August 20, 2013 - Last Day in Venice

Buongiorno All,

We were up and out fairly early as we decided to have breakfast at good old McDonalds, no more 35 Euros per head for breakfast.  Egg McMuffins and OJ with tea and coffee a damn site cheaper than the hotel.  There was a light mist of rain falling as we headed back to the hotel to pick up camera's and brush our teeth.  Today we are exploring the Cannaregio district, the area were our  hotel is located.  It is also the birth place of Marco Polo 1254 who left Venice as a merchant at the age of 18.  It is now raining pretty steady so we stopped at a store and purchased two rain ponchos.  They were 5 Euros each but the lady gave us 2 for the price of one.  Our first stop is what is known as the Ghetto.  In 1516 a decree was established that all the Jews of Venice would be confined on an island called Geto.  The area was isolated by canals and access points were controlled by Christian guards.  The Jews were only allowed to leave during the day and had to wear clothes that identified them.  It was in this area that all the Jews in Venice were imprisoned during WWII.  The picture above is where they were held before being loaded on boats and taken to the train station then loaded on cars for transport to concentration camps.  There are plaques on the wall commemorating the bleak conditions and treatment of the Jew.  It is still a rather bleak area compared to other areas we have explored.

We continued exploring and walked along the canal  pictured on the left.  We have walked along many such canals and were very pleased to see how clean the canals were and not smelly even with the summer heat . Our walk took us over a number of canals and we came to Chiesa di Sant'Alvise. A church that has the most beautiful painting on the ceiling and ornate altars. Pictures are not allowed inside but Fred stood at the door and got some shots of the interior.  The picture on the right is of the church's ceiling.

Our walk took us in a circular route that brought us to the church Madonna dell'Orto that is named after a statue of the Virgin with Child found in a nearby orto (vegetable garden).  Sadly the church was not open.  Next we headed along the Fondamenta Gasparo Contarini, Callle Vecchia and Fondamenta dell'Abbazia where we arrived at the church of Santa Maria della Misericordia.  By now it had stopped raining, so off came the ponchos.  It was a nice cool day (around 26ºC), a much better day for walking.  The church was undergoing major refurbishment so we were unable to the see inside of it.  We continued walking and found a little sandwich bar near the Campo Santa Maria Nuova to have lunch.  For 10 Euros we each had a sandwich and a glass of red wine.  The owner was very friendly and a lot of locals come in just for a coffee topped off with grappa served in small espresso type cups.  I ordered another sandwich and two more glasses of wine and the owner said not to pay until we are ready to go, to relax and enjoy which was exactly what we did.  The name of the place was Milan Bar; a great little place for lunch and seeing how the locals enjoy life.

After a relaxing lunch we continued our walk.  The picture on the right is of Santa Maria dei Miracoli.  A beautiful church sheathed in gleaming white marble.  The inside is very ornate and painted with a lot of gold. They have curtains at the entrance so you cannot see into the church properly just a mere glimpse.  We did not pay the fee to enter as no picture taking was allowed.  It took us quite some time to get a picture of the front of the church as there were two tourists that stood in front of it reading a guide book and trying to figure out where to go.  Very annoying, they could have stood of to one side to do this. We saw them again later in the day, still with that lost look on their faces.

We decided to head toward to Piazza San Marco as Fred wanted to  sit in the square and enjoy a drink while listening to an orchestra. When we were here 5 years ago they had lovely classical music being played. We wandered down taking in the sites as we walked. The picture on the left is of a home on a canal that was being reinforced by timbers and bricks at the base to stop it from sinking. We have seen a few places along the canals that we have traveled that are leaning as they continue to settle.

In Piazza San Marco we found only one restaurant open that has an orchestra playing, The Florian.
We ordered a red wine for me, a Venetian Beer for Fred and a Black Cherry Sunday to share. The order was elegantly presented on a silver tray with a jug of water, puff pastry sticks, olives (it is pictured on the left).  We sat for about a good hour enjoying the music, our drinks and added treats.  The waiter took our picture once all the goodies were gone.  A tick off the bucket list.  We then headed back to the hotel to pack and relax before heading out to have our last meal in Venice.

For supper tonight, we picked a restaurant that was fairly close to the hotel.  On the outside it didn't look anything special but inside it was very pretty and rather large.  We knew we were onto a decent restaurant when the locals were getting multiple boxes of take away pizza.  For appetizers Fred had a shrimp cocktail of Venetian shrimp on soft polenta which was recommended by our waiter and I had prosciutto and melon.  My appetizer alone could have been a main meal it was that large; but it was very refreshing.  We both had pizza as our main course, mine was a K.O. which was pepperoni, peppers, tomato and mozzarella. Fred had Diavola which was a spicy salami.  The pizzas were cooked in a wood fired oven.  Dessert was cappuccino and limoncello for each of us.  A great meal to end our holiday celebration of 40 years of marriage.

Sadly we had to leave bright and early the next day for the UK.  We have had a fantastic time and explored some out of the way places in Venice.  We did not cover everything so there is still more to see if we decide to return at a future date.

Ciao we hope you have enjoyed this segment of our travels.

Sandy & Fred

August 19, 2013 - Exploring The Nooks & Crannies of Venice

Buongiorno All,

Our first full day in Venice started at a reasonable hour.  We headed down for breakfast which was buffet style plus a hot dish.  We had a bit of an eye opener once we were seated as breakfast was 35 Euros a person as we did not prebook or have it included in our stay.  We did enjoy our hot portion, Fred had a full English breakfast and I had a cheese omelet.  We also had  a couple of yummy chocolate croissants.  We had planned where we wanted to explore last evening and decided to take the hotel's shuttle to San Marco Square.  Walking would have been quicker but considering the amount of walking we had planned to do together with the predicted temperature of 30ºC, a boat ride was in order.

Once we landed at San Marco we did a quick walk around the square to take a few pictures.  It was already extremely crowded but we were heading off to explore some of the out of the way areas of San Marco and Castello districts as we had seen the major attractions five years ago.  The picture at the top is of the Bridge of Sighs; prisoners were walked across it to their execution.  Last time we were in Venice it was covered over as it was being repaired.  We continued our walk along the Grand Canal turning onto Calle San Zaccaria a very narrow street which led into Campo San Zaccaria

Our first stop was the church of San Zaccaria a Renaissance/Gothic church dedicated to the father of John the Baptist.  The inside of the church looked like a picture gallery with works by Tiepolo, Tintoretto, Van Dyck and Bellini as well as other masters.  The picture on the right is of the interior of the church.  We continued walking and did get turned around a few times.  Fred then came up with the idea of counting canals to be crossed rather than looking for street names as the guides and maps do not list all the names.

Our walk continued winding around, along and over many small canals.  We came upon the next church Santa Maria Formosa a 15th century church.  This church however was closed to the public.

The picture on the left is a sample of the views we saw as we walked through the Castello district of Venice.  It was very hot again and we ended up taking our time taking pictures and enjoying the sites.  We finally came  to Campo Santi Giovanni e Paolo.  There is a statue of Bartolomeo Colleoni a 15th century mercenary who had requested a statue in his honour be erected in front of San Marco.  The doges honoured his wish with an impressive equestrian monument in front of Scuola Grande di San Marco, which was not the San Marco he had in mind.  This brings us to the Basilica Dei Santi Giovanni e Paolo one of the largest churches in Venice. We paid the 2.50 euro fee to enter the church as we were also allowed to take pictures inside of the church.  It was a magnificent church and it holds the remains of numerous doges (a doge was a chief magistrate who held the position for life).  More pictures of the inside of the church can been seen on my Facebook page or  on our Flickr site once we have them posted.

We then meandered our way to Fondamenta Nuova for a nice walk beside the lagoon, which provided a nice breeze off it.  We had a late lunch at Algiubagio  Restaurant where we enjoyed a most wonderful and relaxing lunch looking out over the lagoon to Murano and San Michele.

A bottle of Valpolicella, appetizers were scallops for Fred and shrimps as pictured on the right for me.  I really should have known better than to order shrimp as they came with their heads on. I really had no idea how to eat them and our waiter could see I had no idea.  He gave me a quick lesson on how to get the meat out.  Fred had a good chuckle as he knows I hate those little eyes staring at me.  The appetizer was delicious and easy to eat once you know how to get at the meat of the shrimp.  Our main courses were a green tagliatelle with lobster for me and seafood ravioli with shrimp for Fred.

After lunch we meandered our way back to the hotel taking photo's along the way.  We stopped at a grocery store to get a bottle of wine for later that night.  We got much needed showers and actually had a nap as the heat was exhausting.

Refreshed we headed out for a late supper.  We meandered our way down to the Rialto Bridge and had supper on the Grand Canal.  Sadly dinner was disappointing, we were in a dark area and the bread was stale. Fred had a caprese salad that was mediocre at best and we both had grilled shrimp. We had to ask for hand towels and the service was rather poor.  To top things off the waiter asked Fred for a tip even though 12% was added to the bill as a service charge.  He had the audacity to say that that was a tax.  Fred politely told him I don't think so, me I would have been much more rude about it had I realized what he was talking about.  Well I guess wherever you go there is always someone that will try that.

We stopped to take pictures of the Rialto Bridge at night, then strolled back to the hotel stopping for gelato on the way and enjoying a glass of wine before we retiring for the night.

Ciao,

Sandy & Fred

August 18, 2013 - Celebrating 40 Years of Wedded Bliss in Venice

Buongiorno All,

We were up and out early to catch our 2 1/2 hour flight from Manchester to Venice.  The flight was full but fairly quiet even with the kids on board.  The flight was very smooth though there was a lot of cloud cover, the picture on the right is of the snow covered  Italian Alps.  Once we had landed we got through customs with no fuss at all even with my Canadian Passport.  We just showed the picture page and were waved on, no stamp or asking how long we were staying.  As we had our luggage with us (we only took carry on) we were out of the airport quickly.  After purchasing our water bus tickets to Venice, we made the short walk to the pier and to our pleasure it was only a short wait before we were on our way, disembarking at Madonna dell'Orto.

The picture on the left was taken from the water bus.  While on route to our hotel we had a bit of excitement.  There is a speed limit but a private water taxi ignored it completely, sped by causing big waves.  Needless to say our bus hit one and we got wet as the water splashed through an open window.  Fred and I only got a little wet, however, the couple across from us got totally soaked.  The driver shouted at the water taxi and apologized as he doesn't carry towels for such occasions.  It was a very hot day so getting dry wasn't an issue.  From our stop it was a short walk to The Boscolo Venezia, our home away from home for the next 3 nights.  Once we had checked in and made reservations for our dinner, it was a quick change and then we headed out to explore.  We crossed over three bridges which brought us to the Strada Nova a major shopping street that winds around and across numerous canals all the way down to the Rialto.  We wandered along checking out the various shops and stopping for photo opportunities.  The picture on the right was taken from the Rialto bridge is of a canal off the Grand Canal.

We stopped for lunch in one of the many restaurants that line the Strada Nova.  Fred ordered a birra grande and it was huge.  I don't know how he could even lift it to drink it.  I had a diet coke as it was very hot in the high 80's and I needed a cold drink.  We ordered pizza's mine was funghi and Fred's was diavola.  I then had a nice glass of red wine, had you worried didn't I.  Once lunch was finished we meandered back to the hotel to rest, cool off and clean up before supper.  We are so not used to these hot temperatures that we were exhausted.

Back at the hotel we discovered in our room a bottle of Prosecco and a card wishing us A Happy Anniversary.  Once showered and after a quick nap we enjoyed a pre-dinner drink of Prosecco before heading down to dinner.  Once we were seated we had a good laugh as we were the only couple in the garden restaurant.  When we were checking in, it was recommended that we book a reservation as the hotel was very busy.  Eventually, another couple did arrive but we still basically had the place to ourselves.  We were treated to an amuse-bouche of toast with a smoked salmon cream while we waited for our appetizers.  Our appetizers were Caprese Salads with prosciutto which were dressed with oil and pepper at the table.  Our wine was an Amarone which was presented in a special manner. At the table the bottle was opened and decanted, well swished to aerate and Fred was given a separate glass to taste it.  On his approval the wine was then served in lovely crystal balloon glasses. My main course was rigatoni with tomatoes and a tomato cream sauce and Fred had sea bass with vegetables.  We ended our dinner with chocolate molten cake with fresh fruit. We asked our waiter if he would be so kind and take a picture of us which he graciously did.
The picture on the left is of us 40 years ago on our wedding day.  The one on the right is of us today.  It was still very warm out, so after dinner we headed out for a short walk along the canal before heading back to our room.  Once back we finished our celebration with the balance of our bottle of Prosecco.

It was a wonderful anniversary day in a beautiful city.

Ciao,

Sandy & Fred

July 12, 2013 - Seaton Delaval Hall and Church Bank Cemetery

Greetings All,

Part of the reason for our trip to the North East and in particular the Newcastle area was for Fred to be able to see if he could find the gravesite of Mowat relatives (Archibald & Jane).  Some of the more recent Mowat family were born here in Wallsend which is now a suburb of Newcastle.  We headed to Holy Cross Cemetery first and it was there that Fred met Malcolm Armstrong a caretaker of sorts who advised us that the records for the burial dates Fred was looking for were not held on site.  He had an appointment but asked if we could stay for 1/2 hour and then he would assist us.  Fred gave him the names and dates of death and he made a call to Preston Cemetery where the records for all the cemeteries in the Newcastle area are held for them to get the location of the gravesite.  While we were waiting for a call back, he discovered that Holy Cross Cemetery was opened in 1919 and so we were looking in the wrong Wallsend Cemetery.  As it was taking an inordinate amount of time to get a call back he said he would go and research the information himself and would meet us at Church Bank Cemetery at 2:30 as he had a funeral at 1:15 that he had to over see.  We were quite impressed with Malcolm as we felt he was going out of his way to help us locate the gravesite.

Leaving the cemetery, we headed off to Seaton Delaval Hall.  The estate had been owned by the Delaval family since the time of the Norman Conquest.  Admiral Delaval bought the estate from a poor relative and hired architect John Vanburgh in 1718 to modernize the existing mansion. However, Vanburgh  did not think anything could be done so the place was demolished and a new Hall was built.  The work was completed in 1728 two years after the Admirals death.  The estate was then inherited by his nephew, Francis.  Francis and his family moved in right away.  The picture at the top is of the back entrance to the hall and the one on the left is what remains of the great hall with it's statues in the alcoves looking down on the floor.  In1822 the centre hall was gutted by a fire that started in the east wing fire place.  It is thought that the fire was started as a result of birds nesting in the chimney.  The house was partially restored in 1862-63 but remains a shell inside.

The house remained vacant until 1980 when Edward Delaval Henry Astley, 22nd Baron of Hastings moved into the west wing and lived there until his death in 2000.  The picture on the right is of a staircase that goes from the basement right to the top.  We found it very interesting that the only support for the heavy stone stairs was the wall into which it was imbedded.  We walked around the formal gardens before heading back to Wallsend and the Church Bank Cemetery

The picture on the left is of the entrance to the cemetery.  The small white arch beside the church was used to hold a coffin while waiting for the service in the church.  While waiting for Malcolm to arrive we wandered around the cemetery to see if we could locate the graves of Archibald or Jane Mowat, Fred's 2x great grandparents on the Mowatt side.  Malcolm arrived with plans for the cemetery and a wooden stake that he has written Archie's name and gravesite number and a mallet.  It turned out Archibald was buried in an unpurchased grave, that is, a paupers grave so there was no memorial marker. 
Malcolm located the gravesite and hammered the stick he brought with him to mark the location of Archibald's grave so Fred could take a picture.  He was unable to locate any record for the burial of Jane Mowat.  Malcolm spent a good 45 minutes with us and I learnt an amazing amount of information about the burial practices of the past.  For example, unless a cemetery is church specific most cemeteries are divided in two for the most part; Catholic and Protestant with a clear dividing line and other areas with specific designations.  In the past couples of mixed religions couldn't be buried together, although restrictions are now being lessened.  Rules governing areas of cemeteries designated Jewish are even stricter; for example, memorial stones in Hebrew, male name first regardless as to whether the spouse died first and no adornments allowed.  I also learnt that green patches between memorial stones does not mean it is an available burial site.  These areas would be graves that are unpurchased without memorial markers or better known to us as pauper graves.  Up to 4 people could be buried in one such grave.  Archibald we learnt was buried with 3 other people. Malcolm was also mystified that he could not find anything on Jane Mowat, Archie's wife.  He offered Fred his assistance should Fred come across any further details about Jane.

It has been an enjoyable and educational day.  We headed back to the hotel (Mercure George Washington Golf and Country) and relaxed on the patio by the 10th tee enjoying a pint before having supper at the hotel's restaurant.

Ta Ra,

Sandy & Fred

July 11, 2013 - Gibside and Cragside

Greetings All

Today we set off fairly early so we could be at Gibside close to the opening time. This National Trust property was a country estate that was previously owned by the Bowes-Lyon Family.  Sadly much of the estate is in ruin, the picture on the left is the remains of the orangery. The picture on the right is the remains of the manor house.  It is in such a state of disrepair that access to it is not permitted and it is fenced off.
It is now protected as a Grade II listed building to further protect the remains.

The buildings are well spaced away from each other.  We walked 4 1/2 miles around the property to see the The Column to Liberty, The Stables, and Banqueting House. The Stables and Banqueting House have been restored, unfortunately we were not allowed access to the Banquet House as we found it marked as private.

Unlike most National Trust properties the house was not the main focal point, rather it were the Chapel and Column to Liberty.  The long walk between the focal points is known as The Grand Walk.
The Chapel was built between 1760 -1812 by the Bowes-Lyon family and was a place were the family and all of the servants worshiped.  It was a stipulation of the servants employment that you attend church each Sunday.  The chapel had special boxes for the servants, the head servants and the family.
A point of major interest is that the Queen's mother was from The Bowes family line and spent time at Gibside.  We had a snack of lemon cake, tea and coffee before heading off to Cragside.

The drive to Cragside took about 55 minutes.  Cragside is the country house of Lord and Lady Armstrong.  The picture on the right is the entrance gate to the Free Tudor style house.  Built in 1863 as a modest two story country lodge it was the extended by NR Shaw to what we visited today.  The house was the first home in the world to be lit by hydro electric power.
In 1868, a hydraulic engine was installed, with water being used to power labour-saving machines such as laundry equipment, a rotisserie and a hydraulic lift.  In 1870, water from one of the estate's lakes was used to drive a Siemens dynamo in what was the world's first hydroelectric power station.  The house is surrounded by the largest rock garden in Europe, a large collection of coniferous trees and a large number of rhododendrons.
Lord and Lady Armstrong used their wealth to explore and promote science and art, this was very evident as we wandered through the house.  For the Victorian age it was a very modern house, with a sauna, a plunge pool, a games rooms and galleries.

After visiting the house we continued with an exploration of the grounds.  To the left is a picture of the first Iron Bridge in England, built in 1791 and it is one of the first metal bridge anywhere.  We could have spent a whole day here as there was so much to see and explore.  My sciatica was really acting up by now so we took the 6 mile drive around the estate.  It is a one way drive that passes lakes, trails, and a variety of landscapes.  Once we finished our drive around around the estate we headed to the formal gardens.

In order to really appreciate what we saw check out my Facebook wall and Fred's Flickr site once he gets them posted.

We now headed back to Newcastle and stopped to get a picture of the

Angel of The North.  A contemporary sculpture by Anthony Gormley.  It is a steel structure that stands 66 ft tall and has a wing span of 177 ft across with the wings angled 3.5 degrees forward. Gormely did this to create a sense of embrace.

Our last stop of the day was The Mill House.  We had a great supper here.  I opted for a cheese and meat board which was listed as an appetizer and it was huge, Fred had a lamb shank.  We then headed back to the hotel for some much needed rest and enjoyed some wine while planning for our last full day of exploring the North East, before hitting the sack.

Cheers,

Sandy & Fred

July 10, 2013 - Dunstanburgh Castle

Greetings All,

Today we headed off for another short break to Northumberland and the North East.  We took the direct route, highway driving and it was just over 3 1/2 hours to our destination, Dunstanburgh Castle. In 1313, Earl Thomas of Lancaster, cousin to Edward II of England began the construction of this massive fortress.  By the time of his execution for treason, the castle was substantially completed.  John of Gaunt, Duke of Lancaster improved the castle in the late 14th  century.
The picture at the top is from a distance and the on the the right is a closeup of the main entrance to the castle.  To get to the castle you have to walk 1.3 miles through pasture.  The sheep and cows didn't seem to care about the people but were very wary of the dogs that are allowed on leads.  We found it rather funny the signs about picking up after your dog when the pasture was full of sheep and cow dung.

There is now evidence that this site was occupied in prehistoric times but the principal remains which we saw, date from the 14th century.  During the War of the Roses (1455 - 1485) the castle was held by the Lancastrians in 1462 and 1464, the damage done then was not repaired and the castle continued to fall into disrepair.  By 1550 the castle was in a great state of decay and continued to be vandalized for its stone in the building of other places in the area.  The last private owner donated the castle to the Ministry of Works in 1929.  It is now owned by the National Trust.

We spent a good couple of hours exploring the castle and were able to get up to the top of the remaining tower.  The views of the Northumberland coastline overlooking the North Sea were wonderful, as were those of the valley to the north and the pasture towards Craster.  Craster is a small fishing village and for many years was a herring-curing business center.  Craster kippers are well known in England.  It is a very pretty village and we got some great photos.

After visiting the castle, we now headed into Newcastle for what is to be our resting place for the next 3 nights.


Ta Ra,

Sandy & Fred

July 2, 2013 - Beaumaris Castle & Plas Newydd

Helo all,

We were up and at em early to visit Beaumaris Castle.  It was built in 1295 as part of Edward I campaign to conquer North Wales.  A substantial work force was employed to construct the castle, an average of 1800 workmen, 450 stonemasons and 375 quarries on site.  Construction was plagued with a lack of funds during Edwards time.  The castle is situated on a corner of the town in the same way as Conway castle.
The castle also went through a number of owners with the various rebellions of the time but ended
back in British hands.  The castle was never completed and eventually fell into disrepair.  In 1897 the castle was brought from the crown by Lord Thomas Bulkeley and incorporated as a park into his grounds.  By this time castles in Wales had become somewhat of a tourist attraction for painters and travelers and were considered romantic.   It was visited by future Queen Victoria in 1832 and painted by Turner in 1835.  In 1950 the castle was considered by the authorities to be one of the outstanding Edwardian medieval castles of Wales and was designated  as a Grade I Listed Building.  UNESCO considers it one of the finest example of 13th & 14th century military architecture in Europe.  We spend a good hour and a quarter exploring the castle walking the walls and its inner chambers.

The last stop of our mini getaway was Plas Newydd the country seat of the Marquess of Angelsey.  The 7th Marquess still maintains rooms in the house today.  The estate can be traced back to the 15th century and the house to the 14th century.  It is situated on the Menai Strait with views over Snowdonia .  The house was greatly altered in the 18th century and now stands basically as it is today.

As it was threatening rain, we toured the gardens.  The gardens are really more of a parkland than formal gardens.  The picture on the right is of fungus growing on a tree.  We also come across a small tree house which Fred climbed up and sat inside as it was complete with seats.

We now headed into the house to explore its features.  What we saw is all that remains from the holdings of the 6th Marquess, as the 5th Marquess extravagant life style and huge spending forced the 6th to sell off everything to place the estate back into solvency.  The house was also altered to remove all traces of the 5th Marquess lifestyle.  The house also contains Rex Whistlers largest painting.

The last picture is of the First Marquess of Angelsey.  In the house they have a small museum of weapons, armory and a mannikin of the Marquess in full dress uniform.

We now headed home and have lucked out, for as we get into the car the rain started.

We hope you have enjoyed the blog.

Hwyl am Rwan Nawr,

Sandy & Fred