Friday, April 29, 2005

Day 15 - April 29, 2005: Home

The flight home went OK. Customs in Atlanta sucks, though. Because the international concourse is the very last one, and the furthest from the main terminal, you have to go through passport control, pick up your luggage, go through customs, re-check your luggage (unless you're connecting to somewhere else on Delta), then go through the metal detector lines. If a couple "heavies" come in at about the same time, that final security line can take an hour to get through. Anyway, we picked up our luggage, got to the car, and drove home. Everything was going well, until I opened the small suitcase and discovered that a bottle of Chianti broke and leaked onto my sneakers and Angela's white sweater. Damn! I will never put wine in checked luggage anymore. d'Oh!

It was an amazing trip. Can't wait til the next one. Angela's already trying to figure out where to go next year...

Thursday, April 28, 2005

Day 14 - 28 April, 2005: Salzburg, Munich

Today was our final full day in Europe. It has been awesome being able to spend some "real" time over here; not feeling nearly so rushed as usual. Today we crossed the Alps at the Brenner Pass from Italy into Austria and took the autobahn over to Salzburg. While Angela wanted to find the eggs, I was looking forward to the cheese and bacon "crusted" pretzels at the stand in the square in front of the cathedral. We had some issues finding the egg shop, since our memory of its location from last year wasn't that great, but we did finally find it and were able to "restock" our supply of Christmas trinkets for this year's holiday. The store wasn't as impressive this time as last; not surprising. It was kind of fun to listen to the hushed whispers of amazement at the people who were seeing such a collection for the first time, though.

Our drive back to Munich went very smoothly. We dropped off our luggage at the now very familiar Munich Marriott and I went to get the trucklet washed up in preparation for its long voyage back to the USA. Since it was afterhours, there was noone to receive us at the dropoff point, so we just removed the "souvenirs" from the car (the first aid kit and front license plate) and proceeded to walk down the road to the subway stop, passing the offices of BMW M Gmbh.

For dinner, we "punted" and just ate at the "Champions" Sports Bar in the hotel. I had a very tasty cheeseburger, and Angela had some chicken tenders. It's a _very_ early morning tomorrow for our flight back home.


Wednesday, April 27, 2005

Day 13 - 27 April, 2005: Bolzano

The sun rose to a gorgeous day today; not a cloud in the beautiful, deep blue sky. This morning at breakfast, Angela read that Bolzano has the highest per-capita income of any city in Italy, and that the shopping here is fabulous. Needless to say, she was pretty excited about her prospects. We decided that she would do her shopping, and I would do my thing and we would meet back in the main town square (Waltherplatz, or Piazza Walther) for lunch.

After consulting the book, I made my way into a 13th century Dominican church which was beautiful. The frescoes were starting to fade from the walls, but the church was making an effort at preservation and restoration. I was able to put to use the little mini-tripod I bought in Siena to get some decent shots of the interior.

We met back up at the fountain in the main square and found some pizza for lunch. One of the things that I wanted to see here in Bolzano is the South Tirol Museum of Archaeology, since they have the exhibit of "Utzi," the 5000 year old Iceman found frozen in the alps. The exhibit was very well done, and there was an audioguide in English that explained everything in very good detail. He was so well preserved that the forensic anthropologists and doctors were able to identify his stomach contents. Amazing.

Angela and I decided to do a little driving, so we headed out of town and toward the ski town of Cortina d'Ampezzo, in the Val Gardena. What a beautiful drive! This dolomite region of the alps is spectacular. The bikers (bicyclists, not motorcycles) were everywhere. The gradients were quite steep, too.

We had dinner in another quaint restaurant; not as good as last night, though, but pretty good nonetheless.

Angela wants to go to the "Egg Store" in Salzburg for some more Christmas Trinkets, and we're dropping the trucklet off tomorrow night back in Munich, too.

Tuesday, April 26, 2005

Day 11 - 26 April, 2005: Maranello, Bolzano

It was another lazy morning. After breakfast, we spent the morning packing and loading the trucklet, and waiting for our call from BMW Roadside Assistance with their plan for helping me get a new tire. They called around 9:30 or 10 and had made arrangements for us to get the tire replaced at a garage on the north side of Florence (Sesta Fiorentino), on the autostrada heading north out of town. That was the good news. The bad news was that the tire had to be couriered to the shop and wouldn't get there until after the siesta, at 3pm. Suck! Once we got the call, we really slowed our packing pace down and decided to go back up to Fiesole so Angela could check out that little shop she saw yesterday.

As an aside, I would be remiss if I didn't mention that I've seen more Snooker on TV than I care to admit. Sports are universal, and the Eurosport channel was one of my favorites, even though it was in German.

We grabbed a bite to eat from the same place as yesterday; chatting up the proprietor again. She was really friendly. It's always nice to be able to have a real conversation in your native tongue.

Since our post-tire change schedule was really tight (I wanted to get to Maranello in time to see the Galleria Ferrari), we decided to try to find the garage where our tire was supposed to be changed. After getting some guidance from the hotel desk clerk, we headed out. Driving around Florence, while a little nervewracking, wasn't really that bad. Of course, I never went anywhere near the historic district, so I'm sure that helped. Our directions were good; I couldn't get the address inputted into the NAV system quite right, so I just put in "Maranello" and hoped that we would pass by the correct exit. It took a little deductive reasoning, and a fair bit of "fuzzy logic," but we found the place around 1:30pm and proceeded to wait until the staff returned from their siestas.

Around 2:15 or so, the employees began filtering back to the shop, and one of them motioned that it would be about 10 more minutes. Of course, none of them spoke English, so my attempts to find the proprietor to confirm that, yes, he was the one with whom BMW had arranged to handle my repair were a bit feeble. One old, grizzled mechanic saw my spare on, and got his jack out to remove it. I gave him the blownout tire/wheel and he asked me if I wanted a new one (I only know that because I recognized the Italian word for "new"). I said "si," and he went into the back of the shop and must have figured out what the deal was. He communicated "3pm" as the time when the new tire would get there (apparently, the couriers go on siesta, too). By 3:30, we were all settled up with the shop and on the road towards Maranello.

The trip up to Maranello was pretty easy, although there was some thick fog in places. Maranello is a pretty small town, and on our way toward the "Galleria Ferrari," we could hear the wailing of F1 engines testing at Ferrari's private test track, Fiorano. Angela wasn't super-interested in the museum, so we kind of went through pretty quickly. It's basically a shrine to Ferrari's Formula 1 heritage, with a couple "seminal" Ferrari models on display, too. I asked the desk clerk where we could get a view of the test track, and they pointed us to the end of the road, where there is a decent vantage point of one of the corners. After we left, I was disappointed to not hear the now familiar F1 music. It was getting late, so we headed out of town when I heard it again, the siren song. We managed to stumble across the very popular spectating spot and I was able to catch Sauber's Felipe Massa testing the car

We finally got on the road towards Bolzano around 6pm. It took much longer to get there than we expected, but the drive was gorgeous. Apparently, the northern region of Italy is famous for growing, of all things, citrus fruit and Pinot Griggio grapes. Every open square meter of ground was covered with vines or citrus trees. Getting to our hotel in Bolzano (Hotel Greif) was challenging, since our NAV system didn't have it in the database. We floundered around for about 10 minutes driving through what we found out later to be pedestrian-only streets until we stumbled across it.

It's dark, so we can't really tell too much about the town, but it definitely smacks of Bavaria. The town is immaculately clean; a stark departure from some of the other towns we've visited in Italy. Not too surprising, though, since this part of Italy (in Austria, known as the Sudtirol) was part of Austria until after WW1 redrew all the national borders in Europe. Dinner was in a terrific restaurant serving a mix of German and Italian fare. We're strongly considering cancelling our night tomorrow in Innsbruck to stay here an extra day. Our hotel room is fabulous; very modern and spacious with a very comfortable bed and a large bathroom. They even supply notebook computers for guests.


Monday, April 25, 2005

Day 10 - 25 April, 2005: Florence, Fiesole

Today was a lazy day. We slept in, had breakfast, and went back to the room to get ready in a very leisurely manner. Today being an Italian National holiday, none of the big attractions in Florence were open. We took the bus up the hill to Fiesole to see what this little town had to offer. Fiesole is situated on the site of an Etruscan settlement that pre-dates the Roman Empire. There is also a fairly large Roman ampitheater and an archaeological museum that illustrates the history of the town.

After enjoying the museum, we strolled along the streets of the small downtown area looking for shops where Angela could find something to bring back for the house. We've taken to bringing back small pieces of pottery; and Angela found some wonderful bowls in a shop window; but alas, the shop was closed because of the holiday. By lunchtime, we were famished, so we stopped into a very busy restaurant to get some takeaway paninis. While I was waiting for our food, I was approached by an American woman who was married to the owner of the restaurant. I think she really enjoys when tourists come in, because she talked my ear off; in a very friendly way.

After lunch, we took the bus back into town. One of Angela's girlfriends had told her about the San Lorenzo market, which is a huge street market in the area arounding the San Lorenzo chapel, which was the private chapel of the Medici family. The market was crazy with vendors selling leather goods, silks, you name it. I wound up getting a belt, and Angela got another purse. We were also on the lookout for a street-artist to get a small watercolor. None of the artists around the chapel had what we were looking for, so we mosied on over toward the Ponte Vecchio, by way of some high-street shopping. I don't know why, but every vacation ultimately turns into a shopping excursion.

Ponte Veccio was a crush of people. I was happy to get to the other side, where the streets were a little wider. There were certainly a ton of jewelers plying their trade. We wanted to go to Piazza Michelangelo to get a good view of the old city, and passed by Palazzo Pitti on the way there. It was there that we finally found an artist with a style that we both liked. Two small watercolors later and we were on our way to Piazza Michelangelo.

My God! It felt like we would never get there. It was so far away; and it never seemed to get any closer. Once we finally got to the summit of the hill on which the piazza was located, the view was marvelous. It was tough to take pictures because of the time of day and the sunbursts through the clouds, but the Florentine "skyline" was beautiful, with the Duomo having such a commanding presence above the rest of the city. Florence is so much bigger than I had imagined. We didn't stay long, since we were getting hungry.

Angela had wanted to go to a restaurant recommended by one of her friends called "Beccofino." We tried calling them all day, but they never answered. The holiday strikes again! Damn! We wound up eating dinner in a small trattoria somewhere between the Uffizi and Santa Croce. Angela had been dying to try the Tuscan "Bread Soup," as well as the chicken liver pate that was the nastiest stuff I'd ever eaten. It actually tasted like eating mud.

Honestly, we're tired of Florence and are ready to go somewhere else. Tomorrow, we have to make our arrangements to get our tire replaced; hopefully the BMW Roadside assistance people will facilitate that. We're spending tomorrow night in Bolzano, by way of the Galleria Ferrari in Maranello. I hope they're testing the F1 cars at Fiorano.

Sunday, April 24, 2005

Day 9 - 24 April, 2005: Imola, Bologna

Didn't get too much sleep last night; what with the near death experience and all. We had to basically get the first bus of the day down to the train station. There was some confusion about how to actually convert our online reservation into a ticket, but I managed; with the help of the customer service lady, to operate the kiosk.

We booked our first leg to Bologna on the Eurostar. It was a quick jaunt from Florence to Bologna where we were to catch a regional commuter-type train to Imola. Let me tell you, that train was Packed. It was a sea of Ferrari Red as the Tifosi made their way to Imola from all corners. Thank goodness it was only 2 stops and about 20 minutes down to Imola.

When we disembarked from the train, we just followed the crowd through town towards the track. About half way there, we could hear the shriek of the V10's as the F1 cars went through their qualifying lap. I was a little disappointed that we got to Imola so late, because we missed all of the support races and the final qualifying session prior to the race. It was probably a mile and half or two miles walk through town and to the track. Once inside the track, we had to fight through the immense crowd to get to our corner, Rivazza A. You can see a map of the track at the website for the Autodromo Enzo i Dino Ferrari. It turns out the Rivazza was on the exact opposite end of the track from where we were, so we had another 20 minute hike to get to our grandstand. The track itself is old enough that there are houses and restaurants within its boundaries.

By the time we got to our seats, all of the pre-race action was over, so we had about an hour to wait until the race started. Our seats were next to some Brits who had come down for the race, so we were able to chit-chat with them until the race started. I could tell that Angela was very non-plussed by the whole affair; she had brought a book along and was in her own world reading. We almost witnessed a fight between two guys who were confused about where their seats were.

So, 1:30 comes and we can see on the jumbotron and hear over the PA that cars are starting to leave the pitlane and make their way to the starting grid. Now, Rivazza is one of the final turns, so we don't actually see our first F1 car for a few minutes. Man, even "crawling" along at 100mph those cars look and sound so amazing. When the cars first leave the pitlane, they're not really going at it very hard, they're just getting into their grid positions. Just before the race starts, they will actually do their warm-up lap where the drivers will attempt to get their tires and brakes up to normal operating temperature prior to the standing start.

The whole race was a blur of sight and sound and smell. The cars at full gallop are so loud! This was my first race of any kind, so I don't have any basis for comparison, but the sound was amazing! They can stop so fast; you don't really appreciate how fast they can stop and accelerate when you watch the races on TV. I do remember calling my buddy Adam back in the states and just holding the phone up so that he could hear the cacophany of all those V10's at full howl. What made this race really amazing was that, since Imola is so close to the Ferrari factory, and since all Italians love Ferrari, and since the Ferrari F1 team wasn't doing so well thus far, Michael Schumacher made the most improbable of charges through the field and fought Fernando Alonso (the current Championship leader) for the final 15 or so laps and got SO close, but finished 2nd. You'd have thought that he won the race the way the Tifosi were carrying on. There was so much energy there; kind of like a big-time college football game.

The good thing about F1 races is that they only really last 2 hours or so. After the race, Angela and I joined the rest of the herd and made our way back to the train station. We really took the long way this time, but finally made it to the station. After some confusion about the schedule and which trains were going to Bologna, we boarded and got back to Bologna probably by 5:30 or 6. We had intended to stroll through Bologna's famous wide boulevards and do a little sight-seeing, but it was raining and nasty, and since it was Sunday, nothing was open, so we holed up in a McD's while we waited for dinner time.

We spotted what looked like a good "locals only" type of ristorante and decided that, when they opened for dinner, that we would eat there. Bologna is in the heart of the region that brought us, among other things, Prosciutto ham, parmesan cheese, and lasagne. Needless to say, I was very excited about dinner tonight. Angela spotted some sort of "Old Navy"-esque clothing store right next door to the restaurant that was hopping with activity, so she instinctively poked her head in to check out the latest in Italian "grunge" fashion. This place was HUGE, and EXPENSIVE, to boot. How these kids could afford the clothes in there is beyond me.

Anyway, our dinner was delightful. I was able to order and pay without speaking a word of English, so I was fairly proud of myself. "Una mezzo rosso (half-liter of house red wine), una insalata caprese, i due lasagne."

We had a train to catch, so after dinner, we hurried back to the train station only to find that our train back to Florence was delayed by at least 45 minutes.

It was a _very_ long day, but we finally got back to our hotel. We're sleeping in tomorrow.

Day 8 - 23 April, 2005: Florence, Siena

We slept in a bit this morning; knowing that our schedule wasn't going to be so hectic. Breakfast in the hotel's dining room was a surprise. They had quite a spread of scrambled eggs, sausage, the customary breads and pastries, cold cuts and cheese. I was very thankful to be able to eat a "normal" breakfast.

After the bumpy bus ride into town, we got off at the Accademia stop and saw the super long line to get in. We decided that we would rather not spend so much time in line, so we headed to Santa Croce to find its famous Leather School that's been making fine leather goods since the post-war period. We went to two different tourist information offices looking for directions, and finally found it after spending the better part of 30 minutes looking for it. Once we got there, the monastery situated behind the church was quite the tranquil setting amidst the hustle and bustle of downtown Florence. The actual leather school was an impressive array of jackets, coats, purses, belts, pants, everything leather. Surprisingly, Angela couldn't find anything that caught her eye. I must admit, it was a bit of a relief for me. ;)

Angela wasn't too keen on it, but I insisted that we go inside the main church building. It's the burial place of such Italian notables as Michelangelo Buonarrati, Galileo Galilei, and Niccolo Macchiavelli. Michelangelo's tomb was, predictably, ornate; Macchiavelli's tomb was fairly plain; and Galileo's tomb was, unfortunately, shrouded in scaffolding and tarpaulins while the art restoration specialists work on the frescoes surrounding it.

After we had our fill of Santa Croce, we strolled back towards the Uffizi and the Palazzo Vecchio. We decided that we wanted to see what the Palazzo Vecchio had to offer, so we got in line and went through the security screening. The signs outside indicated that this museum was free of charge, but when we got to the entrance to the galleries, we were politely, but sternly, informed that we had to purchase a ticket. Instead, we just took some pictures of the incredibly ornate inner courtyard and went to find the bus back to Fiesole. On the way back to the bus, Angela decided that she needed to get her "shop" on, so I got to enjoy my least favorite marital activity. Fortunately, she found the Furla store fairly quickly and got her fill in short order.

Back in Fiesole, we took a quick break and got ready for our day-trip down to Siena. The drive was pleasant, and we got to Siena around 3:30 or so. The skies were very heavy when we got there, and the town was fairly crowded. Strolling around the town, we were struck by how it was not at all what we expected. As walled cities go, Siena is pretty big. We found Piazza del Campo and were summarily unimpressed. It was a bustle of activity, no doubt, but so far none of the piazzas we've seen on this trip can remotely compare with the piazzas like Piazza Navona and Piazza d'Espagne in Rome. We meandered around the town and found ourselves at the foot of the Duomo. It was very impressive. The facade was, dare I say, more ornately decorated than the Duomo in Florence. One very interesting thing that we discovered about Siena had to do with its neighborhoods. They are all marked with various crests painted on tiles mounted in the walls of buildings. Every year, there is a huge competition among the various districts for bragging rights throughout the city.

Around 5:30, we decided that we didn't want to hang around until the dinner hour, so we left Siena and took the Chianti Road (S222) with the intention of having dinner in one of the small towns on the way back to Florence. Angela was reading our Fodors guide to Italy and had picked out an "out of the way" restaurant called "Ristoro di Lamole" in a town called Lamole. According to the book; it had a commanding view of the vineyards in the valley below the town. Great! We decided to try to find this place. We turned off of the 222 on the road to Lamole and went for several kilometers without finding the restaurant. The signs were sparse, and finally we pulled off into the parking lot of a vineyard/B&B called Vignamaggio. As an aside, this place looked awesome! We definitely want to come back here. Anyway, we called the restaurant from our cell phone to get directions. We were able to get a hold of an English speaking waitress who politely told us that we had not gone far enough down the road.

With good directions in hand, we finally found the restaurant. Sure enough, the view was spectacular. Dinner was exquisite. We partook of a local aperitif called limoncella, and had a wonderful conversation with the proprietor on our way out the door. I asked him about the new no-smoking laws in Italy, and he allowed as how his establishment went no-smoking 2 years ago. He recommended some very locally produced Chianti and olive oil, which we bought, and we were on our way.

Now, it was already 9:30 or so by the time we started back to Florence. There was no moon; it was cloudy, and it had been sprinkling rain on and off. On the road back to the 222, we were essentially forced off the road by a maniacal Italian driver with one light out, driving right smack in the middle of the road. Usually this would not be a huge problem, but tonight, I struck a large rock that shook the whole vehicle. Back on the main road, my tire pressure warning light came on, and the trucklet started pulling hard to the right. I told Angela "I think we have a flat tire." She didn't believe me until I showed her, by letting go of the wheel.

Now, part of our European Delivery experience includes 24 hour roadside assistance. Of course, I left that information in the hotel. D'Oh! I'd have to change the tire myself. Not a huge deal, but it was late, and wet, and dark.

First task, find a flat spot to park; check. I found a public parking lot just off the road.
Second, find the lug wrench and jack; check. Third, jack up the car and remove the flat; check. Well, not so fast. The jack seemed barely capable of supporting the weight of the car. And it didn't help that I missed the jack point on my first try. Compounding the problem is that the action of the jack handle was very awkward. After some consternation; cursing; Angela laughing; offers of assistance from Italian teenagers; I got the wheel replaced and we made it back to Florence. It was a nervous drive back, since I had nothing if we blew out the spare, too.

I just got off the phone with the Roadside Assistance people who were very helpful, although apologetic that they wouldn't be able to help me until Tuesday. See, nothing in Italy, save restaurants and museums, is open on Sunday, and Monday is a national holiday. Thankfully, our plans don't require the use of our car until then, anyway.

Tomorrow's the big day! The Grand Prix of Imola. I think it's going to be a long day.

Friday, April 22, 2005

Day 7 - 22 April, 2005: San Gimignano, Florence

Another driving day today. We drove down the coast almost to Pisa, then turned inland into the heart of Tuscany. Before arriving in Florence, we really wanted to go to San Gimignano to see the medieval towers. Can I just say that Tuscany is beautiful. Even in the early spring, before the Sunflowers or poppies are in bloom, the Tuscan landscape is exactly as I pictured it. We actually passed by Florence (I could see the dome on the Cathedral) on our way down to San Gimignano. Our NAV-lady did a fantastic job guiding us down to San Gimignano. It was a bit of a pain to find a parking space, but we did, and took a few hours to stroll around the old town; which was lovely. We got some paninis for lunch and ate on the steps of the cathedral. The weather was perfect; probably low 70's and sunny. We couldn't spend too much time in San Gimignano, just long enough to get some local Vernaccia white wine and take some pictures, before we had to head back to Florence for our appointment at the Uffizi.

On the way back to Florence, I got to experience the Italian version of pay at the pump gasoline. No credit cards (debit only), but you could feed paper currency into the machine and pick the pump and go. Absolutely no attendant on duty. Unfortunately, I didn't pick the right route-type for the NAV-lady, and she guided us almost into the middle of Florence before we emerged on the road up to Fiesole. Of course, the address for our hotel (the Villa Fiesole) wasn't exactly in the NAV system, so I had to pull off and make some guesses. Angela hopped out of the car and took some pictures of the hillside villas while I figured it out. We finally found our hotel, checked in, and promptly headed into Florence for our Uffizi tour.

Honestly, Florence was a little disappointing. Aside from the obvious historical significance of being the birthplace of the Renaissance, Florence was just another big city. Which is to say that it was noisy, crowded, and dirty. The Uffizi was impressive; the Duomo was impressive; the sculptures were beautiful; the street vendors and beggars were oppressive; the air quality was terrible; the crowds were huge (and we weren't even there in the high season).

After dinner in a nice little ristorante, we found an Internet Cafe and bought our train tickets to Imola for our trip to the Formula 1 San Marino Grand Prix on Sunday and to try to book a reservation to the Accademia Gallery for tomorrow. We bought the train tickets just fine, but we couldn't get a reservation to the museum less than 1 day in advance. We'll have to try our luck in the line.

Our hotel is lovely. It's situated on a hillside in an ancient Etruscan town called Fiesole. Our room was a "Junior Suite," and offered a nice, spacious bathroom, plenty of closet and shelf space for us to at least partially unpack (which will be great since we're staying here for 4 nights), and, wait for it, a 20" LCD flat-panel TV. Of course the cable signal is terrible, but at least I get to keep caught up on current events with BBC World and CNN International. There's a World Snooker Championship on EuroSport (German), so I can get my "sports" fix, too.

Our plan tomorrow is to try to get into the Accademia, check out Santa Croce and its Leather School, and then drive down to Siena for the afternoon and for dinner.


Thursday, April 21, 2005

Day 6 - 21 April, 2005: Rapallo, Portofino

We had to get up early today to make the 8:30 ferry over to Varenna. The ferry ride was pleasant; about 20 minutes or so, and once on land, our navigation lady guided us down the lake until we could get onto the Autostrada towards Milan and on to the Ligurian coast. Our route took us around Milan, down towards Genoa, around Genoa and along the coastal higway to Rapallo. The drive was amazing. Once we got to the coast, it was basically tunnels and bridges alternating as we cut straight across the valleys formed by the fingers of the Appenine mountains reaching down to the sea. The engineering involved was amazing. Honestly, I'm surprised that the Italian government was able to muster the organization to get this incredible job done.

We had our first fill-up on the way down: 82 euros ($110). There was a slight bit of nervousness when our VISA got declined. Thankfully they took AMEX. We came to find out that FirstUSA had put a hold on our account due to charges showing up in a foreign country. I was able to call from the lobby of our hotel in Rapallo and straightened it all out.

We got to Rapallo around 12 or so; right on time. We spent about 15 minutes or so fumbling around trying to find our hotel and realized that we passed right by it on our initial approach. It's basically right on the water; across from a long promenade. There was a HUGE street market going on on the promenade when we got there; so that made things even more crazy than usual. Fortunately, I had reserved a spot in the hotel's secured parking area, or else we wouldn't have found a spot anywhere nearby. We were given the choice of a room on the 1st floor or the 3rd floor. The 3rd floor room had an awesome view of the sea, so we chose that one. It had the added benefit of being a little further away from the street; which we hoped would help us out when it was time to retire for the evening.

The hotelier was able to sell us our ferry tickets to Portofino, and we set out to find a place to have lunch. This trip we're trying to be a little more thrifty at lunch and have been purchasing sandwiches and small pizzas for picnic lunches on park benches or what have you. We ate on the promenade; watching the people and soaking up the sun. I traded some SMS messages with my buddy Adam, who was on his honeymoon and was in Rome at the time. We tried to send pictures of the waterfront to some people back in the states, but never got any confirmation of their delivery.

Anyway, we boarded the ferry and half an hour later we were in Portofino. It's a smaller town than Bellagio; but no less quaint. The small harbor was dominated by some yachts the likes of which you only see in places like Ft. Lauderdale, Cannes, or Monte Carlo. The water was such a deep, rich, azure blue that it's no wonder they call some of this coastline the "Cote d'Azur." We strolled around the shops, aghast at the prices being charged for some of the goods. A gelato that would cost 3 euros in Rapallo was 8 euros there; blouses that would be $40 in the US were 150 euros there. What amazed me even more is the thought that there are people who would look at that 150 euro blouse and say to their husbands, "Now that's not that bad a price for that blouse, is it honey?"

We walked up the hill that overlooks the harbor and found an old church and fortress that was used to defend and protect not only Portofino, but the approaches to the entire bay on which sits Rapallo and Santa Margherita. We walked around to the lighthouse, at the end of the peninsula and passed by several doors with paths leading up or down the hill to their respective villas. Our guidebook mentioned that the "locals" don't even come out until very late in the afternoon; after the last ferry has left (and with it all of the "common" tourists).

Unfortunately, we had to share the return ferry with at least 100 schoolchildren ranging from elementary school to high school. It was a complete zoo. Once back in Rapallo, we went in search of dinner (and Pesto in particular, since the region of Liguria is the home of pesto). We found a lovely little "locals only" trattoria and proceeded to have the best pesto ever. We had our compulsory cup of gelato on the walk back to the hotel.

It's another early morning tomorrow; as we have to get to Florence in time for our 4:45pm tour of the Uffizi Gallery. We also want to see San Gimignano and its towers tomorrow, too. So far the weather's been great, except for Tuesday. Today it was perfect; bright blue sky and just a few puffy clouds.

Wednesday, April 20, 2005

Day 5 - 20 April, 2005: Bellagio, Menaggio, Varenna

Thankfully, the kids staying in the hotel weren't too obnoxious last night. I guess the manager had a little "sit down" with their chaperones and told them to get a handle on their charges; since he didn't want to issue a bunch of credits to the complaining guests.

It's our last full day in Bellagio, and Angela wanted to get some shopping done at some boutiques that she'd seen during our evening strolls through town. We also wanted to take the ferry over to some of the other smaller towns in the "Centro di Lago" section of Como. The lake is shaped like an inverted "Y," with Bellagio sitting right in the middle. There are about 6 or 7 small towns on the eastern and western shore, and the ferries run pretty much all day between them. After spending a little time in the other towns, Bellagio is definitely the jewel of the lake. Menaggio was just big enough to lose any charm. Varenna was cute; but the waterfront was small and very sleepy. I think that we've become a little desensitized to how pretty this place actually is.

When we returned to Bellagio, the siesta was over, and Angela could get down to business. We must have stopped in every leather and silk shop in Bellagio. Fortunately, our time was well spent and Angela found some pretty silk scarves that were made in Como.

We ate dinner in a nice trattoria that we had seen last night. We both ate "Osso Bucco," which is basically a large veal chop in gravy. It was spectacular. For dessert, we shared a dark chocolate mousse that was spiked with a little orange zest.

We're heading down to Rapallo tomorrow. I'm not expecting it to take too long to get there, but we're going to leave early anyway. We'd like to make it by lunch so that we'll have plenty of time in Portofino.

Tuesday, April 19, 2005

Day 4 - 19 April, 2005: Bellagio, Tremezzo, Como

Man, was it nice to sleep in today. We rushed down for breakfast just in time and promptly went back to our room to get ready for the day. The day started off well enough, with bright blue sky and a few puffy clouds. Our agenda today was to take the ferry over to Tremezzo and see Villa Carlotta and its gardens, built by an Italian nobleman in the 16th Century and continually added to over the centuries. We purchased our ferry ticket and boarded the ferry for the 15 minute trip across the lake.

Lake Como, like the other lakes in the Italian "Lake District" is a glacial lake, meaning that it was formed when the glaciers of the last ice age receded and melted. It is fed now by streams that come out of the Alps and their remaining active glaciers. It was fascinating to see, as we drove south through Switzerland and into Northern Italy, how they've built aquaducts to channel the melting snow from the spring thaw into cisterns and reservoirs. Can I just say that the tap water in that region tasted as pure as any bottled water I've ever had here? The lake is 1300 feet deep at its deepest point, and is about 35 miles long and averages probably 3/4 of a mile wide. It's a but wider right in the middle.

Anyway, enough of the geology and geography lesson. Villa Carlotta was very beautiful, especially the gardens; which basically were a zoo for plants. The collection of "exotic" plants was amazing, especially considering how old the gardens are. There were Sequoias and Torrey Pines from California, some trees from China, Orchids, all types of bamboo, you name it. Our book said that the residents of Villa Carlotta were social rivals of the family that lived in Villa Melzi, right across the lake near Bellagio, and it became a bit of a running battle to one-up each other with a new exotic plant for the garden.

After a couple of hours strolling through the gardens and admiring the sculptures in the actual house, we had a panini from a small sandwich stand and headed back to Bellagio to plan for the afternoon. It was on the way back on the ferry that it started to rain; a rain that would persist the rest of the afternoon. We decided to take the hydroplane ferry down to Como in the hopes that the weather would improve further south.

On the contrary, the weather steadily deteriorated to the point that it was downright pouring when the boat docked in Como. Undeterred, we got out our little umbrellas and ventured to the duomo, which our book said was an excellent example of Italian Gothic architecture. The book didn't lie; the inside of the church was spectacular. We were able to make an impromptu tri-pod for the camera, and I was able to get a great shot of one of the altars using a fairly long exposure. Once we were through with in the church, Angela set out to do what she does best on vacation; SHOP! Unfortunately for her, but fortunately for our credit card balance, all the shops were closed for the afternoon siesta. We did stop into an Italian department store called "Coin," though, and Angela browsed around while I tried not to knock anything over. We found an awesome "pasticceria" (pastry shop) and split a heavenly cannoli that oozed cream filling all over the place when we bit down into it. Back onto the ferry at around 5 for the hour-long trip back up to Bellagio.

It was still raining, although not as hard, when we got back to our hotel, and we freshened up for dinner. We had dinner in a pizzeria right up an alley from our hotel. It was so-so; fairly watery since they use fresh mozzarella cheese that they store in water. It had stopped raining by the time we finished with dinner, so we strolled through the streets; Angela making a mental note of the shops that she wanted to stop in tomorrow.

Sleeping tonight will be a challenge, as there are about 25 schoolkids terrorizing the halls and stairwells of our hotel. We complained to the night manager, and he assured us that if they gave us any trouble that they would credit us for the night.

Monday, April 18, 2005

Day 3 - 18 April, 2005: Pickup and drive to Bellagio

It was a very early morning today. We wanted to get to the ED Delivery center as early as possible so that we could get on the road and be in Bellagio in time for dinner. Our plan for the day was to pick up the car; find a Walmart or other similar store to get a Euro-spec hair dryer; swing by the dropoff location to arrange for our after-hours dropoff; go back to the hotel and get our gear; and finally get on the road.

We got to the delivery center around 8:15 or so right at the same time as another group of ED'ers; a guy and two girls (turns out that they were picking up an X3, too). In the parking lot were a score of exotic (well, exotic to me) BMW's; some brand new M6's, lots of 1ers, and tons of new 3ers. The weather wasn't real good; the sky was very gray and heavy, but at least is wasn't raining.

After about 45 minutes we were approached by our delivery specialist, Chris Leeb (he handled our delivery last year, too). He went over the usual stuff: insurance, roadside assistance (I wish he had gone over that in a little more detail; more on that later), dropoff procedures, etc., and then took us out to meet our new little "trucklet." It was just as we had ordered, and Chris went over it (mostly for Angela's benefit) for about 30 minutes. We left armed with directions to the nearest SuperWalmart, a bag lunch from the little bistro, and a light drizzle falling.

There are a couple of things that one can reasonably assume will be the same when one travels from the US to Europe: McDonalds is McDonalds, and Walmart is Walmart. Now, the Walmart wasn't exactly like they're like in the US, but it wasn't a foreign experience either. We found the hairdryers, looked all over for bottled water (they didn't have any. Wild Turkey - yes; water - no), finally gave up and checked out.

We finally headed south around 11. Our route took us through Garmische-Partenkirchen, into Austria, then Switzerland, past St. Moritz, into Italy, and finally down the east shore of Lake Como to Lecco and back up to Bellagio. The scenery was spectacular; there was a fair bit of recent snowfall along the route, and tons of snow on the mountains.

Once we got to Bellagio, we found that it's everything that we were hoping for. The town is right out of a painting. Our hotel is right on the lake, and our room is on the top floor with a great view of the lake and the towns of Cadennabia and Tremezzo on the far shore. Our dinner was excellent; on the terrace right on the water. I had tortellini with pesto and lake trout sauteed with butter and sage. Angela had Lasagne. We didn't bother with a fancy wine; just a "Mezzo Rosso," or half liter of the house red. We found during the trip that house wines in Italy are way better than any house wine we've ever had here.

Sunday, April 17, 2005

Day 2 - 17 April, 2005: Munich

Our flight to Munich was uneventful. We landed around noon or so, went through immigration (why can't arrival into the US be as easy?), collected our 4 suitcases, and found the Lufthansa Airport Bus pickup point. Good thing we're going to be driving an SUV around, since manhandling all this luggage would have been a giant PIA.

We checked in to the Munich Marriott and immediately set out in search of lunch. Two stops on the U-bahn (subway) later and we were in the Schwabing area of Munich looking for a quick lunch. Fortunately, we found a gyro ("Donner" in German) place and had a great lunch of Gyro and potatoes. After lunch, we headed down to the Olympic Park. We didn't get there last year, and I wanted to check it out. I had heard that the various Olympic venues were quite striking in their architecture.

We got off the train at the "Olympiazentrum" and took our bearings. This was a familiar place, since last year we toured the BMW Munich plant that's right across the street from the subway station. BMW recently introduced the 7th generation of the 3-series, and there were about 10 rail cars full of them waiting to be transported to their final destinations. The Olympic Park was about a 15 minute walk from the train station; and once we got there, it was just what we needed after a long flight.

After a nice afternoon strolling through the park, we headed back to Schwabing for dinner at a place that we remembered from last year, Milennium. Last year, we ate there with my buddy Ed Porras (who was working in Munich on a project for his company) and had such good wiener schnitzel and potatoes that we just had to go back this year. Unfortunately, we were disappointed. Tomorrow we pick up the car and head down to Bellagio.

Day 1 - 16 April, 2005: Departure

Well, it's another year and another European Vacation. Like last year, we're killing two birds with one stone and picking up a new car for Angela: a BMW X3 3.0i "Sports Activity Vehicle." We're going for 2 weeks this time; so we've used up every one of our suitcases. One of these days we'll learn how to pack light.

This is our first Saturday departure and it was a welcome change to be able to take our time and have a nice leisurely morning before we had to head out to the airport. Our flight was on time as is typical for the international flights we've taken. Unfortunately, like every other international flight we've taken, we got no sleep.