Quick post today. The past two days have been lake side for us again. On the 23rd we visited Villa Carlotta Museum in Tremezzo and Villa Serbelloni in Bellagio. Yesterday was a visit of Sirmione at Lake Garda and free time discovering Verona. Waters were high and rain was aplenty but we enjoyed the day touring and eating at a local pizzaria in Verona. Check out the photographs of our journey.

Isola Madre, Isola Bella, Isola Dei Pescatori

Yesterday we traveled on the lake visiting each of the three Borromeo Islands. Resting on Lake Maggiore, the islands came into the ownership of the Borromeo family in the early 16th c. The islands hold two enriching and well-populated villas which now operate as museums (while one of the two is still lightly used as a residence for the Borromeo family). Photographs were not allowed in these museums. They held numerous works of art. Wooden tables inlaid with ivory, glass, and other mosaics were numerous in the museums. Plaster, marble, and faux marble designs are the standard wall and ceiling coverings. Great tapestries, paintings and an extensive marionette collection also fill the house with defining cultural history. The Borromeo family also developed incredible grottos under the villa.

 

The villa gardens each have their own atmosphere. Isola Bella is famous for its white peacocks and ship like design. The terraced ship like form can be observed from the lake by boat. Isola Madre now has a distinct botanical garden design while Isola dei Pescatori (Island of the fisherman) remains inhabited by apx. 50 people year round. It consists mainly of shops and restaurants.

 

This was our final day at the Lake Maggiore area. We are now headed off to Villa Carlotta and Villa Serbelloni. We may lack internet for a day or two so until then arrivederci.

Pisa and Villa Toronto.

We spent a lot of time today riding on the bus. This however was not the only sight we saw. We saw the world famous leaning tower of Pisa! Of course many of us had to try and push the tower over (it was necessary). For our evening stop we spent about an hour and a half at Villa Taranto which was established by a Scotsman and opened in 1952. The property has approximately 20,000 plant varieties and more than 3000 species. It rained while we were there, but this made for a great misty atmosphere and great colors. After almost 6 hours on the bus to get to Maggiore Lake and our hotel we are ready to rest for the evening. Enjoy yours too!

Pictures for the 20th.

Our travels yesterday took us around the hillsides of Cinque Terre. Cinque Terre (Five Lands) is one of the most picturesque towns in all of Italy. It is known for its vibrantly painted buildings which contrast with the sea and the sky as well as the intricately terraces vineyards which cover the hillsides. In 2011 Italy received record amounts of rain damaging many of these popular places and killing many people. Slowly the people have begun the rebuilding process and are striving to regain a sense of normalcy. To the visitor, the effects of the storms are barely visible. As we rounded the naval shipyards we came closer to the trainstation which would whisk us away to our first of three towns. We had to cancel our boat trip as the seas were too rough and dangerous.

While each town was on the sea, had beautiful cliffs, and a maze of side streets each town had its own special feel to it. We were able to explore castle ruins, wine shops, and sea edges. Andrew Vaulk was having his picture taken in front of some breaking waves and had one splash up and over him. In the afternoon we lunched at Ristorante Marina were we enjoyed fresh seafood and good drink.

 As our afternoon wrapped up we grabbed our standard gelato and loaded onto the buses. We also flooded a local ‘supermarket’ and fumbled our way through the produce section. The evening ended with Andrew having a birthday dinner with a few group members, some enjoyed a bike ride to the beach and pier, and others relaxed in the hotel.

All in all…a great day to be in ITALY!

 

bonjourno

(Pictures will come later. Gotta go to breakfast.)

Villa Gamberaia & Villa Collodi (The Home of Pinocchio.) & Andrea Bocelli!

We left Florence today after three exhausting days of climbing villa stairs, walking city streets, and examining numerous marble statues. While we enjoyed the city we are excited to spend more time in the countryside away from the crowds.

Our adventures began today in the town of Settignano. Here we visited and explored Villa Gamberaia. Gamberaia makes excellent use of the regional topography by terracing multiple areas and creating rooms with hedges. Numerous parterres and topiaries accent the garden. The main color found on the property is the roses, orange trees, lemon trees and the occasional wisteria. Like most Tuscan villas, the overlook is afforded panoramic valleys and fields of olive trees.

After some drive time we visited the town of Collodi which is the home of Pinocchio! The town truly takes pride in this as there are shops with hundreds of puppets and toys. Our villa for this town was Villa Garzoni. Here we found a long bowling green, grotto, a bamboo forest, multiple fountains, and a butterfly house. One of the more pleasing design elements of this villa was its smart use of terracing and stairs to move the person up the steep hill to the fountains.

We are spending the evening sea side in the town of Forte dei Marmi. As a few of us were walking this evening we had Andrea Bocelli ride by us on a bicycle! It was crazy! The woman riding next to him simply had one hand on his sholder. And on that note I will end this posting.

Ciao!