Day 2: Venice

Typical Italian breakfast

On the second day of our vacation, we slept in until about 8:00 am and then went to breakfast in the back garden of our hotel, Casa Rezzonico.  For those of you who may not know, Italian breakfast is nothing like American breakfast.  Rather than eggs and bacon, it is much lighter fare such as yogurt, croissants, fruit, prosciutto and cheese, or pastries. 

One view of the back garden at Casa Rezzonico

When reading some reviews online, we realized that the church or "library" from Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade took place at San Barnabas Church.  According to the map, the church should be right around the corner....  so after breakfast we took off in search of the famous church where one of our favorite old-school movies took place.  We managed to get all turned around...big surprise! We could not figure out where in the world this church could possibly be...  We broke out the map and tried our best to re-navigate toward San Barnabas.  Eventually we ended up circling around and found Campo San Barnabas....RIGHT next door to our hotel, but in the opposite direction than we originally headed.  Ooops.  It is even funnier that we had walked through this campo at least six times already and by this church several times, but I guess we never took a good, hard look at it straight on (we were almost always walking into the square from behind it...) , and once we looked at it in a new light, we realized that this was the church from the movie!  We laughed so hard that we had totally missed this detail every time we saw it before and that we had just spent over an hour tracking down a church that was 100 meters (Like that metric touch?)  from our hotel! It was open so we entered the church, but it is now used to display an art exhibit on Leonardo Da Vinci.  Very interesting to me, but there was a hefty price tag to enter, so we chose not to.  Cool connection though!   

Where "X" marks the spot in Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade...

Typical narrow walkway in Venice

Speaking of wrong turns, this may a good time to discuss navigation within the island of historic Venice.  First of all, let me say that maps should only be used "loosely" in Italy- especially Venice.  Venice is comprised of one main Grand Canal and several smaller offshoots-smaller canals. These are the main thoroughfares.  If you are not on a boat, you need to take to the walkways of Venice.  There are no typical streets or cars or land buses on the island.  These narrow alleys wind all over Venice- around buildings, around water, around anything.  None of them are straight.  Many of them are not even marked.  On a map, it may appear that you come to a crossroads where you can either go right or left, but when you get to that actual crossroads, it is more like your choices are to continue straight or veer to the right.  So we just learned that you have to just choose one.  You will most likely be faced with this decision about 30 times in a typical walk which leaves a lot of room for error.  To complicate things, you can usually not get a bearing of where you are located based on landmarks (if you are unfamiliar with the area as we were), because you are sandwiched between tall buildings and cannot really see out in the area around you.  8 times out of 10, you will "choose poorly" (Get it??) and end up on a completely different part of the island than you originally intended. However, the good news is that you are on a small island.  You can only go so far. We quickly learned to take this lightly and just enjoy getting lost and finding our way back.  It became a sort of an adventure.  We felt very safe in Venice everywhere we went- even in the back alleys as long as we were together.  However, as a single female, I would not be caught in these skinny walkways alone at night.  

Our next step was purchasing a day (12 hour) pass for the vaporetto, or water bus.  In hindsight, we wish we had purchased the three day pas to begin with, as then we could have just hopped on and off the vaporetto to get here or there without getting so lost. It is good to know that there are no direct walkaways immediately adjacent or following the Grand Canal.  You will have to enter the maze that is Venice and it will take a lot longer than you think.  Also, there are only four bridges that cross the main canal so you have to find your way to the next closest bridge to cross- if you can find it... This is where vaporetto pass comes in handy. No matter where you are, you can almost always find a stop along the Grand Canal. Let me add that the vaporetto can be quite pricey, but it is very worthwhile if your time is limited in anyway or if you want to venture out from the main island at all. A single-use vaporetto pass- good for 90 minutes or one trip- is  €7.  However, if you plan to be around and sight-see for at least one day, I recommend that you buy a pass, saving you a chunk of money and time.  See this sight for a list of the current prices, which by the way were raised the very day we arrived in Venice...go figure! We wanted to have free reign of the island that day and even leave the main island, so we each bought a 12 hour unlimited pass for  €12 each. 


Watch this great video of our ride along the Grand Canal from the vaporetto bus... 

We hopped on the vaporetto and headed for St. Mark's Square once more.  There Sam found his hat.  And it was another perfect picture opportunity. 

Next we jumped a vaporetto to the island of Murano- a smaller island of Venice.  There are several, but Murano is well-known for its Venetian glass.  We decided to see some glass-blowing in action.  It was a fun 25 minute boat ride out there for a fairly short (and HOT) glass blowing demonstration, but it was something different to do.

Venetian Glass Blowing Demonstration

Sam enjoying Murano

Church of Santa Maria e Donato

The island of Murano was small and somewhat uneventful, but did we take a stroll into the Church of Santa Maria e Donato. With that, we decided to head back to the historic district, find our way back to the hotel and find some grub. 

More Murano

Next we took the vaporetto back to the Ferrovia stop by the Saint Lucia train station. We stopped in and bought our train tickets for the following day to Monterosso al Mare.  This was our first time using the self-service machines, but were glad to discover that it is pretty easy (as long as you find one in working order) and they take American credit (non chip and pin) cards just fine.  For more info on how to do this, I found this site particularly helpful.  After buying our train tickets for the next day, we ventured towards home and stopped at a Snack Bar.  Unfortunately, I did not write down the cross street, but it was somewhere on the corner of Calle de Mezzo near San Polo.  There are several restaurants called "Snack Bar" throughout all Italian cities, and most of them I would not recommend, but this one was OK. There are the type of places that several pre-made sandwiches, pizza, and pasta. You pick out what you want and then reheat it for you.  We chose to sit and relax, while others get it to go.  This one was quite nice. Sam chose to get a ricotta and spinach cannelloni, while I chose just a simple pasta pomodoro (with tomato sauce). 

It was at this restaurant that we found ourselves in a conversation with other Americans- truck drivers in town from Georgia.  They had just come from Milan.  They had a bit too much to drink and invited us to tag along with them to St. Mark's Square. Although we were honored by their invitation, we politely declined and continued on our way to our hotel. Or so we thought...  We stopped by a second snack bar along the way for some very mediocre gelato.  Sam got banana. I had chocolate. We ended up getting completely lost once again- ended up somewhere in the area known as San Polo.  Here we found our very first grocery market.  We were in love!  In Italy there is almost a complete absence of any commercialism-no Home Depot, no Wal-Mart, no large grocery chains, and we only saw one ritzy McDonald's and a Burger King awkwardly crammed into some historical buildings all throughout Italy.  It felt so good not to have to rely on these franchises and just get back to basics.  This was just a family-owned market, stocked with the freshest ingredients.  We wandered through the store and bought a couple huge 1.5 liter bottles of water.  (We were seriously dehydrated.) We explored the market and bought some random items to snack on during our train trip in the morning.  We were amazed by this boxed wine that looked like a giant juice box, so we had to buy it.  And note this boxed wine only cost €3 (not €10)!

Check out the price for THREE balls of fresh mozzarella!  Outstanding! 

I think Sam's favorite part of the whole trip were the grocery stores! 

We headed home and took a one hour break in the blessed air-conditioning of our hotel room. Then we sat on the back patio of the hotel and drank some wine in the nice, cool shade. It was so hot, so Sam was desperate to find a linen shirt.  The guy at the front desk of our hotel recommended a department store near the Rialto.  The store is called "COIN". We thought we would check it out after our visit to the Rialto Bridge.

Before we embarked for the Rialto, we were really in need of our own multi-tool/pocket knife.  We figured the corkscrew would be handy for opening wine and the knife could be used to cut bread and cheese when we snacked.  We found a tiny hole-in-the-wall hardware store just by our hotel in Campo Santa Margherita and bought one after much sign language due to an obvious lack in communication. It was an awesome cultural experience!

The Rialto Bridge

The Accademia Bridge

We took the vaporetto (using our 12 hour pass) to the Rialto stop, wandered along the insanely-packed shops of the bridge where I bought my one and only souvenir- a beautiful blue and white beaded bracelet.  We then continued around the corner into a very ritzy shopping area (totally NOT us), but we eventually found COIN.  They had a couple linen shirts, but as I suspected they were way more than we are used to spending on clothing, so we opted out.  Sam was disappointed, but now had made it his mission to find a linen shirt sometime on vacation.  While we circled stores on this quest we somehow ended all the way back at St.Mark's Square again- funny how this happens! We then walked back to the Accademia Bridge. From here, we hopped on the vaporetto down to the Ferrovia stop near the mouth of the "fish" (Look at a map of Venice here.)  We crossed the Scalzi bridge and immediately came across Bar Pizzeria Vittoria.  We had passed it a couple times prior and it just looked inviting so we thought we would give it a try. It has nice sturdy wooden booths outside.  We sat, each order a glass of wine and split a margherita pizza. The food and service were both fine- nothing spectacular, but definitely not bad.  See the full review here.  

Bar Pizzeria Vittoria

Margherita Pizza

We then hopped back on the vaporetto (Thank goodness for that day pass!) and rode it all the way down the canal, awaiting sunset!  We eventually circled back to our stop.  We once again (don't judge) grabbed a gelato at Il Doge- Sam had the Italian wedding cake, and I had the Crema, similar to a custard flavor. I just found this awesome website that decodes Italian gelato flavors!  If only I had read this before we left!  We were always just guessing...  

Finally back at our hotel, we indulged in our € 3 wine in a juice box, and it was much better than the selection from the night before!  

Tune in tomorrow for more adventures when we take one last look at Venice and then head for the beach! 

Day 1: Venice

I made it a point to try and document our comings and goings in Italy as much as possible.  I kept a daily journal. My hope is to take my chicken scratch and blog about our adventures. My reasons for this are three-fold. 
1) We didn't want to forget about all the wonderful memories- especially the small details.  
2) I know some of you- our family and friends- may be genuinely interested in our experience.  Hopefully this blog will give you a taste of what we experienced each day.  I plan to include pictures, videos, and links to reviews. 
3) Some of you may be first-time travelers yourselves and may be looking for someone's brutal honesty about navigating in a foreign country. If you are a seasoned traveler, please excuse my naivete in some respects, but I am hoping that my experiences- no matter how trivial- may help someone else feel more confident while traveling abroad. 
So I hope to write about each of the days we traveled in Italy.  Check back daily to read about the next big adventure!  


Day 1: Venice
By the time we arrived in Italy, Sam and I had spent more than 36 hours awake! We had a three hour car trip to Chicago O'Hare.  Thanks to Sam's mom who drove us up there, but not without a couple close calls! After security and the notorious wait to board the plane, we took off for London Heathrow!  Needless to say, we were excited, as this was our first trip abroad.  Our long flight on the 777 departed at 6 pm and we were so hoping we would sleep on the plane so we could arrive fresh and ready to go once we arrived in Italy.. wishful thinking. Of course airplanes are never comfortable and 8 hours on one is challenging.  However, I must say that the flight did go by fairly quickly thanks to the unlimited free movies and TV shows.  We each managed to watch 2 movies, and I threw in an episode of "The Office" and "New Girl" to boot (pun intended)! 


The service on both British Airlines flights was wonderful.  The attendants were very polite and accommodating.  I am not sure if it is specific to this company, but we received a full meal and drink service, including alcohol- if we desired- in flight.  I chose the garden salad, pasta, and cheesecake, while Sam had chicken curry with rice, salad, and cheesecake.  Not too shabby!  We both accompanied our meal with a glass of wine. 

 It was strange to be treated to this wonderful dinner, watch a few movies in the dark, and then suddenly have the lights flipped on and promptly served breakfast to accommodate for the seven hour time change. 


When we arrived in London, I must say that I felt that the airport there was a bit hodge-podge and somewhat disorganized.  However, there seemed to be airport employees strategically planted all over the airport, directing us this way and that.  


The flight from London to Venice was seemingly short compared to the first- maybe two hours.  I actually slept for a lot of it (finally), but Sam only slept for about 20 minutes.  I woke just in time to see some breath-taking views of the Swiss Alps out my window!  Amazing!


Upon our arrival at Aeroporto Marco Polo in Venice at 11 am, there was no need to retrieve baggage, as we both packed carry-on's only for our two-week stay.  I will post later about what and how we packed, as well as recommended or not-needed items. 

This is one of the convertible carry-on bag/backpacks that we carried. 

We immediately went down and bought a one-time combo pass for land and vaporetto, good for 90 minutes. This pass got us on the bus leaving the airport on the mainland to Piazzale Roma and then we hopped on the Vaporetto (water bus) to get us to the nearest point to our hotel. This combo ticket cost us €12 each. 

We boarded the #1 Line, which slowly inches its away down the grand canal from Piazzale Roma to the other end at St. Mark's Square, stopping at practically every stop along the way.  (By the way, the #1 Line goes in both directions.) This was a wonderful introduction to Venice, as we were lucky enough to get seats out back and it was a perfect picture-taking opportunity! We were able to slowly absorb it and take in Venice piece-by-piece... 

We exited at our stop and after only one wrong turn, we ventured only a few blocks away to find our hotel, Casa Rezzonico.  Please read here for a more detailed review. Our room faced the San Barnaba Canal and the view was very scenic- almost straight out of a movie! Although we were very tired, we decided that since we were here, we needed to get out and see a few things...and eat. 

Our room at Casa Rezzonico

The Key to our room 

View of the San Barnaba Canal from our room 

We immediately ventured over the San Barnaba Canal and into the Campo Santa Margherita.  At 1:30 pm, the campo (square) was not that active, but a few restaurants were open here and there. We opted to eat our first meal at Pizza Pier Dickens, recommended to me by my Aunt Nancy.  See the more detailed review here. We sat outside on the covered patio, ordered water and a Coca Cola Light- no Diet Coke here!  We opted to split some stuffed green olives (not my favorite) and a simple, but delicious margherita pizza.  The pizza was sensational!  It was so simple, yet perfect!  We both still agree that this was by far the best pizza we had anywhere in Italy (and that is saying something, because we had a LOT of pizza).  This particular pizza even inspired us to try to replicate at home...eventually. We need a pizza detox first. Both the service and the price were reasonable. 

We then stopped for gelato at Il Doge- again in Campo Santa Margherita- and a bit too convenient to our hotel.  I selected some sort of Italian Wedding Cake flavor (I think...it was in Italian, but this is the only way I could describe it.) and Sam tried the amaretto and dark cherry.  YUM!  Very good choice for our first gelato experience! See the official review here.

We then meandered through the maze of tiny walkways of Venice in search of the St. Mark's Square.  We amazingly found our way there and back with no big issues!  (Tomorrow I will write more about navigating Venice...) Sam was taken back by the enormity and beauty of the area, but especially liked the Campanile, or bell tower. 

St. Mark's Square

Leslie in front of St. Mark's Basillica

We went back to our hotel and reluctantly decided to nap... we slept for four hours.  Luckily we awoke just in time to go on a second jaunt about the island.  At 8:30 pm (20:30) we went back out to explore.  Venice at night is beautiful and fun!  Within just a few feet, we found ourselves back at Campo Santa Margherita and the place had completely transformed!  Being in the Dorsoduro and close to the university, college-aged kids swarmed the campo.  We forgot that tonight was the Euro 2012 soccer match! It was an interesting sight to see- every restaurant and bar filled with people- mostly sitting outside on the cobblestone streets, flimsy TV's set up clumsily on the exteriors, and people drinking and cheering on Italy!  Children played and people picnicked in the square. We mingled amongst them, walked, and just took in the entire scene.


As we made our way out of the Dorsoduro, things calmed down significantly. It was quiet and peaceful wandering from canals to "streets", hoping we were headed in the right direction- or that we would at least be able to find our way back again. We somewhat got "lost" on purpose and ended up by what we know now as the Scalzi Bridge- right by the Santa Lucia train station.  We wandered down the main road leading from the steps of the bridge, people watching and soaking up the Venice scene. We eventually saw a restaurant that had several people outside and decided to stop and give it a try. We decided to eat at La Pizzeria da Giorgio. See the official review here. 

La Pizzeria da Giorgio

We ordered another pizza- this time with prosciutto and a really yummy bruschetta.  We split a carafe of their house white wine, which was surprisingly good for a random stop.  This was one of our first tastes of European (or at least Italian) service and how it differs from the U.S.  Since Italians are not necessarily working for tips, they truly don't kiss your butt.  Our waiter answered his cell phone AS he was taking our order...  At first I was a bit taken aback, but throughout our trip, we found this to be fairly common.  Other than that, the service was average.  However, our British dining neighbors disagreed, as they were appalled by their check, thinking that they ordered one thing, when the waiter obviously thought they ordered something else.  There was a bit of an altercation and let's just say Italians (or at least at this establishment) don't always go by the motto "The customer is always right."  It provided some late-night entertainment for us, however. Luckily, we did not have the same issue.  

We successfully fumbled home through the winding streets. We figured we would swing by to Il Doge for gelato (Yes- for the second time today...). How convenient that it was just a few steps from Casa Rezzonico! This time I opted for the caramel (YUM!) and Sam went for a repeat of the amaretto and black cherry. It was that good. 

Since it was our first night in Italy, we decided we MUST have a bottle of wine to celebrate, right?  Well...  good luck finding a corner store or a gas station on an island where there are no road vehicles.  All groceries and shopping stores have very limited hours in Italy and close at around 7 pm (19:00) so we were out of luck there.  We eventually came across a take-and-go pizza place with a cooler- with wine in it! Hallelujah! We quickly exchanged €10 for what we later found out was the worse possible wine we had ever had in our lives.  We didn't realize at the time that  €10 is a LOT for a bottle of wine in the first place- at a fine winery.  


We split the bottle that night in the back garden of Casa Rezzonico after begging the guy on duty to let us stay out late...I felt like a teenager begging my parents to extend my curfew.  There is someone on duty there all night to unlock the door for guests, but as we accidentally discovered, they sleep on a roll-out cot in the back breakfast room.  On one hand, we felt bad for the guys.  On the other hand, it was somewhat frustrating that we couldn't really go out and enjoy the garden at night without feeling guilty or awkward.  Needless to say, the guy on duty that night let us go out there for about 20 minutes (reluctantly), but then we found out he was waiting up for us so he could go to bed.  After we split our absolutely HORRIBLE worse-than-Boone's wine, we headed up to room and let the poor guy sleep. We stayed awake until about 2 am, obviously still a bit off from the time change. 


Tune in tomorrow for more Italian adventures... 

Venice, Italy Reviews

The following is a list of reviews of hotels, restaurants and other services during our travel to Venice, Italy in July 2012.

Venice, Italy 

Casa Rezzonico
This was our first stop in Italy, and this hotel was recommended by family.  We stayed here for two nights.  The hotel was easy enough to find directly off the Vaporetto stop at Ca' Rezzonnico.  To find it, head straight back past the Ca'Rezzonico building.  When you come to a small campo, cut over to your right to the canal and continue to walk along the left side of the canal. Go past a small bridge and then the hotel will be on your left.  


We had a stately room located right on the canal with a picturesque view. There is a bell tower directly outside, so you do hear bells often, although this was not necessarily disturbing to us and we liked the charm. Very large, updated bathroom by European standards.  The bed was not necessarily wonderful by American standards, but was very much typical of the beds we stayed on in Europe. We never met either of the owners, but most employees were helpful and nice.  Upon checkout we used Travelers Checks in lieu of cash.  I know this is not common practice anymore, but I had pre-approval from the hotel.  (Since many of the places we were staying required cash or travelers checks, we opted for this for hotel payments only so we would not be carrying around huge amounts of cash on a daily basis.)  The employee that checked us out didn't really understand this too well and it ended up being quite a lengthy check-out process. 


Pros:

• We liked how close it was to Campo Santa Margherita.  Very lively at night with college kids, good food at Pier Dickens Pizza (see below) and great gelato at Il Doge (see below). 
• Scenic view from canal-facing window
• Nice, secluded garden
• Typical European breakfast including juice, cereal, coffee, croissants, yogurt
• Formal decor
• Large bathroom
• Air conditioning

Cons: 

• Must ring bell to enter.  Not a huge deal, but somewhat inconvenient. 
• There is always someone on duty to let you in or out, but they sleep on a cot in the "breakfast" room that leads to the back garden. Both nights we were there, we wanted to stay up (past 10:30 pm) and drink a bottle of wine in the garden, but didn't feel like we could due to the fact that we would be walking through the "bedroom" of the on-duty employee or inconveniencing them to stay up and wait for us. 

Pizza Pier Dickens, Campo S. Margherita, Venice, Italy

****We ate here on our first night in town because it was so close to our hotel and it had been recommended by my aunt. It was early for dinner and late for lunch by European standards, but we had just stumbled off of a plane and wanted food.  We were probably there around 1:30 pm. We sat outside under the covered patio.  Service was average. We ordered water, a coca cola light, stuffed green olives, and a margherita pizza. I was not a fan of the green olives, but Sam liked them ok.  I am not really sure what they were stuffed with- some sort of meat mixture.  However, the pizza (our first in Italy!) was amazing!!!!  We still agree that it was by far the best pizza we had in all of Italy!  Simple and perfect. Reasonably priced. $$

Il Doge, Campo Santa Margherita, Venice, Italy

****We stumbled upon this gelateria after wandering around in our first night in Venice. It was our first official sample of the famous Italian gelato, and it was a success!  Very creamy and good. I sampled something similar to Italian Wedding Cake and Sam opted for the amaretto and dark cherry. I highly recommend this place.  It was so good we ended up going back two more times since it was so close to our hotel! Super affordable!  $

La Pizzeria da Giorgio, Cannaregio(Lista di Spagna)230/a-30121 Venezia, Venice, Italy

***Very average in all respects. We stumbled upon this place our first night out in Venice.  We were wandering and ended up in this neighborhood near the Scalzi bridge and the train station.  The area is a bit touristy, but this restaurant had several people out front, which we considered to be a good sign.  We sat and were brought menus, although the server was a bit curt. We order a fairly inexpensive pizza with prosciutto and an awesome bruschetta.  I would say the latter was better than the pizza. We split a carafe of the house white wine, which was surprisingly good!  The service was something to be desired.  Not bad, but not good.  Although we didn't realize that this is much more common in Italy than in the U.S., the waiter actually answered his cell phone while waiting on us.  A couple nearby ate, paid, and then left, but returned several minutes later upset about their bill, as they felt the waiter had deceived the about the cost of the fish.  They were upset and the waiter didn't back down- just yelled back. $$

Bar Pizzeria Vittoria, Calle Lunga delle Chioverette 745, 30135 Venice, Italy

We stopped here in Venice while wandering around.  It has sturdy outdoor booths. It is located directly off of the Ferrovia stop, but on the other side of the bridge. We each ordered a glass of wine and split a margherita pizza. It was cheap and enjoyable.  $$

Bar Olimpia, Steps Nearest Train Station | Northern Side, Venice, Italy

Terrible. As predicted for something directly on the canal and at the stairs of the Scalzi bridge, this was a poor choice.  We were early for our train next door and wanted to grab something to drink while we passed some time. This place was close and looked presentable, so we thought we would give it a try. Mistake!  Sam got a cappuccino, and I ordered a Coca Cole light (the small European bottle) and we sat outside. Our bill was ridiculous!  The cappuccino was €3 and my Coca Cola Light was €6!!!!!  Do not go here!  $$

Ciao!

So as many of you know ( I mean really... how could you not with all of my obnoxious posts?), Sam and I are off on a new adventure this week.  We embark to Italy this weekend! To say that I am excited is an understatement.  Coming from two families where travel was not a priority or not always feasible (other than travel within the state), this will be both of our first trip overseas.

To be honest this trip was more my idea than Sam's, and I am lucky that I have a supportive husband who agreed to this "pre-midlife crisis".  About 7 months ago, I was in a funk one day and could not figure out why. I realized that travel abroad was a part of my life that I needed to experience.  I had always dreamed of travelling the world.  I am not really one for collecting stuff, toys, or material possessions. This is more my husband's cup of tea, which I understand; however, I would much rather go somewhere new and fun! I am appreciative that I have ventured through many of these United States, but I have always wanted to experience other cultures and lands. We needed to make it a priority, and he supported me in this dream. I am so grateful!

I am anxious to see beautiful landscapes and foreign seas, learn a new language (maybe a little bit...), try new foods (This is a challenge for me, but I am trying to get better.), soak in the ageless art and architecture, appease my inner history-buff, relax, and drink wine.  And did I mention drink wine?

As you can imagine, I will blog about our vacation when we return.  I hope to keep a log of our adventures, experiences, meals, tips, and more as we go, so I should have much to report!  I will log in and post pictures when I can access wifi, but will have a full report here. Just in case you are interested in our trip, I have laid out our overall itinerary below as a sneak peek.

Muscatine-Chicago-London-Venice

We will begin by venturing to Venice with a brief layover in London.  I wish it was a longer layover, so we could actually poke about London while on "holiday", but that will have to wait until a future trip. Once we arrive in Venice (Venezia)- after an overnight flight- hopefully we can fight off the jetlag somewhat to enjoy St. Mark's Square and the striking views from the canal!  Most of our three days in Venice have been slated in the official itinerary as "wander".  Truly, we just plan to walk all over and soak in Italy.  We may take a water taxi out to Murano to check out the beautiful glass blowing if we feel so inclined!

Venice

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Venice to Milan to Monterosso al Mare

Our next stop will be to take the train (I have never ridden on an actual train!!) via Milan to Monterosso al Mare- a small seaside town on the Mediterranean in the Italian Riviera.  It is one of five small towns - The Cinque Terre- connected by a steep water's edge hiking path.  We plan to relax by the beach and hike the entire trail seeing all five of the towns.  The entire area has been through quite a lot in the last year, as they had torrential flooding and mudslides last October, but now they are back on their feet. I feel that visiting this area is very important, as the people of this area need the tourism in order to make a full rebound. I think this may secretly be the part of our trip that I am looking forward to the most... everyday people in a quaint and charming atmosphere. And the beach helps.

Monterosso al Mare, Cinque Terre

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Monterosso al Mare to Pisa to Florence

Next we will take the train, with a brief stop in Pisa, to Florence (Firenze). We will spend about three days here- soaking in the great works of Renaissance and Baroque artists, such as Bernini, Leonardo da Vinci, Carravagio, Raphael, Titian and many more. With ancient art and architecture abound, we will have a lot to see in a little bit of time! Some of the highlights include the Uffizi museum and then the Accademia, to see Michaelangelo's David. We also plan to climb the steps of the Duomo, walk the streets, and explore the gardens and outdoor markets.  We plan to meet up for a night in Florence with my good friends from college, Abby and Dogan, who will also happen to be there! I fully intend to eat obscene amounts of gelato while in Florence.

Florence

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The path we plan to take (more or less) through Tuscany

After Florence, we will continue through Tuscany, renting a tiny European car and trolling the countryside, visiting hilltowns and wineries! We are staying at an agriturismo in Greve in Chianti. Agriturismo's are working farms that are given subsidies from the Italian government to also function as B & B's, fostering both farming and tourism.  There are many along the countryside, and the one we have chosen is a winery, as well as a producer of olive oil.  We will stay in their farm house for three nights, eating delicious homemade breads, meats, and cheeses while sampling the local wines and relaxing.  We have three scheduled stops over our three days in the Tuscan countryside- all arranged tours at wineries and castles. Otherwise we may just venture about from tiny town to town and see what we happen upon.  I will be sure to give a thorough report upon our return. 

View of San Gimignano in Tuscany

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Florence to Rome

After our tour of Tuscany, we return the car to the Florence airport and then take the super fast train to Rome.  We will be in Rome the final four days and nights of our trip.  We are staying in a private apartment that overlooks the Colosseum! Some of the sites that we plan to see include the obvious must-see's such as the Colosseum, the Roman forum, and Palatine Hill.  We also plan to visit the Pantheon, Spanish Steps, and Trevi Fountain among all of the numerous Piazzas and bustling neighborhoods of the city.  We have a day dedicated to touring Vatican City and St. Peter's Basillica as well. On our last day we may rent bicycles and venture along the ancient Appian Way to sight-see the ancient road that is preserved as it was so many years ago with a possible visit to the aqueducts and catacombs. We then fly out of Rome, again through London, and back to Chicago. 

Roma

I can't wait to go and although a bit apprehensive, I know it will be a vacation of a lifetime for us.  Stay tuned!  

Arrivederci!

The Comeback Kid

So I realize it has been awhile since my last post...ok quite awhile.  Almost two months now.  Part of me is ashamed to admit that. However, when I thought more about it, I realized that my blog absence only means that life has been keeping me busy. And that is a good thing!

Near the end of April, my life started to get a bit hectic and I found myself adding "Write a Blog Post" to my never-ending "To Do" list.  After some thought and a lot of stress, I reassured myself that one of the reasons I started this blog was to keep myself busy- a sort of hobby.  If I was stressing about getting up the next new post, then it was not serving its purpose.  So I took a break- a long break. However, one reason I have been more busy is that I have been doing fun stuff with friends like Bunco, meeting with my nook club, and hosting fun BBQ's and parties on our back porch.

So now I will attempt to catch you up on my life over the past several weeks. I will be honest. Except for my dinner co-op meals, there has been very little cooking or prepping going in this household lately, since time was scarce. I hope to get back into that soon, and I am very excited to start making some fresh summery foods like fresh salads, guacamole, and fruit!

From the end of April through the end of May was a whirlwind.  Since I started at a new school in a new school district in a new state, everything is just a tad different than where I was before, and the end of the school year- especially in fifth grade- is no easy task.  The end of the year was filled with excitement- field trips to The Herbert Hoover Museum and Farm, Discovery Park, and the Muscatine Art Center, track and field competitions, field day, fifth grade graduation, spending hours upon hours creating an imovie slideshow, and writing an article for the local newspaper regarding fifth grade projects and curriculum-  all while trying to frantically finish up the curriculum- creatively.  Then there was "THE Talk", which I actually enjoy and get the biggest kick out of!  I know that sounds crazy, but after many years of being forced to discuss the birds and the bees with a bunch of adolescent, hormonal girls, you get used to it and make the best of it- slumber party style. It is fun to make them feel comfortable, and then say the words "vagina" and "penis" and allow them get all of their giggles out of the way before the dreaded video.  However, this year I ended up giving the boys the talk.  Don't ask me why... poor planning and a lack of males in our building perhaps?  It wasn't bad for me, but I really did feel sorry for them.  I think they just about died when I said the word "testicles", but that was no comparison to "ejaculation"...

In  addition all of my spare time for the past two months went into extensively planning a week-long technology course for teachers along with a co-worker.  We taught teachers how to use SMARTBoards in their classrooms and how to use the software to effectively create their own interactive lessons.  We are fortunate that almost all the elementary schools have saved up and bought these wonderful pieces of technology.  It has completely changed the way I teach in my classroom.  I can use it practically all day in some manner, and it allows students to get actively involved in a lesson. Unfortunately I do not think that the general public- or a lot of teachers for that matter- really understand what a SMARTBoard can do.  Check out these short videos in case you are a curious of just a snippet of how SMARTBoards can be used in the classroom:

• Kindergartners use the SMARTBoard for a reading lesson 
• 4th Grade lesson on types of rocks 
• Secondary students use the SMARTboard too! 

Fortunately, the SMARTBoard class was a hit.  52 teachers took the class last week and over 30 have signed up for the August class so far! I have become pretty passionate about the use of technology in the classroom this year and am thinking that a future post will have to be dedicated to all the ways this can be done in the classroom, as I know I have grown leaps and bounds in this area this year. Just this year I have redesigned my teaching to include classroom blogs, used mobile labs for research and activities, had students use Google Apps/Docs on a regular basis to collaborate and present, as well as create Prezi's.  Inspiring! More to come... 

The following weekend, we were happy to attend the wedding of Sam's best friend, Lindsey, to Melanie!  Several months ago, Melanie must have recognized my OCD tendencies and knack for (over?) planning.  She asked me to help her out as her day of coordinator.  In the weeks leading up to the big day, I helped assemble programs and centerpieces.  Ultimately, last Sunday went off without a hitch! Although I had lots of help (thank goodness!), I was in charge of decorating, table settings, creating flowers in the centerpieces that day, arranging the set-up of the room, meeting and verifying accuracy with all the vendors, keeping wine bottles corked and beer flowing, cutting the cake, and clean up, all the while enjoying time with the bride and groom. It was much more exhausting than I ever imagined.  I don't know how those wedding planners do it!  It was fun to be able to help out friends, while gaining some experience.  It was very rewarding, and I received several compliments on how smooth everything ran. It was a beautiful wedding and a gorgeous day. I am very happy for Mr. and Mrs. Lorber! 

Then this past week I had my wisdom teeth removed!  Regrettably, my only two wisdom teeth (on top) decided to make a late appearance at the ripe age of 33.  I had them removed on Thursday.  I was a little apprehensive about it the day before, but all is well, as I have no issues at all!  No swelling, no icing, just a little Ibuprofin and soft foods the first day, and I was good to go!  I am now on my third day of recovery and still being cautious by eating softer foods, but all went better than expected! In fact, the doctor was able to get them out in less than five minutes- I was there for less than an hour total including time for the anesthesia to take effect and wear off.  

Due to the above, I have been glad to use the wisdom teeth extraction as an excuse to be a little lazy.  I have been avidly using my time to plan extensively for our upcoming trip to ITALY!  We have had this planned for about six months, but only had tickets and lodging booked.  Now, finally, all of the pieces are coming together, and I have a better idea of how this is all going to play out.  I am very excited, as this will be a first for us-neither of us have ever been overseas!  I will tell you all about our plans in an upcoming post, but it does include adventures to Venice, the Cinque Terre, Florence, Chianti, and then Rome. Good times!  

Well, now I mus go weed the garden.... 

Breakfast Kolaches: Dough stuffed with goodness!

I love anything stuffed inside a carbohydrate shell.  It may not be good for me, but it certainly is delicious.  My husband taught me how to make awesome cabbage burgers. I always loved growing up in Cleveland surrounded delicious Polish food like pierogies.  I am always surprised how few people know what these delectable pockets of goodness entail!  Last year, Sam and I even used our homemade pasta maker to make our very own pierogies...delicoius!  However, all of these tasty treats will have to wait until a later post.  Today I will focus on a new-found love- kolaches!

Moving back to the midwest, made it possible for me to finally attend The McDonald Family Christmas, which I have always loved.  I hadn't been in many (7 years)- yikes! Flights from Colorado were always astronomical at that time of the year.  It is always a festival full of aunts, uncles, cousins, grandparents, games, wine, beer, and food. LOTS of food!  This year was also a bit different for me. I was now the oldest cousin of 13, and at least 12 years older than many of my first cousins, I was in for a surprise.  My last family holiday celebration included a multitude of little munchkins running around the basement or swooning over the presents under the tree.  Now all of my "little" cousins had suddenly grown up, are in college, and well...were giving myself and my sisters some competition when it came to beer pong, Dance Revolution, and well...wine. Lots of it.

One of the other new things I discovered while in Indianapolis for this family event, was the kolache.  In short- dough stuffed with goodness.  In Indy there is even a place that served up a variety of these delectable carb-coma- inducing meals- The Kolache Factory. We would order them for breakfast one morning and bring them back to the house to serve the masses.  Kolaches can have just about any filling you could desire: fruit, cream cheese, eggs and sausage, ham and Swiss, pepperoni and mozzerella, potato...I even recently read about someone taking their Thanksgiving leftovers and stuffing it into a kolache.  Pretty much anything goes!

When Sam and I saw these at Christmas, we both remarked, "Hey- we can make these!" And so I did.

As I mentioned, you can pretty much choose any filling you want that sound good to you.  I opted for a breakfast blend this time because we ran out of breakfast burritos, and we need something quick to reheat for breakfast on weekday mornings. I chose to do egg, cheese, and bacon, although sausage was tempting too. I had some leftover onions and red peppers in the fridge from BBQ Chicken Wraps and wanted to use them before they want bad, so I sauteed them and threw them into the egg mixture.

Ingredients: 

2 cans Pillsbury Buttermilk Biscuits

OR 

16 Rhode's frozen rolls, thawed and risen

1 bag of Shredded Cheese

1 bag frozen Shredded Hash Browns

1 package of Cooked Bacon

8 Scrambled Eggs

1 Egg for top of Biscuits

Any assorted, sauteed veggies you have on hand that you would like to include

First, cook your bacon.  Here is a trick that we use all the time that very few people know about: Use your oven to cook the bacon. It is super easy and use foil on the cookie sheet to catch the grease.  Set the oven at 400 degrees and cook for 20 minutes. 

Next cook your hash browns. 

Scramble your eggs.  I added the sauteed veggies. 

Next, let the bacon cool from the oven. Then crumble. 

 Whisk an egg in a bowl with about a tablespoon of water.  Set aside for later. 

Roll out each biscuit or Rhodes roll with a rolling pin or glass. Roll until it is flat. 

On the rolled-out dough, place a small scoop of the egg mixture, some potatoes, bacon, and then cheese. (I always put too much in the first few and then learn my lesson.) Make sure all fillings are room temperature! 

Carefully fold up the sides one at a time, pinching the dough together. 

Then flip the kolache over and put pinched-side down on a well-greased cookie sheet. Now, brush the top of each pocket with the egg and water mixture.  This will give them a nice golden color when they come out of the oven. 

Sprinkle a little salt and pepper on each of the pastries. 

Put in the oven and cook at cook at 425 degrees for 8 to 10 minutes. Every oven varies so I would check at 8 and if they aren't brown yet wait and check again until they are done.

We ate these for breakfast for the past two days and still had plenty left to freeze for later.  I put them in individual Ziplock baggies and stuck them in the freezer.  To reheat, pop them in the microwave for about 30 seconds or until warm. 

Maybe next time, I will try another filling and make some for dinner!   

For my Colorado and Ohio peeps: Upon further inspection, I found that there are Kolache Factory locations also in Lakewood, Colorado (IF I had only known....) and in Cincinnati, Ohio!  Currently the closest to me is in Brentwood, MO.... Maybe my cousin Maddy can pick me one up!