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More of Italy, 2012

My eyes popped open at 5:00 AM! What in the world??

I am typically NOT an early bird so I tried to go back to sleep . . . but I finally gave up. Today (Tuesday) was a travel day so the morning consisted of packing, breakfast, and check-out. I was sorry to leave Lezzeno. I really liked the village, the people, and especially the villa.

We held our breath as Max navigated the narrow streets through all the little towns until we got to the highway at Como. Whew!

On the road we headed south. Destination: Tuscany! Yeah, baby! (Have I died and gone to Heaven?)

Along the way we saw mile after mile of farming towns. It looked like they were growing mostly corn and hay but I’m not certain. We commented that the area looks very similar to the farmlands in our area of California. As we got further south, the terrain changed and looked more like the typical rolling hills you would expect to see in wine country. We drove 4-5 hours and finally turned off the highway to find our hotel which is located in the Tuscan hill country in a town called Castellino in Chianti. Oh. My. Goodness.

The area is absolutely stunning. There are vineyards every where the eye can see. There are also olive groves, cypress trees, and sunflower fields all around the area.

View from the pool.

Hotel Belvedere di San Leonino is actually an old converted animal farm! According to the brochure, the Falassi and Orlandi families set up two hotels in two 15th century buildings in the area. The one we are visiting is in the country surrounded by it’s own vineyards. It is rustic and charming and feels more like a Bed and Breakfast. There are only 29 rooms here – all decorated with Tuscan furniture, wrought-iron beds, terracotta floors, wood beam ceilings, wood shutters, and brick archways throughout. The original trough for feeding pigs, is still in the sitting area! This is such a departure from the places we usually visit. We are literally out in the country. I can envision spending quiet, peaceful, relaxing days by the pool or in the garden enjoying the spectacular view.

We haven’t had an opportunity to explore or take pictures yet, but I took a few shots just before dinner to give you an idea of where we are.

Hotel Belvedere.

Front gate to hotel.

Hotel side view.

The pool.

Front patio area.

The garden patio where we had dinner.

The original well.

Tomorrow we have a busy day planned. Lights out early tonight!

July 3, 2012/0 Comments/by H.A. Schiavone

Travel

Rainy Day – Perfect For Relaxing

I don’t even know what day it is! Or what time it is!

Today was overcast and we had a little refreshing rain in the afternoon. The air smells sweet, like flowers. I opted to stay in my room and catch up a little on emails, bills and laundry and enjoy the view of the lake. It’s so nice here. I definitely want to come back and stay here again.

Tomorrow is another travel day.

P.S. Italy lost last night. The locals were so bummed . . .

July 2, 2012/0 Comments/by H.A. Schiavone

Travel

Villa del Balbianello

I love, love, love Italy!

As I am writing this post, it is Sunday evening and the little town of Lezzeno is gearing up for the big championship soccer match between Spain and Italy. I am going to go downstairs and hang-out with the locals as they cheer for their team. It should be exciting!

So, let’s back-up.

First thing this morning – view from the balcony:

Lake Como, Italy

Lezzeno, Italy in the morning.

After a quick breakfast, we walked up the street to the bus stop and hopped on a bus to Bellagio. All I can say is they should give everyone a T-shirt in Bellagio that says, “I survived the bus ride from Lezzeno to Bellagio!” The streets are so narrow, there are almost no sidewalks, and the buildings come right up to the road. It’s bad enough if you are on a motorcycle or in a small compact car . . . but can you imagine what it’s like in a BUS? I hope the bus driver gets paid hazardous pay because he sure earns it! Bless his heart!

So we arrived in Bellagio in one piece and we only had about an hour to walk around before catching the ferry to the other side of Lake Como. We visited Bellagio three years ago and it is such a charming place. I was sorry I didn’t have more time, but I was excited to see the Villa. Perhaps we will get to spend more time in Bellagio tomorrow.

We took a ferry across to Lenno, found a place to have lunch, and then took a water taxi to Villa del Balbianello. This is what the Villa looks like from the water.

Villa del Balbianello

Can you see how the house is connected to the
old facade of the church?

The Villa del Balbianello and the Loggia were built in 1787 on the site of a Franciscan monastery by Cardinal Angelo Durini when he acquired the Punta di Lavedo (a peninsula on the shoreline of Lake Como). He built two connected square structures – the Villa, and a Loggia (a separate building for the library and the music room). When you look at the pictures, you will see the remaining facade of the church and the bell towers attached to the Villa. It’s so cool that he incorporated the exterior of the church into the house.

When the Cardinal died in 1797 the Villa was inherited by his nephew, Luigi Porro Lambertenghi.

He sold the property to his friend, Giuseppe Arconati Visconti. (You must read this name with a strong Italian accent. It sounds so much better!)

He and his wife turned the Villa into a prestigious summer salon and they enriched the Villa with the stone parapet that defines the terrace. But the family was slowly dying out and the Villa was abandoned for thirty-nine years.

In 1919, the Villa was purchased by General Butler Ames from Boston, Massachusetts. He and his family used it as a vacation home and he restored the Villa in an attempt to save the decor that once belonged to the Arconati family.

After the general’s death in 1954, his heirs sold the property to Guido Monzino, a prominent businessman from Milan who was a fervent collector and an explorer. The Villa was again restored and modernized and in part turned into a private museum where Monzino displayed his travel memoirs, art pieces and souvenirs of the famous expeditions he participated in.

After his death in 1988, the Villa – complete with his collections and furnishings – were left to a non-profit foundation along with a trust fund that helps to cover its maintenance.

Stan and I took a tour of the inside of the Villa and it was so interesting. Monzino was a perfectionist and had excellent taste in decorating. I was disappointed we were not allowed to take pictures. He has a very rare glass art collection and I wish I would have had more time to take it all in.

Remaining church facade.

The Loggia.
Library on one side, Music Room on the other.

The Loggia.

The gardens are beautiful.

Last bit of trivia: The terrace of Villa del Balbianello was used in the “Lake Retreat” scenes of the movie, “Star Wars Episode II: Attack of the Clones.”

The Terrace.

Scene from Star Wars. Notice that they removed the city from the background!

View of Lezzeno (where we are staying) from the Villa.

July 1, 2012/0 Comments/by H.A. Schiavone

Travel

Dizzy!

Maximilian earned his keep today.

So after a fit-full sleep (since my room was without air conditioning and it was hot . . . ) we had breakfast and packed up. Before we left Switzerland, Stan said we had to make one very important stop. We HAD to buy some Swiss chocolate! Yay! We walked to a little shop and there was a sign in the window that said, “One piece of dark chocolate a day, keeps the doctor away”. Well, there you go!

We headed south. I had no idea we were going to take the mountain pass OVER The Alps to the main highway that would take us into Italy. We drove for about 30 miles on a steep, narrow, two-lane road, winding and curving around and around all the way up ~ and all the way down. The scenery was beautiful and as we climbed higher and higher I saw waterfalls and snow and the air got cooler. Max and Stan concentrated on the road but I got to enjoy the view. When we reached the top, we pulled off at a little mountain peek restaurant and took pictures of the snow! How very cool is that?

Throwing a snowball at Stan!

Can’t believe where I’m standing!

When we got to the bottom on the other side we were stuck in stand-still traffic for awhile. That was no fun!

We finally crossed the border into Italy and everything changed. The terrain is very similar as far as mountains, trees, lakes, etc. but the “feeling” is so different. For one thing, there is a lot of graffiti. And the graffiti is not typical to what we see at home . . . this graffiti is in color, with pictures. It’s almost like a form of art here. I don’t particularly care for it but the people here don’t seem to be bothered by it; or perhaps there is nothing they can do about it. I began to see a lot of litter too. In contrast to Germany, Austria and to a lesser degree Switzerland which are impossibly clean and manicured for the most part, Italy feels less “kept” and less polished . . . it has an “old world” feeling – which has a charm of it’s own. I also began to understand the signs (as Italian and Spanish are very similar) and it felt more familiar.

Our final destination was a wonderful little lake front town called Lezzeno which is a neighboring town to Bellagio (where we visited three years ago). To get here we had to drive to Como and then take ANOTHER very narrow, two-lane road, winding and curving around the lake and the connecting towns. There are a lot of motorcycles here and they zoom by as if careening off the ledge or into a wall would be no big deal! By this time I think Stan had had it.

Oh! But it was sooooo worth it. We are staying at an amazing hotel-villa and we got two rooms across the hall from each other in the villa on a private floor. We each have a private balcony overlooking Lake Como and our own sun deck. My room is decorated in an Italian-shabby-chic style with flowing white curtains and a pink armoire! It is just too darn cute.

Lezzeno, Italy

Hanging out on MY sun deck.

We got settled and then headed over to the restaurant next door for dinner. I was in heaven! Again, the contrast in food between the German-based countries we have been in the last two weeks and Italian food is night and day. I was very happy at dinner. The pasta, the garlic, the sauce, the basil . . . it is a delight to my taste buds. It will not be a delight to my waistline if I am not careful!

Another interesting observation: In the other countries people in restaurants were very quiet and peaceful. Meal time was very low-key and relaxing. Tonight at dinner, we noticed the noise level had increased dramatically. Italians talk loud, gesture with their hands, laugh, toast, and are basically noisy – in a good way. They are passionate, expressive people and I LOVE that.

June 30, 2012/0 Comments/by H.A. Schiavone

Travel

Interlaken, Switzerland

We had such a great day today!

We had breakfast at the hotel, checked out, loaded up and headed out. We did not explore the city of Lucerne at all. It was really just a resting place in our travels and we were anxious to get to the next destination.

On the road we headed south-west to Interlaken. If you look at a map of Switzerland, Interlaken is almost smack dab in the middle of the country. The drive from Lucerne to Interlaken was really beautiful. We never seem to tire of The Alps, the lakes, the towns and this time there were even waterfalls. So cool.

Lungern, Switzerland
On the way to Interlaken

We arrived in Interlaken around noon, found our hotel and dropped off our bags. We are staying at the Hotel Royal-St. Georges, which is the former Monastery Building. It is listed as a Swiss heritage site of national significance. I’m sure there is a rich history here and the decor is so ornate and beautiful, but I have not had an opportunity to research the property. That will be homework for later.

With cameras in hand, we headed to the train station. Stan had a plan.

Church we passed on the way to the train.

We hopped a train to a village called Grindelwald which is located in the Bernese Alps. The train took us higher and higher until it felt like we were high above the trees. When we arrived, Stan told me the plan was to take an aerial gondola to the summit of First which is one of the mountains in the area. It is referred to as a “minor” summit but I don’t know why . . . it seemed pretty high to me, thank you very much! Grindelwald has always been known as a winter tourist destination because of the skiing, but recently it is also very popular for hikers. We saw a great trail up the summit all the way to the top. If you’re a hiker, this is the place for you.

On the train to Grindelwald

Another tidbit of information I thought was interesting: The James Bond film, “On Her Majesty’s Secret Service” includes a chase through a skating rink and Christmas festival in Grindelwald, and Grindelwald’s mountains were used as the basis for the view of Alderaan in “Star Wars Episode III: Revenge of the Sith.”

Anyway, back to the scary part.

So we walk through town and arrive at the ticket office for the gondola ride. We decided to “go for it” and bought a ticket all the way to the top. I wasn’t scared. Not one bit.

Aerial Gondola. Yep.

Up we go.

Even higher.

Oh . . . it was so BEAUTIFUL. The town below, the trees, the streams, the mountains, the snow, the fresh air . . . how can I describe it?

Waterfalls.

As we rose higher and higher it got so quiet. You could almost hear a pin drop. Then all of a sudden we heard the sound of bells. We looked down and saw a small herd of cattle grazing on the mountain side and they were all wearing big cow bells. Listen:

We arrived at the top and here is some of what we saw.

See the town below?

I love that God created such beauty for us to discover!

Stan at First Summit.

H.A. at First Summit.

After our mountain top experience, we boarded the train and headed back to Interlaken. While we were waiting for the train, I saw this cute little boy with a BIG backpack. I just had to take a picture of him.

Such a big backpack for such a little guy.

Here comes our train.

It was a great day! What will tomorrow bring?

June 29, 2012/0 Comments/by H.A. Schiavone

Travel

Goodbye Austria, Hello Switzerland

This morning (Thursday) before leaving the hotel I decided to go downstairs and have breakfast in the little bistro / bakery adjacent to our hotel. The place is owned and operated by a lovely couple and the wife is the baker / chef. What struck me is how calm and peaceful the dining experience was. You see, in Europe dining is treated as a leisurely, relaxing, enjoyable experience. The servers do not rush their patrons, they do not interrupt, they do not bring the check until it is requested, and the food is served on real dishes with stainless forks and knives. Morning tea is served in a cup (not a mug) and saucer. (Those who know me well know much I appreciate this!)

This is not unique to this establishment. We have experienced this throughout our travels so far. I will admit it takes a little getting used to. We are so used to rushing through our meals and receiving the check before the last bite is finished. I actually have to “work” at relaxing and slowing down. I have vowed to myself that when I get home, I will try to incorporate the practice of relaxing and enjoying mealtimes a little more often. Another benefit: I have found that eating slowly causes me to eat less ~ BONUS!

Moving on . . .

Waving “goodbye” to my beloved Austria, we headed west. I discovered that we were in route to Switzerland. Yay!

If you look at a map of Austria, you will see the tiny principality of Liechtenstein sandwiched between Austria and Switzerland. I don’t think a stop in Liechtenstein was originally on the itinerary but we decided since we were so close we should pop in and say hello.

Principality of Liechtenstein

Do you know anything about Liechtenstein? I didn’t until today.

Liechtenstein, established in 1719, is known as a principality as it is a constitutional monarchy headed by a prince. Valduz is the capital and it is located along the Rhine river. It is simply adorable. The whole principality is only 62 square miles and has a population of 35,000. It is the smallest yet richest German-speaking country in the world and the only country to lie entirely within The Alps.

The reigning prince is Hans-Adam, II. His castle is perched on a hill overlooking the city. We drove around until Stan figured out how to get up there so we could do a drive-by since the castle is not open to the public. I managed to snap a few photos of the back-side of the castle and the city view below. I also took a few shots from the city looking up toward the castle.

Back-side of the castle.

View of Valduz from the castle.

View Valduz from the castle.

Castle perched on a hill.

Closer view of the castle from the city street.

According to the Internet, “Prince Hans-Adam, II owns LGT banking group and has a family fortune of $7.6 billion and a personal fortune of approximately $4.0 billion, making him one of the world’s richest heads of state and Europe’s wealthiest monarch. He owns an extensive art collection which is displayed for the public at the Liechtenstein Museum in Vienna.” Who knew? We could have stopped by to take a look while we were there!

It was a short detour but now we can say we have been to Liechtenstein!

Lucerne, Switzerland

We drove through The Swiss Alps into north-central Switzerland to Lucerne. When we were checking in to the hotel, I met a family from Montana. It’s a small world!

After getting settled in our rooms we were ready for dinner and a relaxing evening. Tomorrow we will explore more of Switzerland. Can’t wait!

June 29, 2012/0 Comments/by H.A. Schiavone

Travel

Innsbruck, Austria

Hello from Innsbruck!

Stan started off his day with a trip to the eye doctor. His eye has been bothering him for a few days so today he finally decided to have it checked out. The doctor said he has an eye infection, gave him some drops, and told him he could not wear his contacts today.

We were originally going to take a day trip into Italy, but since Stan cannot see to drive, we just hung out in Innsbruck. It was a relaxing day.

We ventured out for lunch, walked around the city center area, did a little shopping and hung out at the hotel in the afternoon.

In the evening, we had a great dinner in town and on the way home I came across this building and just had to take a few pictures. I love the detail. The lighting is a little dark because the sun was setting.

Notice the roof line.

I bet the view from the inside is great.
The corner windows face three directions.

Love the detail.

This is one of the few buildings I have
seen where the detail is painted.

Tomorrow we leave for Switzerland. Hopefully Stan’s eye will be much better.

June 27, 2012/0 Comments/by H.A. Schiavone

Travel

Alpine Village – So Beautiful!

We have a lot of catching up to do!

We were without Internet service last night so I will have to combine two days in one post. Here goes . . .

MONDAY, June 25, 2012

We packed up and left Vienna on Monday. It was raining and poor Max got all dirty. At least we know the wipers work. We headed west, back toward Salzburg, and enjoyed the scenic farmland once again. Just past Salzburg, at the Austria / Germany border, there is a wonderful little place called Berchtesgaden tucked away in the German Bavarian Alps. It is absolutely beautiful. The air was cool and crisp. No smog. No pollution. No litter. There is a river (I assume from melted snow) that runs through the town. Listen to the birds in the background of this video.

We walked into the town square from our hotel for dinner and noticed several locals walking around with walking sticks (they look like ski poles) which aid in the ascent of the steep hills. There was a lot of activity in the square. I don’t know if it was a festival or what the occasion was, but a group of local musicians were giving a concert outside our restaurant.

Walking to the town square.

Church near town square.

Church steeple.

Lovely flowers.

On the way into town, I noticed a gate next to the church and I went to see what was there. It was the church cemetery. I know cemeteries are usually sad and scary, but this one was so sweet. I imagine the people who are buried here were long time residents of this town and attended this church their whole lives. I loved how peaceful it seemed and obviously the family members attend to the graves of their loved ones as evidenced by all the beautiful flowers and plants. I told Stan I would like to be buried in a place like this.

Church cemetery.

This person lived 117 years.
Born 1705 – Died 1822.

Berchtesgaden National Park is to the south of the town and Mount Watzmann, the third-highest mountain in Germany, is Berchtesgaden’s focal point. It is very popular in the rock climbing community. We got several pictures of it.

Mount Watzmann.

Flat Stanley in front of Mount Watzmann.

We only spent one night there so we didn’t have much time to learn the history of Berchtesgaden. However, I did learn that during World War II it served as an outpost for The Third Reich and I believe Hitler’s mountain retreat was located here. It is a sad and very unfortunate stain on the fabric of Germany’s history.

TUESDAY, June 26, 2012

Today we continued to travel south/west to Innsbruck, Austria. Instead of taking the autobahn, Stan decided to take the back roads which took us through The Alps. The drive was spectacular. We saw little towns along the way and the scenery was . . . yes, I’ll say it again . . . beautiful! We tried to capture some of it on video and photos but we can hardly do it justice.

Maximilian enjoying the view.

Shooting the view.

The view.

The other view.

We finally arrived at a very special place – The Swarovski Factory! Oh. My. Goodness. Stan knows how very much I love Swarovski so he arranged for us to spend the afternoon there. They have a beautiful store and a restaurant where we had lunch. And yes, I did walk out with a little blue bag in my hand. Woo! Hoo!

After my shopping spree, we arrived at our final destination for the evening, Innsbruck. First stop: laundromat. Next stop: hotel.

June 27, 2012/0 Comments/by H.A. Schiavone

Travel

Final Day in Vienna

Today is Sunday. I am so glad that God’s continual presence is a promise. No matter where in the world I am!

Today was a mellow day. I was tired from all the excitement of the week but I still managed to drag Stan out very early this morning to take pictures in the softer morning light without all the crowds. But when we got to the church, I realized I had forgotten to charge my camera battery! Bummer! (Poor Stan.) I did manage to get a few shots and then we returned to the hotel and had breakfast.

Later we ventured out again to see different areas we hadn’t seen yet and take a few more pictures. This time I realized I had forgotten to put my memory card back in my camera so I couldn’t shoot anything! Thank goodness Stan had his camera and he got some awesome panoramic shots which you will see below. After lunch, I returned to the hotel to veg for awhile.

BTW – Stan has put together a checklist for me which he says he’s going to go over with me every time we leave the hotel from now on. LOL. I know my mother is rolling her eyes right now!

This picture was taken outside of Starbucks. As I passed by, I noticed these two little children sitting in their stroller leaning forward with their heads together, focusing intently on something. I realized this young father was holding a phone that was playing a movie for his kids while he was surfing on his own phone with the other hand. I got such a kick out of this I just had to get a picture! We have to have our media, don’t we? Even when we’re three!

Multi-tasking at it’s finest.

Loved this baby John Deere!

Vienna fashion.

The Sacher Hotel, Vienna
(Sister property to our hotel in Salzburg.)

The Rathaus is the City Hall in Vienna. It was built between 1872 and 1883 in the Gothic style.

Rathaus

When the Parliament building was commissioned, it was decided that the building’s style should be classical Greek architecture since it is connected to the Ancient Greeks and the ideal of democracy. Construction on the Parliament building began in 1874 and was completed in 1883.

The Parliament Building

The Parliament Building – Side

The Heldenplatz is the outer plaza of the Hofburg Palace and was built under the reign of Emperor Francis Joseph. The Library is the furtherest building on the right. On the plaza, there are two equestrian statues of Prince Eugene of Savor and Archduke Charles of Austria, who are remembered as great military leaders. It also houses Austria’s unknown soldier.

Helden Plaza and Library to the right

Stadtpark

June 24, 2012/0 Comments/by H.A. Schiavone

Travel

Vienna, Austria

Greetings from Austria!

This morning (Saturday) started out with a bang . . . or rather, a poof!

Long story short, I couldn’t find the hair dryer the hotel provided (it was hidden in a drawer), so I plugged MY blow dryer into the outlet using an adapter. Not a good a idea. There was a pop, fire and all the lights went out. Oops! Apparently the outlets here are only 100v and my blow dryer requires 120v. The facilities guy scolded me in German, moved the dresser and plugged the hotel’s dryer in for me in front of the mirror so there can be no further excuses for blowing the electricity. Well, alrighty then.

Then . . . there was some confusion about where we were supposed to have breakfast. The Executive Lounge sent us downstairs to the main restaurant; the restaurant sent us back up to the Executive Lounge. Apparently there was some confusion with our room numbers. Stan finally told the restaurant we would be dining with them and they could work it out amongst themselves. (These pushy Americans!)

Finally, we were getting ready to leave on our guided WALKING tour and I realized it was raining! I had to go back to my room and change into weather appropriate clothes and shoes and get a sweater.

Whew! Okay . . . ready to go.

Walking in the rain.

Our tour guide was great. His name was Herbert and he was born and raised in Vienna. Perfect! He told us that he had to complete a two year course at the university to become a certified tour guide. He was passionate about his city and entertained us with interesting stories and jokes along the way.

Herbert, our tour guide.

I cannot do justice to the history and architecture in this city. We covered a span from the 1200’s to 1800’s in two hours! Just to give you an example of the history behind one building – check this out:

St. Stephen’s Cathedral is the most important religious building in Austria’s capital and has been central to many important events in it’s history. Here is a rough time-line:

1160 – The initial structure was completed in Romanesque style.
Early 1200’s – They added to the structure and built the towers.
1258 – A fire destroyed much of the original building so it was rebuilt re-using the two towers.
1263 – Cathedral was completed and dedicated.
1304 – 1340 Albert I ordered a Gothic style three-nave choir addition to the structure.
1359 – Rudolf IV began another expansion which eventually encapsulated the entire structure!
1430 – The edifice of the original church was removed from within as work progressed on the cathedral.
1433 – The south tower was completed in Gothic style.
1450 – Construction began for the north tower but was never finished.
1474 – The vaulting of the nave was completed.
1511 – Construction was halted.
1578 – The north tower was originally intended to mirror the south tower but the era of Gothic cathedrals was nearing its end so the “stump” at the top was fitted with a Renaissance style cap.

St. Stephen’s Cathedral
Vienna, Austria

North tower was never completed.
Renaissance cap added in 1578

This side is being renovated.
There is a screen over the section that is being cleaned.
Note the detail in the roof.

South tower.

Note: This cathedral was made of sandstone which is very porous and absorbs all the dirt and pollution so sections are always being renovated (cleaned). That’s why some of the building looks light and other sections are black.

Pretty incredible, huh? I am always struck with “awe” when I stand in a place that is several centuries old. I can hardly take it in. One cathedral that was built in three different styles over 400 years! I wonder about all the important political and social events that took place there. For instance, this is where Mozart was buried. Inside there are alters, a stone pulpit, chapels, tombs, catacombs, crypts and organs that are historical in-and-of themselves. It would probably take a whole year to absorb all the information and history of this single cathedral! And the city is full of historical buildings like this. Can you imagine?

So, walking on . . .

Here are photos of buildings we saw. I’ll save the history lessons. Enjoy!