Lake Como and Dinner in Switzerland

An appetizer of lardo.


Gene and Sandrini in the cantina.


Polenta on the fire.


Our view of Lake Como from the balcony.

We are roughing it in Tremezzo on Lake Como. As guests of Joan and Gene Cervelli, we have the downstairs suite, just off the pool. The home they are renting for the next eight weeks sits high in the hills above the water . . . and yesterday we hiked all the way down (and back up!). You can see snow on the distant peaks, eagles soaring above the lake and boats scurrying back and forth. What a pleasant spot!

Last night we drove into Switzerland, just a few miles away, to have dinner at Grotto Bundi owned by Stefano and Sandrini Romelli. Stefano's cousin Don was on the boat with us in Croatia and Don told us all about this restaurant. The restaurant is built into the side of a mountain, and the "cantina" is a storage room with vents dug into the rock. Cold air pours out of the holes and keeps the cantina cold. This is where they store their wine, sausages, cornmeal to make the polenta, and other perishables.

Polenta is their specialty, and they make it twice a day on an open fire on the second floor of the restaurant. We ate outside, under huge trees, along side the street. We had called ahead and told them we were coming and were looking forward to a dinner of oso buco (their Tuesday special). When we arrived, they were out of oso buco. As a consolation, they served us a "typical" meal of deboned quail, rabbit, beef, white beans and mortadella (a type of sausage), and a mushroom dish, all in wonderful sauces. An appetizer of lardo, a finely sliced bacon-type dish, preceded the dinner. Three desserts were presented, including raspberry sorbet with raisins soaked in grappa (wine). What a treat!

Don's cousin, Stefano, is every bit as entertaining as Don himself. They send their love to Don and Marilyn.

Castelrotto, Italy

This community high in the Dolomites has the most beautiful cemetery I have ever seen. Each grave is surrounded by a small, wrought iron fence, has an iron crucifix and small pot of water with pine bough laying in the water. Many have glass lanterns with candles inside.

The day I visited, church volunteers were planting flowers, pulling weeds, watering and caring for each gravesite. Family members stopped by, too, dipped water from the vessel and blessed their loved one's grave. It was very touching.

The cemetery is located behind the church with the Dolomites as a backdrop. An alcove at the rear of the cemetery is dedicated to the men who died in WWI and WWII and has a mural of a soldier and family members mourning those who died in those wars. This part of Italy belonged to Austria but was ceded to Italy at the end of WWI. The people here still speak German and educate their children in that language. All signs are in Italian and German.

Alpe di Suisi

We are high in the Italian Alps. Took a cable car to the largest meadow in Europe and the views were awesome! We are in the town of Castelrotto, German speaking, including all the schools. This part of Italy used to be Austria.

Also saw the Ice Man uncovered in 1991 . . . now a mummy in a museum.

Will post more later.

Aviano in Northern Italy

Mountain View Lodge at Aviano Air Force Base


Kayaker on Long Lake in the Dolomite foothills.


Confirmation Day at Madonna del Monte church



These past few days have been very relaxing. After arriving by train from Venice (and finding NO TAXI available) we found a "Rent-a-Wreck" to use for a few days until our Europcar was ready. The lodge sits below the magestic Dolomites. Much like Phoenix, the thunderheads build up in the afternoon, and we were blessed with cool showers on two days so far. It is hot here!

Drove one afternoon to an aqua colored lake fed by a glacial stream the same color. As we ate lunch, a kayaker rowed by. The next day we visited a church perched high on a hill overlooking Aviano . . . and discovered, by chance, that it was Confirmation Day. The excited children were led into church by the pastor.

A Few More Venice Photos

Saint Mark's Square with the tide coming in!


A gypsy girl dancing on the street next to the canal.


Gypsy musician (father of the girl?)


A grandfather teaching his grandson how to row standing up.


The top photo is Saint Mark's Square, where we sat listening to orchestra music, eating ice cream sundaes and watching as water started seeping in from the flood control grates. Soon there were large puddles and the opportunity to take a photo with the reflection of the cathedral in the water.

Venice and St. Mark's Square

We loved Venice! With a 24-hour vaporetti ticket (bus on the water) you can travel everywhere. The food was fabulous, the people watching interesting and the sights outstanding. St. Mark's cathedral is a treasure of Catholic artwork, including mosaic ceilings, bronze bigger-than-life horses atop the entry (the real ones are in the treasury), ancient carved glass challices and even the arm bone of St. George. Many of these relics have were taken from Constantinopel (sp), then Rome, then Paris, and back to Venice. It's amazing that they have survived these travel intact.

Our final night was spent listening to music in St. Mark's Square. Three orchestras compete with each other. We had ice cream sundaes and danced under the stars as the square filled up with water! It was high tide, and the water began entering the square from the flood control grates. By the time we left at 10:30 we had to wind our way via high and dry spots across the piazza to the water taxi.

Mljet National Park, Croatia

Most of Mljet Island is a national park. We anchored in a small bay, took the dinghy ashore, then went by shuttle to a small landing. From there it was a short boat ride to an island in a lake, the main landmarks being an abandoned Benedictine monastery, church and small chapel atop a hill. The chapel had a window ledge filled with small photos, bracelets and trinkets left as prayer petitions, much as you see in Mexico. The photo of Carol and Phil is at a cemetery on the hillside overlooking the small lake.