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  • Blog
  • Italy 2022
    • The process before leaving town...
    • About
    • Annie Hart Cool
  • Life as it appears to me

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Observations on French Travel

9/29/2015

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French "amusements" and/or observations


Energy savers!  I love this!

The lights are always out until you walk in.  Everything is sensored to read your movements.  Long dark hotel halls become light when you cross the threshold.  Hotel rooms magically light up when you enter.  Public restrooms give you just enough light to not wretch at the filth...now I know why Kensington's has travel toilet seat covers!  However it's a rare find if a toilet has a seat!


Aroma therapy!   Life's too short to not use beautiful smelly soap.

Everywhere we've been the soap has been delightful.  An explosion of fragrance and lather.  The water is hard.  French soap lathers,  SOAP brought from home does nothing.   I'm not the shopper who buys fancy soap.  I never have been.  But now I get it.  Sometimes the fragrances trigger my shoulders to relax.  I get the same response when crossing the Bourne Bridge.  Now i think, just like with cheap wine, life is too short to only use Irish Spring😃!  I'm soon to be a soap hoarder...I feel it coming on....


Eggs, eggs and more Eggs!  Farm lands aplenty!


The eggs are smaller here and luscious.  All free range.  Often from chicken coops on property. Beware of the boiled egg!  Chances are good that basket of eggs are fresh and uncooked on that breakfast buffet.  Unlike in America where dozens of boiled eggs are ready for you to grab...France wants you to boil your eggs to your liking❤️!  I love this idea!  


Butter!  Glorious Butter!


Did you know of the butter Sandwhich?   Butter is the number one condiment in France.  I wish I hadn't discovered this.  In France, people grocery shop daily.  This is for 2 reasons!   Freshness and limited storage space! Every day we see people with their baquettes under their arms and sacks of veggies.  However the butter is bought in big blocks and left out to soften.  No small sticks here, mon amie!

Butter!  Glorious Butter!


No Plastic!  No Paper!  Don't even Ask!


Global stewards, Europeans have long ago given up the free bag while shopping!  If you didn't bring a sack prepare to carry you stuff all akimbo or purchase a sack at the register!  I like it!  Americans need retraining!  FALMOUTH will soon be "plastic bag free"! There is Less trash floating around on streets here...global stewards.


Tolls ... There is no free ride!


Most highways are privately owned.  In a stretch of 20 miles you could pay 4 tolls to 4 different owners for the right to get from point a to point b!  There is some regulation on how much these private road owners can charge but we have not figured it out...

Collectively we have agreed to stop bitching about the Mass pike! 


I miss his toes!  Crazy, Right?


Remember Dick Van Dyke and Laura and their "twin bed master BEDROOM"?  In every hotel room since we've been here...twin beds!  No big deal as we are so beat at the end of each day we fall into our respective Twin and the snoring commences but... I miss the warmth of him.  The reassurance of finding his toes...crazy, right?


Enough for now


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Our Bike and Barge Itinerary!

Day 1: Individual arrival in Mantova


Day 2: Mantova, 21 mi. (35 km)


Day 3: Mantova - Governolo - Zelo, 32 mi. (50 km)

Day 4: Zelo - Ferrara - Adria, 31 mi. by bike + 37 mi. by bus (50 + 60 km)

Day 5: Adria - Po Delta Nature Reserve - Pellestrina Island, 25 mi. (40 km)

Day 6: Pellestrina Island - Venice, 19 mi. (30 km)

Day 7: Venice, free day

Day 8: Venice,
​departure following breakfast
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Mantova is one of the most beautiful towns in Northern Italy as many worldwide know artists have left their masterpieces for us to enjoy, thanks to the famous Gonzaga family! Benvenuti a Mantova!
Day 2: Mantova - round trip tour - 21 mi. (35 km)


This entire day is dedicated to the discovery of this wonderful city and its surroundings, dominated by the wealth and influences left by the Gonzaga family, who owned the city for over 400 years.

Mantova was considered one of the most important cultural cities in the Renaissance and it still maintains a lot of the landscapes and the building that made it famous during that period.

​ In the late afternoon, a local guide will lead you through the most known highlights of the town.

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Day 3: Mantova - Governolo - Zelo, 32 mi. (50 km)

After breakfast, on board, you navigate from the "lakes" of Mantova and cruise through the lush wetlands that lead to Governolo Lock, where Mantova's Mincio River flows into the Po.

​ From here, by bike, you follow the broad sweeps of the levee towards Ostiglia, renowned for its medieval fortress and fierce fighting in 1945, as the Allies drove Hitler's forces back.
Bergantino, home of the distinctive Museum of Fairground Rides and its collection of street organs, all expertly restored (and thunderous!).


This village is also in the heartland of Grana Padano, the arch-rival of Parmesan. A visit to the local cheese factory, sampling some well seasoned Grana, is a must-do.

​You meet the barge in Zelo, a sleepy village on the Canal Bianco, the waterway which runs parallel to the Po.
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Day 4: Zelo - Ferrara - Adria, 31 mi. by bike + 37 mi. by bus (50 km by bike + 60 km by bus)
Following breakfast, you will start cycling towards Ferrara. Once you have reached the town, which earned the name of "city of bicycles", you will be enchanted by the historical center, still surrounded by the old city walls.

​You will enjoy a guided town tour. From Ferrara, a short bus transfer will bring you to Adria, an ancient Greek port, famous for trading amber coming from the Baltic. It's a remarkable museum that also bears witness to its Etruscan, Roman, and Venetian Heritage.
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​Day 5: Adria - Po Delta Nature Reserve - Pellestrina Island, 25 mi. (40 km)
After a short ride on board, you cycle into the delta of the life-giving Po. This unique wetland is the prime reserve in Europe for herons and home to a sizeable colony of flamingos. Weather permitting, as you continue towards Chioggia, you can also enjoy a stop at a beach and a dip in the Adriatic - not forgetting a hot savory piadina! Chioggia is also known as "Little Venice", a colorful fishing hub. The overnight takes place on the island of  Pellestrina, just in front of Chioggia.
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Day 6: Pellestrina Island - Venice, 19 mi. (30 km)
Venice beckons, but first another world altogether: Pellestrina, the first of two islands you traverse today – a humble and tranquil fishing backwater, picturesque as ever with its cottages, boats, and nets. A short island-hop by ferry transfers to Lido. Fashionable in high society ever since the Belle Époque, the Lido di Venezia is now home to the International Venice Film Festival and its galaxy of stars.

​ After rejoining the barge, you will enjoy a leisure cruise in front of St Mark’s square to the final destination. After dinner, you can savor Venice at night, now free of the crowds and at her most romantic: Benvenuti a Venezia!
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Day 7: Venice, guided walking tour and free time
A guided walking tour of Venice begins around 11 am and lasts approximately 1.5 hours. It begins in St. Mark square and continues towards the bigger "sestiere" of the city, Castello.

You will visit Campo Santa Maria Formosa where you can experience a characteristic market and then a city hospital and large gothic church in Campo dei Santi Giovanni e Paolo. Later, you will go to Campo Santa Marina and to the Rialto Bridge. During this tour, the guide will explain these sites from the outside, no entrances are planned. 
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I guess I always knew this… but forgot?

As we prepare to leave on vacation the energy in the house is a mix between excitement and dread. You know the anticipation? The expectation ! And all the things you forgot.

I take a breath and lean in to my suitcase. I don’t know why I fret. The few things I pack can be washed and reworn!

If Covid taught us nothing it taught us sweat pants can last a week if handled carefully! Two weeks in Italy requires comfort clothes and something a little stylish… but wait, I live on Cape Cod!

We have completed most of the requisites. The note to the Dog sitter, the walk about with the gardener, the cleaned out refrigerator… but then it dawns on us…
what about the storage on our phones?

​TONIGHT. Tonight we will be deleting everything. Sorry, but it’s true.
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