I wish I had a better map

We knew that Venice was a city split up by canals but never realized that it had so many small streets that make it hard to navigate. We had a map and I am pretty good at navigating my way through a city but this was a whole new challange. For being a small city, we certainly put some miles on our shoes. Each day I felt like we were mice in a maze trying to find the cheese. Tons of small streets and twists and turns and unmarked streets. It makes for an interesting walk around town. We arrived on Friday afternoon on Oct. 17th and caught the first Vaporetti (water bus) we could get to the stop closest to our B&B. It was not the easiest thing to do since the bus drivers were on and off strike the week we were there. Just our luck. Good thing is we only had to take the water bus when we arrived and when we had to leave. We called our host, Alessandro, and he asked us to meet him in the middle of the Rialto Bridge. It is the most central and biggest bridge in Venice. It is loaded with shops and always crowded with people seeing the sights and taking lost of pictures. We were no exception. Alessandro led us to the B&B that was short walk away. It is a small place and very nice. The only drawback was the bed. I felt like I was lying on the street with the curb as my pillow. So in other words, not real comfortable. But Alessandro was very nice and the breakfast was great. We were able to see all of the major sights we wanted to see. St. Marks Basillica, The Doge's Palace (royal palace), Gallerie Dell'Accademia (art museum), Scuola Grnade Di San Rocco, and a few other churches. I think the Scuola Grnade Di San Rocco was the most impressive thing for me to see. It is a music school and the main room on the first floor is nice but not as impressive as the second floor. The Renaissance painter Tintoretto spent 23 years of his life painting more than 50 works of art on the ceiling and walls. It was just amazing and you can get a pain in your neck from staring up at the ceiling for so long. They have mirrors you can walk around with to help with that. We took a nice romantic gondola ride around some of the other major sights in town for about 45 minutes and it was very relaxing. The food in Venice is amazing. Especially the seafood. Everything is so fresh and delicious. If you want to find a good place to eat, do your research and book in advance. We had a hard time finding a place to eat on Sat. night but finally ended up at the Grand Canal House. We stopped off at Harry's Bar which is a famous bar where Hemmingway use to spend a lot of time. We sampled a few of thier famous Belinni drinks and then went to dinner. The food was fantastic and we ate so much I thought I was going to have to take a gondola ride home. Sunday we did a little bit more sightseeing, grabbed some lunch and then hopped on the Vaporetti to head back to the bus terminal to make our way back to the airport. Venice is an amazing city with lots of sights and great food, architecture and culture. There is definitely nowehre else on earth like it

Alba gu brath! (Scotland forever!)

Nothing quite like returning to the motherland for me and visiting Edinburgh for the weekend. Dena and I flew into Edinburgh late Friday afternoon and hit the ground running. We caught a taxi to the bed and breakfast where we were staying and were greeted by Helen who showed us our room and took our order for breakfast the next morning. There was no time to spare so we dropped our stuff off and headed out. We raced down the Royal Mile to the Palace of Holyroodhouse, which used to be the residence of Mary Queen of Scots and is now the official Scottish residence of the Queen of England. We took a tour of the palace, the Holyrood abbey and the gardens in the back. It was very nice and very green. We then climbed our way to the top of Arthur's Seat. Well, it was not actually Arthur's Seat, which is a huge hill that has a great view of the city. It was a big hill in front of Arthur's Seat that still had a great view of the city. As if that wasn't enough climbing for us, we then headed to Calton Hill and climbed to the top of that for some more great photos. We headed back into town and over to the Scott Monument. Its a monument to honor Sir Walter Scott who was a famous Scottish historical writer and poet. We stopped off at a pub for a pint and then back to home base for a costume change and then out to dinner. Saturday the weather was typical of Scotland. Rainy, cold and very windy. But we bundled up and headed out to the Edinburgh Castle. The Castle is pretty big so we spent a few hours there touring around. We were pretty cold when we left the castle so we popped into the Scotch Whiskey Heritage Center for a wee dram. We took the scotch whiskey tour and sampled 5 different scotches at the end. That's my idea of an educational tour. From there we headed down to the Grassmarket. Its an area with some great pubs and restaurants. We grabbed a bite to eat and then back to the Royal Mile for some sights and shopping. We checked out a kilt weaving factory and picked up a few Clan Young items. We headed back to the B&B but stopped off at the Jolly Judge pub to warm up and rest our feet and of course for a few pints. There was a nice chocolate lab that greeted us at the door with his tail wagging. It was a great local pub with low painted timber ceilings and a great Scottish feel. The next day we had another great breakfast at the B&B and then headed to the airport for our 10:45 flight. We loved Edinburgh and would love to go back sometime. Hopefully it wont take us too long to get back.

Salzburg, Austria - The Hills are Alive!!!

Do a Deer a female deer, Re a drop of golden sunnnnnnnn....Mi a name I call myself....

After a great time in Germany, we went east to Salzburg, Austria to partake in sightseeing that included "The Sound of Music Tour". We had the best time re-living each phase of the movie that many of us have seen multiple times. We went to Leopold's Crown Palace first where many of the scenes took place. We also went to the Gazebo, Entrance Gates of the Abbey (where German troops were searching for the family), Mirabella Gardens, the Do-Re-Mi steps, Dwarf Garden, Hedge covered archway, the church where the Captain and Maria got married in Mondsee. The list goes on... I had best time taking pictures of Madeline and Brian skipping around, tagging each other, etc. in the hedge-covered archway. People were taking turns and Bri felt a little too feminine skipping around in front of a bunch of people. Hilarious. The Mirabella Gardens had the most beautiful bright colors and was so well manicured. I think we spent way too much time in Dwarf garden doing our impersonations of every single statue. Personally, I think we looked like exact replicas we were so good! Our trip to Mondsee, Austria was just breathtaking. As with many Hollywood films, different scenes take place in many locations and at times in a studio even though you think they are outside. Is was about 30 minutes outside of Salzburg. Although the Captain (Baron) and Maria were married in the Abbey where Maria was a novice, it was not large enough for filming the wedding scene - hence the church in Mondsee.

After a day of touring, we built up an appetite and Bri, Mads, Reid and I went to a restaurant in the center of the old town, which was rumored to be the oldest restaurant in Europe. St. Peter was established in 804! All in all, we had an awesome time. This trip was definitely unique and great to share with family that appreciates and understands the movie!

Ziggy Zoggy Ziggy Zoggy Oye Oye Oye

Roll out the barrel, roll out the barrel of fun. I wanted to make it to Oktoberfest last year but we started planning too late. This year, we made it happen. And I am so glad we did. What a great time. Dena and I left Geneva on Thursday afternoon on Sept. 18 and flew to Munich. You may be surprised that Oktoberfest starts in September but I has started the last week in September for a while now but goes on for a few weeks and ends in the month of October. We met Madeline and her boyfriend Reid in the Munich airport and hopped on a train to Germisch. We stayed with family friends the Pratts in Germisch and are so thankful for their great hospitality. Friday we spent time getting to know the town of Germisch, then on Saturday morning we all got dressed up on our traditional German outfits and we all boarded the 9am train for Munich. The Pratts sent us along with some friends of theirs that have been to Oktoberfest a few times before so we would be with some people who knew what they were doing. We arrived at the fairgrounds and made our way to the beer garden where we would stake our claim to 3 tables. We were not able to get into a tent but we still had a great time. The beer started flowing at noon and went on until I cant remember. Beers bigger than your head and bitter beer maids. We had to pace ourselves so we didn't get burned out too early. Oktoberfest is like a huge party and carnival. The brewers from Munich really take pride in their beer and their tents. I had an old German guy question why I was wearing lederhosen and I just responded, why not? There were plenty of different outfits and lots of interesting people there. At some point in the evening we gathered ourselves and made our way back to the train station to head back to Germisch. We could not make it too much of a late night since we had to catch a 9am train the next day to Salzburg. The Pratts picked us up at the train station and were impressed with how well we controlled ourselves. Oktoberfest was the best party I have ever been to and I cant wait to go back again.

Bourgogne (Burgundy), France

We spent a weekend in the Burgundy, France region with 8 of our good friends from Geneva. The place where we stayed was in Givry, France, which was 20km from a popular area called Beaune. This is the heart of the wine region. We stayed at an estate called Cote Park and it was just fabulous. The grounds were beautiful and the people that owned the place were amazing (Thanks Julie)! We went to dinner shortly after we arrived on Friday and it was delicious. From Fois gras to mussels on toast flavored with balsamic vinaigrette. They had lamb and fish dishes as well. Divine! On Saturday morning a few of us rode bikes for a few hours on a paved bike path through vineyards and farms. The weather was gorgeous. A little brisk, but very sunny. Cote Park scheduled 3 wine tours for us in the afternoon and it was awesome! The girl I was in contact had an uncle visiting from Lyon that was a sommelier (wine buyer/taster). Because he was well known in the area, we got hooked up. Specifically on the first tour. The wine-maker never does public tastings and does not sell his wine to individuals. We later learned that some of the wines we tasted sell for over $1,000 per bottle in restaurants!!! Craziness! Needless to say, after about three hours I was three sheets to the wind. We went for dinner an hour after we finished the wine tour and it took 4.5 hours!!! Ok, European service is nothing like it is in the US...mainly because they get paid salaries and don't get tips. In the US, they do more of a dog and pony show because they know their take-home pay is based on the experience you had (and the food, of course). Anyway, this restaurant had THE slowest service on the planet. I kid you not; I fell asleep at the table!! Ok, all of the wine in the afternoon probably did not help, but I seriously felt like I was being tortured. They didn't even serve us our wine. It was sitting on this table off to the side. They were waiting for our entrees to come out, but it was over an hour. We served ourselves. Plus, I think our waiter seemed like he needed some happy pills. Saddest looking man I've ever seen. Anyway, I didn't exactly fall asleep and snore. Just laid my head down for a minute, which also involved some serious head nodding. Head drops and snaps back real fast. On Sunday, we headed to Beaune since I was so close (although in the opposite direction from Geneva). We visited the Hospices de Beaune (Hotel Dieu) which was a hospital for the poor that was considered a palace. It was built in 1443. The architecture was unreal. It also has a very famous painting above the altar in the chapel, but was only allowed to be seen by the sick on Sundays and feast days. It was called the Last Judgment by Roger Van der Weyden. It was built to help people in the wake of the Hundred Years' War, which apparently left 75% of the people in the town with nothing. Really cool place to see. We grabbed some ice cream and then headed back to Geneva. The surrounding area makes you want to live there. The architecture in this area of France is beautiful. Great trip...Next trip is Oktoberfest in September (yes..it starts in September).

Masi's National Lampoons Italian Vacation!

A few weeks ago, the Masi’s arrived in Geneva and started their adventure in Europe. We spent a week in Italy and visited every type of city you could explore. Family heritage in Corato and Melfi, historic Rome, the romantic and pristine Tuscan hills and the islands by the sea, Cinque Terre. All of these places were beautiful, but for different reasons. The food & wine was delicious, but to be expected! I don’t think I drank this much in college. Masi’s are all about enjoying good food, good wine and good company!
When we told some of our European friends about the trip we were about to embark upon, they all thought we were insane for driving that much, but Americans have no issues with driving 3 hours, 6 hours, whatever it takes. It is about the adventure, right? Corato and Melfi were quite small and I think a few people were a bit concerned as to why we were photographing their little town. We ordered coffee in Corato and my family was a bit perplexed about the miniature cup and SUPER strong coffee. They were good sports though. Rome was amazing, but really hot! The Trevi Fountain, Pantheon, Spanish steps, Vatican museums, Sistine Chapel, St. Peter’s Basilica/Square, Colosseum, Palantine, Roman Forum, you name it, we went there. Brian and I are used to trekking around to 8 places a day on our weekend trips, regardless of rain, snow and of course, 90 degree weather. Our friends here are amazed at the amount of places we see when we travel. I think my parents felt a little like they were being punished, but were total troopers. My mom said a million times “thank god we work out at the Y!” In Tuscany, we were staying in a 17th century converted farm house that was 3km from the center of San Gimignano. The owner, Lucia, bought the ruins over 10 years ago. We could not believe the scenes from the windows (we hope Mom Young can paint one for us). We stayed in 1 of the four apartments there and it was awesome as you can see in the pictures. It was great to relax after the adventurous Rome part of the trip. We did some shopping, eating/drinking and laying out by the pool. We went on a wine tour in Chianti at the Monsanto vineyards. This was really cool as well. I was waiting for my dad to trip on a bottle of 1964 Chianti and owe the place 600 euros! They were extremely generous on the wine tasting part! We all felt a little tipsy afterwards because we didn’t have a large breakfast. Cinque Terre (five islands in Italian) was also very cool. The pictures did a great job of capturing the bright colors of the town. If we go back here, we would like to stay longer, do some hiking and explore all of the islands. In our one day there, soaked in the sun, went swimming and enjoyed a nice dinner. This vacation was not 100% relaxing, but it was a trip of a lifetime! Everyone had a blast and we confirmed our love for Italy!

The Guinness DOES taste different in Ireland...

There is nothing better than visiting a city with a local. Our friend, Tara, brought us home to Dublin and we had a blast. Her mother and brothers were just great and made us feel so at home. Her brothers do not live at home, but we partied with them Irish-style on Saturday night and got back at 4am on Sunday....My toes were killing me. Nothing like 10 hours in pointy, spiked heels!!! On Friday night we had a home-cooked meal prepared at Chez Mandals and just watched some futbol. On Saturday we had a delicious breakfast and visited a few touristy places like Christ's Church, Trinity College, Dublin Castle, a stroll through the Temple bar area and of course...the Guinness factory where you get a free pint...Bri's favorite. Prior to dinner at a nice French restaurant, we went to a local pub that played Irish music and had "special guests". This choir from Denmark sang a few songs for us in acapello. Really cool. After dinner, we went to a few bars and it was insane....People can certainly drink here. On Sunday we visited a nearby village in Enniskerry (where Tara's family was from - 30 min outside of Dublin). Cute shops where I bought more linens that I don't need. We had another great breakfast and dinner, watched the US open and left on Monday. It was so nice to be taken care of by "Mom Mandal". She was so good to us and we had a fabulous time. Next Stop...Cannes, France. Love you all!

Where Did All The Portuguese Come From

This weekend kicked off the first matches of the Euro 2008. Its a soccer tournament for qualifying European "football clubs". Within 5-10 min walking distance of our apartment is a big parking lot area where they normally hold flea markets and carnivals. This year they set up a Fan Zone with 2 HUGE screen TVs and loads of vendors selling food and beer. Its a great place to go and watch the games with some friends so, that's what we did on Saturday. We met up with our friends Mark and Lucie who are avid soccer fans.

Now I knew there were a lot of Portuguese people that lived in Geneva but our neighborhood should be called Little Portugal instead of Acacias. Portugal played against Turkey last night at 8:45 pm but the Portugal fans were out in force around noon. The Switzerland team played against the Czech Republic at 6 pm (Swiss lost) but there were more Portugal flags flying than Swiss ones. I was hoping that Portugal would get knocked out early so the neighborhood wouldn't be crazy for weeks but I don't think I am going to be so lucky. Never the less, we had a great time and are hoping the Swiss play better next game.

Look kids, Big Ben, Parliament

I only wish we had more time to spend there. We flew in on Friday night and out on Sunday night and it was a whirlwind tour. We saw more in one weekend than a lot of people who have lived in London a long time. The weather turned out to be better than expected. Clear skies on Saturday so it was perfect for taking a ride on the London Eye. The London Eye is a huge observation wheel with pods that fit about 10-12 people. It rotates very slowly like a big ferris wheel and on a clear day you can see pretty far across the city. We had some great views and took some nice pictures of Parliament and Buckingham Palace. I was very excited to see the changing of the guard at Buckingham Palace so we headed there about an hour before hand and waited. There were thousands of people there and we did our best to get a good spot. The time finally came and wayyyyy off in the distance we saw 3 normal looking guards march across the front of the palace, do a lot of high kicks and swing some guns around and then 3 other guards marched off. THE END I looked over at Dena and said, "that was lame." I guess I was expecting something more involved like the changing of the guard at the tomb of the unknown soldier at Arlington National Cemetery. But I should have known that no one does it quite as well as the US Marines. Semper Fi ! We went to the London Bridge and the Tower of London which is more like a castle than a tower. This is where the crown jewels are stored and they are very impressive in person. We took the underground a lot because things are pretty spread out and there is just so much to see. We also rode a double decker bus on the top deck just for 1 stop so we could say that we did. haha We met up with some friends on Sat. night for a nice dinner and then went to a pub afterwards and it was a lot of fun. Sunday we went to the national art museum and the portrait gallery and both were amazing. We also took a trip through Winston Churchill's war bunker. This was really cool to see and learn about what took place there. I think we spent more time there than Dena wanted to, but I was fascinated. Churchill had a phone line that connected him directly with President Roosevelt. The interesting thing about the bunker is that if a bomb was dropped on it, the bunker was not protected enough to keep it from collapsing. Luckily enough for Churchill, Hitler was never able to find out its location. Needless to say by the time we left London our feet and backs hurt and we were wiped out. We need to go back sometime to see the things we missed because there is so much to see you just can't get it all in a weekend. We had a blast and could definitely see ourselves living there. Next stop Ireland!!

Everybody likes free wine

This past weekend Dena and I were supposed to go to Brussels but we are such globe-trekkers we decided to bag that trip and stay in Geneva. Why you ask.....the Cave Overt, that's why. Brussels will be there for a long time but the Cave Ouvert only happens once a year. The same time every year the wineries around Geneva open their doors for tastings... free tastings. So we packed a lunch, met up with some friends and headed to the train station. We took am 11am train and got off about 20 min outside of Geneva in a small town called Staginy. There are about 4 wineries around this small town and we made it around to all of them to sample the goods. Some were better than others and we even bought 4 bottles by the end of the day. We had whites, roses, reds and some dessert wines. We didn't get back into Geneva until about 5pm so it was a long day but lots of fun. This weekend we are heading to London so lets hope it doesn't rain too much. Au revior

Firenze, Italy

What can I say about Florence...amazing food, beautiful sites, friendly people and a rustic bed and breakfast. We went for my 30th Birthday and I have to say it was one of the best Birthday's I've ever had! Every day I said to Brian "I can't believe how amazing this place is..." It is hard to describe, but it is something you feel when you are there. The historical aspect of Florence is one of the best things about it. So many talented artists and intellectuals came from Florence. We spent a full three days and hit every major site. On Friday we went to the Duomo group, climbed over 400 stairs to see views of Tuscany from the cathedral. We went through the Piazza della Signoria and crossed the Ponte Vecchio bridge where they sell all of the gold. We stopped for a light lunch and headed to the Bargello museum to see frescos and statues and then headed over to the Uffizi. It was amazing! One of the most amazing museums we saw. A lot of famous paintings here (Birth of Venus). We passed through a market and bought some salami, cheese and wine to take back to the balcony off of our room. So delicious! Dinner that night was at Aqua2Al. They are famous for their steaks and pasta sampler appetizer. No certain pasta is a guarantee. It is whatever the chef decides and they bring out 5 different small portions of pasta that you share with the table. SO GOOD. On Saturday, my actual Birthday, Bri gave me a beautiful diamond eternity band! So did not have to do that! As far as sites, we hit the Accademia that houses the statue of David. Looking at the real statue (there are copies everywhere) gives you chills. We then went to the Mercado Centrale to see local goods and food, San Lorezo. We had a great lunch overlooking the Arve river and then headed to the Galileo museum and Pallazza Veccio - this huge palace. It was awesome! We went to dinner at Cafe4Leoni and met 3 guys who thought Brian was good-looking...he just loved that....On Sunday we went to the Palazza Pitti, the Boboli Gardens and Santa Croce. The gardens were beautifully manicured and relaxing. Santa Croce church was near our B&B so our last stop before leaving. Very famous people, such as Michelangelo were buried here. You can see their actual tombs. Very cool. Overall, this trip definitely had the stars aligned. Everything was perfect..including the steady 73 degree weather. Next trip is London.

Amster, Amster, dam dam dam

The weather was looking grim but we had already booked our flight and hotel so we had to go. Luckily the weather held out for Saturday and we had a great day walking all around Amsterdam and seeing the sights. The weather on Sunday was not as nice but we still had fun. Amsterdam is the capital of Holland and the biggest city in the country. Although Amsterdam is known for its lax drug laws with its "coffee bars" and the "red light" district, it has so much more history and culture to offer. There are several great museums that we saw. My favorite was the Van Gogh museum. It houses the biggest Van Gogh collection in the world and the scope of his work is amazing. I like his painting but I really like a lot of the pencil and charcoal sketches he did. The least favorite museum was the Rijksmuseum. It looks amazing from the outside but due to all of the reconstruction of the building, 90% of the museum is closed. Good thing we paid 20 Euros to get in. (that's about 31.50 USD) We also saw the Anne Frank house and the Rembrandt House. The Anne Frank house was very moving and amazing to see. The Rembrant house was very neat to see since he painted and sold a lot of his masterpieces out of his house. There was the flower market which floats on barges in the canal and Dam Square. Dam Square (pernounced Dahm) is a major gathering place of photo ops and street performers. With all of the canals and weird street names it is very easy to get turned around so luckily we had a good map. There are more bikes in Amsterdam than cars so you really had to watch out when crossing the street. We sampled the local Pannekoken which is like crepes but they call them pancakes. The only issue was a slight mix up with our hotel room. We were booked in a room with 2 single beds on Friday so we asked to be moved. They said they didn't have the a room at the time but that a room would open up the next day on Saturday and they would move our stuff. So after a long day of sight seeing we get back to the hotel and they are having a hard time finding which room they moved us to. They finally find the room and when we get to the new room our luggage is not there. The front desk tells us to go back to our original room and get our bags but when I open the door there are new guests sleeping in the beds. I backed peddled out of that room so fast I almost knocked Dena over who was standing behind me. We go back to the front desk and tell them what happened. They say, "we are really sorry about this mix up, please have a seat in the bar and have a drink on us while we figure this out." I try and stay as calm as possible and say to them, "I'm not going anywhere until I find out where my luggage is." Luckily they found our bags and moved us to a newly refurbished room on the 1st floor and send a bottle of wine and fresh fruit to our room with an apology note. Free liquor and food always helps to smooth things over. Overall we had a great time and new memories to add to our European Travel Extravaganza.

Nice is so NICE!

We went to Nice, France for the night last weekend and had the best time. This picture was taken when we were 30 yards from the Mediterranean Sea drinking a bottle of Bordeaux. Life is tough, huh? The weather was absolutely gorgeous and the food was fantastic. Nothing like being on the coast with plenty of fresh fish. This was a last minute trip, but worth it. They had an amazing food and flower market in the Old town section and there were tons of little shops. Chanel to French linens and wine stores. The atmosphere of Nice is hard to describe. It was relaxing, romantic and beautiful scenery. There were tons of people running, roller blading, biking, etc. Seemed like a great place to retire...you never know.

Just another day in Morzine, France

We are having a great time skiing and enjoying what the mountains have to offer. Great sun, fresh air and good company. Hopefully my ski abilities improve next season so more people want to ski with me ;-), but Brian is a natural! The chalet has 4 bedrooms and a large kitchen living room area as well as a couple of bathrooms. Although it is easier to drive to the lifts, we do have the ability to walk there (in 6 minutes) if we bring along a backpack for our shoes. What is really great about being in France is smoking has finally been banned in restaurants (fingers crossed for Switzerland in March). When we go to restaurants we can actually enjoy the meal! Something we’ve been accustomed to in the States. We don’t want to wish the winter away, but we are looking forward to traveling more in the spring. We’ve booked two trips so far because of a huge airline sale. We are heading to Amsterdam March 29th and Belgium on May 23rd. We miss you all!