Europe 2023

Our weather here in Venice has been very "italian" - a little temperamental and unpredictable. All four seasons in one day. We have dodged a few showers - but it hasn't stopped us doing what we planned to do. This morning the sun is shining and the locals (and us) have smiles on our faces. Yesterday we took the boat out to the island of Murano. We walked both sides of the island's central canal past dozens of shops loaded with all sorts of goodies - but mostly the handcrafted glassware that Murano is famous for. I rather liked a full-sized solid glass violin mounted on a light base to illuminate the glass. But at 48,000 euros I decided to pass it by! Here are some of the pics we took: View down the central canal on Murano Glass in all directions Brenda enjoying the view from our canal-side table while waiting for the food Our chef - surveying his outside clientele! What a character! His food was "molto bene" (Penne Amatriciana for Brenda & Sea bass Ravio...

Well we promised a review of the  "Bar al Vecio Calice". One of the secrets for dining out in Italy - avoid the tourist spots. We walked for 20 minutes along the waterfront until we got to this place. We were the only tourists - every one else spoke perfect Italian and nodded to each other and were on first name terms with the waiter. If the locals like it - then it's gotta be good - and it was! This place specialises in "cicchettii" - street food as small plates. See the pic below: The wooden platter has some partly eaten prosciutto toasts (glorified ham & cheese toasties).  The others all feature a baguette base with a variety of seafood toppings - smoked tuna, pickled sardine, creamed codfish and grilled prawn. Very delicious, super cheap and so Veneto! Our readers will need to get used to seeing pics of tempting dishes. Italian and French cuisines are among the very best. We came here firstly for the food and wine, and then some of that cultural stuff to...

Yesterday was our last day in Austria. Today we flew from Zurich to Venice to start our four week trip around Italy.  Before leaving Austria, we had dinner at Franz's Dad's place. A traditional cooking method in this part of the world is based on raclette cheese, The raclette grill (see pic below) has an upper level in the form of a hot-plate for grilling raw items (meat, fish and any veggies) - and a lower level with individual trays used to grill the raclette cheese atop any pre-cooked items (like slices of boiled potato). Some salads and a range of mustards and other sauces, provide the accompaniments to complete the dish. Diners help themselves to their preferred ingredients and load them on the grill. You cook just a few items at a time, and eat them while the next lot are cooking. It's a lot of fun and very sociable way of dining. Much like the old fondu sets but with a lot more variety of ingredients and taste. It was delicious, and we thank Franz and his Dad for the...

The weather is ok for flying. (Where are those thunderstorms when you need them)! Joking aside, we have been lucky to find a good patch in the weather - so we head off to the local airfield. The plan is - I shall be co-pilot and Brenda will be jumping from the plane. As you can see below - our plane (a Cessna Caravan) awaits us on the tarmac. First - the girls need to get suited up.... Ellen has jumped many times. But for Brenda - this is a first! So - once everyone is geared up - it's time to board the plane. As you can see below, the cockpit is a bit smaller than a Boeing 747. Ummm - where's the start button? With any luck, as the co-pilot, my aviation skills (limited to flying drones) will not be needed! Beside me, our Pilot - Michael - seems to have it all under control. Of course Brenda is doing a tandem jump and she will be wearing a guy on her back "Jo" - who will be in charge of the chute. Once the plane gets to an altitude of 14,500 feet, the jump door opens ...

After 23 hours of uneventful airtime, we got to meet our welcoming committee at Zurich airport... Ellen and Franz With almost no sleep in the last 48 hours, we were keen to get to bed. But our hosts had other ideas. Our daughter Ellen dragged Brenda away for a climb up a mountain!   I politely refused in favour of a cold beer at the local pub with Franz. Apparently I missed out on some great views. Ellen and Franz live in Switzerland in a village called Diepoldsau. The village is on an island created by an offshoot of the Rhine river. We are staying in the village of Hohenems which is in Austria - but five minutes away in the car (just make sure you got your passport). Dinner that night was at a local tavern with a nice garden area for outside dining - a good option when the temp is in the mid twenties. However a local thunderstorm interrupted our plans and we hastily retreated to the cellar! After a much needed night of sleep - we got picked up by Ellen and Franz for a quick ...

....before we leave for Europe on Wednesday.  If you are familiar with this Blogger format - then ignore this paragraph! If you are not - then here are some helpful tips....   All of our posts will appear in chronological order with the latest at the top of the page. To view any older posts -  just scroll down and hit " READ MORE ". You can also hit the "Archive" pulldown on the left of the screen to see a short highlight of older blogs and then choose one by hitting the  " READ MORE ". If you want to view any pic in a larger format - you will need to have hit the  " READ MORE " to fully open that post, and then  just click on the pic you want to enlarge (to close it and return to normal format - hit the X up on the right). Try it out on the map pic below. You can view the blog on any internet connected device - but it looks better on your laptop or tablet, rather than a phone. Anyway, I hope you enjoy, and feel free to add any comments. So, this...