Venice

Back on the road... we left Firenze and headed northeast to the sleepy village of Noale,

about 30 miles west of Venice, where we would spend our next 5 nights.

I chose Noale for several reasons:

Having heard about the crowds in Venice in the summer, I was looking for someplace

quieter, plus I wanted a smaller town to unwind after the schedule of big

cities and lots of running to and fro up to here.

The quiet town, and grassy parks would also be a nice change of pace for the doodles.

Below is a map of our route from Florence to Noale, then our two side trips by train from

there, plus our last drive from there to our current home in Bellagio on Lake Como.

We arrived in Noale on a sleepy Sunday afternoon.

It was quiet enough to hear the roosters crow.

Noale Town Square

Our host met us at the house, just a block off the town square.

She gave us a quick orientation of the town, places to eat, things to see, and

soon we were left to our own devices.

Nearby was a supermarket so first we headed out to get some provisions for

the next 5 days, then we set out about exploring the nearby attractions.

About 5 min walk away was a great park with lots of trees and grass, and the ruins of

an old fort and its surrounding moat.

Old Fort in Noale Italy

Looking thru the city gate to the old town square.

Our place was about 1/2 way up and to the left. 

Our first order of business on Monday was seeing the Vet that our host had graciously

set up an appointment for me and Gracie.

Long story short - the topical cream (antibiotic/steroid) seems to have amazing

done the trick almost overnight!

Gracies swolled lymph nodes have shrunk and are pretty much gone.

I think we've finally put that scare behind us!

One of the reasons that I chose this specific houses was that it was about

200 meters from the train station.

A 5 minute walk and we were on the train headed to Venice which was a short

25 minute ride away.   The trains ran every 1/2 hour so it was easy as pie.

I put the Trenitalia app on my phone and was able to research and book our trains,

download the tickets to my iPhone and keep them in the phone wallet for inspection

by the conductors as they came thru the cars.

We hopped on the 901 am departure and by 934 we were in Venice.

Arriving at Santa Lucia - the end of the line - we exited the train and headed for the

Vaporetto (water bus) stop, where we purchased a 24 hr ticket good for unlimited rides.

Boarding the Vaporetto for Piazza San Marco (St Marks Plaza) we took

a nice ride down the Grand Canal of Venice.

Grand Canal approaching the Rialto Bridge

Of the 170 canals in Venice... the Grand Canal is the Main St of the city.

As there are no vehicles in Venice..  everything moves by boat.

The fireboats and ambulances included.

Below - we pass by a Vaporetto headed in the opposite direction.

Arriving at St Marks - the scene upon the water seems like bedlam!

One of the busiest places in the city - the gondola's are arriving and departing like ants.

Gondolas near Piazza San Marco Venice

Venice View

When we arrived on the island we headed directly to St Marks to try and beat the crowds.

We were modestly successful to that end as the crowds were not yet unbearable.

When we returned later that day - it was next to impossible to move about.

St. Marks Square Venice

They were setting up for a concert, so a large part of the square was blocked, and it

made it impossible to get the real good photo of the square.

Leaving St Marks, we walked our way back across to the Rialto Bridge, another

world famous landmark of the city.

Before it got too crowded we stopped and had lunch at a place overlooking

the canal.   We then hopped a Vaporetto back to St Marks in search of Rice Balls that

we had seen earlier on our walk.

Rialto Bridge Venice

The picture of the bridge above was taken later in the afternoon when the crowds had grown

to pretty much saturation levels.

We had planned to walk back to the train station from here but the bridge was too packed

to try and cross, so we took the Vaporetto instead.

Some typical scenes from Venice

Even the houses are sheets of canvas waiting for the artists expression.

St Marks plaza is surrounded by shops and places to eat.

There was even a 3 place band playing some great tunes.

While taking the Vaporetto back to the station, I purchased tickets for the 2pm train back

to Noale using the Trentalia app.   How convenient is that!

Back at the station, we had time for a Gellato prior to our flight.

Train travel in Europe is quite different than in the states.

In the Venice station we saw trains arriving and departing from all over the continent.

Back home by 3pm - I was just in time for my east coast NY work day to begin.

Soon it was dinner time and we enjoyed the Rice Balls we purchased in Venice.

I washed mine down with a Guinness Draught.

I'm sure that would make some true Italians gasp in horror!

On another of our days we took the train in the opposite direction from venice to

the end of this line in the west.

Our destination was the town of Bassano del Grappa.

Noale Scorza Train Station

It was market day in Bassano del Grappa when we arrived.

One of the draws here is the old wooden bridge from the 1300's

It seemed to be in the beginning stages of some much needed restoration.

Bassano del Grappa lies right at the edge of the foothills of the Alps.

Earnest Hemingway spent time here as an ambulance driver in WW1 and part of his

book "A Farewell to Arms" was set here and in the area. 

Soon it was time to head back to the station and catch the eastbound train back to Noale.

By 3pm we were back home just in time for the NY phones to start ringing...

Another work day had begun.

Boarding the train in Bassano del Grappa

On Friday - our 5 days having passed quickly - it was time to hit the road to our next

stop - a lovely place on the side of the mountain overlooking Lake Como

in Bellagio, Italy.   About 12 miles from the Swiss border.

An apartment with a view.

We will stay here for 10 nights.

We'd been here 10 years ago and always promised that we'd be back for longer.

And here we are.

The view from our house.

Sunset view from the house

Next post will be more about our stay here in Bellagio.

See you then.