Lazise, Lake Di Garda Italy

On the morning of the 18th of May, I read that there were a old “XV century Carmelite monastery” that was supposed to be way cool and had a gorgeous view over the lake and all that good stuff that will my HTF super happy! So I drove to Garda small cute town on the North East part of the lake and went to the Tourist office. They were very pleasant and helpful; they gave me a map and said that it was “around” there! AH AH well let me tell you something…. AROUND, mean “couldn’t possibly be found” except maybe by stopping and asking local who only speak Italian...( scusa il mio italiano non è così buono come il mio francese o inglese) I drove and went up and down, looking for some kind of sign. Normally even if it isn’t well indicated on the main road, it get at least one sign as you drove toward the “right” pass. Well, I drove and drove and looked like a stupid lost tourist that I was and NEVER found it. Well actually, I did finally found it, on Bing map, and if it is the building that I think it is… I wasn’t even CLOSE to it. Well I was close, but not on the road that go to it.
Anyway, so since I couldn’t find it. I decided to drive back toward a little town that I saw while going up to Garda.

The town of Lazise, I was impressed by the towers while driving near it, so…. I stopped and parked, and went on a walk around town. I found out that: This fortified town was first mentioned in a document dated 983 AD. The castle was at one time protected by Draw-bridges and heavy gates which you can still find traces of. A very cute little port was apparently a military port.

Next to it you can find the Medieval Church of Saint Nicolo that date from the twelfth century, and where you can see some very cool Fresco that date from this time.

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Second Celebration of my 20th birthday!

On May 17th 2010, I was celebrating my 20th Birthday for the second time. ;-)


I like BIG number. With it comes: “Experience, Wisdom, Intelligence, Maturity, Responsibility….” Bla bla bla

So now that I am 40 years young. (The new 30 right?) I can think of what that came with it.

Experience: Yes, definitely. I do believe I got that checked out of my bucket list.
Wisdom: Not so much… Or at least I don’t think so! So… Still working on that one!
Intelligence: well, let see, sometime I do believe I got some, and sometime I am definitely not as smarter as a 5th grader. LOL But, I do consider myself “stress sassy” so…. I guess in my own way, I am smart! LOL
Maturity: hmmmmm!!!!! Well obviously with the age comes maturity after all the definition is: mature state: the condition of being ripe, fully aged, or fully grown, especially mentally or emotionally BUT, I will have to say that I still have to checkmark the mentally and emotionally. Oh wait! Maybe not since 40 is the new 30! LOL!
Responsibility: well I think I am pretty responsible. I have 3 kids and cats to take care of, I don’t think they are considered maltreated. So… in that case I am responsible. However, I know that I need to work on that. So still uncheck!

So looking back, out of 5, I only have 1 fully checked one! That is BAD, don’t you think??

Anyhow. Now that I made a fool out of myself and showed the world that I am just a weird silly irresponsible young adult at heart. Let me tell you about my birthday day.

I was in Italy as you could have guess from the previous post, and my friend Miss Charm went to her conference leaving me on my own for the day. You can see what my day was on my previous post: Hills are alive
So on the late afternoon after the conference,
Miss Charm and I went to the little town that I drove through during the day called: Desenzano del Garda. Very cute little Italian town next to the lake. Gorgeous view of the Alps Mountain and the water. Old villas and typical fountains and gelato! Did I mention I LOVE Italy? ;-) So we park the car and walked around.

Took tones of pictures (you know my HTF right) and had a very nice meal looking at the sunset over the lake over the mountains. MAGNIFICO!


The only downside of the day was that I wasn’t with my family. I would have loved to have them with me, but the I thought that once in a while I could go and enjoy one Birthday without them, and since it was in Italy, how could I NOT go?



OH, and I found the PERFECT Villa for retirement! LOVE IT!!!

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Hills are alive

How fun my last week was…
So as I mentioned in my previous post, I was going to a trip with my friend Miss Charm. Italy was the destination. Hotel was in Castelnuovo Di Garda, not too far from Verona. Hotel was also next to Gardaland, which is similar as Six Flags or something like that (since I have never been to Six Flags or to Gardaland, I am not a very good specialist to tell you about neither one! LOL
Anyway. We left on Sunday morning, drove toward Switzerland where Miss Charm HAD to sing the song! You know the one with The hills are alive with the sound of music
…. Ladi lada!! Well I am sorry to report that Miss Charm, who (don’t get me wrong here) has a beautiful voice, didn’t sound that good. LOL! As soon as we passed the border, here came the sound of music. LOL (which I could totally envision Miss Charm doing exactly what this chick is going to do)

I thought it was so funny!! Anyway… enough singing. So here we are in rainy germany going down in rainy Switzerland, and as soon as we pass the San Bernadino Tunnel.

It was AMAZING how sunshine could change the look of a panorama such as the mountain. Something that was Pretty became Gorgeous. So then after a long ride. We made it to the hotel, and were greeted by a beautiful view of the sunset. Checked in, settled in and went to rest after a long day! The next morning, Miss Charm had her conference to attempt to. So I took off and went on a discovery of the area. I asked the front desk as where I could find some cool site and the young woman said that I should go to see “Salo” “Moniga” “Sirmione” “Lazise” and “Garda”. So I decided to go on the West side of the lake the destination was “Salo”. I took the small road that leaded there. I saw some very beautiful view and discover a little town just before Salo.

San Felice del Benaco. So cute. I parked the car and then walked toward the church. When I grew up, we always use to go visit churches, and I realized that one can always find the most beautiful art in European churches. I wasn’t disappointed with San Felice’s church.
From the outside the church didn’t look so great. But as you stepped inside, it was something completely different. “…should point out the Parish Church of Saints Felice and Adauto, which houses an altar piece by the Brescian painter Romanino in the apse, and also has an isolated bell tower from the Scaligero castle tower of which there remain only a few parts of the wall.Of notable interest also is the Santuario della Madonna del Carmine, built in 1452 in the late gothic style. On the extreme point of the promontory stands the little church of San Fermo from the XV century, built on the ruins of a large Roman villa.”
I went to visit the cemetery since it was just right there. And was surprise to see how small it was and the fact that they didn’t have many tombstones. As you can see in the pictures, most of the graves are on top of each other. Probably to keep the cemetery small and inside the city next to the church, but that is again pure speculation on my part.
Anyway, here are a few of the pics that I took over my little first escapade in the morning/early afternoon. Hope you enjoy them.
Beautiful Panorama over the Lake, just pure beauty.

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In search of Romeo and Juliet, Verona Italy

On May the 18th after the conference, Miss Charm and I went to Verona. We went on the search of Juliet and Romeo. And let me tell you, they are HARD to find. LOL







We parked in an underground parking not far from the river and walk to the center of the city. (see the olive tree on the pic.. they are ALL over!)

The river view is just amazing. On top of the rock you can admire: Castel San Pietro. Walk over the bridge and started searching for Juliet’s house.

Arrived on the “Piazza dei Signori.” Plaza. And we knew it wasn’t far, of course as usual in Italy, most major plaza have little souvenir shop. So we went around looked around. And look closer on the map and went on…. After a few street: north, west, east, south… whatever direction we were going

We passed under a “roman looking gate”: Porta Borsari. We arrive near the river again!! Hmm?? No not suppose to be there!

So, off we went south and found the big Roman Theater! OK now we are talking. I thought that with that we wouldn’t get lost and would be able to find the road/street and way toward Juliet’s balcony.

At the corner of a street we turn left and saw LOTS of people in front of a gate. So we went to look, and sure enough at the end of the tunnel, Juliet was waving at us (well her spirit at least) FINALLY we found it! Well of course by the time we found it the “gate” was closed and we could only see it from afar and not recite the:

“O Romeo, Romeo! Wherefore art thou Romeo?
Deny thy father and refuse thy name!
Or, if thou wilt not, be but sworn my love,
and I'll no longer be a Capulet. “

Oh well… Of course now we are getting hungry and decided to go back to the Piazza delle Erbe and enjoyed a pizza, glass of wine and search for Gorgeous Italian men (sorry, I didn’t see any) Miss Charm saw one, but… nah! He wasn’t really GORGEOUS, just Italian looking dude! LOL! Sorry can’t post the pic, since he might be reading my blog! (Since I am SO popular) LOL

Anyway, after the pizza, we actually tried to find Romeo’s house, and on the first try. We found him. Guess Juliet wasn’t calling for us. LOL
We had a good time and Miss Charm just complimented me today that I take good picture (even with people in it) LOL

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O solé Mio, Venezia Italy

AWWWW, How I LOVE Venice!! When Miss Charm and I realized that we were only over 1 hour driving distance to our hotel we jumped on the possibility to go and see this GORGEOUS town.
So on our last day in Italy and with the opportunity that Miss Charm’s conference was letting people leave early (before Noon), off we went. With all the excitement we did a few turn around with the car, did take the wrong direction on the bus to Venice and finally ARRIVED!! WHOOHOO!!!
First sight was the water,

the gorgeous blue lagoon color. The Turquoise reflection of the sun on the Terracotta colored wall of the city.

I just continued my love affair with this beautiful city. I still continue loving it!! Oh how I love you Venizia…. You will always be the number 1 for me!
When I first visited Venice in 2000 with my husband, kids and in laws we didn’t stay long enough for my taste. I only had a short time to have an after taste of not enough. Since that first visit I promised myself to come back! Matt on the other side didn’t find it to his taste (oh well, too bad for him, cause I will go back with or without him (sorry Honey!!) ;-)

We took the bus ferry to the “St Marco Plaza” It was super busy, but what to expect in Venice? We asked a few Gondolier how much a ride would be. One of them said 120 euro, we thought: OMG!! And decided to look around. He did chase us and told us that the long ride would be 120 and the short one 80 (just for us) and it was PER PERSON (Just for us as well) AH!! We told him we will keep him in mind but just arrived and wanted to walk around first. I am pretty sure that he was cursing at us as we left him, but oh well! We weren’t ready to pay that much each! ;-)
So off we went to the discovery of Venizia and its gorgeous street and sights! I couldn’t stop taking pictures, I remember of my last visit and I did take tones of pictures and it was on film at the time. (And now that I have a digital)… My “Happy Trigger Finger” was in the “don’t come up again” mode. For those of you who know me and have seen me with my camera, you can picture it right?? LOL!!
We cruised the little street full of shops and while there Miss Charm saw a beautiful Chandelier with Tulips all over. It was gorgeous! (Of course when I need it, I realized that I didn’t take a picture of it) We did investigate on how much the price was going to be. And after the clerk told us to wait while he was getting the “Artist” we were left for a short time un-attempted in a store full of gorgeous glass art. (Are you asking yourself if I had a moment? Yes I did!! I had a moment of … oh boy, what will I be doing with all those if I could just take and go, but I didn’t do anything, I just asked myself! Oh, and the answer was: Not much honey you don’t have the room in your apartment that the army is giving you! LOL) Anyhow… The Artist came. And Extravagant very short man with a very thick and beautiful singing Italian accent, telling us all about his brother who make the glass, and that each peace is unique… blablabla!! LOL Get to the point dude! Well the “Lampadario” was “For us” only 3000Euro (ONLY) I did ask how much it was for someone else. But he didn’t find it funny! Needless to say that since Miss Charm needed 3 of them; she just didn’t get any at all! We went to a little “Trattoria” across from the store and admire while eating a little something those gorgeous lamps. Oh well, maybe when we win the lottery! After making sure that we used the “gabinetto” we started walking again. Crusing from Murano glass display to another admiring every single beautiful window… Oh so “Bellissimo” we did learn something about the Murano Glasses. And here it is for those of you who are planning to go and buy “REAL” Murano Glass. First a little history: “Murano is an island in the lagoon of Venice famous for its glass art. The production of Murano glass is related to its history and popularity and its name is associated with the glass, as if they were synonyms. This union is the result of nearly a millennium of history, during which the master artisans of Murano were able to transform simple sand in one of the highest expressions of art. It is believed the origins of Murano Glass dates back to 9th century Rome, with significant Asian and Muslim influences, as Venice was a major trading port.” The Murano glass are been copied from all over, but specially from China, so beware of copy that are on sale EVERYWHERE in Venice. If you want the real deal, you need to go to store that display a sign that say Consorzio Promovetro Murano That mean the store need to belong to an association of Murano glass and that the items that they sells are made in Murano. So … Watch out for copy that you will pay “molto” money and that aren’t even from Murano! (We didn’t go back to see if the store that we saw the chandelier was on the list of the true Murano Glass, but we don’t recall seeing the sign) OH and if you really want to know where to buy BEFORE getting to Venice. Go to the website: Promovetro - consorzio del vetro artistico di Murano Venezia.

So after our… window shopping time we went to cruise around and asked several Gondolier dude about the Price & Route that they were offering. Until finally we found a guy that was offering it for 140Euro/Long Route (showed us the route) and per Gondola not per person! So we jumped at the opportunity and yes, I know it was expensive, but what a treat! And it was my birthday not so long ago… so…
We boarded our Gondola, and got introduced to our Gondolier “Luca” but we called him “Casanova”

(oh here he is with the Casanova house in the background) and he started the tour. He told us all about the town, and the history and the beauty and everything. He even sang to us “Oh sole Mio” to the delight of Miss Charm who after a while was singing with him. Him in Italian, her in English. Me… LMAO!

After our ride, we asked him about a place to eat. He recommended the “Trattoria Al Vagon” not too far and so we went. We found it and sat. The owner/chef were so nice, it was a family restaurant. Grandpa and his granddaughter were serving while Grandma was in the kitchen cooking, coming out when not busy. Then the mother came to pick up her daughter, (did I mention she was only about 6 years old) but what a cutie, and talking about tones of stuff, of course we couldn’t understand anything. But just a pretty little thing!

OH and here is my futur house. I just LOVE it! (of course this is only a dream, or maybe in another life time my husband will be a Venetian Prince!) LOL

We had a great dinner and while the sun was lowering in the horizon we made our way to the “Ponte di Rialto”.

Have you ever seen a sunset on the Grand Canal? I have and let me tell you, it is just AMAZING! It was just like a dream! The lagoon color change, from a turquoise green to a gold orange pink. It was SO beautiful! But I can let you just see it!!
SEE??? Isn’t it just “Strabiliante! Bellisima, Magnifico” a MUST do on one’s bucket list!
So for me, it is a checkmark next to it. However I will have to go back because I haven’t seen a sunrise yet, and that must be “spettacolare”

As usual, here is a link for the rest of my pics. Hope you enjoy them!

Venice Italy May 2010