YIKES!!!!  Okay, I feel better now.  Dang, time flew by.  I have only two weeks before I leave for VENICE, ITALY!  I am both excited and nervous. Okay, I'm off this Friday and I have to get my s**t together and start packing.  Yes, I am an early packer.  It's either start early and pack light or wait until the last minute and pack heavy. 

 

I have all my documents organized and in order.  Confirmation e-mails, contact numbers, tour vouchers, etc.  Now, I all I need to do is transfer funds into my two ATM Vacation Accounts.  I'm still going to get an International Drivers License, just in case I decide to drive (highly doubt it-but you just never know).

 

Let's see what else.  I'll pay all my November bills, put a vacation hold on my mail . . . and I think that's pretty much it.

 

Traveling is an amazing thing isn't it.  One day I'm home in California and the next I'm clear across the globe sitting in a cafe with a glass of prosecco in Venice, Italy.  Pretty incredible.  It is such a privilage to be able to have the means and health to travel and have this wonderous experience.  Some people never get to do this and yet this will be my 4th trip to Europe.  I am so grateful!

 

The other most important thing in my life that I am grateful for.  My sister is back to work and feeling very healthy.  And they will be visiting me in December!  WHOO HOO!

 

 

 

On March 17, 2007 I made this Dreaming of Italy Blog entry: 

QUOTE:  Last night I had the most bizarre dream, most likely influenced by the planning stages of my trip to Italy in the fall.  My plans include a week in beautiful Venice and then training over to Lake Como where I will leisurely visit all the lake towns and even venture on day trips to Bergamo & Switzerland. 

In my dream I was traveling (I’m not even sure if I was driving or riding on a train) around when we got close to these dramatic looking snow covered mountains.  They were jagged edged (so it was probably the Dolomites) and I remembered looking at them in complete awe!  Everything was in slow motion (why, I’m not sure) and as we got closer, the mountains looked even more awesome to me. 

 

I’m not sure what this dream means.  Earlier in my planning stages I was contemplating visiting Venice and then maybe the Dolomites!  But then I became influenced by outside forces to visit Lake Como!  Am I wrong?  Not sure!

 

Dreaming of Italy can sometimes do some crazy head trips.  Now, I’m thinking about my decision.  It's not like I have ruled out visiting the Dolomites in the future, so why the heck was I dreaming about it.  Oh, who knows . . . . for all I know it could mean nothing!

 

I think I’ll go do my run now and forget about it . . . or can I?

 

END QUOTE: 

 

This dream happened way before I booked my September trip and months before my sister’s surgery.  And here I am.  In 31 days I’ll be headed to Venice for two weeks with a day trip tour to the Dolomites! 

 

Is this bizarro or what!  It’s almost scary to think that I actually dreamed this.  In fact, even when deciding on whether or not to do the Dolomite Tour,  I had actually forgotten about this dream.  I booked my tour last night and this morning on the way to work I suddenly remembered this dream.  Spooky!!

 

So now I'm almost completely done with my itinerary.  With the help of the Slow Travel Community (who totally ROCK), here's what I have confirmed so far:  

 

-          Overnight Day trip to Ravenna and Ferrara

-          Day trip Guided Tour to the Dolomites

-          Half Day trip to Treviso

-          Doges Palace and Secret Itinerary Tour

-          Chow Venice – Dining in All Six Districts

-          Burano/Torcello Half Day trip

 

The rest of my two week stay will be filled with the other sights on my must see list.  And last and most important of all, I intend to wonder throughout Venice, sit in the various Campos drinking and carousing with the locals, savoring my “cup of memories” in San Marco, doing as many Late Night and Early Morning Walks through Venice as I possibly can do during the two weeks.

 

This is going to be an AWESOME trip.  Whoo Hoo, Zucchero time again folks. 

 

Now that my Ravenna Day trip has been confirmed, I recieved some additional suggestions from other ST travelers:  Padova, Treviso, Verona, Vicenza, Bolzano (another Dolomite destination).  A few of these places did cross my mind.  I'm going to take another closer look at these towns.  Treviso seems like a really good possibility for another day trip.  It is only 30 minutes away from Venice.    And then there is still the Dolomite Tour?

 

I think I'll have to study my Venice list of sights again.  Can I do everything on my list (with the relax time built in too) and still do 3 day trips.  I think the trip to Treviso would be a good half day trip and I'll still have the other half open to do something on my Venice List and then have some relaxing in the evening. 

 

Hmm. I can't decide.  It's like sticking me in a gelatario and making me decide on a flavor.  They're all so good, I want it all but of course that doesn't mean I should eat it all.   

 

Decisions!  I have to go for a ride and think on it some more!  

 

Whoo Hoo! The last piece of the puzzle has smoothly settled into it's place and the picture is now complete!

 

My Slow Travel friends provided me with some much needed "reality check" advice, that will give me the best possible experience.  They totally ROCK!

 

- Venice for two awesome weeks of food, wine, gelato (I do know my priorities), art, history, local hob knobbing and just all around chill time!

 

- Dolomites for a day (booked) with Advventure Bellisima (November 24, 2007).  This will be a scouting mission for a possible future trip for sure!

 

- Ravenna for a day to see the spectacular Mosaics!  I love beautiful art and the history behind them.  This will totally be a mind blowing experience.  Overnight stay then on the way back to Venice I'll stop in Ferrara.

 

- Ferrara for a day on the way back from Ravenna.  This is a walled in town  in the Emilia Romagna Region of Italy.  The inspiration, a Slow Travel Photo Album by a long time member.  It just had that "comfortable" italian feel to it. 

 

I'm so EXCITED!  And to add to the joy, my sister is doing really well and they'll be visiting in December for the holidays!  Life is GOOD!

 

 

I've decided to head to Venice in November!  Yippee!  I just couldn't wait until 2008.  I thought about but I just couldn't do it.  Its the whole carpe diem thing! 

 

I'm spending two weeks in Venice and Venice alone.  I'll visit the islands of Burano and Torcello like I had originally planned and instead of squeezing everything into one week, I'll have two whole weeks. 

 

I have researched a ton of things to see already, but I'll need to research the possibility of doing at least one day trip outside of Venice.  Some place that I can get to by train and back in one day.   

 

I love the apartment I reserved.  It's in the Dorsoduro district, just two minutes walk from the Accademia Bridge.  I'm going to have so much room.  I get to finally experience staying in an actual non touristy location.  I can't wait to visit that famous fish market and get some fixings to cook at the apartment.   I'm not the most naturally gifted cook, but I am willing to give it a whirl! 

 

I'm so ready for some great italian food, wine and gelato!  It's been over two years since I've been to Italy! 

 

I'm so excited!  I have a lot of things to do between now an then (house projects).  But I'm definitely not complaining. 

 

More to come later . . .

 

Well, I just sent my first inquiry for a venice apartment availability in November.  We'll see how that goes.  It was a place that was highly recommended by an ST member.  My second option is to go in January 2008 but I would prefer going this year because January 2008 might be too closed to my next trip in the fall. 

 

I've been also tossing around ideas of other places . . . . Switzerland, Turkey and one highly recommended by a co-worker, Scandinavia!

 

I almost want to rename this web page as my plans may change from the original. . . I'll modify it once my plans unfold.

 

The most logical thing to do is for me to spend two or three weeks in Venice with some day trips to places nearby that I haven't been to before.  I have all the prep work done and I just have to reschedule my flight.  I don't know if I can still do that Bellagio Climb due to the weather, but then again I've cycled 26 miles in a thunder storm and managed to live to tell about it! 

 

I think the decision is clear.  I can do a quickly planned trip to Venice in November since I have all the research done and save the new destination for fall of 2008.  Or the other option is to skip the trip this year and just start planning my 2008 Fall Trip.

 

I just don't know if I can stand to wait until next fall to go to Europe.  Travel is so addictive!  This would go against my Carpe Diem motto!  This decision is actually turning out to be harder than I thought. 

 

Stay tuned . . .

 

 

Well, I'm not sure if I should rename this trip planning page . . . . I'm watching this Rick Steves show right now about the Chamonix town in France.  All the mountains and scenic sights, I'm beginning to think about doing a possible Winter trip to some place wintery!  Maybe France, maybe Switzerland.  I'm going to check out ST!  I seem to remember someone going to Switzerland in November. 

 

OR should I stick with Venice!  Decisions, decisions . . .

 

I can always rely on ST for some awesome ideas!  I still have an unexplainable desire to spend some time in Venice, but the adventure and curiosity bug in me is pointing my head in all kinds of other directions! 

 

This is FUN!!!!

 

 

I'm back and ready to start thinking about my Italy trip!  As you read on my main blog page, my sister's surgery was a huge success.  She completes her recovery the second week in October so the earliest that I can plan my trip for is November.  Funny . . . . that's the same time that I went last year.  Some people say that there is a reason for everything!  Maybe I wasn't meant to travel to Italy in September?

 

So the question is WHEN shall I go and WHERE?

 

I have plans for December so that is out of the question.  Maybe November or even January 2008 (if I can wait that long).  

 

Where should I go?  Should I still go to Venice?  I could modify my original plans and go to Venice for two weeks and save Lake Como for another time (being that the weather won't be as good so late in the year)?  Should I think about visiting another country as I had planned to do in 2008?

 

So many questions, so many possibilities!  I'll be pondering these thoughts in the next couple of weeks.  Checking out flights, apartment availabilities and researching for ideas from Slow Travel!

 

For all I know, this trip can be similar to what I had originally planned or it can be outrageously different!

 

Whatever I decide to do . . . .I'm just so happy that life is good again and that my world is back on track again!!!!!

 

 

 

I decided to postpone my trip until I am certain my sister will be okay.  And as I wrote on my main page blog, I'm beginning to feel better about things.

 

I sent e-mails out to the two apartments that I have reserved (explaining my situation and my regrets) and hopefully the penalty (if any) for this late cancellation won't be too alarming.

 

I'll contact Swiss Air today (since I'm at home recovering from a silly cold) to put my tickets on hold until I can determine my new travel dates, which I won't know until after my sister's surgery and when I am certain that she will fully recover from her operation. 

 

For now, my sister is my highest priority.  Italy will wait for me . . .

 

Today, I'm off from work so I decided to get some additional trip planning things done that I've been procrastinating on.  This weekend, I'll be busy so won't have much time after today.  So here's the deal:

 

- Purchased my train tickets from the Trenatelia website for Venice to Varenna.

 

- Sent my reconfirmation e-mail request to my Bellagio Apartment.  Hopefully they'll respond soon. 

 

- Sent my Secret Itinerary Tour request.  Hopefully they still have room in my first and second choice.  Fingers and toes will be crossed!

 

- Since I'm doing some cycling & hiking in Como, I need to get insurance.  I'm a pretty good cyclist (on my own bike), but who knows what condition my rented bike will be in and being that the I'll be zooming down the hills of Bellagio, might not be a bad idea to be insured!!

 

Okay, what else?  Oh yah! I need to figure out my cell phone situation.  I think I'll call Cellular Abroad or something.  I just need to make a decision on it and get it done or I'm screwed as I won't have time for them to ship the items. 

 

I think I want to research my Switzerland day trip a bit more.  I'm determined to do that Bernina/Heidi Express ride so I'll need to figure that out before I leave.  I really want to use as little time as possible on trip planning chores when I get there. 

 

To be continued . . .

 

 

 

After my "dork" moment yesterday, I'm beginning to re-think my plans on when to buy my train tickets.  I think I should purchase my train tickets on-line before I leave rather than when I get there?   It would just be one less thing I have to worry about or do while there leaving more free time to enjoy Venice!  Sounds good to me!

 

 

- Check out the T site to see if I can book my tickets and reserve my seat. 

 

- Book my Secret Itinerary Tour in Venice. I know, I've been procrastinating on this and this morning I read on ST that people have already reserved their spots for  October.  Yikes!!!  I'd better get going here. 

 

- Settle on my GSM phone issue.  Need to call Cellular Abroad again.

 

- Send a reconfirmation e-mail to my Bellagio Apartment folks.  I'll send the reconfirmation e-mail to my Milan hotel about a week or so before I leave.

 

Although these are things I have to do, I'm so enjoying it.  I LOVE traveling to Europe!  

 

 

After several back and forth correspondence with Ketty, my Venice Apartment contact person, we decide to meet at Piazzale Roma.  She said that the last train for her to catch was at 9:30 pm.  When I looked at my e-ticket I saw that I will arrive at 8:45 pm (or so I thought).  I was thinking that this will not give me enough time to get there even if I take a land taxi from the airport to PR.  And I didn't want to make her miss her train and I didn't want to have to miss getting my keys. 

 

So after I worked so hard at scoring some decent prices for my tickets I decided that the only considerate thing to do is to pay the extra money to change my tickets to get an earlier flight to Venice.

 

So as soon as I came home from work I make a call to Swiss Air and the conversation went something like this:

 

Them:  Swiss Air, how may I help you?

 

Dork:  Yes, I'd like to request to change my outbound flight from LAX to Venice but keep my return flight from Milan to LAX. 

 

Them:  So what would you like to change again, you want to return from Venice instead of Milan?

 

Dork:  No, I want to keep my return flight from Milan to LAX.   I just want to change my flight to an earlier one from LAX to Venice so I can arrive in Venice and meet my apartment manager (in hindsight too much info).  

 

Them:   There is only one flight out of LAX to Venice per day.  No other flights go out, just that one . . .arriving in Venice at 6:45 pm. 

 

Dork:  I say, what?  I will arrive at 6:45 pm and not 8:45 pm?

 

Them:  Yes, you arrive at 6:45 pm in Venice.  There is no other earlier arrival!

 

Dork:  Oh!  I'm sorry I thought my flight had me arriving at 8:45 pm?  Never mind, thank you!

 

Them:  Thank you for calling Swiss Air!

 

What can I say?  DORK MOMENT!

 

 

I called Cellular Abroad last night and read through their choices for a GSM phone.  After reading the specs on each option, I'm leaning towards the Quadband Razor with the SIM card combo deal! 

 

I just realized that I may be on a tight schedule to meet Ketty (she's going to meet me at Piazzale Roma) before she has to catch her last train. 

 

This may be a long shot but I think I'll call Swiss Air to maybe see if there is a flight to get me there earlier.  My arrival time wasn't a real concern when I booked because my contact person said that they would send me the apartment keys prior to my arrival.  I guess plans have changed.  Oh well!

 

Now, if I can't change my flights, then instead of the Blue Bus, I'll take a land taxi to Piazzale Roma.  Hopefully, that should get me there in time!  I'm going to have to research the "land taxi" option this weekend.   

 

Another good reason to get my phone before I leave so I'll be able to use it immediately upon arriving there. 

 

And the beat goes on . . . .

 

Happy TGIF!

 

 

 

Since I'm now officially less than 60 days from departure, I am now able to check the Trenitalia Website for my train schedules. 

 

I'm going to print out the schedules and outline my top 2 choices.  Then I'll buy my tickets once I'm in Italy. 

 

I've just done my Venice to Varenna trip and will now work on the Varenna to Milan.  I'll also need to check the ferry schedule from Varenna to Bellagio.  I'll do that tomorrow since I'll be off from work.

 

Next, I'll work on my day trips to Bergamo and up to St. Moritz so I can ride the Bernina/Heidi Express Train.

 

I did pretty well last year traveling through three different countries.  It has given me confidence to do well in Italy.  I think my biggest obstacle will be my very limited language skills.  I'm going to try to practice some transportation phrases to help me to prepare. 

 

I was so excited to receive an e-mail from my Venice apartment contact person a couple of days ago.  Ketty is my contact person and she e-mailed me in order to make some preliminary arrangements on where to meet in Venice.  She gave me her cell phone and once I get my phone number I will e-mail it to her. 

 

I think I'll call Cellular Abroad tomorrow and visit a couple of stores to check out their quad phones.  I think I want to purchase at least a SIM card so I will have an Italian Number to give to my apartment contacts. 

 

 

Whoo Hoo!  I'm now done with my transportation notes for my stay in Venice and now I'll move on to Como.  I'm just going to wing Milan since I'll be staying at a hotel and I can be a bit lazy and simply ask the hotel staff for directions on how to get to the main sites.   I'm just on so much information overload right now I can't deal with another city's transportation structure.  I think I'll wing it once I get there. 

 

I've already familiarized myself with using the Trenatalia Website so once it is 60 days before departure, I'll start getting my schedules for the trains I need to take from Venice to Como and Como to Milan.  I'll probably purchase my Venice to Como train tickets early in the week during my stay to get it out of the way.  

 

I'll get up early tomorrow and work on my Como and two daytrip transportation plans and then I'm done!  Mission completed. 

 

Okay, I think I'll play some Zucchero now to put me in the I'm going to Italy happy dance mood . . . .

 

 

I am on information overload!  After spending an hour in a chat room (for only my 2nd time in chat, it was fun), I decided to work on my trip. 

 

I'm slowly beginning to understand the transportation situation in Venice a lot better and have updated my Venice Page.  I'll work a bit more on it tomorrow morning before going on my ride.  Hopefully, I'll have all my notes done and I can then work on my Como plans. 

 

Lastly, I think in another week I can check the Trenatalia website for schedules to get from Venice to Como and then to Milan.  Also on my day trips to Bergamo and St. Moritz so I can ride the Bernina/Heidi express through the Swiss Alps.

 

Whew!

 

It's now July and I have to feel pretty good about the research and plans that I've made for my September trip.  I know what I want to see and do during my stays in Venice, Como and Milan.  Have booked mark notes to print and bring along.  The next thing I need to do is figure out my transportation. 

 

For Venice I need to learn to understand the Vaparetto lines and familiarizing myself with the six districts.  Next, figure out the train connections to Como.  For my stay in Como, I'll need to figure out the ferry schedules and research my transportation plans for my two day trips to Bergamo and Switzerland.  And then lastly, the train connection from Como to Milan. I'll most likely settle on taking a taxi to the airport (the one area I like to spoil myself). 

 

I'll probably start to prepare to send a re-confirmation e-mail to the apartments in which I'll be staying in for the first time ever.  Woo Hoo!  

 

I'm also trying to figure out what kind of cell phone I'm going to bring.  Not sure yet if I want to get one from Cellular Abroad or get a blackberry (unlocked GMS phone).  Still researching this. The whole cell phone SIM card things has been a bit confusing for me.

 

Here's something fun . . . thanks to a great thread started by Janet on SlowTravel, I discovered that I'm a fan of contemporary Rock and Pop Italian singers. 

 

So far I like Laura Pausini, Tiziano Ferro, Lara Fabian and my favorite Zucherro.  Zucherro has a sexy bluesy, rock, soul, funk sound to him and has done collaborations with many well known artists like Bono, Cheryl Crow and many others.  I can see why they like working with him.  Hmm, I wonder if he ever performs in the US.  Maybe I can try to find out what his concert schedule is like (if he's still touring).  

 

Songs like Blue and Diamente are my favorites.  Here are two YouTube videos of him performing these two songs live with other artists . . . I couldn't post his solo performance videos because it's a bit . . . how shall I put it?  On second thought maybe I shouldn't say!

 

 

I stumbled once again upon a YouTube video.  I’m not sure why this particular video caught my attention until I watched it in its entirety and then did some research about “Campo San Giacomo dell'Orio” where it was taped.

 

This wonderful (albeit shaky) video captures a very busy campo filled with local Venetians (not tourists)  out mingling in the square.  Children were all over the place on their roller skates, scooters and playing kick ball.  The older folks were sitting on the benches people watching and having what appears to be interesting conversations with one another.  I LOVE IT! 

 

It brought back great memories of my stay in Vernazza watching the same thing.  At the end of the day, the local residents seem to come out onto the main drag where there were benches for them to gather around and socialize with each other.    My friend and I actually sat longer at our dinner table just so we could watch them. 

 

Now, I will add Campo San Giacomo dell'Orio  to my list of things to see.  I can get my gelato, plop myself on one of those benches and watch Venetian life.  Look out, here comes the happy dance again!!!!

 

 

 

Okay, so I have some cycling, hiking and relaxing in como . . . some eating, drinking, wondering and late night carousing in Venice . . . maybe a few day trips and a possible Swiss Alps train riding in Switzerland!

 

I wonder if I'm missing something?  Oh yes, I really want to mix it up with the locals!  I don't necessarily want to pretend to be a local there because I'm not.  I am a visitor staying in the local neighborhood.  But I really want to feel and experience what it is like to be a part of the local landscape and not just in the touristy areas.  Afterall, my very long range plans will be to possibly find a place to stay long term in Italy (not necessarily move there - not yet anyway). 

 

For the first time ever, I'll be staying in apartments in both Venice and Bellagio and I think this will give me ample opporutnity to connect with the places I'll be spending time in and most especially with the people.

 

The biggest regret I had last year was my inability to master enough of the language to communicate with the people I had the pleasure of meeting along the way.  Especially that little six year old Czech boy I met on the train with his mom when traveling from Prague to Cesky Krumlov.  I still managed to interact by playing with him and his toys, but it really would have been nice to say a few words to him and his mom during the journey besides having that big dopey smile on my face!

 

I am so determined to improve my communication skills for my trip this fall!

 

Sometimes . . . Random thoughts can lead to great things!