Sunday gave us a chance to leisurely explore the old town of Freiburg.  No tours, no reservations and no plans had been made besides walking and hopefully finding some good places to eat more German food.  Oh yes, and drink German beer.  🙂  The area highlighted in orange is the old part of the city – which we were staying just a block away.

I had another sausage at the market in the morning.  She warned me that it was spicy – it was.  I like spicy food, but this definitely had a kick!  And I totally didn’t expect two sausages

How can you visit a town – especially those with such rich history – without including a few facts?  I can’t, so here you go.

• First reference of habitation in this area was in 1008 due to being a strategic trade route.
• Founded in 1120 as a free market town, hence its name (Frei means free in German).
• It is a center of higher education since the mid 1500s and at the present time is the biggest employer in the city.

Before coming I read about these water channels throughout the town called ‘Bachles’. These were not used for sewage, but instead as a water source and to fight fires in the past.  They were originally in the middle of the road, but in the mid 1800s, got moved to the side.  Unfortunately when we were in town, most were dry except for those around the church.  There were some cool photos on-line that included rubber ducks, rain boots, kids boats and other random items.  A few areas have decorative metal grates over them , along with planters to prevent anyone from tumbling in.

Legend has it that if someone steps into these bachles, you will marry a Freiburger.

• In 1992 Freiburg was given the title of ‘Environmental Capital of Germany’ and has made a name for itself for environmentality.
• They led in the concept of ‘Dual Refuse’ – separating recycling from refuse waste.
• Today, it is above all in the field of the utilization of solar energy with seeing solar panels on many, many roofs and even their national league soccer stadium.

Walking around we also saw more examples of the mosaics in the sidewalk.  These mosaics are commonly attributed to a paver who lived in Freiburg in 1858.  He was inspired by work seen during his time as an apprentice in southern France.  In the past, the stones used to be extracted from the Rhine flood plains, but they have been depleted.  The mosaics commonly show symbols of trade or historical references to the building that lies behind it.  Here are my favorites.  We also found one entire alley that had been created as a mosaic.

While there have been a few photos of the church previously, here are a few different details.  The tower entrance hall tells many stories, primarily The Last Judgement, but also the Birth and Passion of Christ.

The up-close shot shows the (green pol-bellied) devil underneath and to the right of Christ.

Warnings against the temptations of the world are expressed by these sculptures and were one way to instill the fear of God into those that could not read.  When this was created at the end of the 13th century, it was one of the most extensive and significant of its kind in Germany.

Upon entering the church, the interior darkness highlights their fabulous stained glass windows.  Despite the dangers throughout the years and being bombed in 1944, almost all of the original stained glass in the cathedral has been retained.  Several of the local guilds that sponsored the windows in the 13th and 14th Century can be discovered by their distinctive tools incorporated into the glass.  See if you can find the tailor, blacksmith and boot-maker windows.

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I have way too many photos, but these I wanted to share and keep for my files.

So let’s go back outside.  There are many interesting items to note.  I found this calendar on the south-facing wall.

Along with the size specifications for market purchases used in the Middle Ages. This ensured the folks  were not being cheated by those selling corn, charcoal, bread, bricks and floor-boards.

The church is rich in figurines and in addition to the technical functions the gargoyles serve to protect the church from evil forces.  Above them stand the saints, prophets and apostles standing in stoic calm.

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There was one interesting figurine we heard about and a story behind it from some locals.  It seemed the person overseeing the building of the church was getting tight with the money and not paying the workers.  The workers put a figurine up near the top and the story goes that it’s pointed in the direction of his house.

The church is made out of local red sand-stone and many of the oldest city residents said they have never seen the church without scaffolding of some type.  There is always work being down repairing the joints or replacing blocks or figures.

Karen and I had two great meals today.  With the weather being so good, we had a late lunch outside in a garden.  I would recommend this restaurant to anyone going to Freiburg.  In fact, I tried to take the guys there for dinner when they arrived on Monday, but they were closed on Mondays.  😦

Karen got a great salad and I ordered a ‘flammekuchen’.  This is the German version of something I got in France called tarte flammbe’.  I totally loved them on previous trips and this was an excellent version of that unique flatbread.

Naturally there was beer involved and my choice this time was the Ganter Urtrunk, a natural lager.  It went great with my flammekuchen.

The last photo above details our dessert.  It was excellent and we didn’t see it on any other menus throughout the trip so this was a definite win.

It was a nice outdoor meal……..in a beautiful, medieval  city…….. and towards the end we were serenaded by some local musicians.

Our other meal late that day was at a neighborhood pizza place recommended by our Black Forest tour guide.  It was just down the block from our hotel.  Most surprising…….Karen got ice cubes in her coke!

So near the beginning of this post I talked about the bachles and water.  We also saw lots of water fountains as we walked around of which people are encouraged to drink from or refil their water bottles.  My internet research said that when Freiburg was being developed, wooden pipes were used to create urban running fountains and was a source of drinking water for the population.  Here are a few of the (many) fountains we walked past.

Obviously (or not), I’m always taking photos of flowers or interesting produce displays, so I’m ending with some of those for today’s post.

Auf Wiedersehen!

Ginny

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Our first entire day in Freiburg was to be a Black Forest Tour with Simone.  Awe-Some!  I should state now, while I tried to keep everything straight, some of my facts may have gotten mixed up.  I didn’t take notes, so this is mostly from my memory.

Eric found the tour through Trip Advisor and it definitely did not disappoint.  I’m definitely a fan of using Trip Advisor, both to find things to do and to read the reviews that others post.

~I wanted to throw in a few facts occasionally, so they are mostly bullet points in a different color.~

• The black forest name came from the general dark color of the pine trees in the region.
• The area was originally a mixed forest of deciduous trees and firs.
• During the middle of the 19th century, it was almost completely deforested and it was subsequently planted with spruce – hence the name.

Eric had been corresponding with Simone for a number of months and once the time got closer, she sent a pretty extensive survey to us so she could really tailor the tour for our tastes.  The survey asked about our goals for the tour, anything special we wanted to see or do, lunch options, hiking length (if any) and numerous extra options were listed  gauging our level of interest for the region.  Got so say – best way (ever) to run a tour company.

• Simone is a native from Germany, the Black Forest.
• Lived in San Francisco for 15 years before returning home to Freiburg.
• Each tour is customized to fit with your style of travel.

She picked us up at 10 am (our request) and spent the next several minutes going over the survey I completed with her ideas to best accomplish those goals – perfect.  Since we had already walked around the local market at the church, we headed out of town.

• Realized the Black Forest has primarily been a travel destination for Germans and others (non-German speaking) found it a bit difficult to get around.
• She has had over 300+ hours of training and is a partner with the city of Freiburg.
• Truly, does not want you to feel like a tourist, but a friend who is visiting her city.

First stop was in Zarten at a farmer’s store for local product and products.  While not the best photo with the sunlight, here’s the front of the shop.  Lots of apples and pumpkins since the fall harvest season was here.  The bottom photo shows some of their local apples with a strand of hops behind it (generally used to make beer).

At the very far right edge of the first photo above, you might notice some white round containers.  These hold ‘new wine’.  It’s only available for a few weeks out of the year but it could be either juice from apples or grapes and the fermentation has just started.  Delicious!  I tried it at this place and drank it several times during the week.  Once the boys arrived and they tried it, we got several additional bottles to drink during the week.  The different colors could be due to the variety used and/or the length of time for its natural fermentation.

This was also the chance to try local schnapps – which I did at 10:30 am, wowser!  I only had a tiny sip of the cherry flavor, but it was mighty powerful.

Right down the road, Simone took us to a farmer that was creative with additional revenue sourcing.  Many farmers have rooms they are renting out like a hotel for visitors but this gentleman went a bit further.  While yes, the poster is in German, I thought it was a novel way to increase revenue for his farm.

He let customers buy ‘shares’ to visit his farm, which gives the kids chance to interact with animals.  There are brushes sitting nearby so the kids can brush and touch the animals.

In addition to a small market store, he also had this vending machine for his products.  Even if someone stopped by when he was closed, they still could get local butter, meat and cheese.

We found this chicken running around and guests could get free-range eggs.  A few places on his farm we saw this box to be used as the honor system for paying for their veggies.

We did a quick walk in their farm store and I found a fruit I hadn’t seen before – quince.  It was crazy busy inside with customers buying their produce, fresh meat and baked breads.  The little piggies and cows seen above, turned into meat for their butcher shop – sorry Karen.

And of course I LOVE the pumpkins.  🙂  Seeing this little bit of farming was perfect for our tour.

Next on the agenda was a stop at St. Peter’s Church.

The inside was as striking as the outside.  The organ was magnificent.

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The story goes in 1093 a duke and his wife founded the Benedictine Abbey of St. Peter in the Black Forest. Through the years the church suffered through four fires and survived numerous wars, yet remained largely unscathed.  One reason the church is still mostly intact was that the abbey did not become a ‘stone quarry’ for the local parishioners to build their own houses, but instead the buildings were used as storage.  This is an absolutely fantastic example of a church that survived through the ages and my photos do not do it justice.  This was on the ceiling of the church and was one of many beautiful things to photograph.

 

Simone continued to share stories about life in the Black Forest.  One example being this ‘barn’.  The original use for the building (with the tractor) in front was two-fold.  The upper front half was used for the family, while the back half was used for their equipment and grain.  Down below the livestock were kept so everything was in one building.  A number of farmer’s had their own chapel built and you can just barely see this one, between the tractor and the new farmhouse.

Another stop was the small town of Geschwend which had several all-wood houses that are still in use today.

Driving through the hills and valleys, we occasionally came upon some cows that were too cute to resist a quick photo.

And then Simone took us to the perfect spot for a photo.  We parked the car, I got a quick shot surrounded by the Black Forest……..

……….while Karen and Simone headed towards an overlook.

It was so quiet and peaceful and several benches were available to sit and take in the scenery.

Since our goal was to truly soak in the scenery and take photos, our lunch plans called for a picnic instead of a sit-down meal.  Simone took us to Titisee, a resort town, where we had sandwiches made to order.  I got a taste of black forest ham and that totally was my selection for my sandwich, along with cheese and cucumbers.  A glass of white wine completed the picnic meal beside the lake.

One option mentioned on her survey was a short hike to a waterfall and we both said yes!  We stopped in Todtnau and a short hike later, found this.

All too soon, it was time to head back to Freiburg, but Simone made an extra stop when I asked about these gardens.  The plots can be rented fairly cheaply, but the cost to maintain them and follow all of the rules can be high.  😦  Some are very elaborate and would be a great place to grow your own veggies and have friends come over.

Simone gave great suggestions for restaurants and a walking city tour, along with ideas for when the boys joined us.  There were so many things to do in and around Freiburg and truly not enough time on this visit.

She dropped us off near a trail to climb and look over the city.  Naturally, we climbed to the top for these views and to see this statue guarding the city.

We took her suggestion for a German meal and ate at Ganter Brauereiausschank for dinner.  We could see the church out our window.

I ordered the Schweinaxen with the potato dumplings and sauerkraut while Karen ordered the pork schnitzel with potatoes.

It was a fun-fill day with a remarkable person, ending with a German meal.  Now I want to end with a few flower photos taken throughout the day.

Auf Wiedersehen!

 

Ginny

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Friday morning we split our European adventure and went a different direction from the boys.  They are going to Munich – totally not my thing – and we are going to Freiburg, Germany.  Initially, I really wanted to go to Prague, but it was going to be too far to travel.  After looking at a map, we settled on Freiburg.  Let me tell you now, it’s a great city!  I wish we used it as a base instead of traveling to Heidelberg next week.

Okay, let’s get going.  We had a few moments of doubt in Venice first thing in the morning as we waited for the water taxi to the airport.  After waiting 20+minutes for the first one, it was too full and only 4 people got on.  The driver said the next taxi would be there in 25 more minutes.  We were the last stop before the airport and the taxis were always fairly full – a fact we didn’t think about.  When the next one arrived, we were held back until the others got on and we said that Karen and I needed to get on this one.  After the others got settled, there were at least 8 more after us that made it.  Too much stress for the morning.  Eric heard the guy say ‘You win.’

At the airport we split since Karen and I were flying a different airline – EasyJet.  I liked the airport.  Once we got our bearings, it was fairly easy to navigate.  Before you knew it, we were on the plane.

Did I tell you that Karen loves having her picture taken – not!  She’s been a very good sport on the trip.  Early on both Rich and I told her that being with me was ‘implied consent’ for all photos, since we were traveling together – sorry Karen. 😦

Our last look at Venice was from the air.  We read that the view overhead was like a fish caught on a line – I can see it.

We landed at the EuroAirport – Basel-Mulhouse-Freiburg.  So named because it is one of the few airports in the world operated jointly by two countries (France & Switzerland).

We next had to wait for a bus to take us to Freiburg, with the first one arriving at 2pm, in about 40 minutes.

Arriving at the bus station, it was (fairly) easy to walk to our hotel, the place we’re staying for the next four nights – The Alex Hotel.

It’s very modern looking and highly rated by Trip Advisor.  We’re staying here an extra night, once the boys arrive.  While we are surrounded by residential apartments and the university buildings, there were several local food places right down the block.  We visited the bakery every day – usually more than once.

The only scary part was the elevator.  Our room is on floor 3 and Karen doesn’t enjoy small spaces.  You should have seen her when we were both tucked away in the space with our suitcases and backpacks – yikes!

After settling in, we went exploring and first on my agenda was a stop at the Feierling Biergarten. After all, if the boys could drink in Munich, I could drink in Freiburg.  I had the first one listed  –  Inselhopf .3 liter.  Yes, the price listed is 2.9 Euro.  Karen has always been really good about drinking water, until she found out that water was more expensive than a coke, which is more expensive than beer.  Never could convince her to order a beer.

Karen was in charge of the map and planned our route to and from our hotel.  Nope, that is not Karen’s beer.  🙂

After a bit of walking, hunger pains were beginning.  I had found a few restaurants before coming and the first one we located was Schlappen.

I tried another local beer, again, the first one listed on the menu below – the Jever Pils.

They are noted for their potatoes and OMG!  They were absolutely delicious.  We also ordered the caprese pizza for our meal.

After a short walk back to our hotel, it was time to turn in.  Saturday was going to be a fun-filled day as Eric had found this awesome tour of the Black Forest.

We asked to be picked up after 10am on Saturday as we were going to have breakfast in their local city market that surrounds the old church.  You’ll be seeing a lot more pictures in future posts of the church.

The market exists 6 days with Saturday and Wednesday being the biggest.  Since the weather is a bit chilly, I went for the hot sausage as my breakfast.  The old church is in the background.

We both got a sweet pastry and pretzel to munch on later.  It was time to head back to our hotel to meet Simone, our guide for the day.  That in itself is a full blog post.

Auf wiedersehen!

 

Ginny

 

So, my last post was an exercise in frustration.  My internet connection was coming and going, I kept switching between the computer and my phone – multiple times – and eventually lost the post I created.  Aarrgghh!  I was putting our last two days into one long post……………..and I”m going to assume that was the problem, too long.  I was able to find an old draft from my original post and started writing it again, for like the 4th time, cutting it in half.  Here is the second half of the original post and was our last day in Venice.

 

Every morning we started with a cappuccino and pastry.  Karen and I really enjoyed the cream-filled croissant and the Nutella-filled croissant and would go there on our  own.

With being our last day in Venice, we had several last things to check off of our list.  I wanted to go to the produce market, as that’s always interesting to me.  We saw lots of good things to eat.

But primarily, I wanted to go to the fish market.  OMG x 3!  This market was definitely my favorite!  Be sure to look for the sailfish.

Okay, maybe, just maybe I got carried away with the seafood photos.  But man (!)  there was so much to see and take photos  of.  This is less than half of the ones I took.

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Looking at the seafood got us hungry and since we were so close to some of the food shops we visited on our food tour earlier in the week, we made a stop.  The prosciutto wrapped ham was some of the best I had ever eaten.

Next up was something on Rich’s list – the Church of San Giorgio Maggiore.  It was literally across the water from San Marcos Plaza and was a quick water taxi ride.

One of the best things was the ability to go up into their bell tower and get this amazing photo of Venice.

After walking the grounds, Eric and I left for a water taxi ride around the city and saw these amazing sites.

We jumped off at a station near our apartment and I found this little kitty.  He was one of the few I’ve seen.  Everybody has a dog in Venice.

Walking back, we went through the Jewish settlement and found this shop.  There was a purse that interested me and after talking to this gentlemen, we discovered he was the owner and the gentleman that created the leather purse.  He graciously agreed for a photo and then suggested it be taken back in his workshop.

For our last meal in Venice, we walked to a place that was literally around the corner from our apartment.  We kept looking at the menu throughout the week as we walked by and since we still had to pack, this seemed like a good choice.  It definitely was.

We started with the house red and the house white wine, which accompanied our seafood carpaccio (swordfish).

Our meals were great selections and even though there were some repeats from earlier in the week, this restaurant was the best.  Our selections were:  tortilini with ham (Ginny), cuttlefish pasta (Rich), seafood pasta (Eric) and gnocchi (Karen).

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Rich and I split the home-made tiramisu and after paying our check, they dropped off four shots of limoncello.  Yep, I took a sip (yuck) and Eric got the rest of mine.

It was a great ending to a really fun week.  Friday starts another adventure in Europe.

Ciao!

 

Ginny

 

Before leaving home, we made tour arrangements for the Italian Alps and Dolomite Mountains.  Wednesday was the day.  We didn’t know exactly where to meet the tour guide, just a general idea, so we made sure we had plenty of time for the journey.

We started walking, then got on the ‘people-mover’……..

……..before walking the final distance.  As you can see lots of boats are going everywhere and our original instructions were to take one of the water taxis to the meeting point but late the previous night, we decided walking would be good since we’d be in a van for a good period of our tour.

Our first stop was in Pieve di Cadore, about 70 miles north of Venice. It was the birthplace of the Italian painter Titian in the late 1400s.

We had a great cappecuono and croissant during our 20 minute stop.

We stopped for a photo opportunity at Lago de Auronzo.  The beautiful color is due to a natural copper leaching from the ground.

There’s a dam for the lake and this statue protecting the dam.

We could see the Dolomites in the distance and our driver made several photo stops.  He explained that the alps had the trees and the Dolomites had no plant growth on them.

I have to throw in some of my flower shots.  While most were taking mountain shots, I found little bits of color trying to grow in the higher altitude.  At one of the stops I found this little raised garden where the family was growing different leaf lettuces and strawberries.

Lorenzo, our driver, was probably not the best tour guide we’ve ever had.  He was basically a driver, pointing out some good photo spots, parked the minivan while we walked around and then got us to the next photo spot.  There were 8 on our tour, of which one of the couples (the Australians) were on our food & wine tour earlier in the week.  Our last photo shot was one they advertised on their website.

Upon our return to Venice, we took the water taxi back to San Marcos plaza for a few more photos.

 

Then found the ‘bridge of signs’.  The story goes that as prisoners were being led to the dungeon, they crossed this bridge after being sentenced and ‘signed’ at their last view of freedom.

That evening we walked to a nearby restaurant (Osteria do Alberta) recommended by our tour guide, Claire.  Since we eating so early (for Venetians) we were able to be seated at a table near the front door – fine by us.  Rich hinted that he would like to order Preseco for his meal and we ended up getting a bottle to share (amongst the 3 of us).

 

Eric order a fabulous seafood sampler.  I wasn’t really expecting to eat any of us, but once I saw the octopus salad (bottom center) – I was in.

Next to the lemon was a baby octopus – sorry Karen.  😦  Rich and Eric said it was delicious.

Our meals were excellent – the dessert not so much.  We ordered pesto Tagliani (Karen), seafood risotto (Rich & Eric) and vegetable lasgna, the special of the day.  My lasgna was excellent.  It’s not something that I have ever ordered – anywhere – but I would again.  It was that good.  🙂

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We had a delightful evening and one of our best meals.

Ciao!

 

Ginny

 

These are two areas near Venice, which if anyone does any pre-planning, usually includes a visit to both.  Let’s start with Murano.  Be prepared for a few bits of history interspersed amongst the photos.  🙂

 

• Composed of 7 islands linked by bridges in the Venetian Lagoon.
• Initially settled by the Romans.
• At first prospered as a fishing port and for its production of salt.

We wanted to get away from most of the ‘tourist’ areas and kept walking away from the water taxi drop-off.

We found this fabulous blue statue.

 

• In 1291 all glass makers in Venice were forced to move to Murano due to the risk of fire.
• During the 1300s exports began and the island became famous, initially for glass beads and mirrors.
• Eventually became known for their chandeliers.

I would absolutely love to have a chandelier from Murano, but even though it could be shipped home, they are still pricey.  These are two I found that struck my fancy.

While we have enjoyed all of our meals thus far, our selection for lunch could definitely fall into one of our all-time favorites for this trip.

We were one of the first to arrive and actually were told we could sit in the garden, because the restaurant didn’t open for 15 more minutes. We started with wine and water before ordering two antipasta platters.

The seafood platter looked really cool, but wasn’t a lot that I would eat.  The other  platter (meat) – I loved!  In fact, it was to be my meal, along with some fried mozzarella balls.

Did I say I really, really, really enjoyed my meat platter?  I shared after tasting all of them and finding my favorites.  Starting in the upper left corner:  mordello, pancetta, salami, pepperoni, bacon and prosciutto.  The mozzarella balls were good, but after my meat platter……………….

A seafood soup was Eric’s meal and Karen ordered lasagna – which was fantastic.

 

We had to finish the meal with desserts.  There was cherry ice cream, chocolate cake and strawberry Torte.   We debated for days which dessert ‘won’.

 

We crossed the bridge in front of the restaurant and wandered inside this church.

The church is one of the oldest in the Venetian lagoon.  It was originally built in the 7th century and rebuilt in the 9th century.  It is known for its 12th century Byzantine mosaic pavement and said to contain the relics of Saint Donato, as well as large bones of a dragon slain by the saint.

While Karen and I were looking possibly for glass beads for the jewelry we make, we had minimal purchases.  😦    On to Burano!

Getting there involved jumping on the water-taxi and waiting for 3 stops until we arrived.

• The island was probably settled by the Romans.
• It rose in importance in the 16th century when women on the island began making lace with needles.
• Leonardi da Vinci visited in 1481, purchased a cloth for an alter and soon lace was exported across Europe.

More recently, they are known for its small, brightly painted houses.

Legend says that the island’s fisherman were the first to paint their houses in bright colors so they could see them while they were out fishing.

So let me admit, this island kind of felt like a big tourist hot-spot.  There were little shops everywhere selling all kind of tochtskes.  While the photos look pretty, I had to do a lot of cropping to get all of the people out of them.  Now, on the other hand, Karen and I both purchased some scarves (made in Italy) to bring home with us.

Wednesday is our day-long tour of the Italian Alps and Dolomite Mountains.  While it will probably a somewhat long drive, it gets us out of Venice for a day.

Ciao!

 

Ginny

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Beautiful weather today!  It was in the low-mid 70s, a bit breezy, but perfect for wandering the streets.

Breakfast was first order of the day – Italian style.  Cappuccino and a pastry was a perfect start.  A chocolate croissant, a cream-filled croissant and crostini with ham and sun-dried tomato were our selections.

Being up so early, gave us a chance to see local city work being done.  Several times we saw local workers using these carts to move rubbish around and then later saw how it was collected.  The cart was being swapped out for another on the boat.

We were extra early for our tour and I went into a fabric store.  This irish lady was looking at fabric and we struck up a conversation.  She was a quilter and we connected.

We met at the ’round church’ for our tour.  There were enough for two groups, so we split and had Claire as our guide.

Claire led us away from the tourist areas, where generally locals would eat.  We had a group of 11 with the countries represented being: New Zealand, Australia, Scotland and the states.

One of the first things was to cross the grand canal on a Traghetto.  It was a ‘little bit’ scary.  She said normally most people stand up but due to the wind and choppy water, we would be asked to sit down.  As we all got on the boat, we had to continually balance out the boat and sit on the (6″) edge of the boat.

 

Our first stop was Cantina do Spade.  We started with a light prosecco to drink and had 3 small plates:  ham & cheese sandwich, anchovy & cheese sandwich and fried stuffed olives.

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Our second stop was Cantina do’Mori.  We drank a light Pinot Bianco with a codfish crostini.

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Our third stop was at Osteria alla ciurma, a cicchetteria veneziana.  I took a break from the wine and had a arancia (orange) soda drink.  Our food was a mix of crostini.  The best was the one in the middle with pancetta bacon.  I had the bottom middle crostini.  It was good, but not like the one above it (pancetta).

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The next stop we were able to all sit inside at tables at Ostaria all’anlico Dolo.  You could drink white or red and we had one of both.  The crostini was calamari in red sauce (left) and the typical sardine crostini on the right.

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Our last and final stop on the tour was at Sacro e Profano.  The drink was a light white wine and we ate from a mix of crostini.  I  had the upper right crostini with salami.  By this time I was full and after two tiny bites, passed it along to Eric.  We finished with tiramisu and a venetian spritzer.

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We were able to get one photo of our tour guide, Claire, before she departed our group.

On the way back to the apartment, we found this church and toured the inside.  I would have loved to show some photos, but it was prohibited.  It was a beautiful church.

There was an article that both Rich and I read from Nat Geo and it talked about a spiral staircase.  After much searching we found it.

Only two of us paid the fee and walked the 80 stairs to the top.  The views were marvelous.

 

You can see where the other two are.

On to San Marcos Plaza!

 

After a brief respite at the apartment AND changing shoes, pizza was tonight’s dinner choice.  After all, we are in Italy. 🙂  Eric found one that was fairly highly rated.

Our waiter said the pizzas were individual sized – but yikes.  We could have easily split one between two of us.  Of course the advantage of individual pizzas were four different orders:  prosciutto with funghi (mine), margarita (Karen), buffalo mozzerella (Eric)  and prosciutto with zucca (Rich).  The bottle of wine helped finish out the meal.

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We ‘filled in the cracks’ by stopping for gelato on the way home.  So ended one of our days in Italy.

Ciao!

 

Ginny

 

 

 

 

 

We’re heading out with friends across the Atlantic to…………………Italy, specifically Venice!  There was a tiny little hint at the end of the previous post.  🙂

Our friends drove down the night before and Eric arranged for local transportation to take us to the airport.  You never know about the traffic, so we planned for an hour drive and 40 minutes later we were wandering through the airport.  Love TSA pre – just saying.  You get to keep your shoes on, don’t have to remove your electronic devices and generally the lines are much, much shorter.   See how happy we are.  🙂

Really, Saturday is the day to fly out.  There just wasn’t anyone around.

In the not-so-distance past, Eric convinced me to get the ‘Priority Pass’ available at most airports.  We’ve used is three times and I was ambivalent about its worth.  Orlando has one of the best locales of the three I have visited.  We had almost two hours to kill before our flight boarded and found this one – yeah!

As you can see from the photos, not a lot of action right now.  Which is probably just as well.  We’re all in rare form this morning and my sides hurt from laughing – just saying.

No matter where you’re at, you just can’t get away from the mouse.  The lounge had several Central Florida photos framed on the walls.

Our flight to Atlanta was uneventful and first order of business was lunch.  Gordon Biersch Brewery was easily available and the boys started their beer journey.

There was a tradition Eric encouraged me to start on our last trip and yes, I carried forth with the tradition this time……………….getting my nails painted at the airport.  It also gave me a chance to stretch my legs during our looonnnggggg 5 hour layover.

Most of the wait was passed sitting in the Club Lounge at Atlanta.  We each could bring a guest, so yes, we all were able to enter.

The food was much better than I remembered from my previous (and only) visit.  When we arrived, there was no problem getting in but after coming back from getting my nails painted, there was a big difference.  Most all of the chairs were taken.

And then……………..….it was time to get on the plane!

It was an uneventful flight, Eric got more sleep than the rest of us.  But then we saw this, the Swiss Alps.

We immediately began our descent into Venice and saw the island from the air.  Our plane was 50 minutes early thanks to a 100-mile tailwind pushing us across the Atlantic.

Going through passport control was a breeze, we quickly picked up our luggage and after purchasing our water taxi tickets at a kiosk, walked to the departure point at the terminal.

A friend of the apartment owner, Lucia, met us at the taxi drop-off and walked us through the streets of Venice until we reached our home for the next 5 days.

Our apartment is a very modern 2-bedroom abode.  The last photo is a view of our apartment from a nearby bridge.  We’re on the second story of the yellow building and our balcony railings are painted purple.  No, the boat does not come with our rental.

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First order of business was lunch.  We passed by this place when Lucia was taking us to the rental.  Stefano, the owner, recommended this place as one that locals would visit.

Eric ordered marinated sardines (which I did try once he deboned it for me) and between us we had 3 orders of pasta and a platter of fried seafood.

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Me – gnocchi in a light tomato sauce

• Karen – pesto penne
• Rich – sqid-ink pasta with cuttlefish
• Eric – the seafood platter, of course.

I found this little guy wandering the area beside our restaurant.  I was crashing from the lack of sleep and walking up and down the street to stay awake.

None of us could really function so heading back for a (somewhat) short nap was  a priority.  We started stirring around 4pm and while not totally hungry, wanted to take in the ambiance of Venice in the evening.  First up was a Venetian photo for us to send back home.  This is the other bridge seen from our balcony.

Surprisingly, we haven’t gotten lost yet and are able to retrace our steps when needed.  This place looked interesting and it was first stop and our last stop at the end of our evening.

We got a few beers to drink (Avanti March saison and a local Venetian lager) along with this fried cheese and salami & pepper tapas.

We noticed one of the workers (owner?) was making another intriguing dish and when he noticed our interest, gave us 4 bread slides.  It was beef tartar, delicioso!

And so ended our first evening in Venice.  We have some tours coming up this week and much more free time for exploring on our own.

Ciao!

Ginny

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

We’re hot on the ‘ale trail’ still adding more stamps to the map.  And then some…..

Starting on a Sunday afternoon, we stopped at Redlight Redlight.  We had visited months ago when they had a special night to honor Anthony Bourdain, after he passed.  It was so crazy busy that night, I didn’t even try to get my stamp.

I was doing a little research on the local breweries and here’s what I found for Redlight Redlight.

• Started in 2005, currently in their 3rd location, having outgrown the others
• Their name is a nod to their first building, which was said that in the past, the location was a hotel of ill-repute.
• Currently in the Carrier Heating & Air-Conditioning building and they salvaged every bit they could and put it back into their building.
• They enthusiastically embrace community involvement and even have an event planner on staff.

I tried the Keller Pils.  Not my usual choice and as the description notes, it was hoppy.

We met some friends (new and old) and later on as the neighborhood started coming over, saw more friends.  It had a good vibe for a neighborhood place.

As mentioned above with their salvaging goals, everything they could they reused inside the building. I think that’s pretty cool.  🙂   Love the sign.

In 10 years my research said they have………..24 draft handles, 2 traditional hard-pumped beer engines, over 300 bottled beers and a collection of craft sodas.

Next up was the Ten 10 Brewing Co.  We’ve visited this place before but on this visit, the plan was to eat!  And drink some – of course.

To briefly recap their story, here’s a few details about the brewery:

• Opened in Summer 2015, using pure, clean ingredients for their brews.
• Their mantra is ‘Great Beer, Good Food & Good Friends’.
• Strive to be a neighborhood hangout for locals.

I also included a few shots of their menu..……It was really hard to choose.  I’ll come back just to try more of their snacks & stuff.  Okay, and another sandwich.

 

Naturally, need a shot of the beers we drank………yes, that’s mine in the front and yes, its  smaller pour.

And the food.  We started with their pretzel with our meals being a cheese, chili hot dog (Eric) and a ‘deluxe’ grilled cheese with pulled pork (me).  I won – just saying.

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Next stop was the Broken Cauldron Brewery &Tap room.

Interesting story…..………..they are two breweries: Broken Strings and Black Caldron.  Each were having some challenges with locations and various other issues so they got together and voila!  they are Broken Caldron.

While they are two breweries, they are one taproom of beer for all palates.  Broken Strings focuses on hop-forward varieties paying homage to musical legends while Black Cauldron focuses on the malt-forward side.

At any given time they have 12 drafts on tap.

One of Eric’s friends met us there and shared this ‘barrel aged Russian Imperial’  brew within our group.

So, still being a newbie, I asked Eric why, what, huh?  His answer was ‘Its a beer thing.’

 

So my first sentence at the top says ‘And then some’.  While not part of my Ale Trail map, we visited the Clermont Brewery that opened up literally days ago from this post.

Clermont is trying to revitalize their downtown area and this building/street is planned to be one of the anchors or ‘hooks’ for people to visit downtown.  There are currently two restaurants sharing the space, one of which was a pizza place.  We stopped in their first day of business and with minimal to no advertising – except word of mouth – they had a nice crowd coming and going most of the day.  We shared a pizza and some brews.

At the moment, they don’t have any of their beers to serve since they’re still waiting on the barrels and other equipment, but they served other local beers.  Some of their beer soon to be available are:

• Save the Blonde – single hopped ale
• Sun Squishy – Citra IPA
• Moonlight Milk Stout – dry nibbed with raw organic cacao nibs

(cacao = unprocessed chocolate beans)

I can’t wait for their Moonlight Milk Stout.  Who knew that I would like dark beer.

 

One of the most attractive things about this brewery is their outdoor seating area.  Can’t wait for the weather to cool off!!!!!  Even in September, their customers were sitting outside enjoying Central Florida.

Part of their porch is covered so there’s protection from the Florida rains.  Then there are a multitude of picnic tables with no cover that provides lots of extra seating.  We stopped in on the first weekend they were open – OMG!  We had to wait for someone to leave before finding a table.  Every spot outside was filled up and customers were spilling onto the sidewalk.  I hope this place makes it, along with the restaurants.  Maybe by now, Clermont is growing up.

We’re about to embark on another travel adventure with good friends.  Posts will be coming, but wi-fi may be a problem.  We’ll see.

Ciao!

Ginny

 

 

After a long day at work, we were finally able to head to Apalachicola.  This was not our typical drive……….half of our drive was in the dark!  Why is that important?  We’re driving through heavily wooded, mostly deserted pine forests and started to see deer grazing along the roadway.  Yikes!  We do not need a face to face meeting with them.  After our first few sightings, Eric slowed down, which took us even longer to get to town.  We easily counted 12 deer grazing.

After calling the Coombs Inn Bed & Breakfast, she gave us the electronic door code as it seemed we would be the last of their guests to arrive.  Let me say, this room looked great upon arrival.

The next morning I was able to get a few shots of the Inn.  They have 3 buildings  that encompass their total available rooms.  There’s a nice little patio to the left that’s enjoyable when the weather is cooler.  We were in the main building, the second floor – the Raney room.  More on that name later.

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As the name mentions, breakfast is included.  Good thing since in past visits, breakfast offerings are extremely limited around town, especially on sunday.  There are several offerings daily for a hot breakfast, along with breakfast breads and cereal.  Here are two of their menus.

I got a kick out of every couple asked for 1 of each and surprisingly, sometimes the gentleman asked for the sweet offering instead of the meat.  Go figure.

I pitched an idea to Eric earlier in the week and again – surprisingly – he thought it was a solid thought.  We’re going to do some yard clean-up on our city lot we purchased earlier this year.  We had to carry all off necessary (and unnecessary?!?) equipment up with us and be sure it was secured during the drive and then when parked overnight.

First up was mowing.  But our main task was cleaning up the fallen tree, seen in the right side of the photo, in the background.  Eric cut, I hauled and just realized I forgot to take a photo while he used the chainsaw.

However……………….you can see the results.  Yes, the vast majority of that I piled up along the roadway.

We found these bottles and this interesting well(?) once some vegetation was cut away.

Yes, yes I know.  These next two photos are not exciting – except to us.  While most people just see green, we see 5 hours of sweat, not much blood and no tears.

Eric’s last task was spraying Round-up to kill remaining vegetation.

While we looked anything but glamorous, we’re done for the day.

After cleaning up, it was (past) time for lunch.  Today’s location of choice was Boss Oyster.  It’s been a number of years since our last visit and one of the few restaurants open on a Sunday.

After our smoked fish dip (very tasty I must say) we both ordered flounder.  I had the basket and Eric got the sandwich.  The fish was so fresh, Eric said it was too good to eat with bread and removed the bun.

The food was excellent, the service didn’t quite reach the same level.  😦

 

Across the street is one of Apalachicola’s eclectic shops, The Tin Shed.

They feature all things nautical and had some great photo ops.

Nearby was the Oyster City Brewing Company and we stopped in for a bit.

We finished the evening at The Bowery Station.  They had live music on a Sunday evening, featuring Boo Radley.

It’s a local hang out, not air-conditioned (or heated for that matter) but easily within walking distance.  This is the second time I’ve heard them sing, so I googled them to find out more.

• they met in Tallahassee, FL, became fast friends, and married this past year at The Bowery Station.
• their songs highlight Michael Shaun Turner’s songwriting skills, sophisticated harmonies and guitar work and her vocal range.
• writing a song together, “More Than Meets the Eye” never expecting to perform it, eventually led to its recording and the title track of their first commercial venture recorded  in Nashville.

Monday morning, Eric drove an hour (1-way) to pick up our boat trailer in Medart, I took the time to walk around town.  There’s so much history these signs are everywhere.

This gentleman was the reason we can live in Florida – comfortably.  He essentially invented air-conditioning, initially for his yellow fever patients.  Dr. John Gorrie noted that “Nature would terminate the (severe yellow) fevers by the changing of the seasons.”  We’ve visited the museum in the past, but not this visit.  It was a block away from our lodgings.

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By the way, each state is allowed two statues in Washington representing their state.  Dr. John Gorrie is one of our figures.

Since we’re in the ‘Raney’ room, I waned to stop by the Raney House Museum – but it was closed.

David G. Raney came down from Virginia in the 1930s as the cotton port of Apalachicola was rapidly expanding.  One of his 8 children, George P. Raney served in the Confederate Army, practiced law in town afterwards, was elected to the Florida Legislature, became Attorney General to two Governors before becoming a Justice of the Florida Supreme Court and then its Chief Justice.  He made an impact upon the state.  The Raney House is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

 

And across the street is a bit of fun whimsey…………………and actually is a bike repair shop.

My last stop in the morning was the Chestnut Street Cemetery.   It is the oldest burying ground in Apalachicola and the burial site of many individuals connected with the history and development of the town.  They created a nice brochure for a cemetery walk, including bits of info from 47 gravesites.  It would be interesting to walk the cemetery, in a cooler season.

 

Finally, Eric returned and we drove to the Scipio Creek Marina to get our boat.  I had never seen a power lift do its job – here you go.

Last stop was for lunch – at the Seafood Grill.

Through the many years of our SGI visits, this place has had a variety of names, but continues to feature seafood.  🙂   Eric stuck with his fish of choice this trip (flounder), getting their daily special of ‘whole fish’.  I had a delicious blackened fish with fries.

The drive home seemed to take forever, slowly  (very slowly) eating away at the 280+ miles to Central Florida.  Finally, our boat is home.

While we enjoyed this extra trip to Apalachicola, we would prefer different circumstances.  Regardless, we made lemonade out of lemons.  🙂

 

Ginny