24.4.09

Gettysburg

When I was in high school I read Michael Shaara's The Killer Angels, about the battle of Gettysburg, and have been amazed with the stories of the men who fought. Men such as General Lee, Longstreet, Armistead, Hancock, and Chamberlain. When Lisa's parents came to visit a couple of weeks ago, we went down to Gettysburg and spent a few days walking the battlefield and enjoying the coming of spring to that part of Pennsylvania. It was a unique opportunity to visit and walk the same ground that had been the site of such devastating destruction the first days of July in 1863. We also spent some time in the Finger Lakes, doing some hiking and enjoy the reasonably decent weather for early April.


We stayed at this great B&B on Seneca Lake on the way down to Gettysburg. The Fox and the Grapes was a beautiful old house that we had all to ourselves while we were there.


While in the Finger Lakes, we took a quick hike to Taughannock Falls, a beautiful falls of 215 ft. No picture of the falls, just Lisa, Steve and Vera walking along the trail.


Outside the Gettysburg Museum.


Lisa overlooking the field through which General Pickett and his men charged the center of the Union line.


Little Round Top


This is close to the area where the 20th Maine made it's stand at the far left flank of the Union Army and held.


The hole in the barn is from a canon ball.


We found this covered bridge just outside of the city.

15.4.09

Shameless Self-Promotion

I just started another blog to record and catalogue most of the recipes that I like. You can find it here, or look for the link on the side of this blog, Ricette Mie. I know, original. I'd appreciate your thoughts, or if you have your own favorites you'd like to add, let me know and I'll post them. I love food, so why not write about it and share the wonderfulness with everyone? Buon Appetito.

Venezia

The last stop on our fun filled tour of the beautiful country of Italy was Venezia.

By the Piazza San Marco with all of the gondole

We spent a few hours on a very packed train to get there, and then hauled our luggage onto a vaporetto and then dragged them through the streets to our little B&B, the Ca' Riccio. After we changed, we grabbed another boat and went out to visit the islands of Murano and Burano,which are known for their glass and lace work.

The islands are in the background

It was great to walk around and see all of the little shops. We continued our streak of shopping success, managing to pick up a couple of hand made vases, some linens, and a little blessing dress.

Lisa in the back "alleys" of Venice

That night we got a good dinner recommendation and had a fabulous meal of gnocchi and tagliatelle all'aragosta. After dinner we walked around the Grand Canal and the shops by the Rialto Bridge.

Lisa at the Rialto Bridge

There is so much to see and do in Venice that it was hard to try and cram it all in, in only a few days. We went through a few markets, walked through la Piazza San Marco,

Here we are in the Piazza San Marco

saw the Doge's Palace, walked over many bridges, but most notably il Ponte dei Sospiri. I think the highlight of that day was our ride in a gondola through the back streets and down the Grand Canal. It was amazing to see all of the old buildings that have had to vacate the ground floor due to the water levels. Our gondoliere was great to point out the different styles of architecture and interesting facts about the buildings as well. A gondola ride in Venice, what a great way to end our trip.

Our gondola ride

We started our long trip home from Venice, and from when we checked out of Ca' Riccio, we spent about the next 48 hours traveling. We took a vaporetto to Lido, then a bus/ferry to Pellestrina, and finally another vaporetto to Chioggia. There we were met by Nadia and her daughter Elena and spent the afternoon with them. It was great to see Elena, who was 7 months pregnant at the time, and her husband Cristian. All too soon it was time to depart and they drove us to the train station in Padova where we said goodbye and then waited for our overnight train to Rome. The next morning from Rome we caught our flight home to Rochester via JFK in New York City. Now all we can talk about it wanting to go back. Anyone wants to pay, we'll be tour guides!

Looking out at the Venetian Lagoon