Ken’s Bucket List!

Thursday, April 14, 2011

  

We awoke bright and early after a good night’s rest in anticipation of the sail-in to Venice.  The sun was just coming up as we caught our first glimpse of this wonderful city on the water.  The travel commentary began at 6:30 am and the decks were filled with passengers loaded down with cameras and croissants. 

   

I had been to Venice in 1966 but this was Barney’s first visit.  Entering the city via cruise ship is the perfect introduction.  We were looking right and left and snapping photos as quickly as the shutter would allow. 

        

Our first day in port was spent accompanying good friends Dee and Ken Birkey on a visit to the Republic of San Marino.  Ken and Dee are what you really call “well-traveled”.  Ken had been in all European countries except the Republic of San Marino.  Suffice it to say that he was anxious to cross this one off his bucket list and we were thrilled to be asked to join them.  They had arranged for a car and driver/guide before leaving on the cruise.  When we decided to join them, they upgraded to a mini-van and off we went.  Lino, our driver/guide arrived at the pier at 9:00am and after conferring with Ken a plan was in place.

   

Lino drove us through the countryside pointing out the villas built in the 16th century by rich Venetians who wanted to get away from the city.  He explained how in addition to the main villa, the compound was required to have a stable and a chapel that always faced the street.  These chapels faced the street because they were required to be open to the public.  The villas were located on a continuation of the canals of Venice.  Lino said that the canals were referred to as “female” because they change direction so often.  Not his words, but somebody’s.  Many of the villas were in stages of disrepair.  Over the years many of the owners have converted the stables into very nice homes.  

       

The city of Mira was having its regular Thursday market.  It looked like a huge flea market with vans full of items, clothing strewn between trees, shoes on tables, and flowers and vegetables filling any empty space.  It certainly was drawing a crowd, but we had no time or need to shop.

We stopped for photo ops along the drive.  One of our favorites was in the city of Malcontenta (don’t you just love the name) where we saw the villa build by Andrea Palladio, a 16th century Italian architect.  This villa was the inspiration for the 18th century architecture style called “Palladian”.  His widow was not allowed to leave the villa and was not provided for in his will, so the villa is referred to as the “Villa of Malcontent”.

 

Our next photo op was in the village of Ferrara.  This village is referred to as the “Amsterdam of Italy” because it is the city of bicycles.  Lino had promised us a surprise in this city and he was right.  We walked through the castle of the Family D’Este.  We were fascinated with the drawbridge and moat. It was originally built as a fortress to protect the ruthless Este dukes from their own citizens. We exited the castle onto a quaint city square filled with thousands of students.  We didn’t have time to go inside this Gothic Duomo, but the exterior was magnificent.  It has a three- tier façade of slender arches and beautiful carvings over the central door. 

 

      

We had carried along the antique abacus that we had purchased in Lipari in hopes of finding a place to pack and ship.  With Lino’s help, we succeeded and now have more in shipping costs than in the abacus.  Oh well, it was an experience and we are glad we did it. 

Knowing that World War II had caused so much damage in this area and that many of the mansion were occupied by the Germans, we found it surprising that so many of them were in such good condition.  We viewed the gardens of the Pisani family villa in which Napoleon lived during his occupation and which was also occupied by Mussolini.  The house, the stables, the frescos, and the statuary were all fantastic.  There was a reflecting pool which reminded us of the one at the Taj Mahal.  We could have spent a great deal more time here, but we have to save something for the next trip.

   

  

Lino asked us if we liked to eat…what a question.  He suggested a favorite Osteria (a family establishment that originated to sell wine and had food as only an accompaniment.  This Osteria il Truciolo was in the Bologna region.  According to Lino, the Bologna region is the Capitol of Food…we agree.  We asked Lino to join us, and to order for us.  We ate right in the kitchen area and were able to watch and listen to all the goings on.  It was wonderful – both the food and atmosphere.  This is not a tourist spot and all the locals joined in our fun.  We were served an appetizer, three different pastas, fresh cheese, cake that was dunked in wine, pane cotta, gelato, and to finish it all off, we were served a special “Easter cake”.  We waddled to the van, carrying the cake that was left, and worried that we would sleep through the rest of our journey. 

        

Not to worry – the drive and Lino’s commentary was so interesting that we stayed awake and enjoyed every minute of the ride. We could see the three castles of San Marino towering above the coast.  It was late afternoon when we finally reached the Republic of San Marino.  How it still manages to remain an independent republic when completely surrounded by Italy is astounding.  Wealth is evident at every twist and turn of the 23.5 square mile republic.  San Marino has no royal family and is a democratic republic.  Many Italian businesses use San Marino as a registered base for their operations because it is a tax refuge for them – guess we might liken it to the Cayman Islands. 

  

We rode a cable car to the top of the mountain at the center of San Marino and the views were spectacular.  You could see 360 degrees and view the mountains and the ocean.  A favorite view was of all the tile rooftops below.  Life is lived at a slow pace here high on the mountain.  Everyone seemed to be enjoying themselves and having a wonderful time.  The wisteria was in full bloom and entwined itself amongst the rock formation of the fortress.  The visit to San Marino was documented with many photos and Ken successfully checked off another country – he believes he has visited in excess of 153 countries, including all 5 “stans”and the North Pole, but he hasn’t been to Tristan da Cunha.  He was one of the four on the ship to have visited Kotor, Montenegro previous to our visit, but it was Yugoslavia when he visited.  Does that count?

   

The drive back was via the shortest distance and fastest roads but it still took until 8:00 pm.  We crawled out of the van and made our way back to the cabin.  No dinner for us.  We checked for the lights of Venice off the verandah, but couldn’t see any of interest so it was an early bedtime for us.

We’re looking forward to enjoying a self-guided walking tour of Venice tomorrow.  

This was certainly the best day yet!