Hiking at Parco Delle Cascate

Ciao! If you are looking to get outside there is a wonderful "waterfall park" near lake Garda. It is in the beautiful little mountain village of Molina and it takes a little over an hour to get there from Vicenza. We tried putting "Molina" in our GPS and it did not come up. So we put the nearby town of Manune and then followed the signs to Molina from there.

Once you get in to Molina there will be signs for parking. The parking is free (as far as I could tell). Then you get out and walk, following the signs for "Parco Delle Cascate". BE WARNED, it is a LONG walk down to the park. And when I say down, I mean downhill which means you will have to walk back UP to get back to your car. It probably took us a good 20 minutes to get from our car the the park entrance and a little longer to get back UP the hill. I would recommend bringing a child carrier if you are bringing little ones, not a stroller. ALSO, before you walk down that big hill be sure you have 5 Euro for each person in your group that is over the age of six (there is a 50 cent Military discount which they did honor for us, but you never know). They do not take credit card. Maybe bring a little extra Euro to buy some yummy cherries in town too, they grow lot's of them in this area.

Once you get down to the park there are three "routes" you can take. They will give you a map so you will know. There is a half hour hike, an hour and a two hour. We did the hour one and with a little guy walking and lot's of stops it probably took us three hours. But the waterfalls are beautiful, the foliage is thick and provides lot's of shade and there are two waterfalls with swings over them that are lot's of fun.

My personal favorite waterfall was the "Doppio Covollo" or double hole. It was a little different then the others but very pretty and there were lot's of little newts and bugs in the water which my son LOVED.

Their website: http://www.parcodellecascate.it/eng_il-parco.php
Hours and prices: http://www.parcodellecascate.it/eng_prezzi.php
Their address is at the bottom of their webpage.

Padova

Padova is a city very close to Vicenza. It is close enough to drive to but I don't recommend doing it. Driving in Padova is super confusing and there are a lot of "zona traffico limitato" areas you have to watch for, or places you can't go or else you get a ticket. I took the train the other day and it was only a few euro and took less than 20 minutes to get there.

Padova is famous for their food market. Every morning you can find fresh foods being sold in the piazza della frutta. There is also a meat market under the arcade of the building you see here.

Padova is a major pilgrimage site due to the impressive St. Anthony's Cathedral.

"At 90.000 square meters, "prato delle valle" is the biggest square in Europe and probably one of the most beautiful in the World. Historically a Roman theater and later a fairground, it was redone in 1775 to the present layout: a large central grassy area, surrounded by a statue-lined canal, then a broad expanse of flagstones before a couple lanes of traffic are allowed to trickle around it in the distance. Saturdays the square hosts a giant market." (http://wikitravel.org/en/Padova)

Padova is home to the oldest University. The best part of the University is their graduation hazing which you can watch on any given day as they graduate them one by one there about every 20 minutes. Once they come out of the University from graduating they are at their friends and families' mercy. They have to put on a ridiculous outfit and do silly things while reading a poster of their "life's story". It is quite entertaining. Periodically everyone breaks out into a catchy little song that says something along the lines of "doctor, doctor, you're just a doctor of the butt".

Next time I go to Padova I would like to reserve tickets in advance to see the amazing frescoes in the Scrovegni chapel.

Monte Baldo

Last weekend we decided to take the gondola up to the top of Monte Baldo and hike around a little. So we made the trek all the way there (it's right next to lake Garda) only to find that the gondola JUST closed for several months of repairs. So don't plan a trip to the gondola. Their website says they are pretty much open every day except Christmas...it didn't mention two months of repair. So just in case it's on anyone's agenda, thought I'd put it out there.

Strada delle 52 galllerie

The weather right now is just right for a good hike. Last weekend we decided to check out the Strada Delle 52 Gallerie. In the Dolomite mountains of Italy not too far from where we live there is a series of 52 tunnels that where cut into Mount Pasubio by soldiers during WWI in order to safely transport supplies. Work began on February 6, 1917 and was concluded in November 1917. It is considered to be an engineering masterpiece for it's day and is one of the few remaining structures from WWI.

The very first tunnel

Getting there was easier then I thought it would be. It took about an hour and a half from Vicenza. We put "Valli del Pasubio" into our gps. From there we continued onto SS46 towards Rovereto. The road goes up to the moutains so there are a lot of switchbacks. About 6 miles up SS46 on the right hand side you will see a sign for Strada delle 52 Gallerie, turn right. (This road is a little bit tricky but manageable. It is a one lane road going up the mountain, so there are some blind corners and it drops off on one side of you. Just go slow and you'll be fine. I have found that everyone goes up this road in the morning and down in the afternoon, so as long as you are there in the morning hopefully you won't have to pass any cars. But if you do happen upon a car coming down, there are pulloffs for passing here and there. It's not a bad road, I took a little four door car up it no problem, no need for an SUV.) You all the way up until you get to a spot where the road goes three different ways. Go left. Go all the way up until you get to a nice big parking lot just for the Strada delle 52 (it's about 5 miles all the way from where you turned off). Get out and take the left hand trail with the fancy entrance and get hiking!

Tunnel number 20 spirals up through this tower

The walk starts at a car park at Bocchetta Campiglia [1216m] and ends uphill at an Italian Alpine Club refuge called A Papa [1928m]. There is an information board at the start of the walk, with a small section in English. Each tunnel is numbered and at intervals there are more boards giving information on the next few tunnels. The tunnels are all different. Some are long and some are short. Some have little lookout windows and some are dark. Be sure to bring a flashlight for the dark ones. My husband is over six foot and had to duck through some of the tunnels a little bit but not too bad.

The tunnels make this a really unique and enjoyable hike. It takes about three hours to get to the top and two to get down. There are some parts of the trail that drop off on the side but the trail is wide so it's not scary at all. We strapped my two year old into a hiking backpack because he is not so good at staying on a trail yet.

Going back down can be tricky because the tunnels can get slippery. If you don't want to go back down through the tunnels there is a road you can follow back down, you'll see it when you get to the top. There is a trail that sort of follows the road but cuts off the switchbacks, so watch for the red and white stripes that mark it.

When we got past about tunnel forty we were up in the clouds. When we got to the top we were above the clouds. It was beautiful up there.

Asiago...the town and the cheese

Asiago is beautiful little town in northern Italy that is famous for (can you guess??) Asiago cheese. They are also famous for honey and mushrooms. If you are looking for somewhere to escape the heat, it's a good place to go. It's up in the mountains to the temperature is cooler and the air is so fresh. I highly recommend checking out this town. The cheese and honey vendors will let you have samples, it's fun to taste the difference in a cheese at different ages. The honeys have very different flavors depending on what the bees were pollinating. I tried a "honey of the woods" that I can only describe as tasting very much like the woods, as opposed to a "honey of acacia" that was sweet like a flower.

The switchback road getting up to Asiago

Beautiful green hills of Asiago

A church in Asiago

Cheese!

Don't you love the colors of Italy?

WWI monument in Asiago where 30,000 soldiers are buried

Verona Opera season comes to a close...

The Arena in Verona (think mini Colliseum) has shows throughout the year, but summer is the opera season, I keep thinking I want to go to one, I just looked it up today and realized the season is coming to a close!

 If you have thought about going to an Opera in the Verona Arena, better do it quick. There are only a few shows left now. You can get nosebleed tickets for only 20 Euro! I think I might go to two this week....

Aug 30: La Boheme
Aug 31: Aida
Sep 1: Nabucco
Sep 2: La Boheme
Sep 3: Aida


http://www.ticketmi.it/programma/Arena-di-Verona-Festival-Lirico-2011-170

Gone Fishin'

Every weekend my husband and I have the same conversation.
"What do you want to do?"
"I dunno, what do you want to do?"
Reminds me of the movie the Jungle book when the vultures are sitting the tree saying that very thing over and over, "Hey, now don't start that again!"

I was checking out the outdoor rec website and I came upon some "self guided" day trip ideas. Click here for some awesome ideas!

I decided to head to Lago di Fimon, just south of Vicenza. It's not very far but it feels like you are way out in the country because it's up in the hills and it is beautiful. It didn't look like much of a swimming lake (lot's of stuff growing) but lot's of people were fishing. Also, there is a path that goes all the way around it (it's not a very big lake) and tons of people were biking. So if you're looking for a great place to fish or bike check it out!

To the Zoo!

Looking for something fun to do with kids? Italy has some awesome zoos. Check out Parco Faunistico Cappeller. It's close to Nove. They have all kinds of animals including camels, monkeys, flamingos, kangaroos, goats, penguins, turtles and lot's of birds. The park has a really nice flow to it, there are play areas and picnic areas throughout the park where you can stop to take a break. There is a lot of foliage that keeps the place pretty well shaded.

The cost is 10 Euro for adults, 7 for kids.
The address is:
Via Kimle
36050 Cartigliano

www.parcocapelleri.it
ph.: 0424.592513

I have heard there is a cool drive through safari zoo in Verona...I will be heading there sometime too!

Best Gelato in Vicenza

 I promised to tell you the secrets of Vicenza after my trip with our Italian teacher yesterday. Sadly, I forgot my camera, so you'll just have to go see it for yourself. Many of the places she took us were actually points on interest on a tourist map that you can pick up at any tourist info shop.

Let me tell you a few... Contra' Porti, a street of beautiful homes made by a family who was constantly trying to one up each other, go take a walk down this street. One of the homes was where the original author of Romeo and Juliet died. That's right, it wasn't really Shakespeare's story. 

Corso Palladio has lot's of shopping but it's mostly clothes, if you're looking for something else (let's say a cute vintage shop or maybe a jewelry store or even a seamstress...) try walking down Corso Fogazzaro.

Looking for the best Gelato in Vicenza? I know where it is! It's called Tutto Gelato and it's on Frasche del Gambero...they've got tons of flavors and are well known for being the best in town!

Lake Como

Just before you get to the border of Switzerland there is a beautiful lake, Lake Como. We happened to stop there on our way to Germany and I'm thinking we will have to go back sometime...

P.S. If you feel like paying 40 Euro for a yearly road pass into Switzerland, there is also another lake after you cross the border called Lake Lugano. Since I have already paid for my Swiss road pass for 2011, you can probably expect to see a few posts about destinations in Switzerland sometime soon. From what I saw just passing through, it's gorgeous!

Verona, city of Romeo and Juliet

Verona has captured my heart. Everyone says that Venice is so romantic, well I think Verona is even more so. It is simply beautiful.

On Saturday's there is a market in the Piazza delle Erbe. I saw some beautiful plants (lemon tree, yes please), ate an amaaazing canoli and smelled the beautiful cheeses. 

The beautiful Arena di Verona (Verona's version of the Colosseum, it is the third largest Roman arena) sits on the Piazza delle Erbe. In the summer you can catch an Opera here for less then 20 Euro to sit in the nosebleeds.

Verona is the city of Romeo and Juliet. While the story is fictional, supposedly there were in fact a family of Montagues and a family of Capulets here in Verona a long time ago. There is a little court yard you can walk into and see "Juliet's balcony", for a fee you can go inside and stand on the balcony yourself. The statue of Juliet brings good luck through the rubbing of her breasts, yes I'm serious.

Lover's from all over the world sign their names on the walls going into Juliet's courtyard. The walls are so covered in names that some people have started to stick their gum to the wall just to have a blank spot to write. When you walk into the courtyard watch for a stairway on your left, walk up these stairs until you see a mailbox, this is where you place your letters to Juliet (If you haven't seen the movie "Letters to Juliet" you should watch it before you go, it's a cute chick flick.)

You can buy a "Verona card" that will get you into several different churches and museums. It is a two day pass for only 15 Euro. (Children under 12 are free to pretty much everything in Italy). We didn't go inside anything this go around, we just wanted to wander around and take in the beauty that is Verona.

Jesolo Beach

Just north of Venice is a beach called Jesolo beach. I had heard that the traffic gets pretty bad going towards the beach on the weekend and we definitely experienced that this weekend! It took us about three hours to get to the beach and only one hour to get home. I recommend leaving early to head to the beach on a weekend. Which means BEFORE 9 am. We left at 9 am, next time I think I want to leave at least by 8 am, maybe earlier.
Lido di Jesolo (Lido=beach) stretches for 15 km. I really couldn't tell you where exactly we were along the beach, we basically found some parking and headed for the waves! We set up camp on some the rows and rows of chairs and umbrellas, later we found out that they are reserved, oops.

There are lot's of cute little shops in Jesolo, it's your typical beach town. This is Europe, so you will see topless women (and girls) and lot's of men (and boys) in speedos.

Also on the beach you should expect to be constantly harassed by the various vendors selling sunglasses, hats, even fake tattoos. I thought it would be funny to ask one of the tattoo guys if he would do it on my husband's behind, just to see what he would say. He said yes! And then when I told him I was kidding and didn't want it, he hung out pestering me for another 5 minutes. So if you don't want anything don't talk to these guys, they are persistent! There are places to rent various types of boats as well, we didn't do it but these paddle boats with slides look fun!


Cost: The autostrada from Caserma Ederle costs 4,80 Euro there and 5,90 Euro getting back. Parking was 1,60 Euro/hour. There are cheaper outdoor parking lots for around 5-8 Euro for the whole day, if you can find them. We used quite a bit of gas due to all the stand still traffic. There were free public restrooms. We packed a picnic lunch, my favorite way to save money!