Bergamo is a large city about 40 minutes from us. We went there this past weekend for the second time. The Città Alta (“Upper Town”) is surrounded by Venetian walls built in the 16th century. The lower city is bigger and newer. We parked in the lower city and walked up hill to the Città Alta. Bergamo is not an easy city to navigate because you can’t just drive to the upper part because of ZTLs. ZTLs are everywhere in Italy and we have no idea when they will appear. A ZTL is a restricted traffic area that does not show up on the navigation system in the car but they must be avoided. If you pass through a ZTL a camera will take a picture of your license plate and you will get a ticket (a very expensive ticket, we hear) in the mail. The signs are confusing because some have times on them and we haven’t figured it all out yet. All we know is we turn around when we see one.

We parked down here and walked all the way up the hill. This is one of the reasons why Italians are thin. There is soooo much walking.

We had a great lunch in one of the piazzas. We ordered a beer that came in a wine bottle with a cork and it was so cool. The waiter made a keychain for me out of the cork. Oh, and it is served in a wine glass. The picture is of the meal Andy and I shared which is a very typical lunch in Italy, cold cuts and cheese. It was delicious. We took Sully with us. We are realizing that as Lucas gets older he enjoys staying home alone without his younger, annoying brother. He just seems happier at home sometimes.

The piazzas in Bergamo are gorgeous. This fountain has lions with the chain in their mouths. If you’ve ever walked with Sully you know that he likes to carry his leash in his mouth but the one time we asked him to do it so we could get a picture, he wouldn’t!

It was beautiful day and we really enjoyed walking around. Here are some pictures from this visit and our previous visit a month ago. The view from the upper city to the lower city is like no other.

Over the Easter weekend Andy and I took the dogs to Monterossa al Mare, one of the five villages in the Cinque Terre on the coast of the Italian Riviera. We stayed two nights and even though it was a rainy weekend, we all enjoyed ourselves. The vistas of the sea from the hillside were spectacular. The dogs were welcomed everywhere and they loved the attention. The following pics are of the dogs at dinner. They were very well behaved. We were pleasantly surprised!

When we checked into the hotel, the desk clerk told us of a lovely hike we could do with the dogs and the view of the five villages would be worth it. She said she used to hike there when she was in school and have a picnic lunch. She gave us a map and we were on our way. It was rainy so we wore our raincoats, sneakers and grabbed a bottle of water. We were totally unprepared and she totally mislead us. The hike was up a mountain with thousands (okay maybe hundreds) of steep steps and cliffs. Think of Watkins Glen but much steeper, longer and no railings! We literally hiked up to where the arrow is.

Andy and I are not seasoned hikers, yes we walk the dogs every day and we take the occasional weekend hike but we are both extremely stubborn so we continued. There was a hotel midway that we stopped at to buy some more water for us and the dogs. We probably should have turned around there but as I said, we are stubborn. As we were on the trail we passed real hikers prepared with backpacks, trekking poles, etc. If we were told how difficult the climb would be we definitely wouldn’t have gone but with hindsight, I’m glad we did. The view was breathtaking and the exercise was good for us!

The next day we were all pretty sore so we stayed in the village and enjoyed the more tame hiking trails and paths.

We did not check out the other four villages because the trail between them was closed due to the rain and we have not yet figured out how to take the train with the dogs. We know that they can go on the train but they need a European Pet Passport and we have not gotten that for them yet. Once we figure the train part out it will be much easier to travel with the dogs as parking the car is a nightmare. We lucked out and found a spot in the only parking garage in Monterossa. There are no cars allowed in Monterossa. You park the car outside the village and walk. You can’t even take a car to some of the other villages because there is absolutely no parking. The train, boat or the hiking trails are the only way to get there.

We hear that the Cinque Terre gets really busy and crowded in the summer months so we are planning a trip back in the fall to see the other towns. It’s abut a 3.5 hour drive for us but totally worth it! Maybe we will try taking the train!

Wow Stresa on Lake Maggiore, you impressed me. I was so confident that Bellagio on Lake Como was my favorite but now I’m not sure. Lake Maggiore is stunningly beautiful and the food and shopping was to die for and I could still live on my private island (Borromean Islands). Even with the parking issues (it took us over an hour to find a spot and Andy literally found one as we decided to give up and leave) you are still in the running for my favorite place.

We ate lunch at Ristorante Bar La Botte. I had the risotto with gorgonzola and pear and Andy had eggplant ravioli. Delizioso! Then we went shopping! Holy cow! I was in heaven! The shops were amazing!

When we moved here I told Andy that I wanted to get some handmade Italian dinnerware and I’ve been looking everywhere for something that I liked. I walked into Ferri Cristina and there it was. The pottery had the beautiful blues and yellows that I’m always drawn to.  Andy was waiting outside the store in the piazza and when I went out to get him to show him I was thinking that I really hoped he’d like it because if he didn’t I would be really sad. He reluctantly came in the store and as we were looking at the pieces of pottery that I liked, we noticed that the artist was Tassi. Andy’s mom’s maiden name is Tassi! SOLD! The store owner, Cristina, and her staff helped us pick out some amazing pieces. I can’t wait to go back! Upon further research, we discovered that the artist has a shop in Deruta, Italy which is about 4.5 hours from us but I’m sure we will make a visit to the shop on our way to visit Southern Italy. Maybe we are related?

Along the promenade, there were amazing palatial hotels. Hemingway stayed at the Grand Hotel Des Iles Broromees and it’s gardens were incredible. Maybe I can get Andy to make it an overnight next time we go to Stresa?

I’m not sure where we are going next weekend but I know Stresa and Lake Maggiore will be hard to beat!

The weather has been wonderful. I hate to rub it in to my Penn Yan friends but it is true. It has been 75 and sunny all week and next week looks like more of the same. We have had some rainy days but that is to be expected because it is Spring.

There is a small park at the end of our street and we walk there multiple times a day. The town provides trash baskets for the dog waste. It really keeps the park clean and it is so convenient for the dog walkers. I really appreciate it!

 

There is outdoor dining everywhere in the piazzas. It seems like every restaurant has outdoor seating. Which is very convenient when we have the dogs with us, even though they are allowed in restaurants, we prefer to eat with them outside. 🙂

We live right down the street from the Autodromo Nazionale di Monza (Monza Racetrack) which is in the Parco di Monza (Monza Park). We can hear the cars on the track from our house. It’s so cool. We walk there every weekend to see what is happening. There is a race there this weekend. The Monza Park is the largest walled park in Europe and we can walk there in 10 minutes. Also within the Park is the Villa Reale (Royal Villa) of Monza. When we were visiting Italy last year with no knowledge of living here one day, we went to the Park and now we live next to it. It’s funny how things work out.

There are many more things that I enjoy about living here. Stay tuned.

Andy and I went to Lake Garda on Sunday. I looked at the weather report all week and Sunday’s forecast was 70 and sunny. I reserved a tour to Isola del Garda which included a boat trip to the island and a tour of the gardens and villa, all with the perfect weather forecast in mind. Yeah, right. It rained and was really, really windy. Good thing we threw our windbreaker jackets in the car on the way out the door.

We had lunch at the Ristorante Da Rino and we shared a wonderful pumpkin ravioli. It was delicious. Kind of an Autumn season dish but it fit in well with the gray weather. This was my view at lunch. Still pretty spectacular.

Isola de Garda was amazing. Did I mention that I want to live on a private island? It is owned by the Borghese Cavazza family and four members of the family (3 siblings and the mom, Lady Charlotte) and their families live there year round. The kids take a boat to the mainland every day to attend school. They have renovated part of the villa to house four apartments for them. The first historical documentation of the island was in 879. Not 1879. That is not a typo. It was a monastery at one point and then the government including Napoleon was involved and then in 1800 it was sold to a private owner.

When we got off the boat we were greeted with this sign…

There are at least three Maremmano Sheepdogs on the island. They were huge. I couldn’t get a picture of them because they were under shelter due to the rain. These dogs are known for their fearless protection of their flocks. They were contained while the tour was there but there was white fur on the trails so I assume they have free run of the island . How cool for the dogs!

On the man-made part of the island there are gardens and a lawn area where I assume they hold their large events. The island can be rented for weddings and they hold concerts there. There are all of these really neat wood carvings to enhance the trails.

The Borghese Cavazza family opened the villa and island to tours to help pay for the upkeep and renovations constantly needed. I can’t even imagine how much it costs! Even though the weather was not ideal, it still was a fun day. Exploring Northern Italy with Andy is a lot of fun!

 

Exactly one year ago today, we picked up Fairytail Sullivan (Sully) from a breeder in Buffalo. I talked Andy into getting a puppy but it really wasn’t a hard sell. Andy is as crazy about dogs as I am. We were so devastated after losing our beloved Rex because it was so sudden and then when the rescue Great Pyrenees mix Baxter and Lucas did not get along and we had to re-home Baxter, we needed something to cheer us up. The Flat Coat breeder said the temperment of a  Flat Coat puppy would get along fine with (grumpy old) Lucas and he was right.

We brought him home on Good Friday and then proceeded to hide him when we had 60+ people over for the annual Easter Egg Hunt and Brunch because we felt it would be too much for him.

Boy those first six months were hell! Sully was crated in the dog room and hated it. He only let us sleep through the night when he was in bed with us and we had to wait until he was potty trained so that he could be trusted. That took six months. Six long, sleepless months. We took turns getting up in the midlle of the night. Thank God he was so cute!

This was his first bath. In the kitchen sink.

He terrorized everyone. Poor Rocky!

This is when he decided that he was too big to sit on my lap in the front seat of the car. He wanted to be in the back with his big brother. Broke my heart.

I’d say he had a pretty good first year. We moved him from Bath Road to East Lake Road in Penn Yan and then flew him to Italy. He’s been swimming and kyaking.  He has been on planes, trains, boats and automobiles! He has taken everything in stride and we could not love him any more!

HAPPY ANNIVERSARY SULLY!

 

You all know I love this adventure but there are a few things that bug me about living here. Nothing is quick or efficient in Italy. No one is in a rush or feels any urgency  (unless they are driving which will be another post). It took over a month for our internet/wireless to be hooked up and our brand new clothes dryer has been broken for 3 weeks.

But here are some things that I find really strange…

A bidet in every bathroom. No thank you. I will shower every day and not need to use anything that looks like a toilet to wash up.

Pull cords in the shower in case you fall. Good idea! I think it makes a buzzing noise but I haven’t tried it out yet. But seriously Italy, you have pull cords in the shower but no fire alarms or carbon monoxide detectors? Really? I guess you don’t want us to fall and hurt ourselves but burning up or being poisoned is okay?

Toilet flushers that are installed in the wall behind the toilets. Isn’t this a lot more expensive to install or repair if there is a problem? It would be much easier and more cost effective to have them on the tank like in the US.

Light switches outside of the room you are entering. Weird. It takes some getting used to.

Power cords that don’t fit in the electrical outlets. Some have two prongs, some have three. Some are bigger and some are smaller. It creates the need for all sorts of different adapters. This would be totally unnecessary if they were just all made the same size!

No screens on the windows. This is a second story window and I have cats!

I’m sure I will be adding to this list. Stay tuned. 🙂

All six of us have successfully relocated to Biassono, Italy near Monza and north of Milan in Northern Italy. It was crazy getting us all here. Andy and I drove to Newark Airport with Lucas and Rocky and then flew to Milan on Thursday, March 1. We were supposed to leave on Friday but there was a nor’easter headed our way and we wanted to get out before it happened. I flew back to the US on Monday the 5th by myself and drove to PY from Newark. Our nephew Billy was home from college on break so he and I drove to JFK Airport on Tuesday, March 13 with Sully and Sky and then flew to Milan. Traveling with pets is very, very expensive and it’s no joke. Especially international travel. The flight to Milan from NY is anywhere from 7-8 hours. The cats did great. Both were considered carry on baggage and were stowed under the seat in front of us. The dogs were very well behaved as we did a lot of training with them prior but they were scared to death. Lucas did better than Sully because Sully is such a wimp to begin with. I’m glad we have a couple of years before we have to get them all back home. I wish we had a private plane. 🙂

 

Having Billy here for a couple of days was great. We so enjoyed his company and can’t wait for him to come back with Melissa! We didn’t have much time with him so we took him to Bellagio and Varenna on Lake Como which is less than an hour drive. It is stunningly beautiful there and one of my favorite places so far…

 

We hated to see Billy leave but he had to get back to school. We can’t wait for the next crew to visit. It should be Craig, Stacey and Devon in June!