Parco De Pinocchio

You may not know this, but Pinocchio is no Disney creation. Pinocchio was created by Carlos Collodi (his pen name) or Carlos Lorenzini, his real name. He grew up in the town of Collodi (which is where he got his pen name) and that is also where he got inspiration for his story. In 1956, a park opened to commemorate the writer and the story. The park, was the Parco De Pinocchio (Park Of Pinocchio).

The Park Of Pinocchio is not a Theme park as you might think, (that's what we thought at first) but instead a park with a theme. As you enter, you see a statue of Pinocchio with Geppeto, his Father. Then, all through out the park there are statues and other artistic works to help tell the original story. For example, when the great shark comes and swallows Pinocchio and he finds Geppeto, the park has a Giant sculpture of the head of the gaping Shark. Yes, it was a shark and not a whale that swallowed them. You can go inside the large beast and see Geppeto trapped inside. Then you can see a sculpture of Pinocchio turned into a donkey and forced to perform in a circus. My personal 2 favorite things were the giant shark and the giant chess board, (even though we didn't get to play a game of chess!) All along the route of the maze of greenery, sculptures tell the story. There is also a theatre where every hour or so they tell the story of Pinocchio, a mechanical theatre where there are small puppets that move by themselves, telling the story of Pinocchio, with a booklet in your language to help you understand it, a crafts area where you can make a hat with The Blue Fairy or Pinocchio on it and last but not least, 3 things that resemble a merry-go-round. One you sit in a Gondola or a Sailboat, in another, different types of cars and also, a classic merry-go-round with horses. There is also a butterfly garden and regular garden you can visit but they are not connected to Pinocchio so we didn't go.

THE APUANE ALPS

Our trip to date has consisted mostly of cities, large and small. They have all had their individual allure: Haarlem had its bikes, Krakow it's beautiful square, Dubrovnik and Ljubljana their historic areas. This must obviously be the case since that is where one finds accomodations. A focus on the beautiful nature of Europe has therefore been more limited - two or three days maybe at each location.

One of my goals on this year long odyssey is to hike where you can see tall mountains. Not hills, but real mountains. We saw the Julian Alps in Slovenia but it was after taking a cable car up the mountain. Our experience in the Tatra Mountains of Poland was similar to that of Slovenia. So far, only here in northern Tuscany in the Apuane Alps, have we been able to take a leisurely hike on a trail and watch the peaks above you.

We drove about 50 km north through winding roads to arrive at the cute little alpine town of Fornolasco. Here we took a trail for about an hour along a creek which at times was still and serene and at other times rough. The trail was well maintained with stones lining much of the way. Occasionally we could get a glimpse of Pania Secca, a pointed rocky pinnacle (about 6100 feet or 4500 feet above our heads) jutting out with its fellow crags. You would have to be a mountain climber to ascend that peak, but looking at it from a distance was very nice (and much safer). After having lunch on the trail, we headed back and found a place where you could access the stream we had been following. The temperature of the water was wonderfully cool (causing frostbite after ten seconds!!) so we stripped off our shoes and socks and dipped our puppies in. Very "cool" scene.


We finished up our day with beer, vino and two hot chocolates at the local tavern. Only italian was spoken amongst the locals relaxing, sharing gossip and playing cards. A nice end to a nice day.



I discovered from the tavern keeper that in 1996 the placid stream we hiked beside became a raging torrent that took out the church, several buildings and killed a person. The tavern we sat at was on the site of that church.

Viareggio Beach and Pisa

When we first arrived at our apartment in Lucca, the landlady showed us the laundry room out back. There were some beach chairs near the washer and she said we could take them to the beach whenever we wanted!! That caught our interest. We decided that on our second day in Lucca we would go to the beach. Since the city of Pisa was close by, we decided to go there on the same day as we were going to the beach.

Viareggio beach was a sea of umbrellas. There were about seven rows of them, colored to match the resort that they belonged to. It was a sand beach, so it made the ground comfortable to walk on. The water was also a great temperature, warm, but refreshing. Although we didn't take the beach chairs we did get an umbrella and two loungers while we were at the beach. We took a boogy board with us, so Avocet and I tried to surf - not much luck.When we were in the water, we kept getting stung by somthing!! We think it was a Portuguese Man of War (just kidding!)!! Anyway, we had lunch at the snackbar. I split a bowl of fried fish with my Mom. After lunch, Avocet and I made a sand unicorn. Then, we got the sand off of us with the beach shower, put on some clothes, and then got in the car to go to Pisa.




As most of you probably know, the city of Pisa is home to the Leaning Tower of Pisa. When we got there we bought tickets for the Cathedral, Tower, and Baptistry. We went to the Cathedral first. It was very pretty, and it's a shame that almost no one goes to it. After the Cathedral, we went to the Baptistry. The Baptistry wasn't as pretty as the Cathedral. It was kind've drab. In my opinion, the Leaning Tower was the best part. We got to go into the tower and there were a lot of stairs. At the top you got to walk around the top and see the bells. There was a great view of Pisa, and the other cities around it. The view and tower were both quite amazing. After we finished our day trip,we got in the car and drove to Andrea's Pizzeria Trattoria, where we had a very good pizza. It was a nice day!!

LUCCA - OUR NORTHERN TUSCANY BASE

Our three weeks in Tuscany are broken into two segments - one week in the north, based out of Lucca and two weeks in the south, based out of Montepulciano. Our first stop - Lucca.


As we pull into town, Siena's first question is "What is there to do here?" The answer is "Nothing." A slight exaggeration, but the truth is, each of the cities/towns of Tuscany offer little "to do". You go to each of the towns because each one has it's own special square, it's own special church, and it's own special flavor. It is therefore difficult to stay in just one town for any length of time unless you just want to chill.


Lucca, being one of the northern most cities in Tuscany is not a hill town or even in the rolling hills that we think of when we think of Tuscany. The city is flat! Which of course makes it perfect for bike riding. The old city of Lucca is also completely walled which you can walk or bike on for a nice three kilometer jaunt. While not the biking experience that we had in Holland, we still enjoyed renting bikes and riding the wall as well as the streets of the old city.

Lucca is also the birthplace of opera composer Giacomo Puccini. This year is the 150th Anniversary of his birth and there is a major celebration throughout Lucca and other areas of Tuscany. While the museum (in his home) was closed for renovations (seems like a strange year to decide to renovate), we were able to take in an operatic concert with pieces by Puccini as well as other opera composers. Avocet and Siena swore going in that they did not like opera and their opinion was no different coming out - at least we tried. Marty and I enjoyed the event none the less.

We split our days in Lucca between spending time in the city itself and day trips to nearby places. Day Trip #1 was to the beach and the city of Pisa, Day Trip #2 was to the Garfagnana region to hike outside the town of Fornovalasco, and Day Trip #3 was to Collidi to Parc de Pinocchio. More about these trips from my co-writers.


Lucca itself is a lovely city but in all honesty, we didn't get to know it all that well. With only a week in the city and 50% of our time in other places we would be hard pressed to call the city home. I did however, have the opportunity to get my hair cut in town (my first Italian cut) and I also purchased a bathing suit in town since mine appears to have disappeared somewhere between Ljubljana and here (still trying to figure out how I managed that one). Buying a bathing suit is not an easy task for any woman under the best of circumstances but here I am, in a small city, the end of the season (all stores had fall clothes in them) and a limited amount of time. I set a record for myself purchasing a bathing suit after having tried on only three (that's all I could find in town in my size).

THE SUPERFLUOUS FATHER

At some point we will all become superfluous. I hope that will happen later than sooner; like the ageless Daniel Schorr of NPR. Or maybe a minute before my ninety-fifth birthday. But that's the intellectual side. Your brain, being an organ, will work well into your old age. But your brain is only one part. A person has many different functions in their lifetime. These functions begin, mature and eventually are cast off as they either can't or don't work. For example, I was an athlete as a young person.. .I competed and did quite well, thank you. As I aged, I discarded this big part of me not because the muscles atrophied, but because other interests and responsibilities took its place.

I have been a father for a long time. I intellectually know that my job is to train Av and Si to be mature, responsible adults. Intellectually I also know that they will master the tricks of this maturing over a timeframe that has already begun. Just as I no longer have to help them stand up after they learned how to walk, I now no longer have to row the boat across Lake Bled. Av and Si did this while lisa and I sat on our butts. But I'm supposed to do that, my brain said. It's my job. It's also one that I could do and no one else could. You see lisa has a bad back and it would be stupid for her to row while I am around. It also is something I liked to do. Now “they” are doing it instead.

I also somewhat relinquished my role as “technology Dad” by having the girls figure out how to set up the DVD players in our apartments. Avocet has taken an interest in taking pictures and now says “hey, I set the time on your camera to match “Athens-Helsinski” time. What? What's she talking about? I introduced her to the camera just a couple of weeks ago. How can she know that? Well, I guess I'm glad I can take a better picture at night, right? Nah, she showed me a pictute taken showing a candle on a table at the sidwalk cafe with lights showing on the bridge in the background. Rats, foiled again!!

Siena now washes the dishes. Avocet and Siena pack their own suitcases. I'm just a superfluous father. Oops, I just figured out that I can carry the thirty pound suitcases up and down the several flights of stairs. Thank God, something I'm still needed for.

Gondola Watch 101

As said in Daddy's last blog, our flat had a large window overlooking a Gondola canal. As soon as we realized this, we immediately took to watching them go by. There was a suprising number of them, considering the high cost of a Gondola ride. After our first day, we started saying "Ciao!" to the Gondola drivers that passed by; not to the lucky people taking the ride. After that, we set up little stools everyday to say "Ciao" and watch the people go by. Siena and I called this Gondola Watch 101.

~written by Avocet



Before I write my part of this blog I would like you to take an Italian lesson.

Ciao-hello
Ciao Bella- hello beautiful
Ciao Amore- hello love

These were some of the responses from the Gondola Drivers.

After we started to get use to Gondola Watch, whenever I saw a Gondola I would yell out to Avocet (or she would yell out to me) "Gondola Watch 101!!" and the other would come running. Then we would sit by the window and say "Ciao!" Sometimes the Gondola Driver wouldn't say anything, and if this happend we would turn to each other and say M.O.M, which stands for, mean ol' man. Sometimes they would say "Ciao" back, or sometimes they would say "Ciao Bella" or "Ciao Amore". We actually got to the point where we could recognize some of the Gondola Drivers and after we said "Ciao" they would say "Ciao Ciao" or "Ciao Meow Meow". Some of the people riding in the Gondola would notice us too and say "Ciao" or sometimes take a picture of us!! When they said "Ciao" to us we would always say to each other, "They're trying to act cool and Italian; the Gondola Drivers are cool and Italian!". Some Gondolas have a hired accordian player and singer; once we heard someone singing Oh Solo Mio. Some people bring wine on the ride. It was fun to see the Gondolas go by and say "Ciao!".

Written by~ Siena

P.S. If you would like to hear Oh Solo Mio, go to www.youtube.com and key in Oh Solo Mio in the toolbar.

VENICE - AS EXPECTED

On the 26th of August we arrived at the train station in Venice having come from Ljubljana, Slovenia. Upon exiting the station we went to the taxi area, water taxi that is. The hustle and bustle of people getting on and off the boats was amazing. It was true organized chaos. The Grand Canal was wide and surrounded by beautiful buildings right up to the water's edge. Beautiful, but old and worn in a Venetian way. We arrived at the water taxi stop, Rialto, to meet Maria Antoinetta, our "landlady" who proceeded to give lisa and I big hugs. Passion, Italian style!!! We snaked through alleyways narrower than Dubrovnik's to arrive at our flat, adjacent to one of the smaller canals. Though small, the two room flat was well laid out. Siena and Avocet gravitated to the large open arch in the family room and proceeded to start watching the gondolas go by.


Venice is a city of streets in a maze. So far we haven't gotten lost on this trip, (well except for that one time in Dubrovnik...and another in Krakow...) but here we were constantly "lost" the first two days. Even though we had two detailed maps we had a difficult time finding our way through the alleyways. We eventually got our bearings to and from San Marco Square and Rialto Bridge but had to constantly look at the map to get anywhere else. I still didn't feel secure in my directional capabilities when we left. lisa is never secure in my directions - but I am a man!

We visited San Marco Square more than anyplace else. It contained the Doge's Palace, San Marco Church and the square itself. It was historic and well restored...."but". The "but" is that the entire area was congested with tourists. You were always in a crowd, like Macy's the day after Thanksgiving...yuk! It effected not just getting around but the moods of the shopkeepers. They seemed tired and out of sorts. I'll bet the "off season" (if Venice has one) improves their moods.



The restaurants had the same issue. The waiters were not necessarily friendly, the food average at best, and EXPENSIVE. We knew Venice would not be cheap, but we were unprepared for 2.00 Euro per person cover charge, ($12.00 US just to sit down) 12% service added, not to mention the 5 Euro soft drinks. I talked later to a waiter on the island of Burano and his comment was that all Venetians wanted was money. The comment seemed to have some merit.

In addition to the San Marco Square area, we visited the Jewish Ghetto (the first in Europe), the islands of Murano (know for their art glass) and Burano (know for their lace making), "road" (pun intended) the canals and spent an afternoon shopping for Venetian Carnivale masks (which you could easily spend days doing if you were up to it).

The girls liked Venice better than lisa and I did. They have been buying a "tipical" doll in traditional dress from each country we visit. They each bought their dolls here and paper mache masks as well. They loved the shopping experience. After four days, I was ready to move on to a more sedate place where we could get a "real" feel for Italy (Lucca and Montepulciano in Tuscany are our next two stops) without it being overly touristy.


Like the title, I knew Venice would be as expected, a place you MUST see but where three to four days is plenty.