, so it would say we were “here” but we weren’t really. After two phone calls to the hotel and some very detailed instructions, we got to the hotel, dropped off the bags and “registered.” The challenge had been that the roads are very very narrow and there are tons of pedestrians walking everywhere and not expecting cars since so few are allowed in. But still those that are allowed into the town must navigate people and streets that clearly were not laid out for cars. We had to drive across piazzas and make turns that cars really cannot make. I think we looped around the town three times before we finally got to our destination. One issue was that the hotel is on a tiny alley and the GPS doesn’t quite acknowledge it.
I think that’s it for tonight.
All the best… Got some snippets of US news tonight so I gather Tucker Carlson is out (aw shucks!!) and that Don Lemon is gone as well (Aw shucks, again! Was this tit for tat? And planned by the owners of both stations to happen simultaneously?) In any case – for my two cents—no great loss.
Fern
P.S. From the lap of luxury at the Savoia Excelsior Palace in Trieste, with our two balconies and room that was probably 600 sq feet + about another 200 sq feet with the wardrobe room and bath and foyer, we are now in the very very modest Albergo Mazzetti Hotel which while noted as being 3-star is probably more like a 2-star (or in my opinion, maybe a 1 star or star-less)… this being based on the Savoia being a 5-star (and maybe I’d give it six out of five). So it’s a bit of a downward slide here.. but also a nice balance in our journey—moving between such extremes.
Buonasera or as they say in Slovenia (the language that needs to get a few more vowels)–Dober Večer…
Before getting into today’s adventures, I want to give a little more clarification about that singing and dancing in the piazza yesterday for Trieste’s Carnivale. It was truly ironic to see these turn-of-the-century pompous and–to my mind–pretentious buildings as the backdrop to all of the joyous kids and adults frolicing and singing everything from the “YMCA” to the “Macarena” to “Old Macdonald.” Certainly not what the architects of the Austro-Hungarian empire imagined. If you can imagine the most decorated tiered-wedding-cakes and think about walking between and among dozens of them—-that’s what it’s like to walk through the “official” parts of Trieste. A bit like the buildings of the Gilded Age in the states—but more so.
We headed out to stroll the town— no real destinations—walked across the canal and into some neighborhoods. The city was out in full force as it was a really beautiful day and it was a Sunday. One thing to note—here in Trieste, as in every other Italain city (and actually probably throughout the world, as we’ve noticed this on many trips to Europe, Asia, and the Middle East) there are lots of bookstores!! Someone must be supporting these book stores. Eventually we stopped at a place for lunch along the canal and sat on a floating deck, luxuriating in the great weather and view. Many waitresses seemed to look a lot like Melania and I’m guessing they, too, are Slovenian and commute to Trieste for work.
I decided I really love the Italian language and recognize how different it sounds here from the Italian I heard growing up in my neighborhood in Brooklyn, which was populated pretty evenly by Jewish families and Italian Catholic families. But the Italian spoken in Brooklyn had probably gotten corrupted over the years after families lived in Brooklyn for decades and the English of immigrants merged with their Italian. And none of these people ever returned to Italy—rather they created a new kind of working class Italy in Brooklyn. But the Italian spoken here (especially in the northern part of the country) is super expressive and works well with people’s facial and hand emphasis of what they are saying. Just like the Swiss refer to “High German” as distinct from “German,” maybe NY needs to have another term for the Italian that is spoken there.
We stopped in at a small museum that had a show called ‘It’s Arcademy.’ A juried show of fashion designers’ creativity in making art fashion or making fashion art—whatever. It was sort of fun seeing things like hats that are so huge, they need to have an attachment that sits on the shoulder and neck of the wearer to support the hat.
Then we carved our way around town, stopping occasionally and ultimately heading back to the hotel to relax a bit before dinner. By the way, my laryngitis is about 75% gone, but I still have a bad cold. Dr. Fern decided it was time to take an antibiotic (which I brought with me). And now with just one day of the antibiotic the coughing is all but disappeared (well maybe it’s 25% of what it was) and I hope by the time I finish the regimen (3 days from now) I’ll be as good as new.
We had decided a while ago that we would have dinner tonight in Slovenia since it’s only about a 15 minute drive from the hotel to the border towns of Slovenia. We had read about a restaurant in a Michelin list and figured we’d give it a try. Actually there were several that sounded fantastic, but the drive would have been longer. We had been to Slovenia more than once when it was part of Yugoslavia, although I don’t remember what villages we saw, only the big cities.
Anyway, we headed to Gostilnica Ruj, located in a little farm house at Dol Pri Vogljah (remember I said they needed more vowels). We purposefully left enough time to get there early and walk through the town. Alas, there was no town, so we were just very early for our reservation, so we drove to find a real town and eventually drove through Sezana (population 6,000) and then headed to the restaurant. Gostilnica Ruj is essentially a former farmhouse that is now home to the restaurant. Very quaint; food was quite good (and not as “heavy” as I had imagined. There are about three small dining areas and a small bar. Seemed like the other diners were mostly Italians, but some were speaking Slovenian. The road to the restaurant was pretty windy and uphill. On the return trip, the GPS got a little lost and couldn’t locate us so we just tried to find roads that went downhill. Eventually the GPS came to life and routed us to the hotel. Frankly, being on those dark isolated roads would have been far scarier in the states than here—because you’d know that the likelihood of people having guns would be a sure thing. Here that is very very unlikely.
OK.. back at the hotel.
Headed to Verona tomorrow, with a possible lunch stop in Treviso; we shall see.
Best-
Fern
12. Padua to Trieste via Portograuro. April 22 2023
From rustic to elegant… from small village to Village People! Greetings from Trieste
Hope you are doing well and enjoying what appears to be sunny spring weather in Oakland and perhaps in other parts of the region and the US. We have hit good weather and even here in Trieste where we expected it to be cooler, it is sunny and very moderate.
We left our little nirvana in Padova after a delightful breakfast that came to our door, once again, at around 10:00; today we took the “box” to our private outside patio, which was perfect. We got on the road at about 11 and headed to Trieste, but with a stop in a small 6,000 population town called Portograuro which was somewhat unplanned but totally cute with canals and wooden bridges. We ate at a little trattoria that was filled with locals, mostly families (it’s Saturday); food was good.. and after a brief stroll, we headed to Trieste.
Before going into our arrival at Trieste, a few points of observation— Italy seems to have latched onto technology in a big way; they have lots of remotes for everything from the drapes to the windows, to heat, to toll booths, elevators, etc. Italy also seems still to be more focused on Covid than we are in the US; while people are no longer masked, they have signs everywhere with warnings about covid; all restaurants use QR codes; there are antiseptic wipes and soaps everywhere; I went into a store to try on earrings and was not allowed.. could only hold them close to my ear. And there are many more examples.
And on a language matter, I have been trying to use my not-great-Spanish only to find that Italian is less like Spanish than I thought. Felt I was very clever the other day in asking about an umbrella and used “paraguas” only to see the person look very puzzled.. Turns out the word in Italian is “ombrello.” Go know!
Also, seems like every child here in Italy, and many adults as well, wear tee shirts and sweatshirts and jackets that sport names of American cities or teams or musical groups; and the music playing in lots of bars is American music from the 80s, occasionally earlier. So American “culture” is strong here… for better or worse.
Anyway, after lunch we headed to Trieste, a city we have not been to in decades. What I remembered most about the city was that it seemed more like Vienna or Budapest than like Italian cities in the demeanor of the people. The physical nature of the city includes broader streets than in other parts of Italy, and the building stock is more 19th and early 20th century than 15th, 16th, and 17th century than the other places we’ve been traveling on this trip. I also remembered the large square and the walk along the sea, and lots of people strolling at night.
We arrived at around 4:00 and immediately left the hotel to stroll — with the intention of walking out to the big stone “pier” that is now a strolling hangout where you can watch ships come and go or just sit. It was packed with people of every age and ethnicity; actually we’ve seen more people of color here in a few hours than we’ve seen in Italy on the rest of the trip. But we were distracted by loud music and microphones coming from the square. So we headed that way. Turns out that today was “Carnival” in Trieste and the final part of it was music and dancing in the square. Many people were in costume, sort of like Mardi Gras. The emcee and singers were very funny, even though we didn’t totally understand what they were saying. One routine was having everyone in the square (about 400) dance and sing to “Y-M-C-A”… It was loud, it was raucous, it was lots of fun. Children and adults were singing and dancing throughout the square. After a few sets, we continued our stroll to the waterfront just in front of the square.
Then we headed to the hotel to get settled and head for dinner.
We are at the Savoia Excelsior Palace… which is like the antithesis of all the hotels we’ve been at on this trip. It’s super elegant; the building is more than a century old; it’s on the big side; our room is about 600 sq feet and we have a “luggage room” inside our room which Mike says is the size of the cabins he’s been designing for the homeless. It’s located in the prime spot in Trieste, and our room has two balconies. Ok.. the lap of luxury. Not sure how we got this room; I think we got upgraded for some reason… or maybe they upgraded us…not complaining.
Eventually we headed to dinner—about a 16-minute walk (good to add to our steps given that we were in the car much of the day, but the walk to and from the restaurant) which enabled us to get the steps today to over 10,0000. We ate at Menarosti – a 120-year-old mainstay in Trieste. We were the only non-Italians. It’s one of those white tablecloth places with antique wall sconces and chandeliers. Everyone was local and seemed to know everyone else. We started with thinly sliced local shark that was lightly grilled and then covered with onions soaked in vinegar (great); then pasta vongole (with baby clams); then lightly grilled squid, served at room temperature with chard. All really good, very simple and oh so tasty. Yes, we could not resist the dessert so we had two —- Mike had apple strudel (I said they had some Viennese roots here) and I had tiramisu.
We walked back to the hotel… and now I’m ready for bed.
All the best
fern
Ciao from Padova –
Today we walked and walked and walked. Padova is very walkable, but I think we overdid it. We are exhausted. Figure we are averaging about 5-6 miles per day… so by the time we get back to Oakland we will probably have walked more than 100 miles in Italy. Just thinking about that makes me even more exhausted. Padua is one of the few stops on this trip which is a new city for us… and I recommend it.
Began our day with breakfast at the Wine Tower… The hotel delivers a wooden box filled with lots of goodies for breakfast. It arrives on the outdoor patio, and they text a little picture of where they left the box, so you know it is there. The hotel only has 4 rooms so there isn’t any real restaurant. Still they put out quite a nice spread, Now about the Massiimago Wine Tower…It has a very complicated history dating to the 14th century as a defensive complex. Over the centuries, it was bought, sold, and rented by many different historical figures and was used for a range of activities and enterprises. In the 17th century a horrendous crime is said to have taken place here-–the murder of the owner’s pregnant wife (with fifth child) by her husband. Fast forward to the very beginning of the 20th century and the property was owned by a monsignor, until the end of the first world war… then sold to some very wealthy family who began to create gardens and vineyards. And then in the first part of the 21st Century, the buildings were restored and transformed into the little hotel and also some housing (although not sure where that housing is–maybe it’s for the manager).
Our room(s) have ceilings that are about 11’ with wood beams about two feet apart that are about 8’x8′ spanning about 14’. The floors are stone or maybe clay tiles. The bedroom sits above a living area and the stair is open so you have a sense of an even bigger space and even taller ceilings. Ok.. enough about our accommodation which I’d say was both a lucky and accidental choice.
We headed first to Piazza delle Erbe. There are several squares in the historic center of Padua, but this is the largest and is adjacent and connected to Piazza della Frutta. Together they form one of the largest markets in Italy and it’s dominated by the very large Palazzo della Ragione. The market takes place daily on the two squares and on the first level of the Palazzo there are tiny shops, selling mostly food, and also numerous restaurants as well. We visited the upper floors of the palazzo which throughout history encompassed the medieval market hall, the town hall, and the palace of justice. The upper floor was dedicated to the town administration; while the ground floor still houses the historical covered market of the city. The palace separates the two squares, and you can move easily through the building to get from one to the other. The upper floor has the “great hall” which is 270 ft long and 88 ft wide and about 40 ft high. The walls are covered with allegorical frescoes.
While Mike sat on a bench in the piazza, I checked out a few interesting shops and began a conversation with the owner of one. Turns out she was married to an American and has a child with him, but he has returned to the states—Memphis to be exact. He’s black and the child is bi-racial. She was talking about how shocked she is to hear about all the violence in the states and that her son does not like to visit the father in Memphis, because the father is very strict with him—fearful that the son who has grown up in Italy doesn’t understand the dangers in the states and about how police deal with Black teens.
And while I was having this conversation and Mike was outside, Mike witnessed an interesting event: Three cops, cabanieri, (two male and one female) were walking; she had a bicycle. The male cops were teasing her and they knocked her bike down and she almost fell. She was pissed. The guys took off –running across the plaza.. She left her bike and started chasing the two male cops across the plaza and they all disappeared but everyone at the plaza continued to be shocked and were talking about what had happened. An older gentleman who works for the city stayed by the bike to see that it wasn’t stolen. Do not know the outcome of the story.
From there we meandered around the city, walking in the oldest medieval sections and also headed to the Scrovegni Chapel which has a lot of frescoes by Giotto. Interestingly, they are ‘monetizing light’ in that church as it is difficult to see some of the areas and the frescoes since they are in very dark parts of the church. There is a machine, into which you can put one, two, or three euros and then lights go on and stay on for specified periods of time, based on how many euros you put into the machine. I guess they are trying not to leave lights on all the time as that could damage some of the art.
Then we strolled more in the medieval section (what was once the Jewish Ghetto) and eventually arrived at Saint Anthony’s Basilica— which is gigantic…. And filled floor to ceiling with art, sculptures, frescoes, and more. Given my rather simple tastes, this one was a bit much. As we were walking around inside the church, the music for the mass was beginning and we had to stay on the edges so as not to disturb participants. As you exit the basilica, you arrive in a very sweet courtyard and then walk through a narrow passage to get to the front plaza. From the basilica we walked back to the Wine Tower to relax and head to dinner.. very simple local pizza and salad.
We are beat. I’m sure more happened today, including a stop for gelato, but I think I will call it a night.
Tomorrow, we head to Trieste.
Be well.
Fern
10. Bologna to Dozza to Padova …April 20 2023
Ciao from Padova – From the Red City to the Mural City to Padova
April 20, 2023
We left Bologna (the Red City – called this because of the proliferation of red tile roofs and because of its politics—Bologna has a history of being left leaning) after a brief stroll and picking up our car in the public garage not far from the hotel.. which included backing out of a one-way street after loading our luggage and being within inches of planters and motorcycles … and people. The garage guy had a news clipping tacked on the cashier wall.. so I took his picture and told him I thought he must be “Famoso.” Not a clue what the article was about.
Then we drove through amazing countryside—lush green fields with yellow wildflowers everywhere as we headed south to Dozza (a town of just 6,000 that we had heard about, It was a bit of a detour as we needed to head north to get to Padova (Padua). For a short time (maybe 5 miles) we were on the autostrada, and when we exited at the toll booth and stuck in our ticket the amount that came up to pay was first 83 EU (about $89) and then it switched to 53 EU (about $56)… we laughed and started to push a few buttons. And then tried to insert 3EU but the arm did not lift; then we realized that an arm came down behind our car so we were just stuck at the toll booth. Italy is more automated than we are in many ways… The machine started to talk to us— in Italian. Then we pushed a big red button on the toll machine, and finally a woman came out. She looked at the toll and asked in mostly Italian where we had come from. We said Bologna and she laughed. The toll was supposed to be 5 EU. She and another guy did some maneuvering with the machine, and we gave them the additional 2 EU and we were on our way.
We arrived in Dozza around 12:30 and began walking through the very picturesque little village that some years ago (I assume in an effort to build its economy through tourism?) began a biannual festival of painted walls, when famous national and international artists paint permanent works on the walls of the houses and commercial buildings. I’d say there is a wide variety of skill and talent but it’s a delightful walk and the cutest town ever. Stopped for a quick (well nothing is really quick about eating in Italy) lunch and as we left the restaurant it began to rain. We headed to the car and as we left little Dozza, we realized that on the outskirts of town there were more murals… and we had not had our fill of gelato for the day. So we stopped at a bar/gelateria and walked around to see these other murals. When we went for the gelato, we realized this place was a real mix of “services”— full gelateria with about 25 flavors, a full bar, sandwiches, and in the back room, slot machines!
Then we finally got serious about getting to our hotel in Padova which would be about a two hour drive. All was going well, but we never saw any signs for Padova.. just Verona and Milan. Jokingly , I said… “gee maybe there are two hotels with the same name”… and one is in Verona!!” We pulled over and googled to learn that there is a Massimago Wine Suites Hotel in Verona and a Massimago Wine Tower Hotel in Padova. When I entered the name into the GPS as we left Dozza the hotel in Verona popped up quickly and I never checked that it was Verona.. only looked at the name and focused on Massimago. Both were two hours from Dozza and fortunately both were to the north. Readjusted and redirected and we were finally really on our way. Made it to Padova about 30 minutes later than expected but then the GPS just could not find the hotel.. so we circled a bit and finally drove over the little river that goes through the city about three times and made it to the very lovely Massimago Wine Tower Hotel with just 4 rooms. We are in a two level “suite”.. The place is wonderful (and we’ll see more of it tomorrow.) It’s very centrally located but sort of nestled in a park-like green space that feels as if it is in the countryside. Too small to have many services, but we don’t need much. They deliver a box breakfast in the morning to your door.
Once we were settled and dry, we walked about 25 minutes to an amazing restaurant called Fuel – the most upscale place we’ve been to during this trip. Dinner was wonderful; more about that tomorrow.
Fading now…
Fern
9. Bologna… The City of Arcades. April 19 2023
Ciao from Bologna –
Following last night’s fantastic meal at Ahime we strolled back to the hotel through Via Independenzia which is arcaded for as far as you can see. I do remember walking these streets some years ago and while the structures are the same, the proliferation of international chain stores – has truly changed the nature of the city (in my humble opinion). And the amount of graffiti, while sometimes quite artistic and political, is also a newer phenomenon – more graffiti-like and less mural-like than in other cities we’ve visited.
What I forgot to mention yesterday, is that I’ve come down with laryngitis and really can’t talk. I’ve been to about three farmacias and have lots of over-the-counter medicines and I’m having hot water with lemon and honey as well. I’m hoping for a miraculous cure by tomorrow. In the meantime, I can only whisper.
We began our day today, like probably every other foreigner who comes to Bologna, by walking to Piazza Maggiore which is really the heart of the city and the result of centuries of transformations that added important buildings around the perimeter, including the Basilica of San Petronio, the Palazzo dei Notai, the Palazzo d’Accursio, the Palazzo del Podestà and the Palazzo dei Banchi. The square itself dates back to the 13th Century, when different functions were brought to this central place. It’s roughly 200’ x 380’ which is about twice the width of a football field and half again as long. The piazza was (and I suppose is every day) filled with school kids on class trips, everyday Bolognans criss-crossing to get to work or home, and tourists. It’s got a real vibe, with cafes lining the fronts of all buildings, except the churches.
From there we walked down Via Rizzoli which is filled with food stalls and markets and restaurants, and then we left that immediate center and walked to the old ghetto where the streets are even narrower than in the other parts of town. Stopped briefly at a tiny museum devoted to the history of Jews in Bologna. Clearly off the beaten path as most of the exhibits were only in Italian and it was pretty thin in content. Then we stopped briefly at a little coffee shop called Camera A Sud (meaning South Room) for my now ritual hot water with honey and lemon. Really cute café with mostly outdoor seating.
Then we strolled to the Teatro Anatomica which is housed in Palazzo dell’Archiginnasio which is home to an amazing library. The Teatro is from the 17th Century and is the room where public body dissections took place. According to the literature, these dissections were done with an Inquisition priest watching and ready to intervene “if proceedings became too spiritually compromising” — whatever that means. There are wood tiered seats around the room that surround a marble topped table, where the body used for the demonstration, was laid. Above the table there is a sculpted Apollo looking down from the ceiling. Also, the lecturer’s station at the front of the room has a wood canopy that is held up by two skinless, wood-carved figures. Boy, those were the days!!!
Then we took a leisurely stroll back to the hotel to relax on the 4th floor deck that is part of our room. We tried to make reservations at several restaurants for dinner and all were booked. Hard to be spontaneous these days when traveling. So we are headed to something called Colombine Alley (or Viccolo). Hope it’s good.
Will fill you in tomorrow, from Padua…
Best -Fern
8. From Siena to Bologna via Abbazia di San Galgano
18 April 2023
Ciao from Bologna –
Before I begin today’s escapades, I wanted to respond to the question several have asked regarding both our decision to take this route and the rationale for many stops and short stints in each location. This is a road trip. We’ve been to Italy many times and wanted to both revisit some places and also see new ones. We have limited time as we are on our way to Geneva to see family; thus we will end up in Milan as our last Italy stop, where we will take the train to Geneva. We spent three nights in Rome and in Todi and two nights in Siena; we’re stopping for two nights each in Bologna, Padua, and Trieste, and then we’ll be in Milan for four nights. Along the drive we are stopping to see some things we had never seen in any of our other Italy journeys. I can write an essay now on the pros and cons of short stops in many places versus fewer stops and longer stays (the latter being our more usual travel mode). But this also has benefits and thus far has been great—with lots of variety.
We left Siena around 11 am, after navigating our way from the public parking lot out of the town. I attached a map of the old part of Siena (the vecchia citta) to provide a sense of the “logic” of the street patterns—not just for Siena but for all European medieval cities — piece of cake to figure it out! We’ve been to many of these medieval cities throughout Europe; they are great to explore and impossible to navigate (especially with a car).
We went on a bit of a detour today because we wanted to stop at the Abbazia di San Galgano which is about an hour outside of Siena—the drive took us a bit out of our way to our Bologna destination, but we really wanted to see this Gothic church with a complicated history, and which is basically abandoned. The Abby of San Galgano was built over a 70-year period starting in 1218 by a group of monks. It is said to be the first gothic church built in Tuscany and was built here because these particular monks focused on building their monasteries close to rivers where woods, marshlands, and plains could be cultivated. But once they built this church, they had to withstand famine in the 1300s, and the plague a few years later. Then the abbey was devastated by mercenary bands … and at the end of the 15th century the monks moved to Siena… In the mid-1700s, lightning struck the bell tower which collapsed onto the roof of the Abbey and the church was finally “de-consecrated” in 1789. What we saw was the shell of the original church. We had seen a similar church—open to the sky—on a trip to the old Czechoslovakia and it seemed… well oh, so spiritual. When we heard about this one, we wanted to see it. The monks chose not to rebuild the roof but to leave the church open, transforming it into a stable after the de-consecration. In 1926 the Italian State recognized the cultural value of the structure and began to protect it. Today, there is scaffolding inside, and I guess someone is working to fix or stabilize the structure. It will take a long time.
But the Abbey also has some additional stories: San Galgano had apparently led a life of debauchery and wickedness as a youth. There is a large stone with of a sword stuck in the middle. The story is that in 1180, Galgano decided to convert to Christianity and made a vow, by sticking his blade into a stone to transform it into a cross. Some say there are too many similarities of this story to the story of Arthur, and the Knights of the Round Table.
The drive to the Abbey, which was quite wonderful, followed small winding roads and fields of wildflowers; as we were getting close to the Abbey, we realized we were really hungry and that we were unlikely to find any place to eat. We resolved that we’d stop at the very first place that had food. About 3 kilometers before reaching the Abbey, we saw a sign for a bar and figured they’d have food. We parked and headed into this rather isolated, small bar. Outside some workers were having sandwiches. The guy who owned the place–-probably in his 60s—and who was the only staff, spoke absolutely no English. We said “panini” and he nodded. He then showed us a few different meats and we said “prosciutto” and he nodded; then he pointed to cheese and we nodded yes. Then we asked about tomato (“pomodoro”) and he repeated “formaggio” (cheese); I said “pomodoro” again and he said “formaggio” again, so I realized it was a lost cause. I then tried “verdura”- vegetables; and he said “formaggio”… so we had a cheese and prosciutto sandwich… that we shared. The place was like a throwback, complete with coca cola signs from the 50s (probably worth a lot on EBay) and a poster for some event in 2009. As we were leaving a bunch of motorcyclists arrived who seemed to know the place.
We ate and headed to the Abbey which provided real drama without roofs and windows.. just sky.. It was a powerful statement with typical gothic soaring columns. We strolled inside and outside.
After strolling the site, we began our journey to Bologna where we will stay for two days. Tonight, we had dinner at a little place called Ahime—about 12 tables with a very creative menu that changes daily based on available ingredients. More about this tomorrow and our strolls through Bologna, a city of about 350,000 with some interesting neighborhoods and my strong memory of the many streets with covered archways and a grand town square.
More tomorrow.
Fern
7. Siena… Now we know where all the tourists are
Buona Serra – April 17, 2023
Greetings from Siena-
Today we walked and walked, starting from the hotel to the Duomo, which while inundated with tourists (indeed this is the first place we’ve really encountered lots of tourists) is as I remembered it. The Duomo took 175 years to build, and they built it from back to front (so that mass could be held during construction). Frankly, I don’t remember having to deal with long lines to enter (which fortunately we were able to bypass because we bought tickets online prior to today) and I don’t remember as much chaos brought about by having so many people inside at one time. Anyway, we persevered and then just walked out past and through the wonderful Piazza del Campo––the main public space in the historic center of Siena—one of Europe’s greatest medieval squares. In the 13th Century, there used to be a marketplace on this site. Today, the public space was filled with people of all ages—kids running around, school children visiting with their classes (and teachers trying to explain the significance of the space—as the kids were on cell phones and also playing cards), adults drinking wine and cappuccinos at the cafes that surround the space, and tourists taking selfies.
We then walked about a mile or so into a functioning neighborhood where people shop at small stores; where laundry hangs out windows; where people are walking and eating paninis; and where there are laundromats and little food shops. We strolled and strolled and eventually stopped at a little pizza place where we sat at a counter, ordered three different kinds of very large pizza slices that we shared and two glasses of local wine (the pours were huge—probably 8 ounces each). Our bill for all of this was about $12.00. We laughed at the amount of wine since last night at Campo Cedro we got about 4 ounces at most in a glass (thus requiring many glasses). We then stumbled upon the city’s old synagogue and went inside. It was quite a contrast to the Duomo where every inch of space is covered with frescoes and bas reliefs and decoration of some sort. The synagogue, like all synagogues, was devoid of imagery and decoration. We saw the main sanctuary and the “women’s section.” And then we continued our walk—enjoying Sienna in the sunshine. (Yes, the sun shined today, which was wonderful, although it is still cold.
Apparently, there was a sizeable Jewish community in Siena as early as the 14th Century. In 1571 Jews were restricted to a particular neighborhood -– the ghetto—-and so the synagogue was built in that area. It wasn’t until 1860 that Jews were able to move out of that area. Interesting to note, Jews were not allowed to build houses of worship that could be identified at street level. Thus, the façade is very plain and looks like a residential building. The sanctuary is sort of neoclassical and there is a baroque ceiling. The women’s section on the second floor overlooks the main sanctuary but is only seen through an elaborately carved wood screen (painted white). At the entry level of the synagogue there was a small exhibit of photographs of Jewish families with their husbands and sons who fought for Italy during World War I and who fought with the Partisans against Mussolini and the Fascists; many died in both wars.
Then we took a long route back to the hotel and Mike decided to relax while I strolled for another hour or so, clocking in at 14,000 steps and six floors. Tonight, we ate at a tiny hole-in-the-wall place called Osteria il Grattacielo, where the owner (?)/chef prepares whatever he feels like cooking that day and that’s that. No menu. There are only about 5 tables inside and two tables outside. It’s on a somewhat hidden street under stone arches. The “chef” prepares an antipasti platter, three different kinds of pastas but the sauce is the same only the pasta shapes differ, and one main course, and biscotti and vin santo for dessert. He’s behind the counter all the time, but the restaurant is so small that he tells you what he’s offering and takes your order as well as prepares the food. There is a waitress—his wife– who delivers the food and clears the tables.
Tonight’s pastas had a pesto sauce with fresh tomatoes—I had it with linguini and Mike had it with a fat spaghetti. The main course tonight was pork (very tender, thin slices, room temperature, served with a sort of ratatouille. When we arrived, we were the only diners at 8:15, but by 8:45 all tables were filled and there was one group eating outside. Like eating at your uncle’s house if your uncle could cook.
We left, full and content.
Tomorrow, we head to Bologna, with a stop in Abbazia di San Galgano, which is a little out of the way and we’ll need to circle back a bit… more about that tomorrow.
Best –
Fern
6. Todi to Siena via Perugia. April 16, 2023
Buona Serra – April 16, 2023
Greetings –
Arrived in Siena in the late afternoon, having left Todi mid-morning and making a very quick stop at the Food Coop in town to get some yogurt to eat on the road (breakfast). It was Sunday and most everything was closed. After so many rich and caloric meals, it actually seemed great to just have yogurt while sitting in the car in the Coop parking lot. And after 10 minutes we were off to Siena via Perugia. Perugia is the capital of Umbria and boasts a population of about 170,000. The drive was a big success—managing to avoid collisions, scratches, and other potential disasters given the fact that we drove half the time on streets so narrow the car could barely get through and on the autostrada where most cars are driving at about 50% above the speed limits.
We parked car in the public garage in Perugia and then walked for several hours checking out the town, which has many not-very-interesting buildings from the 1800s or so. With 8 times as many people as Todi, you can sense the fact that it is simultaneously a university town, a government center, and an industrial center of the region. We passed ceramics factories and chocolate factories. It is the largest city in the Umbria region and with its old town and gothic main square, it’s known as a center for chocolate and other delicacies. We strolled and saw several large churches, but all were closed even though it was Sunday and the city was quiet. This was intended to be a brief stop and a chance for lunch. Many restaurants were closed, but we lucked out in that L’Oficina was open and we had a very elegant destination meal. L’Oficina serves really creative, artistically plated dishes—all of which have a lot of ingredients that I cannot possibly remember.
Not wanting to eat a lot, we opted to share three different dishes—each of which were wonderful and thankfully, very small. Before we could even order, they came out with three exquisite tiny plates of different amuse bouche… I think that one was some kind of mushroom dish with potato foam. We also had a squid dish that was prepared in some kind of vinegar—very very yummy. There was also a pate of squab that had foam made from beans and a strawberry reduction. Despite the small size plates (actually large plates with small amounts of food), we were totally full at the end, probably because of the high caloric count. If you are headed to Perugia, put this place on the list—probably for dinner when you have more time to linger. The place was tiny, or so we thought. We ate in the front room with just 9 tables, but when I went to the ladies room upstairs there were two other much larger rooms as well as the one we were in. By the way, we walked past (and actually into the entry way) of a shooting school and range that has been in operation for about 200 years. It was quite interesting as the translated version of their materials explained the organization’s commitment to gun safety and to shooting/guns as a sport and not as weapons; guns are left at the range and only used for either sport or gaining accuracy or for hunting. The range is a teaching location and all members go through lots of training and constant renewal training.
Then we strolled back to the garage and we were off to Siena. Haven’t been to Siena in about 20 years (realizing now that all of our far more exotic travel has limited the amount of travel we’ve done in recent years to in Europe). The drive to Siena was fine, although Mike who is doing most of the driving was totally stressed out with cars speeding past at speeds well beyond the limit and a good deal of construction on the road, making the already narrow lanes even more narrow and eliminating lanes for much of the drive. When we got close to our hotel (Palazzetto Rosso), the GPS got a bit confused or perhaps the navigator (me) was confused so we wound up circling the medieval center at least twice before finding our way. Actually, we needed to go through an arch into the center, but there was a car blocking the very narrow entrance so we thought it was a restricted road and missed the turn. Anyway, we found our way to the hotel through streets where we were glad the car didn’t scrape the walls on either side. Dropped off our bags and went back outside the city walls to park the car… and take a series of six escalators back up to the center and almost to the hotel door.
Palazzetto Rosso is located in the heart of the medieval center.. and has apparently hosted travelers since the Middle Ages, when traders from all over the world came to the Tuscany area to find work. The building is from the 13th century and retains the original facade (albeit very updated) complete with wrought iron signs. But, if those 13th century traders who stayed here could return, they’d be in shock. The hotel is a high design, elegant, tasteful, modern, and minimal statement. It has just nine rooms. We are on the top floor (third floor); the room is large including a sitting alcove and is furnished minimally with a glass desk, hip colors for accents (lime green and purple). There are Pedrali chairs and much of the furniture is by known high-end Italian designers. Given that we are on the top floor we have sloping beamed ceilings. But the architecture and shell of the building retain the old style with extremely high vaulted ceilings, frescoes, and arches. The floors are gray tiles and there are some pretty mod benches and light fixtures. It’s a good mix of the traditional Tuscan with modern design. Every room is different, we are told, and all contain some quirky combination of old and new… like painted friezes, beamed ceilings, Venetian drapes right next to modern design pieces. And we even have a large flat screen TV, so now—for better or worse— we can catch up on what’s been happening on the political scene. (or perhaps not). While we have a very modern bathroom, we were told that some rooms have sinks made from ancient fountains. We also have a glass wall between the shower and the bedroom so that you can see the view while taking a shower.
The location is quite central and so we can stroll and stroll and come back if necessary to refresh.
We had made reservations for dinner at Campo Cerdo; can’t remember where we got the reference. It’s only about 500 meters from the hotel and the walk there was easy—all downhill. As we happily strode to the restaurant at about 9 pm, we almost forgot that this easy stroll would mean a rigorous uphill hike on the return trip. Campo Cedro (translates to Cedar Field) was a big surprise… in a good way. It’s hidden away from any major or even minor street and indeed GPS had a hard time finding it exactly and led us astray a bit. The restaurant is led by a Japanese chef who has been cooking in Italy for more than twenty years. Like the hotel, the restaurant is in a centuries-old building, but the inside is very modern, stark- white with wood finishings. The food was wonderful— very fresh with interesting combinations. Michelin says it’s “one of the most interesting gastronomic stops in Siena.” For the foodies, I wrote down what we ate, except for the tiny starters (which like the ones at L’Oficina) were too hard to remember and they were not listed on the menu. We shared one antipasti, one primi, and one segundi, and one dessert…
First we had veal tongue which had some kind of cheese and it was all sitting on Jerusalem artichoke cream and garlic. Then we had risotto with eel and chives (fantastic), and then we had a miso duck breast with orange and “tubers.” We’ve gotten pretty good at picking local wines which we are loving. For dessert we had a tarte tatin which was “deconstructed” with saffron ice cream. Everything was great and we are getting very spoiled. Campo Cedro is recommended by Michelin although it does not have a star… probably just waiting for one (it’s only 4-years-old). And for those interested, our four course meal plus the little starters, amazing bread and homemade bread sticks, 5 glasses of wine (should have done a bottle but started out thinking we would go easy on wine) and sparkling water… was under $100. Siena is a bit pricier than Todi, but still so much less than the Bay Area.
So we began our day in the 600-year-old palazzo in Todi where it’s all traditional on the inside and outside, and ended in Siena where we are sitting in this very mod hip room. Amazing what can transpire in 24 hours.
Best
Fern
Fern's Travel Notes 