Since we've been here, we've tried to get away one day each weekend. We are loving Treviso, but what better opportunity will we ever have to discover all the amazing sights in our backyard?
VENICE
Our first trip was to Venice. We ended up driving, even though the train would have been faster & easier because we had to go to IKEA first to buy a high chair! Anyhow, after that errand, we drove to Mestre & took the train into the city. We walked through town, across the Rialto bridge, and into Piazza San Marco. The weather was perfect that day, & the crowds were minimal. It was like something out of a dream (plus we were still jet-lagged, so everything seemed like it was out of a dream). The kids got hungry half-way to the Piazza, so we stopped at a pizzeria for a late lunch. Later on, when we arrived at the Piazza, Ellie said she thought we were going to get pizza! Um, didn't you just eat a whole pizza 15 minutes ago? All I can say is that girl loves pizza! I found all the shops a real distraction - the kids were constantly asking if we'd buy them something. In the future, I'll let them bring some of their own money & plan on walking slowly so they can browse & pick what treasure they really want. The kids were tired out by the time we got to the Piazza, & there was a larger crowd there, so we decided to skip the rest of the sightseeing & save it for another day - we are only 30 minutes away, after all - we can come back any time we like! So we decided to hop on a water-bus instead of walking all the way back. After figuring out how to buy tickets & getting on a bus going in the wrong direction (it was a loop, so it didn't seem to matter, except it made the trip much much longer) we ended up back at the train station about an hour & a half later! Well, not too bad for our first time out, & at least a lot of lessons were learned.
VERONA
The second weekend here, we visited Verona,which is about 1 1/2 hr. drive from Treviso. When I traveled to Europe after college, I went through Italy two times, but never had time for the little towns - pretty much only saw the biggest & most famous cities. It turns out that Verona is the 4th most visited city in Italy! The weekend we went, there was some big festival going on (which we didn't know about ahead of time), so there were a lot of people there & a lot going on. I always love Rick Steve's guides, so I took mine along & we used it to navigate the city & see all the "important" sights. First, the Arena, which dates from the first century A.D., & is still used for concerts (the day we were there, they were setting up for a Peter Gabriel concert). Must wean the baby, then find a babysitter, then we can talk about going to a concert at the Arena! Walking around town, we saw a marching piccolo band, accordian players, & dancers. We visited the House of Juliet (not really her house, but still romantic - especially since a great friend of mine's boyfriend traveled to Europe to surprise her & somehow arrived just as she was standing in the balcony & then he proposed). Along the walls, thousands of lovers have written their names. Having 3 kids in tow makes it a little less romantic, but we all started off with stars in our eyes! This was a really nice moment to teach the kids about Romeo & Juliette, too, so now they know the story - must think of this as educational for them.
near NOVENTA DI PIAVE
Last weekend we spent the afternoon on Saturday at a classmate's birthday party at a winery the parents own about 45 minutes out of town. It was so beautiful driving through the countryside! During the party, there were entertainers hired to play with the kids, & the parents watched & chatted while sipping prosseco (the wine of this region) & eating tasty snacks. It is typical for all the kids in a class to be invited to the birthday parties here, but it still is so nice to be included & everyone is so friendly!
PADOVA
On Sunday we visited Padua. There is a famous chapel there called the Scrovegni Chapel, which was built & then painted around 1300. It's considered to be the first piece of modern art - although the frescoes were all religious in nature, the subjects were portrayed in a more human way than earlier works. Please don't shoot me, art history major friends, but I'd never heard of the Scrovegni Chapel before - however now I think it must be one of the wonders of the world! It is so well preserved after all this time. Now they have a series of air locks and they limit the number of people to view it & the ammt. of time you have inside in order to keep out the moisture. It was amazing and beautiful & I highly recommend that anyone coming to Italy visit this masterpiece. After our 15 minutes in the chapel, we viewed the art gallery. I would have thought 8 & 6 were too young to appreciate the art & history of Europe, but so far things are working out for us. I really enjoyed looking at the art with the kids, & talking to Ellie about what we liked (& didn't), why some paintings might be important, & how the artists might have created their works (color, shadow, perspective, etc.).
JESOLO
Tomorrow we are going to another birthday party - this one in Jesolo (a beach town an hour away), at the family's beach house. Nice. We booked a hotel room & plan to play at the beach on Sunday. It probably won't be play-in-the-water warm, but we can at least build sandcastles & walk along the shore. Wonder how it will compare to our beloved Santa Cruz?
No comments:
Post a Comment