It is always nice to have business cards when you are traveling around in Italy. Even if you don't use them normally, it is a nice convenience. They don't really have to be "business" cards. They can just have your name and address on them - calling cards really.

And you can even order 250 from Vista Print.  You just have to pay a modest amount for postage. It works out to be very cost effective.  Just click on the banner below and you will see they have a great selection of attractive designs to choose from.

The third day of our trip took us to Venice via Verona.

We arrived in Verona about 9:30 and the first place we went was the Basilica of San Zeno.

Basilica di San Zeno - Verona, Italy

This is a beautiful cathedral in the Romanesque style. It is quite old dating from 967 A.D.  Since is was built on an earlier site of the tomb of St. Zeno, you can see it is a very old church. And it had a very palpable feeling of being a sacred location.

From there we went on to see the Arena of Verona, a Roman amphitheatre built in AD 30 and still in use today.

Piazza Bra and Arena in Verona

Unfortunately, we were not there to see a performance but that would make a good reason to return. It would be a lot of fun to see an operatic performance of say, Aida, there.

The last stop on our itinerary in Verona was Juliet's balcony. And it was really lovely too, as you can see from the photo.

Leaving Verona, we continued on to a small town called Valeggio for lunch. I wish I had written down the name of the restaurant because I remember it as being one of the very best meals of the entire trip. I remember it as being out in the country, not in a town. Not that that is much help.

According to the planned itinerary for the day, we were also supposed to stop to tour the garden at the Villa Sigurta' but we ran out of time and did not stop there. So that is another place to visit on another trip because by all reports it is very beautiful.

Then we continued on to Venice, passing through beautiful scenery in the Veneto and could catch brief glimpses of some of the Palladian villas in the area.

We arrived in Mestre where we left our bus and got on the train for the last segment of the journey to Venice. What a treat to arrive in Venice via the train, walk out of the train station and find yourself in a world without cars and only boats for transportation. The buildings rising up out of the water like a fantasy illusion. It was breathtaking. Next was the water bus to the dock near our hotel. Then walking towards our hotel we came to Piazza San Marco. Entering the Piazza stopped me in my tracks it was so beautiful. I had never before had the experience of being stopped in my tracks literally by the beauty of a place.

Photos courtesy of Wikipedia Commons.

On the second day of the trip we visited an amazing church high on a mountain built in a place that would seem to be the most unbuildable site immaginable.

The church is Santuario Madonna de la Corona. Click on the link here to see some photos and a brief description of Santuario Madonna de la Corona.

We all loved this sanctuary and it had a very holy feeling.

And let me tell you that we really got a workout that was a lot more interesting than using a stairmaster getting up there and back again. It was quite a hike. But really worth it.

And here's a quick You Tube video to give you a good idea of the location - truly amazing.

Santuario Madonna della Corona

Ciabatta Bread is the greatest if you want to make a great sandwich. But the grocery stores seem to charge an awful lot for it. But with this recipe it is so easy to make at home. I just tried the Ciabatta Bread Recipe at this site and it turned out great. There is a nice video that shows you exactly what to do. I am so happy with this site.

Another plus is that you don't need a lot of expensive equipment to make it.

One of my most precious souvenirs of Italy is the itinerary from my first trip. I decided to see if I could reconstruct the itinerary on the internet with links (where available) to the places we went.

We landed in Milan Malpensa the 16th of September (many years ago) at about 9:30 in the morning. We had our own bus and driver for the whole trip.

Our reservation for that night was in the town of Garda on Lake Garda. On the way there we traveled around Lake Como and stopped for lunch at ALBERGO RISTORANTE BELVEDERE in the town of Torno on Lake Como. What a beautiful introduction to Italy. We dined outdoors on a terrace right on the lake under the trees. I remember the food was divine.

From there we continued on our way and arrived at our Hotel "Le Terrazze" in the town of Garda. It was a sweet, modest hotel that we enjoyed. In looking for it online, it looks like they have remodeled it but I think this is the same hotel - now called Hotel Excelsior Le Terrazze. That is where we stayed for 2 nights. It was within very easy walking distance of the lake shore.

Addresses:

ALBERGO RISTORANTE BELVEDERE
P.ZA CASARTELLI 3
22020 TORNO CO
Tel: 031 419100
no website, little English spoken

Hotel Excelsior Le Terrazze
Via Marconi 6
37016 Garda
Tel: 045 7256774
Hotel Excelsior Le Terrazze

We can't think of a trip to Italy without thinking about eating well.  And a good guidebook is really going to come in handy.  The following food guide comes very highly recommended. I will definitely be buying for my next trip.

Having just returned from 3 weeks in Italy, I cannot say enough about how great this book was in directing us to terrific food where we ate with Italians, not other tourists.

Well, it's a sign of the times we live in. You used to be able to just to to a foreign country and use your credit card but these days it is better to call your credit card company ahead of time. Better add that to your checklist of trip preparations.

Here is a link to an excellent article about getting your credit cards ready to travel.

Once you've see the major sites in Rome that are in all the guidebooks, it's time to venture out a little.

Why not check out the Appian Way? Dating from 312 bc, it is one of the oldest roads in Rome and the site of much history. Followers of Spartacus were crucified here, and it is said that St Peter met Jesus here during his flight from Rome.

There are several ways to enjoy a visit there. The choices range from taking a siteseeing bus called the Archeobus, walking or bicycling. The official website, the Parco Regionale Appia Antica, (fortunately also in English) is very handy. It has pages showing the itinerary for the Archeobus, several walking routes, bicycle paths, and places to rent bicycles for the day.

You will find cafes along the way (so civilized don't you think) so you will be able to refresh with a cappuccino and a panino or even something more substantial.

If you are lucky enough to be going to Florence this year, the Florence Tourist Board has a promotion going for U.S. travelers. With the dollars/euro exchange rate the way it is these days, we need all the help we can get.

Here is a link to the page about the promotional campaign called The Fiorino Effect.

That site is packed with good information for tourists so it's a good reference.