Jen and Rebecca Make the Mercury Rise

Madrid was just our one-night layover for the real Spainish destination: Andalucia in the south. Helpful Hilton’s free shuttle returned us to the airport to pick up the rental car so we could really get the journey started. (You can thank our rental car’s wireless hotspot for the ability to make blog posts in the car, and we are thanking it for the ability to navigate us across the plains in Spain.)

Since our failure to take a tour of the Idrja mercury mine in Slovenia last year due to not figuring out in advance what times they actually offer tours, we had a bee in our bonnets to see a mercury mine. Turns out the other mercury mine World Heritage Site is right here in Spain! So we specifically planned our journey south to Cordoba to go to this mine in Almaden, a sleepy little town in Castile-La Mancha. (Insert your favorite Don Quixote references here, or just imagine Rebecca singing “To Dream the Impossible Dream” ad nauseum.)

Pretty view over Almaden

Since we arrived with extra time before our tour (we learned our lesson last year and made reservations ahead of time) we wandered through Almaden and walked onto the world’s only hexagonal bullring (no bulls were present at the time, though that would certainly have added an element of excitement!) We also climbed up to the Alcazar Retamar for lovely views of the surrounding countryside, and which seemed to be the home of a very large bird, at least judging from the gigantor nest on top.

Hexagonal Bullring 



Castle's giant nest



Rebecca’s three semesters of college Spanish seems to have come flooding back to her, and she was able to haltingly order lunch, though inadvertently getting everyone croquettes instead of the sandwiches Jen and Anna had chosen from the menu. (Let it be known that Anna has a minor in Spanish, but doesn’t feel comfortable speaking it, so Rebecca, being the take charge gal she is, has stepped up and attempted communication at most opportunities.) At least everyone got the Coke they wanted.

The mine tour was very interesting. We got our own private tour from a guide who sorta spoke English. The mine extracted cinnabar for centuries, well into the 21st century even. We took a claustrophobic elevator down 50 meters into the mine and walked through a bunch of tunnels, including the escape route cut into the side of the city hill. Thank goodness we had helmets on since I think we all hit our head on low hanging rock at least once. (We are too tall to be miners, apparently.) One of the highlights was the rickety old train ride we took to exit the tunnels. The guide seemed to be having a great time speeding along the tracks and tooting the horn. The end of the tour was a museum where we got to push buttons to watch mercury rise and fall in various science experiments.

Mine at the surface level

We found our way the rest of the way to Cordoba through some lovely hilly scenery. Our appointed meeting spot with our apartment landlady was on a street corner, and unfortunately the caretaker was 30 minutes late to meet us due, apparently to some miscommunication between landlady and caretaker. But we finally got into our lodgings and headed out to find a place for dinner. Too tired and hungry to go further than necessary, we ended up at a Chinese restaurant in Spain. But it was pretty tasty! In our wanderings, we saw only a few people (young and old) wandering around in Halloween costumes. The adults were mostly in Day of the Dead-style costumes. We opted not to follow any of them to find a Halloween party to crash.

Jen and Rebecca Experience Madrid from the Airport Hilton

So working a full day then getting on an airplane bound for Europe is kind of exhausting.  But Jen and Rebecca are willing to make that sacrifice for the sake of their loyal readership.  We made it as far as Madrid today, Jen via Heathrow and Rebecca (with Anna in tow) via Amsterdam.  There were some minor communications snafus at the aiport because we arrived at different terminals, so a few airport busses were taken that weren't necessary.  (Thanks for failing us, imessage!)  But eventually, our merry trio was united and we took the free shuttle to the airport Hilton in Madrid.  As our final destinations are in the south of Spain, we decided to overnight here in Madrid before picking up the car tomorrow for the journey south. 

Jen and Anna with everyone's luggage at the airport.  Hooray!  So relieved

And given our level of exhaustion, we didn't feel too terrible about taking advantage of Jen's Hilton gold status for free appetizers and wine for two hours before ordering room service and hitting the hay to prepare for our journey tomorrow.  But the best news is that no one's luggage was lost this year.  Rebecca and Anna's flight even arrived early to Madrid!

Rebecca attempts to get onto the hotel balcony around the rollaway bed blocking the view.

Jen and Rebecca Row, Row, Row a Boat

The centerpiece of our visit to Venice was our gondolier rowing lesson scheduled for this morning.  After we let the apartment owner and the gas man into our lodgings to install a new gas meter, we set off to find our meeting point.  It was on a quiet canal near the edge of Venice – a perfect spot to learn.  Jane, our Australian rowing teacher, took up rowing as a hobby shortly after moving to Italy 23 years ago after she married a Venetian.  After a brief lesson at the dock, we set off down the canal.  Rebecca took the first turn and was a natural at it.  Jen over-thought everything (surprise!) and didn’t do nearly as well, but she managed to keep the boat moving!  Anna did really well too, but she had the luck (?) of rowing us through the shipping channel so that we could practice steering in the lagoon. 

Jen guiding us down a canal.

The real fun came as we became “real” gondoliers our in the lagoon, getting up on the back of the boat and rowing just like the guys in the stripey shirts in the touristy sections of the city.  All of us managed to row us in a straight line without going in circles, which we consider an accomplishment.  Jen probably won’t be moving to Venice any time soon to become a competitive rower like our instructor, but we all had a good time learning a traditional Venetian craft.  It was also a nice way to get to ride through the side canals with someone else rowing you instead of paying the exorbitant fees to hire a gondola.

Rebecca as a gondolier out on the lagoon.

After our lessons and a quick lunch at a sidewalk café, we headed back to do the more traditional touristy things. But first, we found a shop that filled a 1.5 liter water bottle full of Pinot Grigio for us for 3.5 Euros. Delicious bargain!  And just what the locals do. Our last night in Venice evening entertainment was secured!

It looks like water, but really it's wine!

We made our way down the Grand Canal in a Vaporetto during daylight this time, and ended up at the Doge’s Palace where we wandered through the elaborate rooms as well as the jail, over the Bridge of Sighs, so named for the sighs made by prisoners as they caught a glimpse of the canal for the last time for the duration of their sentence.  We were pretty impressed by the awe-inspiring art in the rooms, and we were excited to find ourselves in the palace hall, which is the largest room in Europe.

Fancy Doge's Palace

Jen is obsessed with seeing churches, so after we finished our tour of the palace and a quick trip to the purse store, we set off for a church on the other side of the canal.  Sadly, it was already closed for the day.  But we roll with the punches, so we hopped back on the Vaporetto to find a spot to watch the sunset over the city.  We sat at the edge of the canal for about 30 minutes as we watched the sun slowly set.  It was well worth the wait.

Salute was closed, but still pretty on the outside.

Sun setting on Venice, and our vacation.

We headed back to our neighborhood in the Canareggio for dinner.  It may have been one of the best that we’ve had in Italy so far.  Pizza and pasta all around!  We had a round of limoncello and some cheesecake before going home to pack for the flights home tomorrow. We packed while starting in our 1.5 liters of Pinot, and finishing off our wheel of truffle cheese.  Thanks for the good times, Venice.

Keep your fingers crossed that we all see our luggage again!

Jen and Rebecca have Boatloads of Fun

Venice may be made for lovers, but Jen, Rebecca ,and Anna are figuring out how to have a swell non-romantic time here.  Luckily, Venice was also made for shoppers and the directionally challenged!  We set off in search of San Marco Square this morning, but got distracted by tiny shops and alley ways.  Since there are no direct routes in Venice, it’s exceptionally easy to get turned around.  Happily, each time you do, there’s usually a cute store selling clothes, paintings, glass, paper or souvenirs.  And then eventually you find another sign directing you to the major landmark you were looking for.

Narrow Venetian street.

We hit the fish market at Rialto Bridge (and Anna even plugged her nose to walk through it with us), then found a restaurant for lunch after a tough morning of wandering the Venetian streets.  We broke our general rule of not eating at a place where no one else is eating, but they seated us in the window and we began a trend.  Soon the place was swamped with American tourists like us, all ordering pizza instead of the fancy first and second courses they were offering.  I guess we’re not so cultured, but we can mostly accept that fact (though maybe Rebecca has a tougher time with acceptance). We are on board with the custom of ordering wine with every meal, though. That’s gotta count for semi-cultural emersion!

Octopus at the fish market.

We eventually meandered far enough to see the Piazza San Marco in the daylight and were overwhelmed by the warm and beautiful sunlight.  And all those people.  Our first official site-seeing stop of the day (beyond the nooks and crannies we passed through thus far) was a ride up in the elevator to the top of the campanile to see views over the city. Stunning.  Next we toured the San Marco Basilica.  All of the intricate gold mosaic patterns in the church were also completely stunning.  Check and check on two major tourist sites in Venice.

With a Venetian lion in Piazza San Marco

Our next stop was the “Most Beautiful Bookshop in the World,” according to the bookmark distributed by the shop.  Beautiful is subjective, but it was definitely interesting.  There were rooms upon rooms of books in various languages.  It was difficult to determine the organizational system the owners had in place--there did seem to be one.  We found books stacked in old row boats, bathtubs and even turned into a staircase.

Jen absorbing a lot of knowledge on the book staircase.

After the bookstore, we felt the need for a little more culture in our day so we headed across town to an exhibit about Da Vinci’s various scientific experiments and theories.  Did anyone else know that he was responsible for the bicycle?  Flying machines, sure, but bikes?  Jen and Rebecca took turns trying out the various hands on exhibits (with photos, of course).  Da Vinci certainly was a genius!  (And he shares his birthday with Jen!)

Testing Da Vinci's scientific genius.

Our full day of wandering left us tired and thirsty.  So, we decided to indulge in a local specialty called the Aperol Spritz.  No idea what it was made of, but it was orange, tasted great and came with an olive.  (Thanks to Rebecca’s cousin Marc and his wife Barbara for making that drink recommendation!)  We decided to continue the day of wandering by walking the rest of the way home.  We stopped at the glass bridge for a photo op since it is apparently the only new bridge in Venice since Rebecca was last here 10 years ago (without Jen, tragically.) 

On the glass bridge.

We decided we were too hungry to drop the day’s purchases off at home first, so we consulted Rick Steves again for a dinner recommendation.  We might be trusting Rick too much.  Or rather Rick just doesn’t know us and our preferences very well.  He recommended a nice restaurant in the Canareggio relatively near our apartment, just a short walk through the old Jewish ghetto to get to and with seating directly on a canal.  But seafood was their specialty and of the three of us, only Jen is really interested in seafood.  Anna and Rebecca had an okay pesto dish, and of course the wine was good, but we’ve learned to stop putting all of our faith in Rick (that may have been the fault of Anna and Rebecca more than Jen) and actually consult a menu before choosing a restaurant.  But it’s okay.  We have a wheel of truffle cheese and more wine back at our apartment to round out our day quite nicely.

Jen and Rebecca Stimulate the Local Venetian Economy

We got up extra early today to return the rental car, then drag our suitcases (all three of them!) to the Venizia Lines ferry stop.  Turns out that following the harbor thinking that will get you to the ferry stop isn’t always the most efficient route.  We wheeled those suitcases over far more cobblestone streets than was necessary.  Good thing Eddie Bauer has a lifetime guarantee on its luggage and both Jen and Rebecca may need replacement wheels soon.

Wheeling luggage, before the cobblestone detour.

We managed to keep calm as we checked our luggage for the ferry ride, avoiding any serious separation anxiety.  (Rebecca had only been reunited with her suitcase for barely more than 24 hours, after all!)  It helped that we actually witnessed the luggage being put on board and the ferry had only one stop to make before Venice, seriously reducing the luggage mishap possibilities.

Upon our arrival in Venice, we quickly made our way through Immigration and then set off for what was supposed to be a 20 minute walk to our apartment.  It turns out that Venice is an exceptionally easy to get lost in.  We walked for awhile before coming to the realization that we were going the wrong direction.  We had success with Google Maps in Croatia and Slovenia, so we attempted to use them again in Venice.  Unfortunately, it kept trying to send us up roads that didn’t exist (mostly next to canals that did exist).  So, we accepted defeat and took the Vaporetto (a water bus, the Venice version of public transportation) to our meeting point with the new landlord.  It turns out some of our confusion was an honest mistake.  The ferry docked at a different port than we expected.  But we found our way, so all was well.

Waiting for the Vaporetto.

The first half of our day was subsumed in travel, so once we got settled into our rooms (sadly we’re going to have to adjust to a reduction in bedrooms from three to two and in bathrooms from four to one…how will we cope?) we quickly set about with the important business of getting to know Venice, starting with some pasta and wine for lunch.  Since our apartment is in the Canareggio on the northwest side of the main islands of Venice, we decided to spend our first afternoon not doing the traditional city center activities but heading out to the island of Murano, only a few Vaporetto stops away.  Murano is the traditional glass-making center of Venice, and had shop after shop after shop of colorful glass items for gawking at (and of course for purchasing.)  And, of course, we purchased.  Those of you who know Jen and Rebecca well will not be surprised that it took us two hours and several stores to make a decision on our final purchases.  Sadly (?), once we started buying, it was really hard to stop.

Displaying our purchases, still neatly packed in bubblewrap for the flight home.

After our glass shopping spree, we dropped off our goods at the apartment and set off on a Vaporetto ride down the Grand Canal. The sun was setting, so we got to peek into a lot of old refurbished and/or renovated mansions on the canal that happened to have some lights on inside.  We wandered around San Marco Square and were somehow not surprised the San Marco Basilica has scaffolding on the front of it.  (At least you can still see the horses over the entrance.)  Europe seems to always be encased in scaffolding.

On San Marco Square at night.

Our hunger took over so we went to find some dinner slightly off the beaten trail.  When Rick Steves failed us (we found a restaurant he recommended, but it was shuttered) we found a perfectly nice trattoria where we all three tried different pastas, the result of which was deliciousness all around.  We braved the twisty Venetian streets to walk home and we managed to find our way.  Hooray!  We even found a grocery store to stock up on breakfast supplies (and wine) and of course we had to have our first Italian gelato of the trip.  More deliciousness. 

Rialto Bridge at night, with moon.

Jen and Rebecca Go to the Dogs

We woke up this morning to some gale-force winds, followed by another torrential rainstorm.  Anna had the forethought to go get the laundry we’d left on the drying rack the previous night, and managed to rescue one of Jen’s bras before it could escape into the neighbor’s lawn.  We waited out the rain with a leisurely breakfast (more Rovinj market fruit and miscellaneous bread, cheese and yogurt).  By the time we’d finally gotten ourselves showered (and Rebecca had spent way too much time deciding what to wear now that she actually has sartorial choices at her disposal) we could see blue sky heading our way.  So we headed out back across the Istrian Peninsula for our first stop of the day: Hum, the smallest town in the world (or so it claims)!

Hum (pronounced Hoom)

It turns out that Hum is in a pretty remote section of Istria.  After a series of hairpin turns up some single lane roads, we arrived safely in Hum.  It was the first town we’ve ever visited that charged admission.  It turns out that a village of 16 people really doesn’t have much for sights or attractions, but they do cater to the tourists.  We walked around the church (it was locked), took a series of senior portraits, visited all 5 of the souvenir shops, and had a delicious lunch in the town’s one restaurant with a pretty view of the hills and valley below.

One of Jen's senior photo poses.

Anna has perfected the art of the senior photo pose.

The sun came out and the hills are alive with beauty.

Once we’d had our fill of the quaint town, we headed down a new series of twisty-turny roads looking for something interesting to keep us occupied until our truffle hunting appointment at 4:30.  Turns out that any sign that says “wine” on it gets Jen and Rebecca’s attention, so when we saw the brown sign saying “Vinksa Cesta” (meaning “Wine Road”) we urged Anna to take a sharp left to follow the arrow.  This ended up being the first of two wild goose chases we made Anna take us on in a quest for wine.  The so-called “Wine Road” was another twisty mountain road with nary a sign of the otherwise constantly-visible-in-Istria grape vines.  At least we got some breathtaking hill town views. 

Jen was watching the blue dot on Google maps and announced that our road was about to end.  Anna was about to turn the car around on the failed quest, when we saw a dog trotting up.  Cute, we said. Then another dog ran out, followed by a third, and a fourth, and then more than we could easily count.  We were surrounded by a litter of adorable puppies.  We didn’t test the cuteness/sweetness of the dogs though and remained in the car with the windows rolled up.  This was a good thing as one of the dogs put his paws on the back door and peeked in at Jen.  Once we started to back up, they slowly started to move away.  Until the alpha decided it was a good idea to follow us and make sure we left their home.  It was actually surprising that we were able to safely back down the road because we were laughing so hard.

The pack of probably-not-rabid dogs.

Next we found the town of Vrh, the meeting place for our truffle hunt, but we were early and the town was tiny with nothing to see but one church, so we convinced Anna to follow more brown signs that seemed to point to two wineries where we figured we could get some samples.  It turns out that driving 4 km on winding roads takes longer than on a straight road, but we think we found the wineries.  However, they appeared to be people’s houses, not the Napa Valley-style tasting rooms to which we are accustomed.  Another wine fail.  So we waited for our truffle hunt with a Coke at the one café we found in Vrh.

Next up, truffle hunt!  The Istrian hill country is one of the few places in the world where you can find the elusive white truffle, the season for which is just beginning.  More plentiful here is the black truffle, but these are still rare in that truffles can’t be found in many countries.  We were at the home of a family that has been truffle hunting for about 40 years. They also grow grapes and olives and make their own olive oil and wine.  (Finally, Jen and I got some wine for the day, produced right in Istria!)  

The farm’s owner Radmila began our tour with some aperitifs – mistletoe, honey and cherry brandies.  She also showed us samples of black and white truffles.  The small basket of white truffles was worth approximately 250 Euros, so we handled those carefully!  Finally it was time to sample the goods!  We started with truffle pate (Rebecca’s favorite), cheese with truffles, and sausage with truffles.  Once Zdenka (our guide/translator) learned that truffles weren’t Anna’s favorite food, they brought her some parmesan and some goat cheese with Radmila-made olive oil.  We were already feeling full at this point, but it was time to learn how to cook!  Radmila taught us how to make a truffle omelet.  We were stuffed, but it tasted so good that kept eating.  Just when we thought the food would stop, Radmila brought out cookies, dumplings and cake! It was her birthday, so we serenaded her with a happy birthday song.

Finally, time to actually hunt for the truffles ourselves in the family’s own private forest.  Radmila’s son Ivan took one of their truffle-hunting dogs, Circo (meaning “black”) with us to sniff out the so-called “Istrian Gold.”  We were hunting for black truffles because there was a greater likelihood of success.  Sure enough, Circo tracked down four black truffles for us. You have to catch her as soon as she starts digging otherwise she’ll eat the truffle herself.  So we had to make several mad dashes up some muddy trails to get to her in time. Jen dug one truffle out herself and Rebecca later got to wash the two small ones we got to keep for ourselves.  All around, we learned a lot about truffles, truffle hunting, and had a fun afternoon.

Jen digs up a black truffle.

This schnozz was meant to sniff truffles.

We finished the day with a quick stop in Motovun, a hill town a few km down the road and enjoyed a beautiful sunset to end a beautiful day that had started out so worrisomely rainy.  We’ll have an early morning tomorrow to catch the ferry to Venice.

Sun setting at the Motovun Old Town wall.

Jen and Rebecca Wander the Ruins

After a good night’s sleep and a breakfast in our lovely villa of fruits from the Rovinj market and some other random supermarket purchases, we headed south to Pula for a day of exploring Roman ruins.  First stop: the amphitheater, one of the best preserved in all of the Roman empire, and the 6^th biggest built for such sport as gladiatoring. (Okay, we may have made up that word, but you get the point.)  We wandered the arena, marveled at the architecture, and luxuriated in the sunny, blue skies before following the Rick Steves-recommended walking tour through town.

Happy in the sun in the amphitheater.



Fighting to the death, gladiatorial style?

Pula has continued to grow and develop over the last two millennia, so as new buildings are constructed, past structures are discovered.  It was not uncommon to see Roman ruins between two apartment buildings or next to a parking lot.  We found Roman mosaics next to a parking lot and remains of several old houses between two souvenir shops.

Jen with mosaic tile

We attempted to tour the fish market, but we were about 30 minutes too late, much to Anna’s relief, since she hates fish.  The fishermen bring their catches directly there (or sell to a nearby restaurant), so the seafood doesn’t get much fresher than that!  After an oddly healthy lunch (salads all around!), we headed up the hill to see the town fort.  There wasn’t much to actually see in the museum, other than a few artifacts and placards that we couldn’t read, but the views were outstanding!  We attempted repeatedly to get a photo of the three of us with the amphitheater in the background, but were continually stymied by the sun and poor directional camera aim.

In the background is theoretically the amphitheater again.

Much to Rebecca’s delight, Adria Air emailed to say they had finally found her bag. Turns out once they stopped looking for Jen’s green bag, which had already been delivered to Jen, and started looking for Rebecca’s black bag, they had a lot more success. Since we’d seen what we wanted to see in

Pula and had a pre-celebratory ice cream cone, we headed back to our villa to await the much anticipated, much missed luggage, while snacking on some cheese from Bohinj and fruits from Rovinj. We even managed to see a sundog out over the sea while relaxing with our snacks and wine out on our patio.

And hooray! Rebecca’s luggage finally arrived, 8 days after our arrival. Clean clothes at last, plus all of those cosmetics and medical supplies she hadn’t anticipated being without for 8 days. Rebecca decided she could finally be happy for Anna’s arrived bag now that hers had appeared too.

We opted for a short walk to the local pizzeria for dinner, rather than venturing further afield, since Rebecca’s excitement at her luggage’s return could hardly be contained by a car ride. Yay! It was kind of an early night, but when you have a pretty villa to hang out in, that’s really not such a bad deal.