Italy

Friday, after we left Lucerne, we drove to Italy.

Once we came out of the alps on the Italian side via a long tunnel, we entered a new world!  The snow was really deep, the sky was shrouded in clouds and it was snowing lightly. We stopped for a pit stop at a rest stop, then continued through Milan and on to Vicenza.  While we passed a lot of vineyards, we also passed lots of cities.  Vicenza was bigger than I thought it would be.  We drove around the military base several times looking for the entrance in.  It was on the first road we came down, but hidden behind green fencing and could only be accessed if driving west.  We asked directions a couple of times... but still found lots of places that were not right, before finally getting to the entrance.  It took us 45 minutes of driving to find it.  Not our finest hour.

We stopped by the commissary and then drove to the lodging.  It has a kitchenette, living room with fold-out sofa, and a bedroom with queen bed.

Saturday we went to Verona--  of Romeo and Juliette fame.  I was fascinated by the age of the structures.  Tom and I spent some time scrambling around an old Roman Arena.  It was built like a coliseum with arched entrances and stone seating. It's still used today and it was built in 4AD.  Wow!  How did they do it?

I love the more colorful houses of Italy.  The balconies, shutters, archways and hanging vines all fulfill my vision of what Italy should look like.  It's so picturesque in a way that's quite different from Switzerland.

Saturday we went to Verona. Here is the arch to the old city.

They had a 4AD Roman arena there that Tom and I toured.

We toured a castle on the riverside and then went into the art museum there.  The art was mostly from Verona and from the 13 and 14 th centuries.  So it all had a religious theme.  Some were very lovely and well done.  It's amazing how oil and paint can look so lifelike... and after so many years.

We walked across this beautiful bridge.  The castle is right on the edge of this river and the bridge comes out right where the castle is.

 Beautiful Verona houses.

 We returned to the car for a late lunch and when we came out from the parking structure, it was raining.  So we walked in the rain to the cathedral.  Again, it had amazing detail on the inside.

By then we had tired, damp feet so we trekked back to the car.

The GPS, which had brought us to Verona on the toll road, decided to take us back on surface streets.  A better view of the scenery... but lots of round-abouts!  Dan finally ignored it, took the sign for the A4, and got us back on the main highway.

We dined at the PX eatery.  Here in Italy, restaurants close between 5-7 so if you  want dinner, you need to eat late.

Today we made it to church.  On the map it looked pretty simple.  The GPS took us all over the place... and we finally got there.  It was the pink building next to the massage parlor. We had to park across the street at the school.  It was comforting to talk to Carlie, Rebecca's friend from high school (Okinawa), and have her say that her GPS will take her a different route every time she goes one direction.

It was fun to be in a military ward.  Today was fast Sunday.  We had an early dinner of sandwiches and left-overs and then did a little sight seeing of  Vicenza.  We saw a cathedral and clock tower.  Lots of cobblestone and some parks. Beautiful old buildings.