L'Italia la mia maniera ( Italy, my way)

I think everyone has an image of Italy. My first image was from Geography class and the fact that the peninsula was shaped like a boot. I mean come on, where else on our planet can you find a land mass shaped this distinctively? For some the image could be the Leaning Tower of Pisa, the Coliseum, the canals of Venice, Pompeii or the Truli houses of Southern Italy. With the recent release of the movie, "UNDER THE TUSCAN SUN", our images might have changed forever. However, you should read the book, it is a true story of the author's challenge of finding a residence in Italy without all the Hollywood added. So with that said, let me give you my thoughts on a trip to Italy.

In the beginning, we(my son and I) were going to go and rent a Villa in the country and live the life of a local for a week. Parker Villas, http://www.parkervillas.com, offers a wide variety of villas and apartments in almost all the regions of Italy. The prices range from as low as $655 a week for a studio apartment to $20,000 a week for a villa that sleeps 20 people. Some have pools, with most you need to rent a car but all are very well maintained and offer life in Italy like it should be experienced. Another good website is http://www.cottagesandcastles.com/. I like both of these but I wish they would add mapping locations to each villa for rent and also, transportation that is available, should you decide not to use a car. We Americans are so hung up on cars and being in control of our movements, we miss the experience of public transportation in countries that rely heavily on them. What an experience it would be to travel by bus or train with the local people. So maybe when I am not so destined to see as much of Italy as possible, I will give the villa rental a try.


But plans change, as we all know. So a friend and I are working on a trip to Italy in late September of 2008. We would like to see Venice, Florence, Siena, and Rome. Details will take time to be confirmed but here is what I see happening:
Day 1 - fly out of the US into Milan

Day 2 - take a train to Venice and spend two days.

Day 3 - Venice

Day 4 - Venice

Day 5 - Train to Florence, spend this day and day 6

Day 6 - Train to Sienna or Montepulciano

Day 7 - Tuscany

Day 8 - Rome

Day 9 - Flight back to US


One day in Rome is not nearly enough, but our focus in on relaxation, not historical sites.

So flying into Milan and out of Rome is called "open jaw". There are a couple of websites that consolidators use and I would also suggest using to get your best price. Try http://www.sidestep.com/, www.farecompare.com, and http://www.airlineconsolidator.com/reservations.html. Ok, so now you have your air transportation done, we move on to land transportation.

If we can get into Milan early in the morning, we can catch a train around noon to two o'clock over to Venice. Trip takes about 3 hours and we plan on buying a Eurail pass, 2nd class, 5 days within 2 months, cost is $207.00. So we arrive in Venice around 4 p.m. and go check into the hotel. I have found a hotel in Venice, Hotel Bernardi Semenzato, http://www.hotelbernardi.com



Average rate for rooms is 56.50 euros per night. It has excellent reviews on the Trip Advisor website. This hotel is located close to St. Marco's square, 5 minutes from the Rialto and the vaporetto stop is only 5 mins away. And now a little education for those of you, who like me, have never been to Venice. The vaporetto is the water bus and it is suggested that if you are to be in Venice for a couple of days, to go ahead and buy a 72 hour travel card or a Venice Card. This little ditty can explain in greater detail:




Venice is a compact city, and you can easily explore most of it on foot. However, there are times when it's convenient to use public
transportation:
1. To reach the city from the airport.
2. For getting to your
hotel, if it isn't within walking distance of your arrival point.
3. For the obligatory ride up or down the Grand Canal. (Tip: The vaporetti are least
crowded when you're headed toward San Marco in the late evening.)
4. To visit the Lido and its beaches.
5. To reach islands such as Giudecca (site of the
Venice Youth Hostel), Murano, Burano, and Torcello.
Venice has an excellent public transportation system, but tourist fares are high: €6,00 for an adult riding on most vaporetti or waterbuses. If you plan to use public transportation
often, you can buy a 1- or 3-day travel card at any ACTV vaporetto ticket booth.
For a longer stay, or for more perks (such as unlimited use of public toilets),
you may want to consider the Venice Card.
The Venice Card comes in two colors, each available for 1, 3, or 7 days. Go to http://europeforvisitors.com/venice/articles/venice-card.htm for more information on this card.

The Rialto is a bridge, but oh, what a bridge. Ponte di Rialto may not be as famous as the Piazza di San Marco, but it is the true heart of Venice. The bridge was built between 1588 and 1591. It was the only bridge that crossed the Grand Canal until the Accademia Bridge was built in 1854. The bridge has three walkways, two along the outer balustrades and a wider central walkway that is lined with shops selling jewelry, linens, Murano glass and other items. You can reach the bridge on foot and by vaporetto.

One of the most famous location in Venice is of course the Piazza di San Marco. The piazza started in the 9th century as a small area in front of the original St. Mark's Basilica. It was enlarged to it's current size in 1177. Now think about this, America, or rather Columbus discovered the "new" world in 1492. The Pilgrim's landed at Plymouth Rock in 1620, the United States didn't become a country until 1776. This Piazza is 830 years old. Wow, it really can boggle your mind. Anyway, the area between the Rio Batario and the Doge's Palace were filled in to form the square in preparation of the meeting between Pope Alexander III and Emperor Frederick Barbarossa.

The Piazza has always been the centre of Venice and is the lowest point in the city, which lends it to flooding during high water surges from the Adriatic Sea or heavy rain.

The Piazza area houses many museums and has lots of history that I do not want to get into here but the suggestion of many travel writers is to find a table, order a chilled glass of Prosecco and watch the tourists.

So next we will cover a few other sights that you might like to see in Venice, in the meantime, check out these movies set in Venice. The Italian Job, The Red Violin, Bread and Tulips, and one of my favorites, Don't Look Now, with Donald Sutherland and Julie Christie.

Michigan in the Summertime

On Golden Pond, although not set in Michigan, always conjures up visions of renting a cabin on a lake and enjoying a week of peace and quiet. Listening to the loons, canoeing or kayaking during dawn and sitting around a fire at night. Although plans could change, mention of a cruise instead have come up, I would like to do just this type of vacation with my son in 2008.

As usual, I have done the research and found a couple of interesting places. Rent for a week can run from $425 - $1500. You can rent one cabin, isolated, or you can rent at a "resort" where there are several cabins, boat rental, and other people. Most of the rentals require you to bring bedding but almost everything else is provided. Again, http://www.vrbo.com/ is a great start but I have found a few others through the Michigan website, http://www.michigan.org/.

So, based on a few personal criteria, Ludington, Michigan is my first choice.

One of Michigan's featured Beachtowns, Ludington and Mason County are home to breathtaking natural beauty that includes two historic lighthouses, miles of pristine Lake Michigan beaches and
rolling sand dunes, the Pere Marquette National Scenic River, the popular Ludington State Park, the Nordhouse Dunes Wilderness, Manistee National Forest area, the largest charter fishing fleet on the great lakes, and the Lake Michigan carferry service which carries 620 passengers and 180 vehicles between Ludington and Manitowoc, Wisconsin.

The car ferry is my main reason for choosing this location but after checking
into it, there are several reasons to stay here, as you can see from the insert
from the website above. There is a lake separate from Lake Michigan where there are several resorts and cabins for rent. The town itself is one of the premier Beachtowns of Michigan. You can do some charter fishing on Lake Michigan, hiking in the Ludington Stae Park, or take that ferry over to Wisconsin and Door County.

Although I have not made a personal decision on a place to stay, here are a few I found.

By the Lake at Parkview Cottages and rentals, http://www.parkviewcottages.com/. Offering cottages, apartments and houses in the town. You do have to contact them for pricing, but these are really nice. The Parkview Cottages were built in 1937 and have been meticulously maintained through the years. They offer knotty pine interiors and field stone fireplaces.

Another place is Outland's Long Lake Resort in Walhalla. This is east of Ludington and located on Long Lake. They offer 2 - 3 bedroom cottages that run from $595 - $900 weekly. http://www.outlandslonglakeresort.com/

A couple of websites for Ludington are:

http://www.visitludington.com/

http://www.ludingtoncvb.com/

So my plan is to rent a cabin for a week, fish, canoe, sight see, antique shop, and possible horse back ride, but basically just get away from it all and relax. After a week in Michigan, we will board the SS Badger for a trip across Lake Michigan to Wisconsin, then drive up to Door County for more shopping and eating.

The ferry trip across Lake Michigan takes approximately 4 hours, you leave Ludington at 9:00 a.m. Eastern Standard Time and arrive in Manitowoc at 12:00 noon Central Standard Time. My plan is to unload the car, and drive up to Door County which is 86 miles to the north. I think we will stay in Fish Creek which has the entrance to the Peninsula State Park and other sites to see. I have found a privately owned cottage that has a minimum 3 night stay before June 23rd and since we are heading that direction right after school is out, that should work good. Located right on the water and is beautifully maintained.

Shopping, biking, and eating are just a few of the activities we plan on enjoying up there. In fact, this cottage is so nice, we might just drive to Ludington, take the Ferry across, and stay up there for a week. Weekly rates are $955, Saturday to Saturday.

Things to do in Fish Creek include winery tours, Door County's Trolley tour, explore lighthouses, bike around the parks, or do some tours. They offer some kayak tours as well as cruises on Green Bay. I am sure that I can fill a week with wonderful stuff to do and wonderful food to eat. Want to try one of those famous Door County fish boils for sure.

The Door County fish boils started as an economical way to feed the large hungry groups of lumberjacks and fisherman in the area, but has now become an integral part of the wonder of Door County. The ingredients consist of mild, delicate whitefish, potatoes, and onions. During boiling, and at just the right moment, kerosene is thrown on the flames, the kettles boil over and the fish oil that has collected on the surface is carried off into the flames. A metal pole is then used to remove the basket of fish, potatoes and onions, served with butter. MMM, my mouth is watering already.

Another fun thing to do is a Sundae Drive. That's right, SUNDAE drive. And we all know what a Sundae is. Check out the website, http://www.doorcounty.com/do/ideas/sundae-drive.aspx and it will show you a drive through the back roads of Wisconsin, stopping for an occasional treat of ice cream. They list a whole itinerary which lasts approximately 1/2 a day.

There are 5 wineries and 1 brewery listed on the website above and that would be a great day trip around the peninsula, stopping for lunch and a little shopping.

I have convinced myself that this is indeed the trip that I should make next summer. And for my son's enjoyment, we can always do a water park or two, if we can find one.

One of my friends wants to go to Europe next September, so I think I will start on my next blog with some ideas for that. Until then, see ya.