Lake Como

So, We had breakfast, left Venice... Bye Venice... ... we will be back! Then we went back to Milan to get Travis, and decided to pop over to Lake Como. We got there, and took the tram to the top of the mountain...
hiked around, and came back down... Remembered that we had no dinner plans or Hotel... we decided to get on that.. we wandered about, found a 3 Star hotel that was very "the Shining" esque, and went to get the car... Trying to drive to the hotel, we found ourselves, in the Audi, in the middle of a rave.
Very very very odd...
Lake Como is not a town for night owls... it was 11pm, and we were starving. Almost all restaurants were closed. We found one that was open, and it was wonderful. Right on the lake, and delicious... mostly because we were starving... but it was good. The owner came out & drank beer with us, and talked smack about the French. He informed us that Mr. Clooney had just arrived today, and told us how lovely the boat ride to Bellagio was, so that is our plan for tomorrow. We ended the evening at the afterparty for the rave at an outdoor bar/cafe at 2am... with me sleeping in a chair :-)

Gondola, Non!

Breakfast is included in our hotel, so we went down for breakfast early... not a bad view, eh? The Coffee was very good.
Today was going to be our only full day in Venice, so we were determined to tear the city up! We consulted with the conseriage and asked for some tips... he suggested a walking tour of the city, and we were on our way. There are lots of tourist shops that sell Venetian glass, and masks. We think we are going to come back for Mardi gras, cause it's cold, and therefore, not as crowded.
We walked, saw more lovely churches, building being held up by other buildings, and of course, the gondolas... which made me smile, and made Mike say.. "Non... that's lame..."
*sigh*
At lunch we continued our quest to find great Italian food... NON!
We had some bellinis, and walked some more. It is a maze of wonderful places.
Does anyone know what this means?
We found a place off the beaten path that just looked like someone’s house. It was a restaurant, and there was a small English teacup collection in the "bar" and meatballs on the handwritten menu...We went in, and found a very crabby Italian woman, and her husband, who ran into the kitchen.
We ordered wine, and she brought over the SOFTEST bread ever, with a bowl of Bruchetta tomatoes.
We ordered some really lovely wine, and I ordered Lasagna, Mike ordered Meatballs. She said, "No. No meatballs."
Mike then held his butter knife to his heart to register his discontent... The woman ran off to the kitchen and began yelling at her husband for not making enough meatballs!
:-) This amused us.
Mike ordered Meat sauce, and I had caprice after my lasagna... which was delicious... different than ours... but delicious... maybe there IS good Italian food in Italy.
After dinner, we tried Spritzers as we watched the sunset... and Mike wished he'd had the camera, cause they don't taste at all like they look, and they are BITTER... BAH! I made a horrid face after my first sip.
Sorry Holly... me no like.
My souvenir for the trip was going to be a bottle of the booze to make spritzers... I changed my mind.
Mike went into a shop and bought a bottle of cold Champagne and 2 cups... When I asked what for, he said, "we have to drink something on our gondola ride!" Softie.
The Gondola ride was cool... he took us down some really cool "alleys" ... we even saw a rat :-)After the Gondola ride, we walked around some more, and found a fantastic vintage jewelry store, but since it was midnight... *sigh* it would have to wait for the next trip. We also found "Harry's Bar!" Which is the same one that's around the corner from Mike's Place... Cool!
We went to Saint Marks Square, and drank Bellini’s and listed to the outdoor concerts, while people kept trying to sell us roses... they kept bugging us, so we started speaking gibberish to them... they decided we were crazy & finally left us alone. The 4 piece playing was led by a crazy bald guy... he was wonderful. He played Stuff from Phantom, La Boehme, and some Vivaldi...
It was magical.
Went to bed at 3 :-)

TI AMO VENEZIA!!!

So, When you type Venice into the GPS... it gives you directions to Venice California. Super helpful, huh?
So, after remembering I say Venice spelled weird in a magazine, I re-typed it properly, and we were on our way.
It is the most beautiful place ever. No cars, makes it very quiet.
We packed light, so we parked our car, and grabbed our backpacks, and the bag I was using as a purse (Which mike has told me he's going t throw in the garbage when we got home, cause it's not secure...)
Went to the internet cafe, found a fancy-ass-hotel for 1/2 price, that was right on the grand canal.
Dropped off our bags and started exploring.
Venice makes me want to paint.
The Shawl I bought in Milan is coming in handy as it crams nicely into a purse pocket.
Window shopping here is fabulous... there are actually glove stores... GLOVE STORES!!!
Fabulous!

We watched soccer, had cocktails and watched the sunset... Just before I tool this picture... there was a girl smoking who wouldn't get out of the way... just standing there... smoking... and scratching her boob for abour 3 minutes... and yes... I took a picture of that... but I will spare you. We finally found dinner at 11:30... and thus far, we have not been blown away by italian food in Italy... I think we went to bed at 2... again... Yes!

Milano!

Ah... Milano... land of a million mesquitos... bah!

We overslept & missed breakfast :-(
Bad way to start the day... however... we powered through, found some grub, grabbed a subway train, and headed to the Duomo...
It is lovely.
I read up on Milan and the duomo before I left. The key points are...
1. Don't let anyone touch you. They will try to put bracelets on you and birdseed in your hand, and then demand money. (despite warnings... Travis has 2 bracelets)
2. No bare knees or bare shoulders. I brought a wrap, but then forgot it in the hotel... There are ladies outside selling wraps for undisclosed amounts... I got one for 3 euro... a lady next to me paid 6...( hehehe.)
You are also not supposed to take pictures inside, but everyone does... and most people are respectful.We climbed to the top where the views are lovely......then headed to the Galleria Vittorio Emanuele II for coffee at rabarbaro Zucca for relaxing and people watching. The police here look like they are props for a Dolci & Gabana fashion shoot... it's crazy. (I would have taken a picture... but I didn't know if it was allowed...) Then we went to dance on the bull... which ensures a year of goodluck :-)
We found the Da vinci statue... and then... it was off to Venice!!! Travis stayed behind to visit with his Fam. who were there on business.

Nice and Monaco

We drove through Nice and Monaco today... had a very unfortunate lunch in Nice... got stuck in a very long tunnel, drove though San Marzano where they grow all the fancy italian tomato's I like to use for sauce... and now we are at the Hotel michelangelo... my first impression of Milan... bring mesquito repellent.

Mademoiselle Bridget Mack

We are about to leave for Milan, and I thought I'd do a random post...
Did you know mascara here is 15 euro? I'm not talking the fancy stuff... I'm talking maybelline.
Secondly... I got a "carte de Banc"... and it identifies me as Mademoiselle Bridget Mack... cool, huh?

Travis comes to visit!

Friday, Travis arrived. We all went to a very fun party on Friday, and drank a great deal of great beer. Yesterday, we took Travis to Aix-en-Provence. We drank pastis, walked around... a lot... drank some more pastis... had some lunch... and some more pastis.Then it was time to watch the US in the world cup... le sigh... :-(
The boys had some beers during the match... and I, sadly, decided we needed to get home somehow.
The amusing part was the table of super macho french dudes at the table next to us... orded the girliest cocktails... with little soccor ball shaker sticks in them...

As my reward I was very entertained... The boys decided that instead of having dinner, we'd go to "le manor" and drink some more... which had delirium on tap, and played fantastic 80's music! By this time (about 2am) it became apparent that my very cute shoes were not meant to be worn ALL DAY... and by the time we had to walk up the giant hill to he car... my heels were tore up, and I walked to the car barefoot.
:-(Thus, ending my dream of shoe shopping in Milan... which is where we are headed tomorrow.
Travis's reward was a lovely hangover :-)

Last day of school!!!

So, today was the last day of school, and tonight, I pick up Travis at the train station. We will party in France all weekend, then head out to Italy & beyond... (Assuming MM gets a week off work)
To celebrate, I bought some Lavender at the market... Summer is upon us, and that mean the little man in the clock tower has changed... though he now appear to be a she...
To celebrate the summer solstice, all the towns have a fete de St. Jean... in which there is a huge bonfire lit, there is food and drink (well... moonshine...) and music... and as the fire begins to die down, they spread out the flames and hot coals in a line... and children jump over it... yep... c'est bon. As far as what I learned in French class...
When someone sneezes, you say "à tes souhaits"...