Holiday Report!

Here is the full holiday report from my exciting adventures in the Italian Veneto and beyond:

Lido di Jesolo

We were staying at the seaside resort of Lido de Jesolo on the Ventian Riviera. About 20km from Venice, with a 15km long golden beach and with temperatures in the 33-35*C region the first week and more like 35-37*C the second week. You can of course imagine my disappointment on returning home to find out that it has been raining almost constantly for the duration of our absence.

The resort itself was very busy, with I'm guessing about 50% German tourists, about 40% local Italians and the rest, pretty much a cross section of Europe and beyond.

Of course though, beaches aren't really my thing, more of a last resort for when there's nothing else to do, so we booked ourselves day trips to Venice, Cortina, Verona and Lake Garda shortly after arriving. I was particularly looking forward to Venice and it didn't disappoint.

Venice

We travelled into Venice by boat from Punta Sabbioni (about 50 mins). Spectacular views of the islands on the way. It was also hot, very hot! We disembarked near the Bridge of Sighs and then arrived in the Piazza di San Marco. A beautiful square with a smaller square off to one corner, but it was very crowded as you'd expect. We went for a little wander for 2 hours down some off the narrow lanes, then had a guided tour (including a quick scoot around the Basilica), followed by the highlight of the entire holiday, the water taxi cruise down the Grand Canal. It was absolutely amazing and "I got it all down on videotape". The Gondola ride was an anti-climax after the water taxi. With some time left we then took the lift up to the top of St. Mark's Tower, from where we had a great view over the whole of Venice.

Had an interesting converation afterwards with our tour guide Alessandro, after I asked him which house on the Grand Canal was the oldest, to which he replied "the Ca' Da Mosta". Anyone keeping up will recall that I mentioned before travelling, the television program "Italy, Head to Toe" fronted by Francesco Da Mosta, which I identified as part of the driving force behind my desire to visit Italy.

I would love to go back to Venice sometime and spend a week or so there just wandering around, preferably off season when it's not so warm or crowded.

Cortina

We visited the Winter resort of Cortina, once again accompanied by Alessandro, stopping along the way at Lago di San Croce (Lake of the Holy Cross). On arrival we headeh straight for the cable car which took us up Mount Faloria. Once again I videoed the experience for posterity. This was followed by a jaunt around the lovely village of Cortina and a short trip further into the Dolomites to visit Lago di Misurina (Lake Misurina). It was of course very hot again, but there was a cool breeze which made it tolerable on this occasion.

Verona

Off to Verona and with a different Tour Guide, Luigi, who like Alessandro, also spoke very good English, and was an absolute mine of information. Verona was hot, 35*C apparently, but I must have been acclimatised by then (or so I thought, see Lake Garda) because it didnt feel too bad. We walked around the outside of the Arena then went to see Juliet's balcony and statue. Yes, I know Juliet is a fictional character, but the Capulets existed and the balcony is part of the house where they once lived. We made a quick visit to the Castle and famous bridge, before heading back to the bus where I had a conversation with Luigi about Umberto Eco, The Name Of the Rose in particular and also Manfredi, as I'd just finished reading "The Tower".

Lake Garda - Sirmione

If Verona was 35*C then I have no idea what the temperature was in Sirmione, because it was killer. First we went on a boat trip around the tip of the peninsula, taking in some wonderful views including the majestic ruins of the oldest Roman villa in Northern Italy, built by the poet Valerio Catulus in the 1st Century B.C. Coincidentally, I had just finished reading Robert Harris's "Imperium" the day previously, in which the Catulus family feature. Serendipitous!

We then climbed to the top of the castle tower before exploring the little village. The heat was intense and sweat was pouring off me. I went to seek some shelter in the shade of a tree and got several mosquito bites on the back of my legs as reward. The only time I was bitten on the whole holiday.

Other

Besides the day trips we also visited several attractions in Lido de Jesolo; A wonderful sand sculpture exhibition based on the Wild West. I forgot to take my camera, but I'll look for links later. We also went to Aqualandia for a day, seemed like fun, but it was just too hot to spend the whole day in the sun. We also went to Pirate Adventure Crazy Golf where we all got burned (did I tell you how hot it was?) All in all we had an excellent time!