Venice, Italy – Hill Towns of Veneto - Day 1 - April 6

We have been to Venice several times. One cruise ended there and another cruise started there. Both times we added on several days to see as much as we could. Last time we took day trips by train to Bologna and Verona. We have walked ourselves silly just wandering the side streets of Venice. (one of our favorite things to do there) We have done 2 gondola rides and all of the tours around Venice including a couple trips to Burano, Murano and Torcello. This time we are doing a tour of the Veneto Hill Towns.

We had such a fun & relaxed group today. We had toured with Tom & Cathy way back in Auckland to the Sheep Farm and Andrea we had just met and was our only tour with her. Kareen & Al were scheduled to do this trip with us, but they had to cancel due to medical issues in the family just before the World Cruise started and we thought of them today and what a great time they missed. 

 sail into Venice

 passing St. Mark's Square

The 5 of us found Marco, our driver/guide for the day and he had a trainee with him. It was about an hour or so drive out of Venice and we passed farm land and lots of cherry trees in bloom. Then, we started to see the landscape change to see mountains.

Our first stop was in Medieval Marostica, with its imposing fortified castle and giant chess-board permanently laid-out in the town square, where the famous living game of chess is played every two years. The game revolves around a legend dating from the 15th century, when the fate of one young lady was decided on by the outcome of a game of chess.

What a gorgeous place! The green mountain and the castle atop it with its’ walls spilling down and across the mountain. It looked like it was out of a fairy tale. I had seen specials on TV about the living chess game and it was interesting to see the board and the guide told us about the celebration that goes along with the game played with live horses and people. We had a bit of free time here to visit the 2 churches and pick up a quick magnet.

poster of the chess game

 Marostica Castle on the mountain top

 Greg, Annette, Tom, Cathy, Andrea

Andrea, Tom, Cathy, Annette, Greg

 Church & Monastery of S. Antonio Abate

 Scalinata Carmini (Carmini Stairway) up to the Church of the Carmini.

 the lower castle

 the chess board

There was a great food stand where the van was parked that had fresh fish and some that was cooked and ready to eat. We wished we would have gotten some of the calamari as it smelled delicious and was right out of the fryer.

Our next stop was the picturesque town of Bassano del Grappa, featuring a magnificent Palladian bridge crossing the mighty Brenta River. We enjoyed a walk around narrow streets, spacious squares and we enjoyed superb views over the surrounding hills and mountains.

As we wandered the town we encountered a large market for locals to shop. Everything from food, clothing, household items and toys were for sale. We all wished we had time to shop since the prices were dirt cheap. (priced for locals not tourists) While it “ruined” the view of the town square it made for quite the ambiance.

 view from the Palladian Bridge over the Brenta River

 

my reflection in the window with the ceramic cherries

 Palladian Bridge

Here we had the chance to sample some of the local firewater, Grappa at the Grappa Museum which was very interesting. There was a vapor room where they had at least 20 different smell stations where you pressed a button and vapor came out that you could smell the flavor of each type of grappa. Grappa comes in many flavors such as blueberry, raspberry, chocolate, various spices, lemon and many others. Then, we went for the tasting where we were given shots of 4 different kinds. Plain, Blueberry, lemon and chocolate. The chocolate was so yummy (thick and dark) and we bought a bottle to bring home. Greg also picked up some chocolate candy filled with grappa. He says the chocolate is really good, but the grappa is strong. Plain grappa tastes like firewater…it could remove the paint from a wall.

 going into the Grappa Museum

 vapor room

 our guide and the ladies at the museum

 we tasted several flavors

 The missed shot was the first look on Cathy's face when she first tasted it....

The last hill town we visited was the enchanting and elegant Asolo, the pearl of Veneto, perched on lush-green hills. We saw gardens, palatial villas, beautiful renaissance palaces and spectacular views of the surrounding countryside that have inspired poets and writers over the centuries, the likes of Robert Browning and Freya Stark.

 the drive to Asolo

 arrival at Asolo

The guide took us to his favorite place to eat and it was full of locals and no tourists. He says everything is handmade and fresh. A couple of us ordered the gnocchi which as the guide said…were like light fluffy pillows of potato filled dumplings. You could choose your sauce and I chose butter and sage. Greg ordered the baked Asiago Cheese and Polenta. Both were soooo good! Then we had chocolate crepes for dessert and they were the best ones I have ever had.

 downstairs (was full when we got there and cleared out by the time we left)

 upstairs we had to ourselves

 gnocchi

 baked Asiago Cheese and Polenta

 chocolate crepe

 the restaurant outside

 Marco acting silly

After our leisurely lunch, we went for a walk up to the fortress. It was such a charming town to walk around and is said to be among the "most beautiful borghi" of Italy.

 views from the fort

 table top with coins under the glass

 we climbed up a tower

We then continued our tour by visiting a Palladian Villa designed by Andrea Palladio. We visited Villa Barbaro where we had to put on big floppy slippers over our shoes to protect the floors. Just beautiful with its’ frescoes by Vernonese. No photos were allowed, but Greg had taken one photo before he was told not to. Oops.

 our fancy footwear

 oops......

 views from the windows

Our last stop was a casual wine tasting at a local winery located in the Prosecco wine region. OMG, the terraced slopes of thickly planted grape vines towering above and below us in the valley were stunning.

 crossing the river

 the winery

me getting a photo of the sign

 the winery

We then went into the winery for our tasting of the sparkling wine they produce only in this region. First, we tried the medium dry one, then the driest one and last the sweetest one. Personally, I preferred the sweet one, though all were pretty good. Then, they brought out one last one that was a Rose’ Prosecco which was sweet and fruity. It was the winner, so we bought a bottle of that to bring home as well. (only 8 euros)

 everyone paying for their wine

 Cathy & Tom

 Andrea

the owner

Then, it was time for the drive back to Venice. What a relaxing and fun day it was; made better by the company of our tour mates. What a great group today!

We dropped our bags in the cabin and then took the People Mover (elevated train from the cruise terminal) to Piazzale Roma which is the transportation center in Venice and the last place where vehicles can go. From there you can walk or take the local vaporetto (inexpensive water bus) to stop anywhere you want along the Grand Canal. We originally planned to buy a 24 hour ticket and ride down the canal at night and stop at Piazza San Marco, but we scrapped that idea so we could have dinner and get back to the ship for the second evening performance of the Venetian Chamber Orchestra. Sometimes in the ports Princess brings on local entertainment and the shows are normally excellent.

We walked a while in search of dinner. Finally, an out of the way place with only locals called out to us and we found cheap (for Venice), and good pizza. We had a table by the window so we could people watch as the locals were rushing to get where ever they were going after work. We then went in search of our favorite gelato place. I found a shop with some nice Murano glass jewelry.

 the restaurant

 walking back to the people mover

It was time to wander our way back to Piazzale Roma to grab the People Mover back to the ship to make the 9:30 show. We ran into Bob & Phyllis at the train station (where we were scoping out gelato for the next day) as they had just gotten back from Verona.

The Venetian Chamber Orchestra was amazing. They were dressed in costume and had 2 lead singers that occasionally performed opera. Yes, the little soprano woman could have broken glass. It was rather cheeky and her performance was humorous.

Time for some much needed rest for our second day in Venice tomorrow!