The Los Angeles adventure

A flew out of RIC on Monday, August 6, 2012.  Into Dallas fort worth and finally to LAX.  Howard had arrived shortly before me, from  Chicago, and was able to get the rental car.  The hook up at lax was flawless. I  think that airport was just so easy to navigate.  Even when I had to drive back to the airport and pick up his so, I did it with relative ease.

The ABA antitrust section had their post annual meeting. Conference at the Terreana
 resort in Palos Verdes.  What a beautiful location. The weather was perfect.  The dinners were amazing. The Fox sports cast team were there, as well which included Jimmy Johnson,  howie long, Troy Aiken, terry bradshaw, Erin Andrews mike something ... Anyway, a lot of sports enthusiasts lawyers were in seventh heaven all week long.  Including Howard and Andy. They were hysterical.  Men and their sports.  I met some wonderful people along the way.  Howard begins his term as vice chair for the anti trust section of the ABA. Then in 2013, he is chair elect , then in 2014 he will be the chair.

The big dinner was held in the port of LA on the Queen Mary.  Totally unbelievable. They pulled out all the stops for this one.  

Italian Road Trip-Pisa, Italy

Wednesday-July 18th-I traveled, by car to Pisa, Italy.  I thought I'd try to find the Juliet thing in Verona, so went there first.  Big Mistake when you don't know where you are going!  So back on the Autostrede and headed to Pisa.  This route took me through a mountainous/hilly region with lots of tunnels around Florence.  Another long and exhausting drive.  But, when I got to Pisa...Easy!  Signs that take you to the Tower and to an awesome parking area that cost me only 1.5 euros for 2 hours.  This was an amazing place.  And, I finally found some good deals on leather handbags!  YAY!  I will post the pics later, but this is a must see if you go to Italy. 

The Tower was actually originally built to be the bell tower of the Duomo di Pisa, The Cathedral of Pisa.  Gorgeous just stunning!!!  And behind the Cathedral is the Battistero, the Baptistry.  The 3 structures go together and are jaw dropping.  No, I did not choose to climb the tower.  It didn't appear too many did, or they did and they were the ones that appeared to be dying of exhaustion surrounding the tower.  Lots of people taking pictures of each other trying to "hold up" the tower.  Very funny!

I really loved this trip and wish Howard and I had taken it together.  It was beautiful.  Miss you sweetie!

More pics later.

The History of Vicenza

History of Vicenza:source. http://www.veneto-explorer.com/vicenza-italy.html

It was founded by the ancient Venetos, then it passed under the Romans. At the times of the Roman Empire decay, it was subjected to the Barbarians invasions, turning into a Dukedom under the Lombards and a County under the Franks.
In 1164 it became a Free City-State, until 1404 when it passed voluntarily under the dominion of the Venice Republic, enjoying a period of great wealth and glory.

Over the 1500s’ the architect Andrea Palladio, born in the nearby Padua, concurred to turn Vicenza into a jewel of the Renaissance architecture.

After the Serenissima fall in 1797, it first passed for a while under the Napoleon rule and later under the Autrian-Hungarians.
Vicenza, and the rest of Veneto, joined the Kingdom of Italy - born in 1861 - in 1866, after the Third Independence War.


Teatro Olimpico:an architectural jem of Vicenza Italy
At the end of Corso Palladio do not miss the Teatro Olimpico, the most ancient indoor theater in the world, and the last impressive work of Andrea Palladio before passing away in 1580. The theater shows off an amazing trompe l’oeil effect in his interior.

Italian Road Trips-Ancona

This week, I rented a car from Sixt.  I picked it up in Podova.  It is a cute little Fiat Panda.  Gas mileage is not as good as I expected.  Not as good as the 500. 

On Tuesday, I drove to Ancona, Italy.  This is on the East coast on the Adriatic Sea.  I was expecting this beautiful 'little' seaport.  Instead it is a thoroughly modern Sea Port, host to hundreds of cruise ships and cargo ships daily.  I found my way into the town center, which felt like I could have been driving in Rome, and finally saw this tiny little road that led up and away.  I took it!  Turns out it led me to the Cathedral of Ancona.  Predates the 6th Century and offers you an amazing view of the Adriatic Sea, and the CITY of Ancona.  The picture above is not one that I took.  I found this on Wikipedia.  I got some close ups of the cathedral and some lovely shots of the Sea, Town and Ships.

The drive to Ancona was interesting.  My brother's GPS had me going on the Autostrede through Bologna to get there.  A 3.5 hour drive was more like 4.5 hours, by the time I got there.  I decided to take the long way home (a 5 hour drive), but I got to see more of the country side.

Sunflowers?!  Is Italy home to the Sunflower Seed?  I saw hundreds of acres of Sunflowers growing.  I need to google this.  Did and Europe is the major sunflower seed exporter to South Africa.  Interesting.  Another thing I found:"The sunflower's seeds have been long prized for their oil content and are sold from China and the U.S to Russia as a snack food, it has also been cultivated across Italy for centuries because of these qualities. Research is currently being carried out to refine the oil for use as a bio-diesel.".   They were lovely and not what I expected.  They are prevalant in all of Italy, apparently, next to grapes and olive trees. 

Nice trip, but I was exhausted when I got back to Bud's.  Very frustrating drive with the GPS, who didn't know her way home.  When I reached Ferrara, Italy, I got back on the Autostrede and just zoomed home.  Very long day.  at least 10 full hours of driving, as I didn't stop long to sight see.
Bummer. 

Oh, Sad to say, but the East coast of Italy is not as pretty as I expected it to be, at least to Ancona.  Pretty, but not what I expected.  I think that will be on the West coast.  A good thing to note is that if you want to camp in Italy, it is a big thing.  Lots of campgrounds, especially on the Adriatic Sea.

Will post more pics of the cathedral and sea later.

Paladio's la Rotunda-Vicenza, Italy

This was a def must see, although I was disappointed that I could not take pics of the frescas painted on the ceiling.  The paintings were by 3 different Italian painters, dating back to the time the home was built.  It was first occupied by a clergyman, so you can understand why there are so many religious statues and paintings.  Paladio designed this structure, he never lived in it.  With the rolling hills, you could almost imagine being at Monticello. 

The Italian Adventure

I do not travel long distances well. To start with, mother Naturre decided to leave me without electricity. So no shower from Monday to Wednesday. The hotel in Venice had a wonderful shower!!! To add to the stress, TJ, my obnoxious yellow napped Amazon parrot, was attacked on the screen porch, while in her cage, by a young raccoon. I had to have her wing ,left, amputated. Thank you to my wonderful land lady's daughter, Priscilla, for all the TLC she is giving her. I didn't get any sleep on the flight from Phil to Venice. Arrived in Venice in June 27 th. we were able to navigate the twist and turns without much problem. Visited the Doge Palace, St. marks Basillica, the Jewish Ghetto, rode on a gondola, a vaporetta, and went to an Italian pub on Thursday to watch Italy beat Germany in the European soccer semi finals. Venice was lovely. I never felt frightened and it was so wonderful not to deal with traffic. Everyone was so friendly. They treat all tourists with kindness. Paloza del Giglio is the hotel in which we stayed. They were super helpful with great restaurant "non tourist" restaurants. Very close to the water taxi boarding site and a pleasant walking distance to all the sites. Let's see if I can upload some pics.

July 10-Asiago-Yum Cheese!!

Had to wait to visit this place until Howard had gone home.  He has an aversion to cheese of all kinds.  However, can eat pizza.  I don't get it.  But it is for real. 

This little mountain side town (Dolomites, often referred to as the foothills of the Alps), Asiago, is a charming touristy town.  Buildings are painted bright colors, there are shops all over the town's center including a Gelato shop that, honestly Howard, was not as good as the ones you and I have had. And I only got one scoop.  Buddy got 2. 

Made a huge investment into chocolate, for Howard.  Bought Asiago ham and Asiago Chees (aged 3 years and hard)  MMMMM. 

Buddy and I tried to find all these cheese places and only found one.  Asiago cheese.  Get it?  It was fun and just a short drive from Vicenza.