I have cousins living in Vicenza, Italy for 3 years. Being able to visit them was great and I certainly hope to visit again before they leave. My first trip to Italy was in either 2000 or 2001 (for some reason I'll never remember which year. It could have been '99) - my Mum and I spent time in Tuscany. Later I went to Rome and Florence. I am happy to say that this time in Italy I did not repeat any places and only visited new places!
Vicenza
As always happens when you are based in one location, you forget to bring your camera everywhere! My pictures of Vicenza are scattered but let me assure you that Vicenza boasts a central downtown with cafes, bars, beautiful piazzas, lots of shopping, and enough historic and architectural sites to satisfy most! I myself partook in plenty of window shopping each and every day.
First meal (taking photos of the food makes you an absolute tourist so I only took them at Jess and PJ's!) Parmigiana, prosciutto, focaccia, olives, and wine! Looking at it now makes me consider turning this trip around.
The main piazza just down the street from Jess and PJ's apartment. We often found ourselves around this piazza for a spritz, espresso and croissant, or dinner.
Silliest roommate (and also cutest) to date! Reesey is trying very hard to get all of the peanut butter out of her kong. She was very successful.
Large Christmas tree in the piazza. The only picture I have of it lit up is quite blurry but it was quite large and magnificent.
Reesey took the road trip with us!
So many decorations, homemade wares, and lots of German and Italian style street food.
The Chapel Bridge, Lake Lucerne, and the Swiss Alps.
The Lion Monument. Located in the medieval part of Lucerne and built to honor the mercenary troops from Central Switzerland who died trying to protect the French royal family during the French Revolution. The lion is dying, carved into the sandstone, and has this engraved: "Helvetiorum fidei ac virtuti" in Latin which means: "To the loyalty and bravery of the Swiss"
Beautiful roofed church right outside the piazza.
Nativity scene at the Mercatino Natale
Awesome sign on the side of a vendor - this particular vendor sold traditional German gingerbread
Things to-do next time in Vicenza:
- Visit at least 3 of Palladio's villas
- Take at least 2 winery tours and tastings
- Hike up and picnic in a place over-looking the Dolomite mountains
- Take train to Bologna
- Play with Reesey
Trento
While in Italy Jess, PJ, and I did some weekend trips. First, we went to Trento to see their Christmas market (in Italian, Mercatino di Natale); this market just finished celebrating its 20th year. Generally when thinking about Christmas Markets my mind goes to the Striezelmarkts of Germany. In this case, because of Trento's location just after the Brenner Pass (Passo del Brennero) which links Italy and Austria through the Alps, much of the Alpine culture has seeped into Northern Italy. It is the most well known market in Italy.
In Italy the hot, spiced wine drink is called vin brulee, but in Trento they boasted the German gluhwein and even had the mugs!
Lucerne
Jess has become a master at weekend trips in Europe so Jess and I planned one for my first weekend with them. We decided on Lucerne, Switzerland - close enough to drive comfortably, able to find a good deal in hotel, and absolutely beautiful, and popular in all seasons. Lucerne or Luzern is in the area of Switzerland that is mostly German speaking. That being said, you hear many languages while there and even some odd mixes of French/German, English/German etc. The city is located on the shores of Lake Lucerne and right under the Swiss Alps. Picturesque.
Swiss Alps! I wish very much that I could have gone skiing!
The famous Chapel Bridge, or Kapellbrucke, is a wooden covered footbridge that was built in the 1333 to connect the old town and old town. It is named for the Chapel of St. Peter that it sits near. It was part of the fortification of the city. Now it is a main attraction in Lucerne and is often seen as the symbol of the city! The tower in the middle of the bridge predates the bridge and has been used for a prison, torture, as a municipal office, and now has a gift shop!
Inside there are a number of paintings that date to the 17th century and were done by a local artist named Hans Heinrich Wagmann. They depict scenes from Lucerne's history. The bridge was mostly destroyed in '93 due to fire but it has been restored to its original truss-bridge splendor but sadly losing most of the paintings.
Looking into town from the steps of a church.
Balzano
The weekend following our trip to Switzerland we decided on a day trip somewhere in Italy. We all spent more than intended in Lucerne and taking Reesey with us, we went to see another Christmas market. Balzano is a beautiful town in the Northern part of Italy (more so than Trento) and a place where most people speak both Italian and German - a region that was, in recent history, torn between Austria and Mussolini's Italy.
The market is located in the Piazza Walter, officially the Walther von der Vogelweide Platz in German, and is 23 years old! Larger than the market in Trento and certainly more bustling, this market was easy to get lost in and had very long lines for vin brulee and food! Noticing the obvious German presence here, we had bratwurst and currywurst for lunch!
Outside of the main piazza was this smaller one, crammed full of vendors with ornaments and refreshment. The trees in the middle were decorated with lots and lots of red balls. Very cool.
After the market we spent some time in Balzano and found a couple places that sounded interesting to visit. Traveling with Reesey and PJ, though, we only went to see one and on our way back to Vicenza! The Schloss Runkelstein or the Castel Roncolo in Italian, built upon a rocky outcropping in the area of Ritten (just outside Balzano), is an old fortification dating from approximately 1240.
**Pictures to come later**
No comments:
Post a Comment