Taking the chance to run a marathon while on vacation, we bounced over to Venice. The marathon was not as good as planned; Justin was not in great shape and faded a bit coming into town. His friend, Kirsten, was traveling with us but was injured and could not compete. After the race, we strolled the streets, enjoying Aperol Spritz, wine, and some beer. The next few days, we visited Doge Palace, the Bridge of Sighs, and St. Mark's Square. We even saw The Campo San Barnaba, which is where Indiana Jones exits the library in The Last Crusade. Pizza was plentiful, as was pasta, and we navigated the small alleyways out to Rialto Bridge and other interesting views. We wanted to do a gondola ride on the canal, but it was insanely expensive. Venice takes significant advantage of tourism, and it limited our potential to make the most of it. Soon it was time to get out of the tight city.
We rented a car and headed west, stopping first at the Madonna Della Corona, a beautiful church built into the side of a mountain. It was raining, so after we walked a long way down the mountain, we finally come to it, but the view was impaired by the mist. Inside, the church was petty, but the location is the real draw to this place. We drove on to Sirmione, a small village on a peninsula jetting out into lake Garda. We parked and walked the road into the city at the end which looked like a castle. The entire place was surrounded by water, and the city walls protected the area. Gelato places were everywhere - far more than are needed for this small place. We ate at Trattoria La Fiasca, enjoying amazing food and the best bread and balsamic we have ever tasted. We toyed with stopping in fair Verona to see Juliet's balcony from Romeo & Juliet (whatever that means), as well as try grappa in Bassono del Grappa, but the persistent rains kept us in the car.
We took the train north to Conegliano and then a cab to Soligo. This is where Prosecco is made and it was a beautiful place. We ate pizza at Pizzeria Tonino and had beers. At first, we thought it was the price per slice so we got about 6 of them. It turns out the cheap price was per pizza, so we ended up with more than we could possibly eat. The next day we went on a wine tour, learning about the production of Prosecco and the government regulation over the use of the name. We even walked up a hill and bought a bottle from a vending machine which we enjoyed overlooking the valley. All of the wine was solid.
Venice was crowded and expensive, and it was not making the list of my favorite places in Italy. However, we really enjoyed the areas around it and vowed to come back. We caught great weather for the race and the wine country while it was poor in between, so that was also a win.
