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| 20 Aug 2006 08:05:06 pm |
 Lago di Garda Vacation |
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August 12 - 19, 2006: In Italy, the month of August is the sacred vacation month, where on a good day you can still find a pizzeria open and on a bad day... well... go fishing! The middle week of August is at the pinnacle of this exodus and we made like Italians to Lago di Garda or Lake Garda. Lake Garda is the largest lake in Italy and is located in Northern Italy, about halfway between Venice and Milan. Think of a more beautiful Lake Tahoe with little villages, better food, and more Germans. Yes, I said Germans, who come down the A22 expressway in truckloads to enjoy the lake atmosphere, wind surfing, and sunshine. Germans aside, the place is magnificent with 1000 meter mountains and a deep blue lake sprinkled with medieval villages on all sides. We rented a residence or small apartment of 40m2 and it was perfect with a small kitchen, nice veranda with room to sunbathe or eat a lunch, and access to the pool! The trip was uber relaxing with lazy days spent reading, swimming, playing tennis, and a little napping to boot. We finished the trip with a visit to a friend's recreation home in the Dolimiti (or Dolimite Mountains) north of Trento and enjoyed a grand lunch under the pink mountains. Thanks Enzo and Anna!!
Overall... another fond memory of Italy! |
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Posted By : John
| Category : News |  Comments[96] |  Trackbacks [0]
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| 07 Aug 2006 11:47:55 pm |
| French Riveria and Italy with Swedish Friends |
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June 27 - August 7, 2006: We are always lucky when we get to spend time with our fabulous friends Josh and Lisen from Stockholm, Sweden (A listers!), but it is even better when we can spend time together for 10 great days in the French Rivera and in Italy at our home. This trip was loaded with "FUN" and at first, young Josh and Lisen had a negative image of France in their head. This misconception was quickly dismantled as we approached the cloud free skies, pounding sunshine, and clear blue sea of the Cote d'Azur! The trip was perfect with lazy days spent at the beach, excellent meals, lots of Rose', and a yacht trip to Juan les Pin and the Cap de Antibes (ok - it was a 6 meter dingy with a Vespa motor but it was all ours and it was fantastic). All the luxury was made possible from our other great friends Vincent and Helene Diotte. Helene generously allowed us to use her flat on the beach as she is away for the summer and Vincent and Valerie were the hosts du jour and took care of our every need. Merci Beaucoup!!!!
We then returned to Torino for a decedent meal with friends of fois gras, French cheese, Bordeaux and Sauternes wine and all the accoutrements. Wow... this simple meal was just gorgeous and although not an everyday event... well worth it! The Italian part of the vacation continued with tours of Torino and the museums (since I was at work  ), a trip to the Alps to see the town of Aosta and the medieval castle at Fenis, and lots of the local cuisine. A wonderful 10 days and thanks to the Josh and Lisen for the memory filled trip and we cannot wait to see you both again soon!!! |
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Posted By : donut
| Category : News | Comments[98] | Trackbacks [0]
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| 07 Aug 2006 11:47:00 pm |
| NEW PHOTOS - French Riveria and Italy with Swedish Friends |
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Nice Summer 2006 - French Riveria and Italy with Swedish Friends |
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Posted By : donut
| Category : Recent Photos | Comments[96] | Trackbacks [0]
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| 07 Aug 2006 11:44:46 pm |
| Mediterranean Cruise: Greece, Turkey, Croatia |
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July 16 - 23, 2006: CRUISIN'!! The result of the wife induced mandatory vacation was a week on Royal Caribbean's Spendour of the Seas and a much needed break. Our week spend cruising the Med was fantastic and just what the doctor or in this case nurse Lisa ordered. Here are some of the highlights: we started in Venice and had 2 relaxing days at sea. This was perfect as we took some pilates, a spa, relaxed by the pool, enjoyed the art auction (and actually won a couple raffles), and enjoyed the nightly entertainment and obviously... all the food! Our first port was in Turkey in the resort town of Kusadasi. The main attraction was Ephesus, a Roman ruin of excellent quality that has the Temple of Artemis, the largest building of the ancient world, according to Pausanias, and one of the Seven Wonders of the World. One wonder down (check) and 6 to go... The tour of Turkey continued with some "hard" selling by the many rug and jewelry merchants and although we managed to stay clear of those pitfalls, leather bags and Haute couture overwhelmed Lisa and I was powerless to defend. Down goes Frazier! Our next stop was our favorite and the destination was Athens. Lisa pre-booked a private tour with an excellent guide that was part Greek historian, part tour guide, part politician, part philosopher, and all parts the father from "My Big Fat Greek Wedding". Everything comes from Greece... no joke... everything... the obvious ones like democracy and cradle of civilization stuff aside... first VAT, first biological warfare, first stock exchange, first sport, first university, first guy on a boat, first guy to fish... bla! Absolutely hilarious this guy... you had to hear it and be there to believe it! The day finished with 6 course Greek late afternoon lunch that made my Top 10 Meal list with Calamari that made me weep out load. Next was well-deserved day at sea on the way to Dubrivinik, Croatia. Dubrivinik was one of the best medieval walled cities I have ever seen. It was pristine and on the water with walls crashing into the clear blue water. Although we only had 4 hours at this port... Croatia is on my return to list for the future. The trip had a good balance of activities and relax time and the icing on the cake was some of the great people we met on the cruise... especially those at table 140 for dinner. The Levin's (hope I spelled that correctly) were a delight to get to know and a couple we hope to run into again in the future! And the Hungarian Posse was inspirational with their appreciation of all things cruise and of life in general. Another great group of people to add to the list and fond memories of all!!  |
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Posted By : donut
| Category : News | Comments[87] | Trackbacks [0]
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| 07 Aug 2006 11:44:26 pm |
| NEW PHOTOS - Med Cruise 2006 |
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Med Cruise 2006 - The result of the wife induced mandatory vacation was a week on Royal Caribbean's Spendour of the Seas and a much needed break! |
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Posted By : donut
| Category : Recent Photos | Comments[98] | Trackbacks [0]
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| 07 Aug 2006 11:40:54 pm |
| Summer Skiing in Cervina |
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| July 8, 2006: While everyone in Italy is heading to the sea to beat the heat, some friends and I went north to the go glacier skiing! The destination was the glacier between Monte Rosa and Monte Cervino or the Matterhorn. These are the second and third highest peaks in Europe after Mont Blanc just up the road at around 4500 meters. The Matterhorn is perhaps the most familiar mountain in the European Alps. On the border between Switzerland and Italy, its graceful pyramid towers over the Swiss town of Zermatt and the Italian town Breuil-Cervinia in the Val Tournanche. The snow was suprisingly good and our pack of adventures (spannig from totally hard core to simply want a nice view) was full speed ahead. After 3 trams to around 3500 meters we hiked to a rustic lodge which was to be our home base, sleeping quarters, and provider of Ginepy (Valle de Aosta liquorwith aniseed flavor) for the weekend. We then skiied and hiked down to Zermatt (Swiss) and then road a 4th tram the the highest point... and then skiied all the way back down!! My compliments to Alberto and Federico for pulling the trip together and including me! Skiing in July at the top of the world... simply awesome! |
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Posted By : donut
| Category : News | Comments[98] | Trackbacks [0]
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| 07 Aug 2006 11:40:24 pm |
| NEW PHOTOS - Summer Skiing in Cervina |
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Cervina Summer Ski - Skiing summer adventrure in Cervina Italy! |
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Posted By : donut
| Category : Recent Photos | Comments[98] | Trackbacks [0]
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| 07 Aug 2006 11:32:47 pm |
| Monkey Loves France 2006 |
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The Nice Monkey - A little monkey fun in Nice! |
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Posted By : donut
| Category : The Monkey | Comments[96] | Trackbacks [0]
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