Venezia I

What can one say about Venice? La Serenissima e bellissima!! I opted to leave my auto in the hotel parking garage and take the train in. It took 25 minutes. Again, it is really hot (upper nineties). I joined the steaming masses to hoof it through the winding streets and over countless bridges. When I got to the Rialto Bridge, despite the throngs and the heat I had a moment of epiphany: this is Venice! the light, the life, the joy of the place! La vita, i colori, la gioia! It is a miracle, like no place else on earth. Later, at the Piazza San Marco, traipsing along on the hot stones in the blazing heat, I thought: We are all crazy to be out here, but that is what you do because Venezia is so special. There is no lack of photo opportunities; I took 54 shots. One becomes snap-happy. Here are some to start. I can only post a few because I don't have the right plug in order to re-charge my computer battery (every country in Europe has different plugs; aaargh!). I am leaving very early tomorrow morning, taking the autostrada north towards Udine, crossing into Austria at Villach, and on to Graz.

Padova

Padua is a fine old town with a long history. It was important in Roman times but was completely destroyed in the 7th century. It survived several ups and downs. The heart of the old town has winding, arcaded streets. I took the quick, three-hour walking tour. The most important site, the Scrovegni Chapel with its Giotto frescoes, I will not get to see. One needs to get tickets beforehand. It's a pity because I adore Giotto. I have seen his other magnum opus in Assisi. The photos show a typical street, the famous Prato della Valle with the basilica of Santa Giustina, and the 13th century basilica of San Antonio. The latter includes the tomb and various relics of St. Anthony (who was from Padua). The relics are housed in a separate chapel, totally over-the-top Baroque. To the Roman Catholics ostentation equals veneration. The church is quite impressive, though it is a goulash of styles. Santa Giustina also houses relics of various worthies, especially the corpse of Saint Luke. He was buried in Greece, but his coffin was 'miraculously' unearthed next to the church centuries ago and the then pope declared it authentic (and how the hell would he know?) The gullible need their relics, I suppose, and the church has a donation box by every single one of them.
Padua also boasts one of the oldest universities in the world. It is a mere 800 years old and counts Galileo Galilei as one of its former faculty.

L'autostrada

Today is a travel day. I left early in the morning headed south along the lake towards Como. If I were unadventurous I could have simply gotten on the freeway that heads towards Milano, circled the city and continued east. But I wanted to avoid the big city congestion. From Como I continued on a secondary road towards Lecco, on the southern tip of the other arm of the lake, then south to Bergamo where I picked up the autostrada. It was not a pictureque ride at all, rather another long stretch of modern Italian commercial/residential blight. That is what happens when you don't have strict zoning laws. Those people who complain about the intrusion of the government into our lives should think of the alternative. Germany, Austria, and especially Switzerland all carefully control what can be built where, and the result is an enviornment that is pleasing to everyone.
When I finally entered the autostrada I thought it would be clear sailing. Boy, was I wrong! We inched along, bumper to bumper, for about forty minutes. If it is like this all the way to Padua, I thought, I won't get there until tomorrow! But 'il traffico intenso' cleared after a while. Everyone is going somewhere. The freeway system is like that in the States: you get a card when you enter the motorway and pay when you leave. There are periodic rest-stops and eateries. I stopped midway for a bite of lunch. The service area was complete bedlam; there were far too many people in it. You had to pay for your selection first, then go elswhere to have it prepared. All sorts of pizzas and hot sandwiches were offered. I had a Rusticella = a kind of thin pita bread stuffed with ricotta and mozzarella cheeses as well as spinach. It was thrown onto a grill press for a short while - and it was delicious! The ladies at the counters worked at a frenzied pace, slinging sandwiches onto the grill or tabulating change, but they were all polite and patient with lots of 'pregos' and 'grazies'. I hope they get paid a lot! (Fat chance!)
My route passed Brescia, Verona and Vicenza. I considered making a quick stop in Verona to see the sights, but the thought of driving into the town, driving in circles to find a parking garage, then traipsing about in the hot sun seemed too much. I was in Vicenza just a year ago. I will take a look at Padua this evening and go into Venice for the day tomorrow. Venezia is only about 25 miles away.

Map of Lago di Como

Here is a cosmic coincidence: eighteen years ago J.J. and his then wife Monica came to Lago di Como in the off season. They took a boat part way up the lake, got off and walked a long while until they found a hotel that was open. Yesterday at breakfast J.J. realized that this was the very same hotel he and Monica stayed at all those years ago. Of all the hundreds of hotels on this lake I could have chosen to stay at I ended up in this one, the Hotel Riviera in Cadenabbia.
In case, dear reader, you have not pulled down the old atlas and dusted it off, here is a map to show you where I am. Varenna (not shown) is on the east shore of the lake, just north of Bellagio.

Cruisin' on the lago

My friend J.J. wanted to get an early start back to Lausanne, so we left for the Lugano stazione right after breakfast. On the way back I stopped at a small lake on the Italian side of the border, in the mountain pass, the Lago di Piano. (And is there a Lago di Fortissimo, perhaps? Or a Lago di Saxaphone?) It is a very small lake, by New England standards a pond. The guidebook I consulted said that one could walk entirely around the lago. They lied. Still, it was nice to have a bit of a walk in such a beautiful spot.
I wanted to spend some time in one of the several villas on the lake, one with a botanical garden, but it is just too hot to be traipsing about. Instead, I purchased a day ticket (at the reasonable price of eleven euros} for the lake ferries which allows one unlimited travel to a half dozen towns in the mid-lake area. I sailed Cadenabbia-Bellagio-Varenna-Menaggio and return. (There is no connection between Menaggio and Cadenabbia or I could have completed the circle.) It is really hot, in the low 90's, weather only for mad dogs, Englishmen and tourists to be out and about. Spending the afternoon and early evening on the water was a good idea. Lago di Como is stunningly beautiful.
I know some of my readers are very curious to know what we had for dinner last night in Menaggio. It was a memorable meal. J.J. ordered lake trout which was lightly fried in a sesame batter and served with chard sautéed in butter. I had a saffron risotto. As a primo we both had a superb insalata mista. The only option for dressing is virgin olive oil and balsamic vinegar. What else would you want to put on such a beautiful salad? Surely not the gloppy dressings that Americans seem to love, laced with sugar and salt, smothering the delicacy of the greens. J.J. ordered us a bottle of fine local Merlot. For dessert I enjoyed a 'penna cotta al mou' which is a fine soft cheese, something like ricotta, with caramel drizzled over it. Heaven!

Menaggio

We drove back north, passing Cadenabbia to the next town of Menaggio. It is the prettiest and most elegant town on this part of the lake. We lazed in the shade, admiring the view, watching the ferries and sailboats glide by. We liked Menaggio so much that we returned in the evening for dinner, dining at a lovely restaurant with a view of the lake. We experienced every tourist cliché in the book, including a wandering accordion player. It was heaven.

The Duomo in Como

After breakfast we headed south along the lakeside to the main town of Como. I had wanted to go by boat but the schedule didn't work out for us. The drive is very pretty but entails going through town after town with very narrow streets and impatient drivers. Apparently the locals get annoyed if you don't drive twice the posted speed limit. Oh, these hot-blooded Italians! Then there is the hassle of parking and driving around in circles. Having a vehicle is nice, but sometimes it is more trouble than it is worth.
The town of Como was settled in Celtic times. Julius Caesar himself ordered that the swamp be drained and the settlement moved down to its present location at the south end of the lake. Both Pliny the Elder and Younger lived here and Cosima Liszt (who later married Wagner) was born in Como. The main attraction is the fine duomo with its façade erected and decorated in the mid-fifteenth century. The interior is quite spacious. The cupola is late 18th century.