Wingo

So at this point my parents and Ryan have left, and it’s sinking in that I’m actually staying here for longer than a vacation. And I have to learn how to drive a stick. Not only are the roads here about 5 feet wide, but I have to drive through several long traffic lights on my regular route through town, inching my way along in first gear. Here’s my new ride:

Its name is Wingo (given by the kids), an Alfa Romeo, and it hates me. But if I didn’t learn how to drive this thing, I would have to drive their huge Suburban. I would literally be taking up about ¾ of the road with that one.

Sarah gave me a trial run when we went over to the Bryant’s for dinner one night, and I think I killed the car about five times before I even got out of the driveway. I never knew a car could be that jerky, and I grew up with Mom driving sticks throughout my entire childhood. But that night was the last chance I had to get it right before I took the 5 yr old to school in the morning.

VP’s school is up against a mountain, and the only entrances to the parking lot are literally big enough to fit one car. So here I come jerking my way along and see a car ahead of me. I freak out and kill the car. VP has started making a “dush dush dush” noise every time this happens, and it just adds to the fun :). Then the parking lot is all gravel. Since I haven’t learned how to slowly let off the clutch before I jam on the gas I peel out of the parking lot, kicking up gravel behind me like I just started a drag race. It was like a scene out of The Fast and the Furious, except not that cool (I guess I’m not sure if you’d call that cool, but whatever).

Then that afternoon when I pick him up I take the “twisty turny” way home and end up at this stop light where there’s construction going on. And AGAIN the road only fits about a car and a half and it’s in between two large buildings. Another little known fact about driving in Italy - at the majority of stoplights around here you have to stop abnormally far away from the light. I didn’t know this, so I snaked my way between the construction and edged right up to the intersection. The guys working construction looked at me like I was crazy, and then the look turned to terror when I started the car back up again in first gear. Damnit.

You’d think I would have had enough by then, but I continue to embarrass myself all week. I drive up to post and go through security. This is where a soldier has to walk up to your car to check your ID card, and then you have to maneuver through the gates. Every single time I go through I nearly run someone over. I usually see one or two of them make that "ooh" face that happens after someone's been punched really hard or falls down. It just sounds painful.

Carl actually met me at the front gate the first time to get my ID worked out, and then had mercy on me and drove the car through post. Once we get to his office he stops the car, pulls the emergency brake and we go inside. Then as I come out and get in I start up the car and try to put it into first gear…it just gurgles and stops. I try again, it does the same thing. I’m literally almost in tears thinking, “Did I break the car?!” “Did it run out of gas and this is the way it tells me?!” A soldier walks over to me after a few minutes of me cursing out loud and asks if I need help. I finally give up and let him get in and try to start the car. He looks down, lowers the emergency brake and looks up at me and says, “I think that’s your problem, miss.”

With the amount of driving I’ve had to do over the last month, between taking the kids around and traveling, I’ve slowly learned how to not give myself never-ending whiplash. I think Wingo is actually responding better to me, too. It’s like he gives me back certain privileges every time I do something good. I slowly move into first gear, he gives me my left stereo speaker back. I shift at the right time, he doesn’t choke my seatbelt on the highway. We’re slowly working out our issues and I’m not having to take several Tylenol a day! I still don’t think I’ll ever understand why anyone would want to put that much work into driving...

Innsbruck, Austria - "The Hills are Alive...."

Mom’s been waiting her whole life to dance through the hills like Julie Andrews, and she finally got her chance :)

On the last day my parents and Ryan were in town we decided to leave Italy and head to Innsbruck, Austria. It’s actually only about three hours north of Vicenza, so a decent day’s trip. The drive is absolutely beautiful; it winds through the Alps all the way up. I’m not sure what Alps they are, I get in a crazy discussion about this every time I see some - Italian Alps, Tyrolean Alps, Swiss Alps….I have no idea. I just know they’re mountains and they’re pretty.

Innsbruck was the site of the 1964 and 1976 Winter Olympics, and you can tell why by looking at any of the pictures we took:

The town is surrounded by enormous mountains and it’s not unusual to see someone walking around who looks like they just got off the slopes. It was so cold when we got there, as you can tell by the looks on our faces.

I also realized why - for those of you who know her - Mel Parks loved Germany so much. People around here look like they came straight out of a J. Crew catalog, fresh off a hiking trip. It's like a bunch of Mels walking around.

Our first stop was the medieval Old City, or Altstadt. This is, obviously, the old part of town and has a ton of Gothic and Renaissance buildings and little shops:

We stopped by this fantastic store:

And Mom and I did some shopping! I stuck with a bracelet and avoided the crystal animals in the front window.

Besides the Olympics, Innsbruck is known for its ruler in the 12th century, Maximilian I. When he came into power he made Innsbruck the seat of the Holy Roman Empire and constructed most of the main buildings still standing in Altstadt today. We walked through the small streets and did a little bit of shopping, and finally ended up at the end where the Goldenes Dachl (Golden Roof) is:

It’s at the top of that thing behind us, we didn’t actually get it in the picture. Just think of a gold roof and that’s pretty much what it was. Maximilian built it for his second wife and it was used as a royal box for watching events in the square where we’re sitting. It’s one of the main attractions in Innsbruck...probably why so many people go skiing :). Right about the time we came to it we started to get hungry. So we picked one of the outdoor cafes and tried not to shiver too much. I think that’s why we got the beer:

And here’s what Carl and I ordered (the special on the left):

I decided to be adventurous, and my first Weiner schnitzel wasn’t that bad! After lunch we walked a bit more and stopped at some of the shops. Mom and I played dress up with Ryan:

And then we walked toward the water and finally along the canal:

I’m normally a beach and water kind of person, but these mountains were really cool. It almost made me want to go skiing :).

On our way out of town we drove up in the mountains to visit this place:

Honestly we were all so tired from a week of sightseeing at full speed that we didn’t even stop to check what the name of the place was. Here are some pictures though! It was one of the windiest places I’ve ever been, and I came from Chicago:

Then it was time for the drive home. We stopped at McDonalds for a quick coffee and took the Ausfarht (Exit) back to Italy. How ridiculous does that word sound…

Venice - The Sinking City

On Friday Sarah took us all to Venice for a day trip. We drove until we hit Mestre, which is the city right before you cross over onto the island itself. We parked there and took the train into the city. Parking in actual Venice is highway robbery (I sound like my mother). Anyway, as we left the train station we stopped by the Gheto Vechio first, but that’s a little sad so I’ll start this entry with the family on the Rialto Bridge:

A sunny day in Venice, who knew! For those of you who have been to Venice before, you know there’s a main canal that runs through the city called the Grand Canal (or Canal Grande). There are only three bridges that cross the Grand Canal, and the Rialto Bridge is one of them. We worked our way through the crowds to get a good shot. Because the weather was nice it seemed like twice as many people were out, so we used our elbows.

As we made our way to the Gheto Vechio we stopped by a few markets to check out the local fare:

He was schooling us on all the different types of veggies and plants - not my area of expertise.

And here is a shot of the Venetian housewives hanging their laundry. They actually live here so it's not so abnormal to them:

And then all the yummy cookies:

Then we make it to the Gheto Vechio finally. I keep harping on this because of its history. It’s considered to be the first ghetto in the world and also the best kept. At one time, Venetian Jews were confined to a walled area of the city and made to wear red or yellow marks sewn onto their clothing to identify them as Jewish. They’ve torn down much of the walls, but you can still see a little bit of it in this picture:

It’s crazy to walk through this area and look at the small passageways that used to be closed at night. The funny thing was that the Jews were accountants and dealt with all of the Venetian money during the day, and then at night they would be led into this area and these huge doors would close behind them and lock. It gives me claustrophobia just thinking about it.

At this point we were ready for some food. I’m still loving the fact that Dad wanted to get the full effect of each Italian city - because of this we got to eat in Piazza San Marco. Here we are waiting for our ridiculously expensive tiny little sandwiches:

That’s the Basilica di San Marco in the background. When you come to Europe you see a lot of churches, but this one seriously stands out from the rest (save for St. Peter’s in Rome). It’s called the Church of Gold (Chiesa d’Oro) because it’s completely covered in gold mosaic. All of the artwork you see on the front of the church is made by combining tiny little specks of gold in different colors. It’s one of the most richly embellished churches in the world.

When I came here the first time Sarah and I walked through the tiny rooms inside the basilica that house religious relics from as far back as you can go. We were trying to find the oldest thing in there, and I think I remember some of the communion cups dating back to the B.C. era.

While we ate outside we were serenaded by a lovely jazz band:

I felt like we should be in a dark club somewhere in NYC, but it went well with the wine :).

After lunch we walked down to the end of the Piazza San Marco to catch a water taxi back to the train station. Here we are standing there with San Giorgio Maggiore in the background:

This church was actually designed by Palladio (for those of you who just read the Vicenza entry). I’ve heard that if you visit this church you can take the elevator to the top for an amazing view of the island of Venice, the lagoon and the Doge’s Palace across the water. You basically cannot go anywhere in this city without enjoying a good view of something...

So now we come to my favorite part of the Venice trip, the water taxi. I know everyone comes to Venice thinking they need to take one of the gondolas, but those things are crazy expensive. Like 65 euro a person at the cheapest. So a 6.50 euro water taxi down the same Grand Canal works for me. If you can make your way to the front of the taxi, like we did:

then you can see the best views of the canal. The first time I did this I took about 50 pictures of random buildings, got home and had no idea what it was I’d snapped. But it’s so pretty!

Right before we left Ryan picked up a traditional Venetian mask for one of his friends (don’t ask me why that would be something a boy would want). Here he is making sure it fit:

Isn’t it just like David Bowie in the Labyrinth?? Ok now I just realized why he bought it…

A few random pictures

Dad, Mom and Ryan definitely took advantage of their time here. Ryan got dragged into playing with the boys on the trampoline:

And Dad can't ever sit still, so he took to the bushes outside of the house. Only problem was that they didn't have any tools to trim the shrubs - he used scissors instead. That man never stops gardening!

Mom took some great pictures of the area while we were driving around. Most of these are on the way to VP's school, which is still one of my favorite spots. He calls this way the "twisty turny way" because it winds through several different farms and plantations. Check out all of the vineyards:

Downtown Vicenza and picking up some wine

After Rome we were pretty exhausted, but we only had a few more days with the parents in town so we hit downtown Vicenza. Every Thursday is their big city market, which looks like this:

We walked around this area for a while perusing all the items. I love these markets for several reasons, one of which is that everything is ultra cheap. And they have everything, from baby clothes to pots and pans…I usually stick to the clothes and shoes. Dad liked the flowers:

Then after the markets we walked through downtown for a while:

Vicenza is a really pretty town and this was the first time I had been there when everyone is out and about. One thing I’ve noticed here is that people get dressed up regardless of what they’re doing, which I love. You’ll see ladies in high heels and tight, sparkly pants in the middle of the day. Old men will dress in suits and wear their long jackets over their shoulders. Not too many casual jeans and shirts, which is why we stood out, once again.

Couple things about Vicenza: it's the home of one of the greatest architects of the High Renaissance, Andrea di Peitro, or Palladio. His works are all over the city and he's influenced works in America as well (Jefferson's Monticello and various plantation homes in the South.). He even has his own style - Palladianism. You see his name everywhere around here. The mall is named after him, which I think is kinda weird...

We also stopped by the Teatro Olimpico, or Olympic Theater. This was Palladio’s masterpiece and final work, and is also one of the world’s greatest theaters still in use:

Then we visited the fabulous Antico Bar del Corso to see Cynthia. Here she is with Sarah:

Cynthia came to Italy from Illinois to check it out…and has now been here for over 25 years. She owns a coffee shop/bar in downtown Vicenza, which has fantastic cappuccinos and little appetizers and desserts. I haven’t tried the main lunch/dinner items yet but I’m sure I will at some point. We like to come here a lot :).

After our little coffee break we decided to head up to Monte Berico. This is a hill overlooking all of Vicenza, and also has a church, the Santuario di Monte Berico, at the top. Here we are in front of it:

And a few views from the top:

Just down the hill is where I take my Italian lessons. Senora Daniela lives right off of the road leading up to the church in this beautiful villa. We’re pretty sure she’s got some money because the house and the gardens are gorgeous. I’ve just started going to her house, twice a week to practice my Italian with a small group.

Anyway, we had lunch on Monte Berico and then headed back toward home with a quick stop at Muraro Brothers. This is a similar wine place to where Sarah took me last fall, but apparently this is his brother’s section of vineyards,which is much bigger. I guess the brothers don’t talk, and we don’t know why…not sure why they still call it Muraro Brothers, but whatev. We picked out some wine for dinner that night. This is Dad and I in front of the place:

And here are a few pics of us taste testing:

See the one above with Sarah filling the jumbo bottle? Here’s how much it cost:

Like I said, the wine here is cheap (that's 80 cents - they use commas where we use periods and periods where we use commas). It’s like they took away the never-ending supply of Coke products we have in the states and replaced it with wine at dinner. No complaints here! Next post will show you why the wine is so abundant. We are surrounded by vineyards, and the sights are beautiful.

Here are few pics of the fam, still at Muraro Brothers. It’s an amazing area: