Northern Italy - Part 1

Wine regions define our travels.  This time we are in northern Italy visiting the Veneto Prosecco region.  We are staying in  Roverbasso which is a little village 20 minutes east of Conegliano (pronounced Colenyano +/- for all you non-Italians). It is central to all the places we wanted to visit.  We were here 8 days and took side trips to various cities, towns, villages and sights.

The area is very green which is such a nice change for us.  It's filled with vineyards and tiny villages.  The pace is slow and easy.  The food is pasta and pasta with some pasta.  And pizza and gelato, of course!

First stop was Treviso. The city features a beautiful river full of swans and ducks.  To see this city you must navigate crossing the river many times to get where you are going.  We parked the car and some nice Italian paid for our parking because we couldn't figure out how to make the ticket machine work.  We seem to have problems with working tolls, parking, and gas stations machines...specifically in Italy.

Treviso is home to the first creation of Tiramisu (a desert made of lady fingers, pudding, and coffee flavor). We ate lunch at a cute bar.  Check out these prices.

We found the food and drink prices in Italy to be very reasonable. The grocery stores are very similar to US stores but the pricing is less expensive.

Among the interesting ancient things to see and do in Treviso is the "Fontana Delle Tette" ( translated as Tits Fountain) built in 1559. It is a topless woman squeezing her breasts with water coming out of her nipples.  It's located in a tiny, hidden away alcove steps from the huge plaza.

Next stop was Conegliano and a trip on Strada del Vino Prosecco or The Prosecco Road. It is a scenic route through the Prosecco Hills of Italy's Veneto region. I wish I would have taken pictures along this road because it is dotted with tiny villages, vineyards, rolling hills and just a gorgeous region.  However, we were on a wine tour and you know how I get when I drink wine....

We seldom take a trip that we don't visit a beach.  We went to the beach town of Bibione in Italy but very close to the Slovenian border. We were flabbergasted by the tens of thousands of beach chairs and umbrellas that stretch for miles on the beach.  During high season this place must be packed with a million visitors all laying in beach chairs inches from each other.  Thank goodness we arrived in late September to a very laid back beach scene.

After walking 5 or 6 minutes through the beach chairs, we were rewarded with a really nice beach. The water of the Adriatic Sea was warm and clear.  We walked the beach and enjoyed the people watching and cool water.

The next day we went north into the mountains to the town of Belluno. It was so gorgeous, set in a valley with the Dolomite mountains behind.  One road in and one road out made for a very interesting tour of this tiny town.

We discovered a beautiful mountain lake at the foot of the Dolomites.  Wind surfers on the lake made us think of Sorobon's Lac Bay in Bonaire. Bike riders, kayakers and boaters made this an obvious recreation area.  We were, once again, happy to visit during off season where there were very few people, making it a great place to relax for an afternoon.

The Italians have been very nice to us.  Many of the younger Italians speak English so they were very helpful to us at gas stations, parking lot machines, retail stores, and restaurants. We needed assistance and explanations everywhere.  Thank goodness for Google translate. Even the Italians that didn't speak English used Google.  We had conversations reading from phones. 

Part 2 of Northern Italy will follow....