Lakes, Mountains and Sun

Buonjorno.........we have spent the past week in the scenic Lakes Region of northern Italy, splitting our time between Lakes Como and Garda, using a rental car to get around. Still sunny every day and temps in the low 20s C. The highway from Milan to Como was fine, similar to North America, but then the excitement started. Narrow, winding roads squeezed between the surrounding mountains and the lake called for attentive driving skills. The city of Como had lots to see......the spectacular Cathedral (somewhat surprising for a small place), the medieval pedestrian-friendly alleys and the lakeside promenade. We kept an eye out for George Clooney, who has a home there, but he must have kept his distance from us.

We then moved on further up Lake Como to the pretty town of Bellagio on the tip of a peninsula. The scenic drive there along the lake featured many Tour de France wannabes on the shoulder-less road adding another degree of difficulty for drivers where there was already barely enough room for two vehicles. It was hard to imagine being there in our camper van or making this journey in the busier summertime. We survived the drive and settled in for a 3 night recovery program in an apartment that was in easy walking distance to the lake eliminating the need to use our vehicle. We spent one day walking all around Bellagio checking out the beautiful murals in the Basilica, the gardens of Villa Serbelloni, the medieval alleyways and walking along the shoreline. We even found a couple of geocaches along the way. We had a fabulous dinner at a small restaurant in their back room wine cellar surrounded by excellent Italian wines. My brother had kindly recommended this spot to us. The following day we cruised around Lake Como with a short stop in Tremezzo on the opposite side of the lake. Villa Carlotta was the highlight there featuring not only a palace with fascinating stories but also a massive botanical garden that we walked all around.

The following morning we took a car ferry across the lake to Varenna where we did a short hike to Castello di Vezio, perched on top of a steep hill with great views of the lake. The hike down was much quicker and we then drove south along the east side of the lake before heading inland to Bergamo. We spent our time walking around the upper historic walled town with many sights to see. Completing a busy day we then drove on to Lake Garda and up the west side of the lake to Riva del Garda at the north end where we stayed for 2 nights. The Lake Garda road seemed a bit wider and the surrounding mountains both higher and steeper than Lake Como so it was a bit more comfortable drive with non-stop fabulous views. Riva was a treat to walk around.......wider streets, very large public squares and a lengthy lakeside promenade making it feel a lot less crowded than the Como towns we visited. We enjoyed Riva del Garda very much.

From Riva we drove down the east side of the lake stopping in both Garda and Bardolino where we walked around the lakeside towns and had drinks at outdoor patios by the lake to people watch which is often entertaining. We then left the lake and headed inland to Pastrengo where we are currently staying at an agriturismo (small farms / vineyards that rent out rooms). Pastrengo sits next to the Valpolicella wine region and we tasted wines at three different high quality wineries today......Le Salette, Allegrini and Tomassi and we came away with 4 nice bottles of wine including two Amarones. Wines that have to be carried in your backpack don't get a chance to age very long!

Tomorrow we will drive the short distance to Verona where we will part ways with our car, walk around the historic city centre and then catch a train to Venice. Happy belated Thanksgiving to all.

A typical Bellagio alley rising up from the Lake Como waterfront. Plenty of shops all along with the shop owners usually living above.

Bellagio's San Giacomo Basilica. All of the churches we have seen so far have beautiful frescoes painted on their walls or ceilings.

Bellagio waterfront with a frequently sighted lake ferry about to arrive.

While in Tremezzo we walked by the Grand Hotel which offered the only sand beach on the entire lake......the many other so called 'beaches' were covered in small pebbles, common throughout Europe. Note the pool in a big pool.

Villa Carlotta which was first completed in 1745. It is now a museum that shares very interesting stories of  its past.

A view from one of the balconies at Villa Carlotta. The massive botanical gardens were behind and beside the villa and its 20 acres were divided into sections from around the world.

One of our last views of Lake Como from the Castello di Vezio following our hike to the top. At the beginning of the tourist season they actually get visitors to pose in various positions while they drape them in cheese cloth dipped in plaster. Then they have them pose in that position for 60 minutes (for hardening to occur) at which point they cut them free and recreate the cast. Not sure if they entice them with alcoholic drinks served through a straw.

One of the large lakeside public squares in Riva del Garda.

Taken during a stopover in Garda. The European Union flags displayed in the harbour had one empty flagpole where the British flag used to hang.

Our agriturismo stay in Pastrengo. Our room was the one on the top floor where my dear wife had rearranged the curtains to allow for more sunlight into the room. The had a small winery that produced some nice tasting wines.

We came across this during our visit to the Tomassi Viticolltori winery. It was an all cork replica of the Verona Arena. Looks like another idea for the cork master designer.

La Dolce Vita

We are indeed living "the sweet life". travelling every year to different places around the world. This adventure brings us to Italy, one of our tamer countries to visit unless you enjoy driving a vehicle in street-busy, large cities.......which we are not doing! We arrived in Milan two days ago following an overnight flight from Canada. After checking into our Airbnb apartment we did a short walk around the neighbourhood and went to a nice restaurant recommended by our host, Gian. The pizza and salad were good and the house wine was very drinkable.......especially when a half litre cost only $5. We were off to a very good start.

After an unplanned 13.5 hour badly needed sleep, we walked around the historic city centre taking in many sites.......Parco Sempioni with its Arena Civica (1897, still in use today) and the Sforza Castle (15th century, former Duke of Milan built) which was surrounded by a large and dry deep moat, currently guarded by (killer?) cats....might be a good time to stage an attack if you dream about having your own castle. Next was the Duomo (Cathedral) which was magnificent to behold. We waited patiently in line for 30 minutes to enter the tightly secured Cathedral which can hold up to 40,000 people (3rd largest in the world) but only seemed to allow approximately 200 people during non-mass times......perhaps we shouldn't have slept in and caught the 7:30 am mass :-)  Then we walked through the Galleria Emanuele II, an elegant outdoor shopping arcade with a glass roof, filled with stores we can't afford to shop at.....although we did consider going into the Armani or Gucci store to purchase one of their  classy shopping bags to use for our dirty laundry. Our final stop was at Santa Maria delle Grazie, a church built in 1490 but more famous for its refectory where Leonardo da Vinci spent 4 years (1494 - 1498) painting his Last Supper masterpiece. Fortunately I had made an advance reservation to get inside which is necessary all the time since they only allow 30 people at a time for 15 minute intervals via several sealed rooms to protect the massive mural from deteriorating. Tired after walking 15+ km's on our first day we purchased dinner and a good bottle of Italian wine (a $20 favourite at home) for a total of $12 and retreated to our apartment in a very good mood.

Today we took the express train (up to 300 km/hr) to Turin (Torino), home of the 2006 Winter Olympics but with a 22C temperature on this lovely October day. We walked all around the city centre, first along the well used River Po and then into the older part of Turin. The city buildings almost all seem to have porticos.....covered arched walkways which are wonderful on hot or rainy days. Our first stop was at Mole Antonelliana (1864 start), a city landmark with it's 167 metre spire on top of what is the still the tallest unreinforced (non steel skeleton) brick structure in the world. We tempted fate by taking an elevator to the top for a scenic view of the entire city. The building also housed the National Museum of Cinema showcasing the Italian film industry which got its start in Turin and from 1906 - 1916 was the film production capital of the world......until Hollywood took over. There were many interesting exhibits including the use of shadows, mirrors and the beginnings of 3D technology. Next we wandered over the massive daily market where we purchased some sunglasses to replace the ones we forgot to pack. We had lunch in one of the large public squares, went into a few well dazzled churches and walked around the impressive Palace Reale grounds (16th century). We then took the high speed train back to Milan but not before picking up a nice Borolo wine which came from one of the nearby Piedmont region wineries.

Tomorrow, before leaving Milan, we will pick up our rental car to tour around the Lakes region starting with Lake Como. More to come.

Arrivederci

This is how we know when it's time to leave on a trip.

This is part of the moat outside the Sforza Castle in Milan. You may need to expand this picture to view the cats spaced out protecting the castle.

An interior section of the Sforza Castle.

So far my dear wife has not succumbed to the mounds of gelato seen everywhere but it is only a matter of time.

The impressive Duomo in Milan with a small portion of the line-up to get in along the bottom right of the picture.

My princess resting while I wait in the line-up to get us into the Duomo.

The Galleria Emanuele II where the shopkeepers wouldn't want the weather to interfere with your desire to spend money.

Leonardo's masterpiece The last Supper when Jesus announced to his apostles that one of them would betray him. It was fascinating to hear how Leonardo depicted the scene.

The Piazza Vittorio Veneta in Turin. The porticos were always behind the building pillars

Almost every church we enter is stunning inside and always has a style of its own.

Water Falling From Everywhere

After leaving Split, Croatia, one of our favourite stops on this trip, we headed inland where we would finish our trip. Still on a high we weren't disappointed. Plitvice Lakes turned out to be an amazing national park. There are 16 lakes cascading into one another, creating thousands of waterfalls. 18 km's of walking paths allowed visitors to cover both sides of most lakes and get close to the multitude of waterfalls. There were also 2 shuttle tram and 2 short ferry routes to shorten the the distance exploring the NP for those who do not prefer to walk as much as we do. While the Lower Lakes (4) area has the largest waterfall, the Upper Lakes (12) have just as much to offer and seemed to be void of the many large tour groups that frequent the park making it easier to navigate the narrow boardwalks throughout the park. While walking along the trails you needed to keep your head on a swivel to catch the multitude of waterfalls that appeared everywhere. It really is a fascinating place to visit and we highly recommend it to anyone that travels to Croatia.

From Plitvice Lakes National Park we took a two hour morning bus to Zagreb. Since we only had that day to explore the city we made the most of it, walking around both the Lower and Upper Towns. Unlike the Old Towns that we have been visiting in Croatia, Montenegro and Bosnia-Herzegovina, Zagreb reminded us more of other European cities that we have visited........lots of 4-5 story 17-19th century buildings, large public squares, elaborate cathedrals and bustling food markets. The Trg Bana Jelacica square (dancers, monument, public events), Dolan Market (food, flowers), Cathedral, Stone Gate (holy shrine) and the Lotrscak Tower (noon canon bast, views) were some of the highlights. Our only disappointment was not getting into the unique Museum of Broken Relationships documenting love stories with sad endings from around the world. Unfortunately for us the museum was closed for one day to do some renovations.

We are now back in our cozy home following a long day of flights (via Amsterdam). According to our clock we arrived home 6 hours after we left Croatia but the 8 hours we gained due to time zone changes will take our bodies a few more days to adjust.

Our Croatia adventure had so many highlights it is difficult to pick out a few. Almost every place we visited had a medieval flavour to it. The Croatians, and their close neighbours, have done an excellent job of preserving / reconstructing their historical properties which they are very proud of. The Adriatic Sea coastline, where we spent most of our time, was very picturesque and provided us with the opportunity to indulge in delicious seafood meals. Then finishing our trip in Plitvice Lakes NP, where mother nature is at her finest and on display, was very refreshing. Finally, it is always special to travel with one or more of our offspring, and this trip featured our oldest daughter and her boyfriend. Hopefully we will find many more travel opportunities like this one.

The Big Waterfall, not far from Gate 1 where we entered into Plitvice Lakes National Park.

We continued to be amazed at every turn by the number and beauty of the waterfalls as we walked around the park.

No shortage of clean, cool water supplying the roots of the healthy vegetation.

The view from one of the upper paths providing a different perspective from the one we saw walking along the boardwalk.

These are only a few of the many, many pictures we took while in the park.

Rushing streams ran beside the boardwalk or under it in many spots.

Looked like a good swimming hole but that was only allowed for the trout that populate the waters (who navigate the waterfall drops better than humans).

The Dolan Market in Zagreb. Strawberries were in season and plentiful throughout Croatia much to the delight of my dear wife.

St. Mark's Church with it's colourful tile roof. Our timing was fortunate because the organist was inside practicing when we entered the almost empty church.

We found a fabulous place to eat on Tkalcicera Street in the Lower Town which was a popular street to drink / dine on. This particular restaurant featured Sri Lankan food which was delicious. It was a break from the meat and boiled potatoes which were pervasive in Croatia.

My Music Video Premiere

For our final day in Dubrovnik we decided to take the harbour ferry to Lokrum Island which is close to the Old Town. We spent the day there wandering around the island which had a thousand people on it but was desolate compared to the tourist hordes in the Old Town, many of them cruise ship passengers. There were peacocks everywhere on the island and it was mating season so it was entertaining to watch the colourful males parading themselves with all their feathers in full display (and not having a lot of luck). While there were many other interesting sights to see on the island (inland pool filled by high tide daily, rocky seashore, nice walking paths, botanical garden) we also came across an indie band playing the same song over and over (Jolene by Dolly Parton) at various points around the island, often close to where we were. When we got on the ferry to return to the mainland, the band was also on the ferry and when a young boy near us showed interest in the guitar they played the song again and recorded it with the youngster playing the guitar (assisted). When we got off the boat I asked the guitar player what was going on and he mentioned they were recording a music video that was going to be released shortly. The band manger sent me the video a few days later and to my surprise I am featured in the video (two significant appearances)........well not exactly but that is my personal opinion......and the rest of my posse received some air time as well. You can check it out on:  https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=yl0u3EvEnuI 

After leaving Dubrovnik we drove to Mostar (Bosnia-Herzegovina) where we said goodbye to Pascal who had to return home to work in Basel, and spent the day exploring the Old Town which featured a famous bridge (1556) where trained people dive off of it into the Neretva River, a 25 metre drop. The temperatures (air and water) are a bit too cool this time of year so the only divers we saw were the ones on the deck of the Diving Club with beers in their hand. The town had a Turkish flavour to it, so we had to visit the bazaar, a mosque and a vintage Turkish House, as well as the War Photo Museum which had chilling pictures of the 90's civil war in Mostar on display.

From Mostar we took the bus back to Dubrovnik where we caught another bus that took us to the island of Korcula (the bus actually got on the car ferry). We didn't have a lot of time to see the Old Town but we did catch a beautiful sunset while walking around the small, walled town and had a delicious dinner at Marko's before settling in for the night, dreaming that we might be the future Marco Polo (born here). Early the next morning we caught the ferry to the island of Hvar where we spent 2 days close to Hvar Town. The first day we walked around town checking out the fortress (a nice steady climb), seaside promenades (east and west) and a favourite lunch (for me) of marinated anchovies. With heavy rain in the forecast we did some grocery shopping and arrived at our apartment just before the deluge started. Great timing. We had dinner in and played card games for the rest of the evening. The next day we took the local bus to Stari Grad (which translates to Old Town) which was just as scenic as Hvar Town but with less tourists.

We have spent the past 3 days in Split, back on the mainland. It was another very enjoyable place to spend time. Diocletian's Palace is the main attraction, with walls built around it and a small city within. The medieval history in Croatia is either well preserved or reconstructed, making it easier to imagine what life would have been like back then. The climb to the top of the cathedral bell tower rewarded us with 360 degree views of the entire city. Visits to the Fish Market, Green Market, seaside promenade and a hike up to the top of Marjon hill completed a very busy but satisfying day. We spent another day doing a day trip to nearby Trogir, further up the coast. The Old Town is built on a small island and the new town has expanded on both sides of the bridges. After walking around the scenic town (local market, tiny fortress, churches, seaside promenade) we discovered a beautiful square with an outdoor restaurant where we enjoyed our lunch in the sunshine (more small fish for me). Life is good.

This morning we said goodbye to our daughter Rachel who had to return to Switzerland for work tomorrow. We had a fabulous time travelling with her, and Pascal for the first week, and we will have to wait for another opportunity to be with our brilliant scientist again. Following a 5 hour bus ride inland we are now in Plitvice Lakes where we will have the opportunity to walk around the 16 colourful lakes (blue, green) and the multitudinous waterfalls that link the lakes together.

Within the first few minutes after landing on Lokrum Island this male peacock started strutting his stuff and calling out to nearby females who seemed to be ignoring him.

It was Easter Sunday and when I dropped into the Information Centre to collect a walking map of Lokrum Island, they were handing out Easter Eggs to the visitors. "Sreton Uskers" translates to Happy Easter.

Taken from the top of a mosque minaret, the Old Bridge in Mostar (used for diving competitions) over the Neretva River.

Some of the chilling Civil War photos on display, and Turkish rugs, in the museum housed in one of the Old Bridge towers.

One of the many narrow streets in the Old Town of Korcula with the Cathedral bell tower in the background.

A lady still waiting for her fisherman husband to return to the Hvar shore.

View of Hvar Town from the fortress to which we climbed, proving it was not impenetrable.

While enjoying drinks near the Stari Grad harbour, we were entertained by a young gymnast trying all sorts of stunts while his siblings watched and his mother paid no attention, silently engrossed in her book.

Looking down on Stari Grad from the top of Glavica Hill, a short hike that we did while exploring the town.

Some Roman guards in a time warp out front of the Cathedral of St. Domnius within Diocletian's Palace in Split.

Opulent gold and marble designs throughout the Cathedral, built by the Venetians.

View of Split from the top of the Cathedral Bell Tower. While at the top the noon bells rang out, extremely loud sound for us but deafening for the unlucky tourists who were caught in the stairwell right beside the bells. We noticed the warning sign when we returned to the tower base.

A full table of condiments at the local market in Trogir, highlighted by olive oils but also offering everything else a chef could dream of.

My lunch plate of delicious small fish (smelt in this instance) paired with the finest wine available within the small island town of Trogir. I shared the wine but not the whole small fish......actually the ladies wanted no part of my meal.

Exploring the Adriatic Sea Coastline

Our first post on this adventure comes from Dubrovnik, Croatia, situated on the coast of the Adriatic Sea with its warm climate this time of year (20C). We arrived here 4 days ago following a whirlwind stopover in Toronto and cottage country where we had 13 separate visits with family and friends over a 10 day period. We wish we had more time to spend with everyone but that is life now that we live on the other side of the country and don't find enough opportunities to return to our roots. As busy as it seems, it is always a treat to see everyone again and catch up on life and recent family additions.

After arriving in Dubrovnik we headed immediately to Kotor, Montenegro, further south along the coastline where we met up with our Swiss daughter and her boyfriend. We had 2 wonderful days there staying within the Old City walls in a 2 bedroom apartment and spent almost all of our time within the walled city that was mostly built between the 12th and 14th centuries. The narrow, winding, cobblestone streets made it an adventure every time we left our room. We even climbed the 1350 steps up to the fortress castle at the top of Old City. Not interested in duplicating our path back down we descended along a secondary path which we quickly found was not used very often, making it difficult in many spots to find the stone steps where the vegetation had overgrown the path. With a bit of scrambling we did make it back down and amazingly ended up less than 50 metres from our apartment patio.

Yesterday, on our way back to Croatia, we made a slight diversion to Trebinje in Bosnia-Herzegovina where we walked around the walled Old Town and enjoyed libations in the town square at an outdoor cafe on a nice, warm day. Our most interesting observation was of a nearby table where some locals were consuming multiple shots of a clear liquid (likely vodka since there is still lots of Russian influence here). When we cam back a few hours later after walking around the Old Town their table had grown in size, they were singing (actually sounding pretty good) and ordering more shots. We weren't sure we could keep up with them, drinking or singing, so we left. While in Trebinje we also made quick trips to an ancient bridge (1574, now pedestrian friendly) and a monastery situated on top of hill which provided scenic views of the town and surrounding area. The drive back to Dubrovnik involved another hassle-free border crossing and added a few more stamps to our passport.

The four of us spent today walking around the old walled city, including a wall top walk that was 2 km in length surrounding the city, and up to 25 metres high at some points. With the sea on one side and small forts at every corner, it would have been difficult to penetrate the high, thick walls when wars were fought without planes and missiles. Being over in Europe really helps you understand the importance and impact of history on our culture, something we don't all appreciate in our 'new world'. There are still many people living within the walls but in order to do so they need to sacrifice their privacy since thousands of people walk on top of the walls every day, and even more when the cruise ships pull in which they happened to do today. At the same time there have been many reminders on our trip so far (war memorials, waiting to be reconstructed buildings) about the 1991 - 1995 civil war that took so many lives in the former Yugoslavia. Tourism dollars are helping with the recovery and additional accommodations are rapidly being built.

The seafood has been abundant along the coast and we have had our share with more to come as we head further up the coast once we leave Dubrovnik in a few days.

Sretan Uskers (Happy Easter).

The Staples siblings re-union in Muskoka.

Old Town Kotor in one of the larger streets allowing for outdoor dining.

Looking back at some of the 1350 steps on our way to the fortress and castle at the top of the hill. The mid-way chapel, Our Lady of Health, was named after 14 people in the chapel safely survived a series of bombings during the civil war while many others perished.

After finding our way through several overgrowth patches on our way down we looked at the next segment and determined it was too late to turn back so we marched on.

During our visit to Trebinje in Bosnia-Herzegovina we wandered over to the pedestrian-only Arslanagic bridge that was built in 1574 for all vehicles at the time.....horse and buggy.

The local market in the town square in Trebinje........plants, food, clothes and herbs that looked suspiciously like something that is currently illegal in our home country.

View from the wall while walking around the Old City. Most of the non-church buildings were shops, museums or restaurants at ground level but homes above the street level.

View of the wall walk after the cruise ship tourists had boarded buses to take them back to their ship.

This was apparently the number 2 beach in Dubrovnik (the best beach wasn't much bigger).......small and still lots of small pebbles but at least devoid of the rocky coastline.