My name is Marion Vermazen. I am a traveler, hiker, reader, Sun alumnus, computer geek, YouTuber, Spanish and French language student, knitter, weaver and genealogist.
It felt great to get a full nights sleep after spending the night before on the airplane. After a buffet breakfast at the hotel we went out exploring.
Piazza della Repubblica
Duke’s sister Jo Ann and her husband Brian flew in today. We met them at the train station about 3:15 and walked back to the hotel with them. A bit later we went out to see the Spanish Steps and the Trevi fountain.
The Spanish StepsTrevi Fountain
On the way back to the hotel we stopped for gelato.
Gelato stop
Then we walked by the presidential palace
Quirinal Palace
From the Quirinal Palace we had a great view of sunset with St Peter’s Cathedral on the horizon.
St Peter’s cathedral from in front of the presidential palace.
We made it to Rome! It was an smooth trip. Saturday we drove from Reno to the Bay Area where we had a wonderful few hours with family and friends.
Barbecue at Allie and Doug’s
Sunday evening Allison drove us to San Francisco airport. We were checked in, through security and at our gate in thirty minutes. That’s fantastic compared to our last trip when it took two hours!
Swiss Air was quite comfortable. The food was good, especially the chocolate. On the flight to Zurich I slept as much as one can expect on an airplane.
Judging by the Playa dust on her pack, the lady next to Duke had been at Burning Man and was on her way home from Black Rock City.
Dinner
We had a two hour layover in Zurich and then flew on to Rome where we caught the Leonardo Express Train straight to central Rome. From the train station our hotel was just a short walk.
Buying train ticketsWalking to the hotel.
Although We were exhausted, we went out for some dinner before sleep.
This morning Duke and I spent more than four hours getting our covid tests so that they will let us back into the U.S. We spent an hour walking to the train station, we spent an hour waiting in line for our tests, we sent an hour waiting for results and we spent an hour walking back to our room. What a zoo! But we are cleared to travel.
Waiting for our covid test results.
This afternoon we did The Rick Steves walking tour of the Duomo neighborhood of Milan. We went into the massive Duomo.
The DuomoInside the Duomo
We went down into the basement under the church and saw the archaeological remains of earlier churches.
Under the Duomo
We took the elevator and then climbed a bunch of steps to get to the roof of the Duomo. Getting an up close look at the spires and getting to see the view of Milan was very cool.
Looking down on Piazza del DuomoDuomo flying buttressOn the roof facing the back of the facade of the Duomo. The view from the roof with the Alps in the distance.
We walked through the Galleria Victor Emanuele II. And we saw the La Scala opera house.
La Scala Opera House
For dinner we ate at Spazio, a Michelin listed restaurant on the fourth floor of the Galleria Victor Emanuel II, overlooking the Piazza del Duomo. It was an absolutely perfect last supper in Europe. Tomorrow we fly home.
Homemade Tortellini filled with chicken and pepper sauceLinguine with clams and parsley sauce. Fish soupPandolce with ice cream and sour cherries.Duke at our table in Spazio
Our trip is almost over. Today we drove to Milan and returned our rental car. It is good we were doing this on a Sunday for a couple of reasons. One, although there was a lot of traffic, it was undoubtedly less than it would have been on a week day. Driving into a big city is always stressful, so it was a huge relief to get the car where it needed to be. The second advantage of arriving on a Sunday is that there was not a big toll for driving in the central city like there would have been on a weekday.
It is quite a relief to have completed 5 car rentals, driving and navigating in four different countries and maneuvering the many narrow roads and tight spaces with no mishaps!
We walked to our hotel but when we rang the buzzer no one answered. We assumed that it was because it was only 1:15 and checking time was 2:00. We shared a pizza at a nearby restaurant while we waited. Finally at 2:00 we figured out that we needed to call a number to be let in. After a few more minutes a guy arrived and we had a room.
Pizza while we wait.
For dinner we ate in a very nice restaurant, La Locanda del Gatos Rossi, located in the Galleria Victor Emmanuel II, one of the world’s first shopping malls.
Pasta with truffles and fried squash blossoms, cheese and anchovies. Steak and potatoes. Galleria Victor Emmanuel II. Our restaurant is on the left.The Duomo on our walk back to our room. Our room is behind the arched window above the KFC
Friday night our hotel was on the western shore of Lake Como. The place we are staying tonight is in the Italian Alps east of Lake Como. So this morning we took the ferry to Belagio, and then drove from there to Cornello dei Tasso.
Leaving Cadenabbia Arriving in Belagio
As we left Belagio we stopped so Duke could do a review of the Fiat 500 we have been driving. I’m thinking I may make Duke’s car reviews s regular feature of this blog!
Once we got off the main roads our drive was slow and beautiful.
Our road
Finding our B&B in Cornello dei Tasso was a bit of a challenge. Cornello dei Tasso is a medieval village that is accessible only on foot. It was an important trading center on the road north to Switzerland during the Middle Ages. But at the end of the 1500s a new road passed it by which isolated it and helped ensure it would be preserved. Our B&B is in a beautifully restored old house. Once we got to the end of the road we had to walk a quarter of a mile to get to the B&B.
Our B&B
One of the other buildings in this isolated hamlet is a Trattoria where we ate dinner. Everything was home made and delicious. The homemade pasta was the best.
Then we had cheese polenta, meat, and finally chocolate panna cotta.
Polenta with cheeseVenison Panna cotta
The whole dinner including a litre of the house wine cost €37 ($43).
Tomorrow we drive to Milan and turn in our car and Tuesday we fly home.
Marion's Blog 