Four in Italy

The four of us our first night, in Verona

 Four in Italy

Thank you, Mom. You gave us an Italian experience that awoke our senses, especially that of taste, for a lovely week in the city of mine and my sister Jennifer’s birthplace, and part of my sister Melanie’s upbringing. We have talked about an Italian trip for years, and it seems that with a bright flash of light, the dates were decided, the travel agents* called, and within a week, we had tickets for four to Italy. 

With the wise influence of my well-traveled in Italy sister Melanie, we rented an Air BnB that Jenny found, a few blocks off the main square of Vicenza. It was immediately across the street from the Teatro Olympico,** completed in 1585. The views from the three bedrooms on the eastern side overlooked the mountains to the north, a large church steeple of Santa Maria in Araceli embraced by pink clouds of sunrise each morning, and to the south was the river crossed over by a 6-way roundabout intersection that directed commerce to and fro in the city. 

View on from my bedroom deck, the first night, looking northeast.

The location was perfect, with a grocery at the bottom of our building, restaurants within steps, and the lovely views from the tiny porches outside two bedrooms. A five minute walk took us past shops, museums and beautiful Italian architecture to the lovely Parco Querini with a fluffle of beautiful bunnies, the tiny island bound palladium on a small manmade lake with handsome mallards. In the other direction from our home for the week was the Piazza dei Signori, flanked by incredible palaces and the Basilica Palladini, named after the city's architect. 

TThe palladium on the tiny island in Parco Querini, where the bunnies and Mallards live.

Our apartment was spacious and the windows on the north side flooded the space with light. The kitchen was the meeting spot where we spent most of our time when not out exploring. A big table provided a spacious area for us to enjoy breakfasts of fresh bread picked up on Mel's morning run, coffee brewed in tiny percolators on the stove, tasty fruit and nuts every day. The rooms had theme's, with Bogart in Mel's room, Picasso in Mom's, Bob Marley in mine, Freida in Jenny's, Rock 'n' Roll posters in the kitchen, and Audrey Hepburn in the bathroom.

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L. Daytime view of the mountains to the north from our apartment, C. The kitchen, R. Happy hour 

Every evening, we celebrated a day of saturation in the arts, food and architecture of Italian culture with a happy hour of Italian beer, wine, and Limoncello, paired with delicious crostini, crackers, cheese, chocolate and other amazing treats. We became accustomed to the late dinners enjoyed by Italians, for the more well-respected restaurants didn't open until 7:30 p.m.

Dinner in Italy met our expectations every night, from incredible salads with local olive oil, to the best gnocchi ever for me. The plates I enjoyed were clam linguini at a first class Oyster Bar just down the street from our Air BnB, tasty vegetarian pizza at Vesuvius Pizza off the Piazza, a delightful kebap bowl from across the river which we took To Go and ate in our kitchen, lasagna and fresh veggies on the square, fantastic shrimp risotto at the hotel on our last night in Verona, and the aforementioned Gnocchi in Verona and Vicenza. 

L. Complimentary first course before the clam linguini, C. Clam linguini, R. Vicenza Gnocchi 

We landed in Verona, explored the outside of the first century coliseum and the city square that evening and ate at an historic wine restaurant with a reservation made by our Air BnB host, Guiseppe. Once we took the train to Vicenza, we spent most of our days along the streets of the city, pursuing markets on the piazza, shopping, dining, and visiting several churches and four eye-opening museums. We took a day trip to Venice. My daughter Rachel and husband John joined us on Wednesday evening and had a delightful dinner with us, led us to Monte Berico on Thursday, visited with friends and John's brother, who is stationed with the Army there, pursued Venice on Friday, and left Saturday when we did. So many memories, too many to share here. A few photos are below. 

 

L. HUGE wine list at Antica Bottega del Vino, C. An evening shot of Arena de Verona, R. Vicenza!

 

L. A jazz festival was underway in Vicenza and we enjoyed live music a couple of nights in the Basilica Palladini, C. Gelato is a necessity in Italy, R. Church exploring on a wet day.

Becoming familiar with Vicenza!

A Picasso drawing in our Air BnB stood out for me on the trip. It was a simple, four lines. Before I show it, I’d like to try portray the seven days we spent in Italy in a brief way, with just four words to portray: A. four taste experiences, B. four emotional/whole body/all senses, and C. four memorable visual experiences, in that order, for each day. 

Sunday 

A. Airplane food, wine, fabulous dinner surrounded by wine, delicious house wine in hotel lobby

B. Tired, Travel, achy, thrilled

C. Italy!, Rainy, colosseum, BIG wine list

Monday

A. Italian coffee, croissants, tiny, delectable cheese squares, local crostini

B. Exhilaration, backpack pain, happy hour!, live jazz after dinner

C. Poppies, Vicenza, Mountain View, new life in the old world 

Tuesday

A. Chocolate salami, Gelato, Vesuvius pizza, incredible Salata with tuna & corn

B. Slept in, Vicenza exploration, more rain, other side of the river walk

C. Churches and confessionals, underground tombs, sculpted iconic heroes, bunny park

Wednesday

A. Early toast, fruit, nut breakfast; Focaccia pizza, fancy dinner - truffle gnocchi, Proseco

B. Venice experienced, John & Rachel arrived, more live jazz after dinner, 20,000 step day

C. Early morning and sunset photos from the deck, Bridge of Sighs, skinny streets, St. Mark’s marble, leather

Vonderful Venice!

Thursday

A. Happy hour on the square with Cosmopolitan, chips and peanuts, oyster/fish restaurant with plate-licking shrimp, cracker/chip and “guacamole” appetizer; clams and cheap fish eggs, gelato dessert for four

B. Gorgeous, sunny day; hike up the hill with J & R; incredible luncheon views, I love Vicenza!

C. Long outdoor churchgoing corridors, Vicenza hilltop views, Basilica Berino, Teatro garden of relics

A breathtaking view from the top of Vicenza at Terrazza di Monte Berico, after a long hike up, some of it through the Monte Berico stairways. Greeted at the top by the Basillica Sanctuario della Madonna Monte Berico with cotton ball clouds and a sign for Jenny and I!

Friday 

A. Late breakfast, Gelato, Kepap bowl, Italian French fries

B. Three incredible Museums today, the joy of beautiful Italian architecture, tears of beautiful emotion at the Teatro Olympico, slightly sad for our last night in Vicenza 

C. Dawn view of the eastern city side, Baroque mansion, over-the-top jewelry, musical light experience at Teatro Olympico (across the street from our air BnB)

Above, the magnificent Teatro Olimpico, which featured a musical light show, Below, a ceiling in the Gallerie d'Italia -Vicenza, Bellini painting and the altar in Chiesa di Santa Corono Catholic church where we heard a violin orchestra and the organ rehearsing for Sunday services. 

 

Saturday

A. Cleaned up the kitchen of food for breakfast, Aperol spritzer with lunch, digestive biscuits & wine for happy hour after the spa, tasty salad with rich risotto dinner

B. Said our goodbyes, church visit with orchestra rehearsal, lunch at our original restaurant, No trains to Verona (!) - rush to Bus ride

C. Bellini painting, Vineyards, poppies, views of Verona

Here is the four line drawing by Picasso that was in mom's bedroom at the apartment. We played a game where one had to draw something with four lines. I drew an airplane, Mel drew a box, Jenny drew an apple, Mom drew "love," Rachel wrote "Serendipity" in cursive, with two dotted "i's" and a crossed "t."

Sunday

A. Airport coffee & croissants, Frankfurt snacks, ravioli & quinoa with roll lunch, tasty whole grain bread with provolone, herbed cream cheese, olives & tomatoes with yogurt

B. Sleepy wake up at 3:30 am, Long walk in Frankfurt Airport, last grab shopping at duty-free shop, anticipating arrival home

C. Green fields, vineyards, rivers and lakes from the air

Two more views from 23 Contra delle Canova, to the north, and to the south, daylight, and midnight

* ByLandAirSeaTravel - Beth and Doreen

**Vicenza's Teatro Olimpico is Europe's oldest surviving indoor theatre.