Sorry In Bari - Italy

Our first stop on our Eastern Mediterranean cruise was Bari, Italy. Bari is a town on the east side of the boot of Italy, down where the "heel" starts. The first thing you see in Bari is the Swabian Castle, or Castello Svevo, built in 1132 by a Norman king named Roger II. How many King Rogers have you ever heard of? 

The King Roger that we are talking about built this fortified castle right on the banks of the blue Adriatic sea in Bari.

Here are the kiddos outside the wall of the castle. Side note - Alexander, my oldest son, is wearing a large, floppy hat in most of the these pictures. Why? Because he was in the middle of a round of antibiotics for Lyme Disease that he got from a tick in Heidelberg. The antibiotics made his skin more sensitive to the sun. A fact we found out in Venice when he burned after putting on SPF 30 twice. No worries on the Lyme Disease though. We caught it super early and the antibiotics completely rid him of the bacteria.

Swabian Castle has passed through numerous royal hands. From the Norman King Roger II to William of Sicily to an emperor of the Holy Roman Empire (Germany) then to some Angevins (people from the area of Anjou, France) to Ferdinand of Aragon (Spain) who gave it to the Queen of Poland. That's some castle flipping for you. After all this changing hands it finally became a prison.

After taking a rather dull tour of the inside (they were showcasing an Italian photographer who thought it was interesting to take up close shots of mundane things like radiators, stop signs, and house plants) we walked around beautiful Bari.

Bari has a sleepy feel as you walk around. Doors that open into small alley ways are propped open with nothing but a sheer curtain hung up to shield their homes from prying eyes.

Trays of homemade pasta were left drying in doorways and window sills.

You had to be careful waking around old Bari. Their streets weren't closed to traffic. If you could fit down it, you could drive it. Luckily, it still meant that most cars weren't able to go around these alleyways. But scooters and motorcycles could. We had to jump out of the way of some speedy Italians more than once.

This is the world famous Basilica di San Nicola, or the St. Nicholas Basilica. As in, Jolly Old St. Nicholas. This basilica holds the remains of St. Nicholas of Lycia, which is in what is now modern-day Turkey, who died in 343 AD. This St. Nicholas had a penchant for secret gift giving (sound familiar?) and he liked to put coins in people's shoes who left them outside their door. He is the real-life model for our modern version of Santa Claus. There are stories of his providing poor girls with dowries so they won't be forced into a life of prostitution. That's quite a Christmas present. Sure beats the Cabbage Patch Kid and slippers I got for Christmas. If you ever want to give your kids a hard, cold dose of reality, tell them Santa is buried in an old gray church in Bari, Italy. I've been there. I can prove it.

Italians are so different from Germans. Where as most Germans really aren't that interested in talking to you, you can't get Italians to shut up. They want to know who you are, where you are from, where you are going, why you are there, and then they want to tell you all the same things about themselves. They sit on these little corners talking to everyone who passes by. It was great. Europeans who are actually interested in us!

We headed down to the water to get a look at the coastline of Bari. One of us got a little too close of a look.

Andre had been jumping from rock to rock when he lost his footing and took a bit of a bath in the Mediterranean. He was soaked from head to toe so we took off his shirt and wrapped him in Matt's jacket. Being only seven, this completely ruined the day for him. So much so that he said, "I'm sorry I ever even came to Bari!" 

Oh. That's so sad. Blame Bari for dashing your hopes about Santa, but not for getting you wet.

Here's hoping that if you ever come to Bari, you stay nice and dry.

Ciào,

Kelly

Venice By Boat, Because Is There Really Any Other Way? - Italy

For our trip to Venice we rented an apartment just outside of Venice on the mainland in a town called Mestre. From there it was a quick 10 minute bus ride into the heart of Venice. Venice is easily reachable from the mainland by bus, train, or car via the two mile causeway that takes you through the marshy lagoon and out into open sea, and then eventually to Venice. Upon arrival in Venice by bus, we quickly scooted over to the vaporetti station to board. What's the vaporetti? Vaporetti are canal filled Venice's public transit system. But instead of tires and bus stops, you have boats and docks. You never have to worry about a flat, but you do worry a little about sinking. 

Here is our first view from the front of our vaporetto. Look at that blue sky! Look at those turquoise waters! 

The building with the green dome is San Simeon Piccolo.

We boarded the vaporetto at Piazzale Roma, or the closest dock to where the bus drops you off. Here we were the first ones on board and got to sit up front for great views.

Venice was crowded for early April. This is the Grand Canal, basically the main street of Venice. There were so many boats on here we were a little surprised that there weren't any accidents. Those buildings to the left with the yellow trim are the vaporetti docks. We found it a convenient way to get around.

The Church of the Scalzi or church of the barefoot. Scalzi has a nicer ring to it, don't you think?

It was in this area of Venice where the original Jewish ghetto was located. It became quite crowded after it was set aside for Venice's Jewish residents back in 1516. It gave us our word ghetto for densely populated areas. Ghetto doesn't mean poor though, its from the word geto which has to do the copper foundry close to here. 

You are always on a hunt for a bridge to cross to the other side.

Upon arriving in Venice, my kids asked if it was built out in the ocean. Although Venice does look like it rises right out the waves all by itself, it is actually built on swampy islands. Here is some proof (trees growing) that there is some land here and there in Venice.

The original Venetians drained the swamps into canals that ran along side their properties and then those canals drained into the Grand Canal which was an ancient river from the lagoon that Venice is situated in.

Ah, the classic gondola ride. Made even more special when they bump into each other.

You may be thinking something like I did, what made people go out in the lagoon and settle on some marshy islands when they are surrounded by the beautiful landscape of northern Italy? One guess. Barbarians. I guess early Venetians were tired of being plundered, pillaged, and raped and so they eyed the sea as their escape. Apparently early barbarians were lacking something. A boat.

As Venice grew so did its wealth. And in the 15th century it became The Place to have a palace to to strut your Italian stuff.

Venice became so luxurious and wealth filled it became known as The City of Palaces. How did Venice become so rich? Trade. And the fact that the barbarians couldn't reach them anymore. Remember? No boats.

We were going to come to Venice last fall but heard that it was flooded so we went to Tuscany instead. Read about that here and here. Venice is very susceptible to flooding due to its proximity to water (duh). And because it is sinking. Yep. Right into the ocean. I read that the sediment that they built on is continuing to compact with all the weight of the buildings. And Italy pumped ground water out of the rock underneath the lagoon for 50 years causing the island to sink before they realized what was happening. By that point, Venice had sunk 9 inches. Now when they get a storm or a really high tide, water bubbles up through the grates in the plazas from the lagoon instead of draining down into it. Definitely invest in some galoshes.

There were many buildings under construction. I guess sitting in a lagoon for 500 years battering high tide is hard on a place. This is toward the end of the Grand Canal where it opens up into the sea. Here is the domes of St. Mark's Basilica or Basilica di San Marco.

The Grand Canal emptying into the sea.

I guess this is the equivalent of riding a bike in Venice. For when you just need to get somewhere quick and don't want to wait for the boat.

We got off the boat and headed to Piazza San Marco.

Here is the Doge's Palace. The place the duke or doge of Venice would rule from.

Right next to it is St. Mark's Basilica, circa 1063 AD, which was under construction, like many other places in Venice. Why is it called St. Mark's? Because it would seem some down-right dirty Venetians stole his body in 828 AD from it's resting place in Alexandria and hid it under pork and cabbage leaves for the ride home to Venice. Now that Venice could claim St. Mark, as in Matthew-Mark-Luke-And-John Mark, it lifted their status to that almost equal to Rome. It would seem Venetians had gone from being plundered, pillaged, and raped to doing to the plundering, pillaging, and raping. 

Scenes depicting different events in the history of Christianity decorate the outside of the basilica. I wonder if they have a scene showing the Venetians swiping poor ol' St. Mark's bones?

So much gold was used in the building of the church is that is is called the Chiesa d'Oro, or church of gold.

Here is the 'Bridge of Sighs' where condemned men would be led from the Doge's Palace to a prison. They would sigh here at their one last look of Venice. I prefer to call this bridge the Bridge of "When are we going to be done looking at Venice" questions. 

Here are my four children actually contemplating if they could steal this speed boat and take off back to Mestre on their own. Good luck, kids.

After our Grand Canal vaporetto ride, we struck out on our own into the streets, alleyways, small paths between houses. After a few random turns we found ourselves in a part of town the tour books didn't describe. Garbage lined the sides of the path, boats that were half sunk drifted in the grey canals. Uh oh. Where did we wander too? One of my kids started to get nervous that we would be forever lost in the dark corners of Venice and kept asking me, "Where does Rick Steves' say we should go?"

Oh! So now you want to listen to Rick Steves? I can just here good old Rick saying, "How you like me now?" 

We made it back on the tourist path and narrowly escaped the stray dogs and shady knock-off purse vendors of the dark side of Venice.

As beautiful as the canals of Venice are, the small streets and pathways have their own unique charm.

Here is our final stop, the Rialto Bridge. One of the few ways to cross the Grand Canal on foot. It's so wide that they have shops on it. It is where most of the goods for the interior of Venice are unloaded.

That was our day in Venice. Although it is in the top four of the most expensive cities in Europe (along with Paris, Oslo, and Zurich) it is such a treat to experience. I thought it was great. Matt thought it was pricey. I tried to get a picture of the face Matt would make when he heard the price of everything. But he wouldn't do it.

So here is Ashlenne giving her best imitation of her dad's "That Is Freakin' Expensive" face. Does Venice look expensive to you?

Ciào,

Kelly*

Verona And The Shiny Breast - Italy

Whew! We are home from our 10 days in Italy, Greece, and Croatia. Although they're overused, the words awesome and amazing are really all I can think of when trying to describe our trip. Maybe I should invest in a thesaurus...

Anywho, our trip began in Verona, Italy. Setting of the ultimate tragic love story (no, not Edward and Bella), of Romeo and Juliet. This trip was the first time we invested in a Rick Steves' travel book. Most everyone I know here has sworn by them. But I refused to be swayed. I had tried Frommer's and Lonely Planet. They were okay. But when I went through the check out of my little American store nearby, I saw Rick's book on Italy and so on impulse, I bought it. And now I will say this. I will never go back. Halfway through our trip my kids got really tired of hearing me say, "Rick Steves says to go here." Alexander started saying things like, "Mom? Are you sure you should drink that Coke? Rick Steves didn't say so." Or things like this, "Mom, do you really think we should look at that statue because it wasn't in your Rick Steves book and we don't want to deviate from the 'Rick Steves plan'." Air quotes included.

We started our Veronese day in the Piazza Brà, a big open space right next to a Roman stadium built in the first century. 

The Piazza Brà.

Out front there were street performers in Roman dress.

When I would point my camera at them they would pose and tell me "Due Euro!" or two Euro. So I took a picture of them on the sly. 

The city of Verona is built right around this Roman ruin.

A mix of old and new.

We wandered in and around the tiny streets of Verona. Mingling with the snappy dressers of Italy.

It was on this street where I felt my first warning bells of someone targeting us for pick pocketing (is pick pocketing even a word? How about to be pick pocketed?) In all our travel books on Italy, Rick Steves' and Frommer's alike, they warn you that Italy is rampant with pickpockets. In fact, on our way through Italy, we stopped at a gas station and I was quickly approached by two Italian policemen who informed me to never leave my car unattended at gas stations in Italy because thieves watch for out-of-country plates and when you walk into pay, they smash your window and take everything in your car. After this I pretty much just expected to be robbed at some point in our trip. I kept everything pretty close to me. I wore only my simple band on my ring finger instead of my diamond and left the expensive watch at home. Nothing stood out on us that said "money." Except for my camera. I have a very nice, very large, professional grade camera with a zoom lens that I keep out around my shoulder for easy access. A man in Verona laid eyes on it and followed me and my camera for awhile. He stood right next to me and looked from the camera to me back to the camera. I grabbed it closer and walked away towards Matt. The man followed. As I approached Matt he said, "That guy saw you and then changed directions and is looking at your camera."

"I know," I said. Matt stood up and crossed his arms and gave his meanest I-used-to-be-a-Marine-so-dare-to-mess-with-me face to him and he walked away. I don't know if he thought I was travelling alone and was an easy target or what, but I was on alert for the rest of the day.

We got out of the tiny street and into the big open square and sat down to regroup.

And also to eat Italian pastry, of course.

This statue is at one end of a beautiful square where restaurants and stores set up tables for open air dining and shopping.

This is one face of the square Piazza Erbe. Where else but in Bella Italia are even the buildings works of art?

This guy who kind of reminded me of the Statue of Liberty a little bit is St. Zeno, patron saint of Verona.

Next on our tour was a place that our daughter has been asking about since we moved to Europe. Casa di Giulietta. Juliet's house. Ashlenne saw the movie Letters To Juliet several years ago and has since been enthralled by Romeo and Juliet and by the house and the thought that a long, lost love could be out there somewhere, waiting for you and come riding up on a stallion and save you from your boring life. I think that was in the movie or something.

Here is my beautiful daughter who is all of 13 standing on Giulettia's balcony hoping that someday she will meet a true love of her own. Let's just hope it's not this year and we don't have an ongoing feud with the family and that cousins won't be killed and that she doesn't drink a potion to appear dead and then stab herself over the whole drama. Fingers crossed!

There is a statue of Juliet in the courtyard and tradition says that if a lonely woman rubs Juliet's right breast that she will meet her true love. I have already met my true love, but I can't go all the way to Verona and not get to second base with Juliet.

There we are. Me and Juliet who is protectively covering her left breast from the crowds of people wanting to cop a feel.  At least I kept it respectable. There were some men who were licking it. Have some dignity people.

The thing about Juliet's House is that is a mad house. It's packed practically all of the time. We could hardly walk into the courtyard. I don't get it. I hope people realize that Juliet was a fictional character and therefore didn't really have a house in Verona. Ashlenne knows that Romeo and Juliet is a work of fiction but she kept asking, "Mom, if she was real, do you think she could have lived here?"

You bet. Moving on.

This thoughtful guy is Dante. Dante was expelled from Florence for his controversial writings but found refuge in Verona. I don't see any guys reaching up to rub anything on him, hoping to find literary genius or something. Maybe we should start that.

These are the elevated tombs of the Scaligeri family. The Scaligeri family were the ruling family of Verona in the 14th-century. They sounded pretty snooty. They changed the laws so that only they could be buried in the city limits and then had the burial place elevated so that even in death the citizens of Verona had to look up to them. Nearby I heard a young child ask their parent, "Dad? Are there real-live dead people in there?"

We continued our tour of Verona. Stood on a bridge that was built by the Romans and then bombed in World War II. The people of Verona fished the original white marble stones out of the river and rebuilt it. Good job, Italians!

This is the Basilica of San Zeno Maggiore on the Adige River.

Verona has become a real favorite of mine with the beautiful frescoes on the buildings and the breast rubbing and all. Except for the would-be-camera swiper. I can do without him.

Beautiful Verona.

Our next stop, Venice. The sinking city.

Ciào,

Kelly*

*Rubber of all golden breasts. I stop at the real ones.