Our second day started out cool and cloudy but turned into a beautiful and very warm sunny day which was perfect for discovering all that Piazza San Marco had to offer.  As we entered the square from a narrow street we were absolutely awe struck with what was in front of us!  St. Mark's Basilica is an absolutely incredible work of art both inside and out.

Outside the artwork, marble and tiles are so meticulous and breathtaking.

Inside the marble tiles are so incredibly beautiful! It is hard to believe that they are over 1100 years old and are still so vibrant.  Every time I looked at a new area of tile work, all I could see were quilt patterns…

Like this little corner of a step. I could totally see this in a quilt..ha!

And then there is all of the gold!  The inside of the Basilica just shines with all of the real gold work both on the walls, the ceilings and the special altar, Pala d"Pro. You can read more about the history of the Basilica here.

Then it was on to Doge's Palace…there are not enough words for the beauty inside this building!

I loved this carving, "Mouth of Secret Accusations".  If you look closely to his mouth, you can see an opening….if you suspected someone was an enemy of the state, you could write a note, drop it in the Mouth and the Council of Ten would deal with it.

We walked through so many amazing rooms filled with such rich life-sized artwork in the Palace, but my favorite part was when we crossed over the 'Bridge of Sighs" into the prison.  I shared this Bridge in my very first post, it was the last bit of light that prisoners would see before they were brought down into the prison to serve their time. I really loved this old door!
I just don't have enough space to share all of the pictures, but if you ever get a chance to go…..say yes!!!

We also went to The Museo Correr, which has mixed reviews, but I loved every part of it and I am NOT a true museum lover.  I truly would have loved to have spent more time here, but after 13,000 steps that morning my back was squawking at me loud enough to admit it was time to take a break.

So we decided to take that break and head over to Dal Moro's for a quick pick me up lunch and a chance to sit down and catch our breaths.  I had watched a gazillion Vlogs on Venice and Dal Moro's came up over and over as a great place for a takeaway meal, and it didn't disappoint!  
Ken got Pasta Carbonara and I got Pesto Parmasan…so good!
 We took a short walk around the block, sat on some steps very close to where Gondoliers were sitting in the water waiting for customers, along with some school girls feeding the seagulls.
The sun was warm, the scenery inviting and the food….hot and delicious!

I will finish up my Italy posts on Friday…but beware, I am already thinking about and loosely planning for another trip to Italy in 2026.

I forgot how much work it is to post everyday, especially with Typepad's wonky photo software. I took the day off yesterday but I'm back…LOL

Our last day on Lake Como had us taking "The Bernina Express" through the Swiss Alps from Tirano to St. Moritz.  It was incredibly beautiful!  We were blessed with amazing weather for sight seeing.

As we traveled along the track, we passed through this delightful community and this very inviting hotel, The Prese located in beautiful Poschiavo.  Go take a peek at the links, you won't be disappointed…lovely!

As we came into Miralago,Switzerland we passed this stunning soft mint green lake, Lago di Poschiavo.  The soft green color comes from the elements in the water.  Take a look at this video taken by someone who shared Poschiavo through a travel blog. 

We traveled higher higher on our way up the mountains and saw these sweet little villages tucked in the valleys.i think i loved these villages as much as I enjoyed seeing the Alps.

This picture was taken at the highest point on our trip and the views were absolutely breathtaking!  From this point forward we descended down the other side to St. Moritz.  I would have taken more pictures of St. Moritz but it was FREEZING and we were very under dressed to wander around. This trip was definitely a highlight and I would highly recommend taking the Bernina Express if you ever have the chance.

I will finish up with Venice next week.  I could take a week just to share what I loved about Venice, but I won't. 🙂
~
Have a wonderful weekend!!

 

Bellagio had a completely different and fun vibe.  Very chichi in comparison to the other villages that we visited.
 Lots of pricey shops, hotels and lakeside dining spots.

 Ken and I had lunch lakeside at Bar Pasticceria Rossi and I had the best soft cheese that I have ever had.  The gorgonzola was nothing short of amazing!  I didn't take very many food pictures…it just felt kind of rude at the places we dined at.

…and there were stairs, lots and lots of stairs.  These were probably the easiest stairs to navigate though with lots of cute little shops and bars lining both sides of the stair cases. I really loved the vibe here, but I probably would not want to stay here because it is very busy with tourists and definitely more pricey.

….and beautiful arches tucked into corners.

We also took a little open train ride around the hills of Bellagio seeing so much that we never would have seen on foot.  Very steep hills but so beautiful.  It was definitely worth the small amount of euros that we paid for the 25 minute ride. Bellagio is just breath taking!

Back on the ferry heading home to Varenna.
We had such a wonderful day exploring just a few of the villages on Lake Como.

Tomorrow it's off to Switzerland!

 

(Whoa, it took me a while to figure out how to embed a video here again on Typepad. With a little research I learned a few new things)

This video paints a much better picture than I could ever do with words.  Our second day on Lake Como we spent the day exploring the village of both Menaggio and Bellagio.  All 3 towns that we spent time in are equally beautiful and very different from each other.

We were so fortunate to have such a beautiful, sunny day to travel around the mid lake region!  You can see how pretty Menaggio is as we approached it. 

Menaggio is a very walk friendly village.  My knees were pretty sore from all of the stair climbing we did the day before, so I welcomed a brief reprieve.  We really loved this charming little village. The pace was a little slower and not very touristy….just beautiful!

Everywhere you look there is stunning art work.  This lovely sculpture is carved into the side of someone's home..incredible!

Or this beautiful water fountain on the greens by the Lake.  The detail is amazing!

We finished our time in Menaggio sitting down and enjoying some scrumptious Gelato,before heading across the lake to Bellagio.  So Good!

Tomorrow I will share Bellagio with you.

 

Varenna Italy

When Ken and I discussed going to Italy for our 30th Anniversary, we decided not to try to do too much but rather focus on staying in two different areas and discovering what they had to offer.
We chose to visit a few villages on Lake Como in the Northern part of Italy for 3 days and then head to Venice for 3 days with 2 full travel days on either side of those 6 days

Varenna was our home base for Lake Como and it didn't disappoint! Ken really didn't want to drive (at least for this trip), so we used the train system which is wonderful and easy to utilize in Italy, especially since we only took carry on luggage with us.  
Our apartment was an easy walk from the train station and faced this stunning lake.

As you can see from the picture, Varenna is built into a hill, so lots of stairs everywhere!  Thankfully our apartment was right behind that white van, very close to the lake, which was an easy walk for us

However…….

We walked up and down SOooo many stairs! Tucked in those stairs were little shops and delicious restaurants, along with incredible views.  There were lots of funky doors and beautiful iron gates.

One of the many beautiful gates…

 

 With all of the walking and stair climbing, we were happy to have a delicious dinner at Barr II Polo with an Aperol Spritz, some amazing pasta and a beautiful view of the lake!  Varenna is such a beautiful place to visit.
Tomorrow I will share the 2 other villages that we took a Ferry over to visit.

 

OMGoodness, we just came home from an amazing trip in Italy!  This little bridge, "The Bridge of Sighs" in Venice was one of my favorite highlights from the entire trip.  Click on the link to learn about the history behind this beautiful bridge.  It was this history that made it one of the places I really wanted to visit and I was not disappointed!  
I was very excited that we were able to walk over the bridge as well and then into the prison when we toured Doge's Palace

Today, the bridge is associated with a different legend, which tells that if a couple kisses on a sunset gondola ride under the bridge, they will be granted eternal love.
I had thought that our Gondolier was just teasing us when we went under the bridge, but I found out afterwards that he is right about the tradition, go figure!

Next week I will share more about this amazing trip that we took for our 30th Wedding Anniversary.  I feel very blessed that we were able to do this.  Of course, I loved Italy so much I am already saving and planning for a trip to a different region in 2026!

I hope you have a wonderful Weekend in your corner of the world!

As I was paying my Typepad bill recently, I looked back to see how long I have been blogging.  It's been 20 years!!  Can you believe it?  It just seems like yesterday that I discovered the world of blogging.  Back then my life was busy, busy, busy!  My days were filled with taking care of 5 children,15 Angora rabbits and a number of show dogs, along with working for a National Dog Registry and dyeing wool.  Whew…I get tired just remembering those days!  They were fun days though, very full.

A lot has changed in my life and I thought it was time to revisit the blog that I keep paying for and share some of what is new here. I look forward to reconnecting with my blogging friends again!!

 

 

 

 

This is the moment of embarking.
All auspicious signs are in place.
In the beginning, all things are hopeful.  We prepare ourselves to start anew.  Though we may be intent on the magnificent journey ahead, all things are contained in this first moment; our optimism, our faith, our resolution, our innocence.
 Deng Ming~Dao

Hello friends!

It's been a little while since I have visited here.  It's also been a longer while since I have sat at the loom without struggling with it.  This is my smaller Macomber B loom and I love so much about it but the hook tie up on the treadles makes me crazy at times. 

With the last set of towels I made, one of the hooks kept popping off the harness which had me crawling under the loom multiple times to fix it and nothing I did would make it stay on that darn lam.
Needless to say it's the reason why I took a breather from weaving.

Last week I kept looking at the loom thinking I should dust myself off and get back on the horse…umm…loom.  I watched my favorite weaving teacher Jane Stafford's videos and jumped back in!  In my enthusiasm I wound a 10 yard warp (biggest one yet for me).  Thankfully it went on the loom smoothly and the towels are weaving up without a hitch..yay!

It feels good to be weaving again!!

What an amazingly beautiful Sunday!  Not a cloud in the sky and you can feel that Spring is not far away.
This Sunday we decided to head up to Harpswell Maine.  It's one of our favorite places to stay for a long weekend.  I was sad to find that our favorite Inn (Quahog Bay Inn) has permanently closed and the new buyers don't anticipate opening it up as an inn.

We also LOVE to eat at The Dolphin and while it is closed until Spring we took an opportunity to sit on the chairs facing the ocean and just enjoy the warm sun.  A sweet little bluebird sang his beautiful song to us.  So pretty, all of it.

A trip to the end of Harpswell at Bailey's Island brought us to Lands End Beach and Gift Store.  This is such a beautiful spot and well worth visiting if you are ever in the area.  The waves are usually pretty wild in this spot where they break over the rocks and frequently you will see fishing and lobstering boats here.  Today was no exception.  That small vessel was rocking and rolling in the waves.

  I love old lobster buoys and always snap up a couple of pictures whenever I see them.

 

One last stop to Cook's Lobster and Ale House for a late lunch before heading home.  A cold glass of wine and a hot dish of fried clams hit the spot!
I have had a blog post that I have been tossing around in my mind that I hope to share with you this week if I can find the words..