Last month we celebrated our 11th wedding anniversary in Sardinia. Sardinia is an Italian island in the Tyrrhenian Sea between Italy and France. It’s near Corsica, France. Sardinia is a big island and we flew into Olbia and chose to stay on the Northeastern side of the island in Porto Rotondo. This area is known as Costa Smeralda (The Emerald Coast). Costa Smeralda was developed in the 1960’s so everything is new and modern (for Italy) which has it’s good and bad points. The bathrooms were larger and more modern than on the mainland but we felt like we were in California or Florida. In the town of Porto Cervo, there were many high end stores like Bulgari, Dolce & Gabbana, Versace, Valentino, etc, but I prefer local shops with unique Sardinian treasures. Our favorite town was Santa Teresa Gallura which is older and more traditional Italian than the other towns. Andy commented that he felt sorry for people who only visit Costa Smeralda and think that that is traditional Italy, because its not.

We stayed at a nice resort that had a pool and beach access. The view from our room was amazing. The weather was hot and sunny but there was always a nice breeze that saved us. We went to Sardina in June because it gets really crowded in July and August and we do not like crowds! The resort was only half full so it was nice. We really just wanted to relax and eat good food and we accomplished both!

The food in Sardinia was spectacular. We are rarely disappointed with the food in Italy! In the second picture Andy is looking at the wine list! We had an appertivo (pre-dinner drinks accompanied by some salty snacks) in Santa Teresa Gallura which was delicious. My Bloody Mary was served in the tomato can! The presentation was so unique! We also had the worst pizza that we have ever had. Ever. More on that later.

We took at boat cruise to the La Maddalena Archipelago National Park. The park is stunning. The water was so many different colors; it was amazing! The cruise was advertised as a luxury cruise and we paid more for the VIP section which was on the top deck and had less people. There were only 13 people in the VIP section and maybe a total of 100 people on the boat. The cruise was far from luxurious. The section we were in had these plastic pillow type lounge chairs (I should have gotten a picture but I did not) and no other seating. Well, these lounge chairs were fine for short people (like me) but if one is over 6 feet tall (like Andy), they were miserable. He ended up standing for the whole cruise. There also was not enough shade on the top deck so all of us got sunburned. The music played on the boat was rap music with very explicit language. I’m sure they did not know how offensive the music was to Americans. It was really bad. The lunch on the boat was pasta served in a conch shell. It was very unique but I kept thinking how was the shell sanitized? The boat dropped us off for an hour on the island La Maddalena so we could find a bathroom, water and a snack. This is where we had the worst pizza. Ever. The restaurant we stopped at didn’t have good Google ratings but I needed water. And I may have been a bit cranky about it. We split a pizza to snack on and it was burned and tasted like cardboard. I usually LOVE the pizza in Italy. This was not good. All in all, the boat cruise was fun and the scenery was gorgeous but I would not recommend this specific cruise. I’m working on my Trip Advisor review…

We both are going back to the US for a visit this summer (well, Andy already went) but we are not planning any other trips this summer. Our older dog, Lucas is getting harder and harder to leave. He is getting worse about thunder storms, fireworks and loud noises. He wears his thunder shirt a lot and now we are trying a calming pheromone collar on him. Our dog sitter is great with him though. While we were in Sardinia, she sat with him until 1 in the morning because of fireworks in the park. Sully is fine with loud noises but car rides are frightening for him. I can’t win.

Billy and Melissa came to visit us and we were so excited for their visit. Not only because we miss them and we wanted to show them Italy but Billy had a surprise planned for Melissa. He was going to propose while they were here! Billy and Melissa are high school sweethearts that survived going to separate colleges so they have been together for many years. Since day one, our family has LOVED Melissa and we are all so happy that she will soon legally belong to us!

I was constantly checking the weather app before their arrival and the weather forecast kept getting worse by forecasting cold temperatures and rain. It rained the day they flew in but then the weather miraculously changed and we had great sunny weather for most of their stay.

Billy asked me to help pan the where and when of the proposal so of course I took over! I sent him some pics of what I was thinking and then we made it happen. We rented a private taxi boat to give us a tour of Lake Como and it would drop us off to explore the gardens of Villa Balbianello. Many famous people have gotten married at Villa Balbianello and scenes from Star Wars: Attack of the Clones (2002) and Casino Royale (2006) were shot there. The gardens are spectacular and Billy found the perfect spot to ask the big question! Thankfully, she said yes! We celebrated with some Prosecco in the boat on the way back.

Funny story… Billy had asked Andy and me to take pictures and video the proposal. That was our only job. Sometime in the delivery of the instructions to Andy I must have said that he was to record (meaning video) and I would take the pictures. Well to an engineer, record means sound. Andy is very literal. So we have great pictures and a sound recording of the proposal. No video. As I said, we had one job. When we realized our mistake, we offered them a re-do but they declined.

We enjoyed the rest of the day exploring Varenna and Bellagio by shopping and eating!

The next day we went to Stresa on Lake Maggiore and ate lunch on Isolsa dei Pescatori which is an island in the lake. Then we explored Isola Bella and toured the Baroque palace and gardens of the Borromeo family. When Stacey, Craig and Devon were here this was one of their favorite spots to visit. We even took selfies in the exact same spot and Andy was wearing the same shirt and hat!

The next part of our trip brought us to Cinque Terre and Portofino on the Mediterranean.  Andy and I had been to Cinque Terre before but we brought the dogs and it rained the whole time so we really didn’t have a chance to explore and we knew that we wanted to come back. Cinque Terre means Five Towns. You can only reach the five towns by hiking, train or boat. We parked the car at the first town and took the train to the other towns as the hiking trails were closed due to mud slides. The towns are small fishing villages with shopping and restaurants to cater to the tourists. The towns are on the side of the cliff and some of them were a hike to get to from the train station. Each town was unique and so worth the climb. I think this was Billy and Melissa’s favorite part of their vacation, not counting the proposal of course!

We then went to Venice, because as I’ve said, you have to visit Venice when you come to Italy. There is no where else quite like it. This was Andy’s and my third time. Venice is crumbing and usually crowded and hot, but as I said, it is a must see.  We did the expected and took a gondola ride, ate great food and shopped. It was raining the next morning when we woke up but that didn’t stop us from taking a  taxi boat to the island of Murano to go glass shopping. The rain lessened the crowds so it was nice. Billy, Melissa and I went into (almost) every store and Andy patiently waited for us.

Andy and I had a fantastic time with these two and we are so excited for the next chapter in their lives. But don’t worry Billy and Melissa, we won’t crash your honeymoon!

It seems like I’ve always wanted to go to Santorini, Greece. About 20 years ago, I saw Samantha Brown on the Travel Channel do an episode on Santorini and I was hooked. It always seemed like it would be too far to go and I had other places closer that I wanted to see. When we moved to Italy, I realized just how close Greece was to us and it would be just a short couple of flights, so I booked it! It did not disappoint! Or as Andy would say, “It didn’t suck”!

We stayed in Oia (EE-AH) in a canava hotel. Most of the hotels are canavas. These are the white cave like houses built into the cliffs. The sailors and fishermen used to live there. The ship captain and owners lived in mansion type houses built on top of the cliffs. The view from our room was AMAZING! Santorini is a live volcano and we had a view of the caldera. We sat on our patio and just enjoyed the view a lot! The hotel served us our breakfast every morning our our patio. It was a little chilly but the view was worth it!

The weather was sunny but cool and really windy. One day of our stay it was supposed to be less windy and warmer so we booked a catamaran sailing cruise around the island. It was so nice to get out on the water and see Santorini from a different view. The volcanic ash makes the water dark so you don’t see the turquoise blue water like you would see in the Caribbean. The iron, sulfur, and limestone from the volcano made beautiful red, black and white beaches.

When we go on vacation we want to relax, eat and drink the local flavors and sight see at our own pace. We usually don’t do tours. While on the catamaran we met a family from Long Island, NY and they told us about the Eat & Walk Santorini Food Tour that they had done. We decided to try it the next day and we had so much fun! We started out with Greek coffee, did some olive oil tasting, wine and beer tasting and of course tasted a lot of local specialties all while walking through Fira.

 

Greek food is delicious! Our guide was really fun and knowledgeable and the group we were with was fun too! We will definitely look for food walking tours in other places we travel to.

Santorini was a wonderful place to visit. We enjoyed the luxurious accommodations, the stunning scenery, the fun food tour, the catamaran and most of all the food! One of our top favorite meals we have ever eaten was at Fino in Oia. We ate dinner there one night and the food and cocktails were so amazing that we actually cancelled dinner plans elsewhere another night so we could go back there and eat again before we left!

We are back home in Italy now and we are looking forward to our visitors next week. I CAN’T WAIT TO SEE THEM!

We were able to go back to the US for a quick trip in November. My sister’s and my birthdays are 2 weeks apart and for the last couple of years we have exchanged gifts for the 15 days between her birthday and mine. So I had to go home to get (I mean give) my gifts.  I LOVE this tradition we have created. I love getting (I mean giving) gifts for 15 days! My birthday is around thanksgiving so it was perfect timing. I stayed longer than Andy because we didn’t want to leave the dogs for too long without one of us.  We also celebrated Christmas with our family while we were there. Another tradition that we have started is to sign our family tablecloth. You can barely see it in the first picture. I bought a white tablecloth and some fabric markers and we each sign the tablecloth at family dinners with our name, date and sometimes a drawing. It has been really fun. Here is a couple of pics of the gifts I got. Stacey ordered me Sully socks!

Oh, I forgot to mention that Penn Yan received 13 inches of snow while I was there. It was all plowed and delt with by the time Andy arrived! The whole reason we went in November was so that we could avoid the brutal NY winter.

But having our grandnephew stay with us made it all worth it! We had so much fun with Billy and Melissa’s kitten Ollie!

Andy and I stayed in Italy for Christmas. We missed our family and friends but we made the best of it.

We decided to go to Salzburg, Austria right before Christmas to see some snow and the Christmas Markets. We splurged and booked the Sacher Hotel. I always try to reserve a hotel that allows dogs just in case we decide to bring them. The Sacher is a five-star hotel and they welcome dogs so we brought ours. When I say welcome, I mean they spoil them. The bellmen and front desk staff all new their names and would give them treats when we entered. I’m sure it was not easy to welcome us because it rained the whole entire four days that we were there and two soaking wet dogs in their lobby was not ideal. They always seemed happy to see us though! Lucky we brought our boots!

 

Salzburg is an amazing place even in the rain and wind. We really enjoyed the Christmas Markets too. We definitely want to go back without the dogs and in nicer weather so we can explore more.

 

I wanted to do something different for New Year’s Eve so we packed up the dogs again and drove to Genoa to ring in the New Year.  I should have done more research on the city. I assumed a city on the coast of the Mediterranean would be awesome but sadly, it was not. Genoa was scummy and there wasn’t a lot to do so we left a day early.  I assumed the port would be full of shopping, restaurants and entertainment but it was empty and very much a port. When I told Stacey about it, she said it was our first Italy fail! The hotel we stayed in was supposed to be a five-star hotel but after staying at the Sacher, it in no way compared. The hotel itself was nice but the customer service was severely lacking. At least the weather was nice!

The dogs travel much better with their Thunder Shirts on. Thanks Aunt Karen!

We are still enjoying our time in Northern Italy. The weather has been mild and sunny. It is soooo beautiful here! Come visit!

Andy turned 50 years old this month. We have come to the conclusion that we don’t need or want any more stuff. What we really want are memories and experiences. I still remember going to Sedona, Arizona to celebrate my 40th birthday and we wanted to do something similar for Andy’s birthday. We decided to go to Monaco. We both like cars and boats and the weekend weather forecast was 75 and sunny, so away we went! The drive took us along the Italian coast and it was less than 4 hours.

We checked into the Fairmont Monte Carlo and had a sea view room. We have stayed at the Fairmont in Bermuda and they never disappoint. The service, food and location was great! We enjoyed sitting on our balcony watching the yachts and the hotel is located on the famous Formula One hairpin turn so we could watch the luxury cars. We see a lot of really nice cars where we live in Italy (Range Rovers, Maseratis, and the occasional red Ferrari) but in Monaco we saw Bentleys, Aston Martins, Rolls Royces and every kind of high-end sports car imaginable.

We ordered room service for dinner for many reasons. One, we could eat on our balcony and enjoy the sea view. Two, we didn’t want to get dressed up for dinner (the hotel is very fancy even though the dress code was “smart casual” which I have no idea what that even means!). Three, we were so tired of walking that we just wanted to relax! The first night we ordered sandwiches and a caesar salad. Andy said it was the best 39 euro burger he has ever had! The second night we ordered from Nobu because I figured it was our only chance to eat at a Nobu Restaurant but with further research I realized that there is one in Milan. Oh, well.

We visited the Prince’s Palace to tour the palace and see the changing of the guard and we went to the Oceanographic Museum. We really enjoyed visiting The Private Collection of Antique Cars of H.S.H Prince Rainier III.

Here are some pictures that we thought were funny…

On the way home we stopped in Nice, France. Andy and I keep track of the states in the US and countries that we have visited. The rules to count them are that we have to be there together and we have to have a sit down meal. It does not count it if we never leave the airport or just get fast food for the car ride as we pass through. So in order to count France, we had to have lunch. Nice was really busy and warm for October. I cannot even imagine how busy it is during peak season!

 

The Mediterranean Sea is so beautiful. We will definitely go back…

 

 

When visiting Italy YOU MUST VISIT VENICE! There is no other place in the world like it. Our family loves the water and boats so Venice is perfect for us. The only negative about Venice is that everyone who visits Italy visits Venice so it is VERY crowded! The first time Andy and I went to Venice was in March of 2017 and it was 65 and sunny and it was in the off season so the crowds weren’t too bad. When Andy, Stacey, Craig and Devon and I went in August it was so hot and crowded! It still was an amazing trip but it’s much better in the off season.

 

We stayed in a great hotel filled with Murano glass chandeliers. These chandeliers are so intricate. The hotel offered a private taxi boat to Murano to tour a glass factory. We signed up because our vaporetto (public boat taxi) ride the day before was long, hot and crowded. The private boat taxis are the way to go as they are not that much more expensive and totally worth it! The tour of the glass factory was familiar because we all have toured Corning Glass in Corning, NY. The tour ended in the showroom where they tried to sell us expensive Murano glass chandeliers and such. We bought a few bracelets and Christmas ornaments so I’m sure they were disappointed with our sales. 🙂

 

When in Venice you must also take a gondola ride. It’s the only way to truly experience Venice. Venice is literally crumbling. The streets are narrow, crowded and dark.  I can’t imagine how people got around before Google Maps. The water is the best way to travel.

 

Craig and I had the best black cherry gelato and we decided it was the best gelato of the trip. Craig, Devon and I found the BEST candy store, Captain Candy. We ate good meals and had a great time even though it was hot and crowded 🙂

 

These three came to visit us for two weeks. My sister Stacey and her two youngest boys, Craig and Devon. Her oldest, Billy was back in the US adulting. He has a real job now and real responsibilities. (I’m so proud of you Billy!) We hope that he and his girlfriend Melissa can come visit us next year.

WE ALL HAD SO MUCH FUN! It was so nice having them here. I will not mention how empty our house feels now, or that the dogs and cats are lonely without all of their loving attention. Andy actually took the whole two weeks off (he hasn’t done that since our honeymoon to Hawaii 10 years ago). He had to take the first week off because his office was shut down but I’m still proud of him for actually relaxing! All of Italy takes vacation in August. I’m not kidding. Everyone takes at least two weeks but some take four to six weeks off. Everyone goes to the sea, lakes or the mountains and the cities are dead. Our little town (Biassono) and Monza were ghost towns. Literally. We actually found parking places but also found signs on restaurant and store doors that said they’d be back in two weeks. Milan and Rome didn’t have their usual traffic either.

I tried to plan as much as possible while they were here but also I knew that we would all need down time too. When we were home “The Family Guy” was constantly on the TV and Stacey and I read books. We traveled to Lake Como (Varenna and Bellagio), Venice, Lake Maggiore (Stresa), Milan, Monza, Lake Lugano (Lugano, Switzerland), Pisa, Cortona, and Rome. We owe a big thank you to Andy for driving the five of us around everywhere! The drive home from Rome was a long one but we all made the best of it. We all ranked the destinations/experiences and we all picked Stresa as our favorite. We all really liked the lakes because we all are lake people. We rode in car taxis, private boat taxis, a car ferry, a vaporetto  (water bus in Venice), we rented a motorboat on Lake Lugano in Switzerland and we rode in a gondola in Venice. We took a walking tour of Rome and saw the Vatican. We relaxed by the Mediterranean Sea. We went to street markets and we shopped in quaint stores. We ate fantastic food but I think the pizza was still our favorite! It really was an amazing vacation. I’m going to post about each place individually because they all were so uniquely special.

I wish the vacation didn’t have to end but we all had to go back to reality. I hope we showed the Gerhardts why we like Italy and it’s not all about the fantastic pizza!

Who is coming to visit us next???

Andy and I are both back home in Italy. He was in the US for work but staying at our house in Penn Yan for 10 days. He flew back to Italy and three days later I flew to the US for two weeks. We took separate vacations (well mine was a vacation) because we wanted one of us to be here with the dogs. They are so spoiled and we don’t like to leave them! We hired someone to come in and let them out at lunch while I was away. She and Andy sent me pictures of them. We even sent Sully to Doggy Day Camp for a day while Andy was out of town. We both agreed that that was too long to be apart so we need to figure something else out so we both can come to Penn Yan for Thanksgiving.

Home is a funny word.

I think of Biassono, Italy as my home now but Penn Yan will ALWAYS be my home. Penn Yan is where most of my family and friends are and Polock Point on Keuka Lake is my Happy Place. Polock Point has been in my Mom’s side of the family for probably close to 200 years. Although my father gave it its name of Polock Point! It is about 50 feet of lakefront with very little parking just past Keuka College. It’s basically a place to keep our boats, swim and cook out. Cheeseburgers taste the best when my Dad cooks them over the campfire at the lake! My whole family loves the lake lot. Especially my nephews as they are up there every chance that they can get. I was lucky to be able to spend another 4th of July there.

I was able to catch up with a lot of people while I was home but I did miss a few. I enjoyed eating almost every meal out although I did gain a few pounds! I’m very blessed to have a great family and group of friends. I miss you all terribly (but you know what I miss the most, Wegmans!) and hope you all will come visit. I’m serious.

We leased our house from a marvelous British woman who has been a wealth of information to us. She has been here for over 30 years and still remembers how overwhelming it was when she arrived. She is one of the founding members of The Benvenuto International Club of Monza. The Benvenuto Club is basically a club for women who speak English. The members are from Italy, America, Australia, Great Britain, etc. The Club runs from September to June so it is winding down for the summer but she invited me to the June meeting. Most Italians travel in July and August. I am told July is the hottest month so the wealthy go to the lakes or to the mountains to cool off.

I went to the June meeting which led to an invitation to the year-end dinner party where husbands are invited. I guess usually this dinner is held at a fancy restaurant in the Monza Park. The ladies would all buy a new dress and go all out but this year they wanted to try something different and the dinner was held at a bar and had a country band. Andy and I went. The band sang American county music and had line dancers. It was very weird. The last time I was in a Country bar with line dancers was probably in Rochester in the 90’s!

After attending the dinner, I was asked to join a book club. I love to read and this was right up my alley! One of the nice things about not working while I’m in Italy is that I have had a chance to catch up on my reading. I’m kind of an obsessive reader and once I get into a good book, I cannot put it down. But, I’m not nearly as obsessed as my sister who reads hundreds of books every year and will read while brushing her teeth. Not kidding. Anyway, I assumed this book club was like other book clubs where you all read the same book for a month and then discuss it next month. Nope, this one was different.
This book club was held at the Monza Sporting Club and it started at 10am with coffee and a brioche (which is my new favorite pastry) outside by the pool. Then we all went to the library in the Sporting Club and chose books (and had a glass of prosecco and more pastries). The book club cost 20 euro per person and the club buys 3-4 new books a month. The members can donate books if they are approved by the club. While choosing books, the members will suggest books for people and give a quick summary. It’s all very informal and fun! I chose four books on the recommendation of others. I probably would have never chosen these books on my own but they came so highly recommended I couldn’t resist. Unfortunately I won’t be able to attend the next Book Club meeting as I will be in the US but I am looking forward to the next meeting after that!

I joined some of the ladies and had lunch afterwards at the Sporting Club. They all were so nice and helped me decipher the menu! Ha ha! I was there until 3pm. Eating in Italy is not a quick experience. It is meant to be enjoyed and not rushed!  There was more prosecco and gelato (ice cream) at lunch so I was happy!

The best part of the day was that I may have a lead on a pet sitter. She is the daughter of one of the Benvenuto Club members from Houston. She is coming to our house tomorrow to meet our pets. Pray that they (Sully) will be on their best behavior!

 

Last weekend we packed the dogs in the car and headed to Verona. It is only a couple of hours drive but sometimes I just need to get out of the house 🙂 We stayed in a great hotel within walking distance to the Verona sights. As we were driving to Verona, we passed many exits for Lake Garda on the Autostrade. All the exits were backed up down the highway with campers and cars towing boats. We were just at Lake Garda last weekend and it was crowded but not as bad as that! I didn’t figure out why until we checked in the the hotel and the receptionist told me it was a national holiday. Oops. I’ll check that before I make reservations next time!

Traveling with the dogs is a mixed bag. Most hotels accept pets but some only allow small dogs. Our dogs are not small! Sometimes we have to pay an extra fee. We never leave them alone in the room because I’m sure that they would bark. We take turns eating breakfast so one of us can stay in the room with the dogs. We enjoy their company but we cannot see a lot of places because they are not allowed. We still haven’t found a dog sitter yet because I am a nervous Nelly when it comes to leaving my pets and I need a person that speaks English. Our vet here speaks English but there are just some words that do not translate well and a lot is lost in the translation.

We saw the Verona Arena but we didn’t take a tour because of the dogs. The Arena is still used for concerts and there is a famous Opera Festival there every summer. It was fascinating to see how big it was. The line to see the Arena was long and it was in the mid 80’s so we probably wouldn’t have wanted to stand in it anyway! We will tour the Roman Coliseum in August when Stacey, Craig and Devon are here.

The Arena is located in Piazza Bra and that is where we had lunch. There was a strong Italian Armed Forces presence there.

We then went to another famous Piazza, Piazza Erbe to do a little street shopping.

 

It was so hot and the dogs were melting so we headed back to our hotel and on the way we stopped at Castelvecchio.  Castelvecchio is on the Adige River which is the second longest river in Italy. The views were (as I have said many times before) stunning.

We relaxed in the air-conditioning for awhile before going to a pizza place for dinner. We sat outside and next door was the best gelato that we have ever had at Gelateria La Romana! They had really great prices and service but the best part was the chocolate or creme that they put in the inside at the bottom of the cone before they put the ice-cream in. It’s just a drop but it melts and covers the cone so it doesn’t leak and it tastes delicious!  It’s a nice treat at the end of a nice treat!

Verona is a really cool city. I didn’t realize how big it is. We will definitely go back even if it’s only for the gelato!