I should probably title this post "How to see the sights with 8 people in a 7 seater van." Or maybe just condense it to: "Cold, Fat and Crowded."
The decision to have 8 people stay in an area of Italy where nothing was accessible except by car might seem unwise to the casual reader but I assure you there were plenty of reasons that necessitated this arrangement. Not to say that any of those reasons were necessarily wise but since when have the traveling Ionescus been guided primarily by wisdom when planning any of their trips?
In any event, we were 8 people careening around hair-pin turns through streets narrow enough that we had to pull our side mirrors in to make it through. Those of you who have not been to Italy will think I am exaggerating, those of you who have will know I'm not.
Some of you might wonder why we'd bother to do the Italian version of Mr. Toad's Wild Ride while one of us was unseatbelted and the rest of us with our faces pressed against the windows and doorhandles. Particularly after seeing the photos from the previous post about the million dollar villa, you might wonder why we would want to venture anywhere else.
I have the answer: food.
More specifically: Italian food.
Turns out when you rent a million dollar villa (not a million dollars to rent obviously. Actually much cheaper than hotel rooms in the end. Much cheaper by far in case you're planning something there in the future) you get a concierge with extensive knowledge of the local restaurants and bars and who will not only share this information but will make reservations for you as well. Novella was spot on with her recommendations, right down to the best place to buy boots. We would have been lost without her. Well, to be honest, we were lost most of the time but without her guidance we probably would have ended up at the Italian equivalent of The Waffle House.
Alas, her superpowers were limited: she could not fix the internet nor, in the end do anything about the American-hating front gate. We were nearly stuck for another week in the million dollar villa due to the American-hating gate but we managed, through a series of short-clicks and long-holds on the remote followed by a step through the sensor, two jumps through over the sensor, gunning the car engine in a threatening manner, an a cappella version of God Save the Queen and a pirouette thrown in for good measure it finally opened and allowed us to leave.
In the end I think it was the pirouette that did the trick. But I am a little bit sad that it did. I would not have minded being forced to spend another week eating that wonderful food and touring those lovely towns. Maybe the gate knew we had a good thing, maybe it knew what it was up to and didn't want us to leave the gorgeous view and all of the food. Maybe it didn't hate Americans after all.
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Krissi and Shelby's first dinner in Italy. We were told that it is a tradition at this particular restaurant for all adults to be served a glass of Proseco before the meal begins. Our teenagers must look mature because they were served as well, no questions asked.
A day trip to Salo. Great shopping and the best bar ever.
This is one of the same restaurants we went to the first time we were in Tuscany. Was just as good the second time around.
Ferry trip around the lake. We went to Sirmione and got our first taste for how much more crowded things have become in four years. We really never got to see the castle at all, partly because of the crowds and partly because we tried to walk to a place Novella had recommended and then realized it was so far we'd only arrive in time to turn around and head back to the ferry. So we settled for a random spot where the setting was gorgeous and almost made up for the food being just so-so.
If we thought things were crowded in Sirmione we hadn't seen anything until we tried to make a day trip to Venice. Our first clue should have been when we got to the train station and were told that all of the trains to Venice were full.
"Verona is nice," the man at the ticket booth said "You should go there."
That was clue number two. As usual we ignored all signs, subtle and glaring.
But we did it for Krissi and Shelby's sake (since the rest of us had been before). My feeling about Venice is, (as I believe I expressed on our previous visit) that it's like Vegas; you visit once and never need to go again. This trip did not alter that impression at all. But they seemed to enjoy it and that's what counts.
The best shot of Venice although his face reflects the general feeling I had about sloshing through the rising Adriatic in the Piazza San Marco then being jostled through alleys by enthusiastic tour group members. Oh Venice how I don't dream of ever returning to you.
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