Well, the time is here. We leave Venice for a week's exploration in northern Italy. It is really bittersweet leaving, as we had become quite accustomed to our new hangout on Isola San Girogio......very unique, truly special and offering a real sense of separation and quiet for us. Now we have to start back towards where we came from, but not without an opportunity to drive through the lakes region and up further north into Switzerland, ending up in Lugano at the end of the week.
The departure scenario involved dragging our suitcases down to the vaporetto stop. It is only a 7 minute walk normally, but the romantic gardern paths of gravel become a challenge with 50 pound suitcases on rollers! We made it fine, leaving at 9:00 in the morning......caught a vaporetto within 5 minutes and had smooth sailing to Piazzale Roma and the car transport center. We had spotted the Europcar office from a distance the first day we were here to buy transit passes, so had no problem locating the office. It was just a very circuitous path through the lower parking garage and back up to the street again.
Fortunately it was not croweded at all. We actually got there almost an hour earlier than we expected. This resulted in the guy behind the counter putting down his cigarette and saying "you are an hour early and your car will not be here until 11:00. You can wait, or I might be able to get you a better car faster." He let us know that the small, stick shift sub-compact we had rented was very small......and he was able to get us a nice Citroen sedan with automatic transmission for only 100 euros more for the week. Andrea said yes before we could discuss! It actually is an amazingly comfortable car and we are glad for the upgrade.
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Sun breaking through as we leave Isola San Giorgio  |
Our first agenda item was to navigate out of the Venice/Mestre complex of crazy roads and get to the autostrada. The technology of Google Maps is amazing and probably underappreciated. We plugged in our phone to the car and ApplePlay put the navigation screen up and Siri jumped in to help. It was seamless and we had no trouble winding our way out of the city.
First stop was Padova. I had purchased tickets (required 24 hours in advance) to tour the Scrovegni Capella with the cycle of Giotto frescoes. Siri got us off the highway and navigated us through the streets of Padova (really helpful because the signs for the chapel were almost non-existent). Parking looked like it might be a problem, but as we got deeper into the downtown area, we came upon a car leaving its space. Andrea got out and helped guide me in with inches to spare. We tried to figure out the self-pay meter and ticket system but gave up because the number on our parking space had faded out. We then walked about 10 minutes to the Scrovegni Chapel which is situated in a civic park and museum complex. It would have been 5 minutes, but left to our own devices without Siri, we managed to make a wrong turn!
We were 15 minutes late for our 11:30 appointment and you would have though we were going under criminal investigation. In any case, we made it in with a 12:00 group. The visitations are highly regulated (about 30 people at a time) due to the relatively small size of the chapel.
TheThe Scrovegni Chapel, also known as the Arena Chapel, is a small church, adjacent to the Augustinian monastery, the Monastero degli Eremitani in Padua, region of Veneto, Italy. The chapel and monastery are now part of the complex of the Museo Civico of Padua.
The chapel contains a fresco cycle by Giotto, completed about 1305 and considered to be an important masterpiece of Western art. In 2021, the chapel was declared part of the UNESCO World Heritage Site of the 14th-century fresco cycles comprehending 8 historical buildings in Padua city centre. Specifically the Scrovegni Chapel contains the most important frescoes that marked the beginning of a revolution in mural painting and influenced fresco technique, style, and content for a whole century.
Those who are familiar with Giotto and his work here will recognize the truly beautiful color of blue in the paintings.
One very nice feature of the complex was that the adjacent Museum had a very nice cafe in a garden which ended up being perfect for a quick lunch. We finished up pretty much on schedule, wanting to be on the road again by about 1:30 in order to arrive in Gargagnano by about 3:30 - 4:00.
Again, back in the car, Siri gave us a seamless escape from the maze of streets in Padova and back out to the A4 Autostrada. Traffic was crazy, but it all moved at good speed and we turned off the highway for the last 45 minutes of the drive up the hills to the west of Lago di Garda. The sun was starting to peak out and the drive was wonderfully scenic. The last couple of miles up to the LaFay Resort and Spa was literally a series of about 25 continuous hairpin turns going up the side of a mountain.......truly breathtaking.
The resort was a wonderful surprise.....not fully a surprise, but a bit more beautiful than we had expected. We arrived at large iron gates at the end of a long driveway where they asked our name. When we drove up to the entry, we were greeted by one person who unloaded our bags (which disappeared) someone who took the car, and a concierge who greeted us and led us into the hotel. We barely had to check in, and we were the only ones arriving at this time. They led us to a terrace with dramatic views and brought us cold hand towels and a 'refreshment' drink of fresh apple juice, ginger and soda water. After about 10 minutes of sitting and enjoying the view, the concierge led us on a tour of the property, arriving at our room.
After a couple hours of rest and a hot bath, we went up to the terrace again for a drink before dinner. At 8:00 we headed up to the second level to the Limonaia Restuarant. Everything here has been pleasant, relaxing and more than anticipated......just fantastic. The food was great (although we drank more wine than we are used to!) and we finally made it down to the room around 10:30. Quite a day!
