Venice, Italy

 Venice is the capitol of northern Italy's Veneto region. It is built on more than 100 small islands in a lagoon in the Adriatic Sea. It has no roads, just canals - including the Grand Canal thoroughfare - lined with Renaissance and Gothic palaces. The islands are linked by over 400 bridges.

 The Central square is Piazza San Marco or Saint Mark's Square. It contains Saint Mark's Basilica, which is tiled with Byzantine mosaics. The other important structure is the Campanile bell tower that has been there as long as the Basilica.

(to be continued) 

Venice tomorrow

 
Meanwhile, she took us on a short walking tour around our beautiful hotel; then to dinner at a "real" Italian restaurant. Doug and I had the calamari and some ravioli. Wonderful!!!

We start our tour of Venice tomorrow in the rain. Sylvia gave us all rain boots to wear. She said with the storm and the tide, the water could be well up to our knees. Doug will take some pictures of our new rain gear.

(to be continued) 

Another Hour to Venice

 The weather is turning bad. The promised storm has arrived. We drove in the rain for another hour to get to Venice. Our guide, Alessandro, who has been with us the whole time, turned us over to the guide for the cruise down the coast of Italy to Malta. Her name is Sylvia. She must be Italian because she talks with her hands and is very happy and positive and lively!! She had to tell us about a change in our itinerary. With this storm, the sea is too rough for our boat to dock in Venice. So on Tuesday, they will bus us to Ravenna and we'll get on the boat there.

(to be continued) 

Collio, Italy

 The area of Collio is known for its exceptional white wines. We met the owners of a family-run vineyard. And they provided us with an exceptional wine tasting experience!! One of the three sons walked us through the wine making process. Another son takes care of the publicity. And the third son handles the business side. Mama handles the wine tasting. She had made a big bowl of pasta!! And the table she set for us - olives, cheeses, crusty Italian bread, olive oils, salami, ham. It was called a "light lunch". While we were eating, Mama brought out the wines for us to taste, two whites, then two reds. She told us the family history, how for centuries the vineyard has been in the family. Talk about keeping track of the family genealogy.

Villages in Croatia; Grožnjan

 On our way back, we stopped at the village of Groznjan. After WWII, everyone fled this city because of all the uncertainty about borders. 

Once all of that was resolved and it became part of Croatia (although everyone here speaks Italian), the government turned it into an artist colony, encouraging artists to resettle the village. We walked the narrow streets, stopped for coffee, then headed home (home is where your clothes are).

Villages in Croatia; Motovun 2

 Another interesting fact is that this is the village where Mario Andretti was born. He is one of only two drivers to have won races in Formula One, IndyCar, World Sportscar Championship and NASCAR!

It is also located in the middle of a forest that produces truffles. We saw signs about this in the village.

When we left the village, we traveled a few miles to the house of a couple who are making their living by selling and exporting truffles all over the world. Truffles can be strong flavored by themselves that's why truffles are always mixed with something. Then we had dessert - cream cake with truffles!!!! AMAZING!!!

And we met the truffle dogs; pigs don't hunt for truffles anymore, they eat too much.

Villages in Croatia; Motovun

 We will visit two small villages and have lunch at a truffle house.

This part of Croatia is the peninsula off the northern border of that country called the Istria Province.

Motovun is a village in central Istria. It's population is 531 and they all speak Italian. This is, of course, due to WWI, WWII, the end of Yugoslavia, and the conflicts between the borders of the new countries that were formed out of Yugoslavia.

It is a medieval town that grew up on the site of an ancient city. It is situated on a hill 886 feet above sea level with houses scattered all over the hill.