Year’s End in Italy

We have been to quite a few places in the last week.  Now we are in the Villa Contarini Nenzi, close to Trevino and Venice.

We left Zermatt on Boxing Day on our way to Luzern. We were sad to leave Zermatt,  not only because we had such a great time and made-to-order weather but also because this was always going to be the highlight of the trip.  The people, the town and the general atmosphere around the place were fantastic.

Still, we move on.  Near Montreux is the Chateau Chillon and we stopped there for a visit.  This castle is very old (and cold).  It had a horrible dungeon where some famous prisoners were simply chained to pillars.  The living spaces were much more hospitable, but not as grand as other castles we have seen.

We drove through Montreux on the way out.  Clearly lots of ‘beautiful’ people, come here, judging by the shopping and hotels.

We got to Luzern late in the day and had our farewell dinner for that tour.  

We stayed at the Schweizerhof Hotel, one of the grand old properties in the town.  It was all class.

This is the view from the other side of the lake.

The next day was a free one for us and we took a boat tour around the lake as well as joining in the shopping crowd.  We had been asked to check if the Stadtkeller was still operating, and it turned out to be the case.  We booked in for dinner and had an unexpected treat with a Swiss folk show featuring a little band, yodelling, playing of alpine horns and other things.  A good night to finish off our Swiss stay.

The next morning we set off for Milan, for the next tour.  After we arrived, we took the Metro into town and saw the huge Cathedral (Duomo). Being a Sunday, it was very crowded and we had a good look around before returning to the hotel.  We weren’t all that impressed with what we saw of Milan.  It was a big contrast to Switzerland.

We met the new tour group at dinner and then set off in the morning.  There are 7 of us from the first tour that are also doing this one.

Over the last couple of days, we have visited some very old cities, each different in its own way.  First, we went to Verona, home of the Romeo and Juliet tragedy which, we were told was based on true families.  We did manage to get a glimpse of Juliet’s balcony.  Unfortunately, we were not able to get close enough to her statue to rub her breast, which apparently brings good luck.  There is also an ancient Roman amphitheater there, which we did get close enough to rub!

We always knew it would be cooler than our previous visit to Italy, but we weren’t prepared for just how cold it has been.  Yesterday, we visited Venice and it was really cold -  not above 6 degrees all day.  This did take the gloss off the day a bit.  We were able to get into St Mark’s basilica which we missed last time.  We had a local guide show us around, we had authentic and expensive lunch dishes and saw the Doge’s palace in the afternoon.  We also had a short gondola ride which was made much more interesting by sharing it with a large lady who threatened to tip the whole thing over, but we managed to stay upright. We were surprised that Venice was still crowded, despite the time of year. St. Mark’s basilica was missing the scaffolding that covered it last time we were here.

A couple of visits today.  Firstly, to Vicenza, a lovely old city, whose old town is heritage listed.  The age of the buildings is amazing and we were given a full rundown on the history and also the work of the famous architect Palladio who designed many of the buildings and who served as inspiration for other architects around the world at the time (1500s).

We were able to enjoy a genuine chocolate gelato here, very yummy.

On the way back to our hotel, we stopped in at Treviso, smaller that the other cities and very much influenced and, for many years, rule by Venice.  This town had a great atmosphere, was not at all crowded and, like in Vicenza, New Years Eve celebrations were being prepared for tonight.

As are we - we have our big NYE dinner tonight.  Our accommodation is in an old villa that has been restored and improved.  There are lots that have been let go to ruin and others restored.  They were symbols of wealth back in the day, but some owners have fallen on hard times. This one is very lovely!

We are looking forward to a better 2020 with no health dramas and other sad events that we have had this year.  We have also been lucky with some wonderful travel and good times with friends and family.  Until next year .....