Weekend Excursion to Venezia: The Experence of the Regatta!

 Today, as I look out at the community of Volterra, the cooler air blowing in and the layers of thick fog meandering across the rolling hills and mountainous areas, with the well-predicted rainfall showing itself, I am remembering our hot weather fun we experienced on September 1st. My husband, Bill and I wanted to celebrate our 23rd wedding anniversary a little early by going with our family to Venice, known as Venezia in

 Italian.  So, we investigated and discovered that every year, Venezia celebrates the Regatta: Venezia Regata Storica, on the first Sunday in September. This year, it happened to fall on  September 1st, seven days before our anniversary. We made plans to travel up to the lovely city of Padova to stay for two nights. Padova, also spelled Padua, a grand city in the Veneto is no slouch in comparison to Venezia. Located between Verona and Vincenza on the map, you can not go wrong!

It is filled with gorgeous Roman ruins, Grand Basilicas, architecture, beautiful park systems and is the location of the world's first botanical garden, a Unesco World Heritage site. It is a 30-minute train ride to Venezia. Once we arrived, we were tantalized by the huge variety of foods from around the 
world. Then we surmised that one of the world's ancient trading centers was the Veneto, inviting the 


many merchants from around the world to sell and trade their wares and spices.  We decided to 
change our usual Italian meal  to Thai for just one night in the spirit of  internationalism! We headed to our hotel and had dreams of the Venezian Regatta the next day! We took the train from Padova into Venezia noticing the many canals as we grew closer. What excitement! Once we came to "the end of the line" we headed straight for the canal. It was as breathtaking as I remembered it. It had been 16 years since our last visit.

We checked with various Vaporato (water taxi) operators and private boats discovering we would have to wait and spend a good bit of money. So, we decided instead to save our money for a great meal and that we would walk the many streets and canal bridges to find the Rialto Bridge! What a "feast for the eyes".

We crossed the grand canal and went walking! We saw many tourists and heard many musicians along the paths. We took photos of various shops and views. It was unfolding into a wonderful day!

 

As we were drawing near the Rialto bridge, we decided to have our well-deserved lunch after all that walking. It had been my habit last time I was here to visit many restaurants in search of the best zuppa de pesce but a lot has changed including the prices of food since I was here last time on my 28th birthday. So, Liam picked up and carried my torch. He ordered this savored soup to try it! Boy, we wish Grant was with us to enjoy it together once again! The Zuppa de Pesce lived up to my descriptions and Liam loved it immensely!

After Lunch, we continued on our walk. We could feel the excitement building. The kids were just as excited!

 Then, we found her, the white, beautiful-looking Rialto bridge in the Grand Canal! It was gorgeous and filled with tourists and locals waiting in anticipation for the Regatta to begin in the afternoon!

Instead of waiting, we decided to walk the bridge and look for cool masks, a little fantasy of mine! And did we ever find some!

It is hard to believe that this was a hot, hot weather day! Merely a month ago! We waited for the regatta to begin but our kids and we were melting in the heat! Would we last? Then, we got this bright idea..."let's get that long awaited gondola ride!" Yes, it is a typical tourist act but the idea of riding in the shaded canals was so enticing. So we approached the sweet gondolier and asked him for a ride. He motioned absolutely and held out his hand to help us into his beautiful, black gondola!

After riding a bit, we got to talking ! His name was Alberto. He showed us the Casanova family palace, the home of Marco Polo and sailed us beneath some of the prettiest bridges. Later, we came to understand that the cost to purchase a Gondola such as his was $50k. Quite a commitment and a livelihood to perpetuate! Alberto told us that each gondola bears the name of the the gondolier's wife. Our gondola was named Antonella! 

As we returned back into the Grand Canal, Alberto instructed the kids to remove their masks as there was a police mandate to keep people unmasked during the event. It was quite funny beforehand seeing people look at Liam wearing his Vendetta mask with surprise, I suppose they saw the movie!

Once we docked back in front of the Canal, Alberto said some magic words. " remain seated the regatta is about to start you can watch it from my Gondola!" I thought, "Yes, Front row seats!" Sure enough, an acoustic band rode by on a boat with an accompanying  singer. It was decorated beautifully. Then, a small scale model of the Rialto Bridge road by on a gondola, it was time and 

what a treat! Regal music began to play! everyone along the canal became quiet and had their cameras ready! What a sight! The Regatta procession began.  The Venezia Regata Procession dates back to 1498 and it commemorates Caterina Cornaro Queen/wife to the King of Cyprus renouncing her throne in favor of Venezia. It is held the first Sunday of every September and it is said that the event has never experienced a rainfall.

 

Each sailor would hold up their oars vertically in unison in salute as they approached the Rialto Bridge. So exciting!

Then the races began, teams of all children, all women in white, men wearing uniforms paddled in unison through the Grand Canal to show their spirit and dedication to the event! Fabulous!

We decided to head for some refreshment and not finish watching the race but our spirit and excitement remained. We walked the streets and headed toward St. Mark's square in need of a vaporato ride to the train back to Padova and prepare for the next day's return to Venice. We returned to see St. Mark's Basilica, and Doges Palace. The kids gained a strong appreciation for the gold mosaic, frescoed ceilings, the crusades relics in the side chapel and all the passionate artwork that ordains such gorgeous, ancient churches and secular buildings! Mission accomplished! We could ride the vaporato at sunset and have a strong feeling of love for such a beautiful city, VENEZIA!

Next time in the Veneto: visits to the islands of Murano and Burano-  Isles of art glass and lace making.

A weekend trip in August to Cinque Terre

      Living here in Volterra, Tuscana, Italia for nearly 2 months has been wonderful! The weather is changing to autumnal colors and smells: bright orange and red leaves, lavender buds, ripe figs, full grown pomegranate, ripening olives, and of course, grapes. Now is a perfect time to mention our trip we took to Cinque Terre over a month ago when the Tuscan sun was blazing with heat. We were anxious to go visit the seaside wonders known as the "five lands". Although we had visited Italy 12 years earlier, we never had the opportunity to travel up north of Tuscany to a place so splendid with color, architecture, culture and sandy beaches. Our family decided to do things a little bit differently. Instead of booking a hotel room, planning out where we would go, and what we would see....we decided to live a bit more on the edge. We loaded the car up in the afternoon and began driving! We figured we would head to a town close to Cinque Terre the first night and just ask the locals what they thought would be a good place to stay! We drove for quite a while, stopping for gas and noticing the mountainous wonder of Carrara along the way. We could see what looked like snow but instead it was the side of a mountain completely of marble!! It was mind blowing!!

     After traveling through many tunnels of high altitude under the cover of darkness, we came across a sweet hamlet town above Riomaggiore, the first of the five lands. This hamlet had a sweet little bell tower, it's own red cross station, adorable homes built into the hillside, and a restaurant that was just beautiful! Very quaint and elegant in it's own way. The servings that passed us by were mouth-watering and thick with aromas of lemon-infused seafood. Contrary to what you might believe about a small town, this little village had locals who were so friendly and kind that we felt right at home. We took a seat and ordered a lovely, delicious meal. As dinner went on, my husband, Bill stood and spoke with the owners. He explained that we were Costa Rican residents who had expatriated from the Philadelphia suburbs of Pennsylvania 4 years earlier. That was when he met Madeline and Paolo, business partners. Madeline was from New York, her husband from Cinque Terre. Paolo a Cinque Terre resident himself. They made fast friends and a promise to exchange homes someday. This was when we had great fortune: Paolo had a local friend with a place we could stay overnight. It was called L'acciuga and located in another little hilltown closeby named Biassa. It had been recently been remodeled and was perfect in size. The young lady who owned the new inn gave us a sweet gift: a poster-sized aerial photo of the quaint Cinque Terre town of Vernazza, which ironically turned out to be my favorite of the five towns.

Liam enjoying the view!
 Siena doing her Davy Jones impersonation!
My first Seaside meal, so delicious!

                                                                     Bill And Paolo!

 

  Upon waking in the morning, we took in a breathtaking view from our parking area, it was Riomaggiore from a distance, just calling us to visit! We drove down the inclines, parked and walked down a steep, beautiful incline. Such gorgeous, rich colors on the tall, slender houses, tourist shops, with the aroma of espresso in the air! Perfect! We grabbed a delightful, expat breakfast complete with eggs and a smile. And we were off to enjoy Riomaggiore. As we walked a bit we ran into Madeline. What a surprise! She talked for a bit and showed us her home located just steps away, above the butcher shop! It felt good to know someone who lived there! We walked the many streets and alleyways and climbed many stairs in search of that glorious view of the Mediterranean Sea. And when we reached the landing it was so BEAUTIFUL! Various shades of blue and turquoise waters. Sailboats, motorboats, and fisherman. We caught a glimpse to the right and further inland of the train that runs through each town and the walking paths that lead for miles on the cliff's edge. We were in HEAVEN!

 

 

 
 

 

The Many shops and homes along the inner hillsides!

 

      Once we drank up the view, We made a plan to catch the train to the furthest of the five towns and work our way back through the day. We boarded the train and headed straight to the beach town, the Italian Riviera-looking Monterosso al Mare. We walked bits of town and then headed to the beach. It was so pretty, The sun was hot, but the sea was chilly. Certainly not like the warm bathwater feel we were used to in Costa Rica. The kids played while we took photos until we felt it was time to head to the next town.

 We can never pass up any kind of surf and turf, beautiful food and great company!

 

     Town by town, we took in the local art, ceramics and cultural flavors. We especially enjoyed Vernazza! So romantic with it's faded, yellow bell tower, docked boats swaying with the waves, oceanside restaurants, the historic fort built on it's edge and the huge waves that ferociously slam against the rocky shore. Yes, my daughter and I stood on the rocks to enjoy the huge, salty splashes of sea water that came to play with us! We never giggled so hard! We jumped on the train and headed back to Riomaggiore, We grabbed a simple snack of various seafood yummies in a cone easy to eat like popcorn and headed to a lookout point to catch the sunset! What a day! Again, we had no plans for the night, just the idea to find a quiet place to stay overnight before we headed home the next day. And we got lucky! Found a two bedroom apartment up on the second floor above a narrow, shallow set of stairs...a little storybook-like. It was located in a quaint part of the main road in town with a sweet balcony to share the next morning's breakfast. My daughter, Siena and I had the idea of getting some Italian style foods for breakfast: Nutella, breads, provolone cheese, salami and juices. And then it happened: we heard rumbling and constant splashes. Without warning, a rainstorm began and we were about to be caught without an umbrella. We decided to just enjoy the rain. We ran laughing from awning to awning dripping with rain carrying our precious breakfast. It was a sweet memory. Watching the streets wash with heavy rain in the faint city lights. We returned to the apartment, dried off and hit the hay. It was a great weekend to experience serendipity, whim and joy together as a family. We'll have to do it again somewhere else, soon!

 

 

loved Vernazza's energy!

 sculpted breads in the shapes of fish!

 Vernazza!!!

Breakfast in Riomaggiore!

We even managed to stop in Pisa!!!