Venezia: Every turn a surprise

We are now mid-way of our European vacation. Up next, Venice! Like most of you, I’ve seen pictures and movies set in Venice. So in my mind, I had an idea of what to expect. Canals after canals, gondola rides, you name it. From Firenze Santa Maria Novella train station, we boarded another high-speed train, the Frecciarosa. Thanks again to Gemma and Geri (our new “instant” cousins from Milan), they helped us purchase our tickets a few days ago. This allowed us to know the exact time we needed be at the station. 

This is now our 3rd time riding a high-speed train. I am still so amazed at the smoothness of the ride, arguably very comfortable. One thing I noticed about the scheduled train rides in Italy, well, they really do go on schedule (what a novel idea). So you know what that means? We needed to make sure we made it to the station at least a half hour before the scheduled train ride. Doors to the train usually opens 20 minutes before the ride. Fortunately, the high-speed train rides to Firenze, Pisa, and Venezia weren’t full. If I’m not mistaken, the seats were also assigned.

We arrived at Venezia train station around noon. Without joking, if our train went any further, we’d be hitting the canals. Why? Well, the train station itself serves as the barrier between land and water. The moment we walked off of the train station, bam….Venice, in all of its glory.

Call me, Jason, the travel agent

It was always the moments leading to the arrival when I was most anxious. Why? I was the one who made all of the major travel arrangements. Knowing that we rented apartments, I went by the ratings/reviews written by other travelers on AirBNB and VRBO. Other than that, it was a major gamble, I just had to trust the pictures and the great reviews I read about the places I chose. I made arrangements for our party of 8 - from the airline booking, apartment reservations, hotel booking, suggestions on restaurant choices, and major sightseeing choices. 

Finding Betty

Prior to our train ride, I was in contact with the apartment manager in Venezia. He inquired about our arrival time. He assigned Betty to meet us upon our arrival. Betty met us directly across the canal that’s facing the train station (and our landmark was this church with a green dome). While I knew that Venezia had gondolas, I didn’t know if there were taxis or other types of transportation within the area. All Betty said was to follow her. When Betty said follow her, we, the 8 obedient Americans, did as we were told. We followed Betty. I didn’t know how long of a walk we’d be doing, or if Betty was leading us to a transportation area, or if we were going to ride a gondola. Instead, we walked this one long alley (about 100 yards), then turned a quick right and left, and she said, “this is your apartment” - it was that close. All in all, from the train station, no more than 10 minutes. Score! Now, the next unknown, please be a decent apartment. We walked in the building, and Betty pointed to a room, and she said, “that’s your washing machine room.” We then took 1 flight up, and she opened the doors to our apartment. It was as the picture had described…an old Italian looking apartment with 3 bedrooms, a living room, a kitchen/dinette, and 1, yes 1 bathroom. Oh dear. This will be interesting since 8 people will be eyeing the bathroom. Other than that, we were happy - this apartment is our home for 2.5 days.

Venezia, every turn a surprise

So there were only a few things I knew of about Venezia - gondolas, the Rialto Bridge, and St. Mark’s Square or Piazza San Marco - photographed many times with lots of doves flying or hanging around the square. Other than that, everything else was a new experience for our group. We decided to make our way towards Piazza San Marco (PSM). We had no map. That part was really scary. We were told it would take 50 minutes of walking from our apartment to PSM (that’s if we don’t stop anywhere - fat chance)! All we followed were signs telling you how to get to PSM. Upon leaving our apartment, at first it was 5 minutes of stroll with us passing through other apartments. Soon after, we were led to may different little churches, cafes pizzeria, and stores, after stores, after stores. There were bridges so picturesque that gave us an opportunity to watch gondolas pass by. It was evident that we had to get on a gondola for ourselves. 

Bucket List: Gondola ride in Venezia (check)

I’ve always wanted to ride the gondolas at the Venetian in Las Vegas. I never got around to actually doing it. So for sure, riding one in Venice was a must-do for me and the fam. These rides aren’t cheap. For a party of 4, we were told $20 each ($80 total) for a half-hour ride. We walked away for a bit, and we were offered $60 for 4 people….fine, let’s do it then!

The 8 of us rode 2 gondolas, and we floated around Venezia, under different residential bridges, nearby business, and finally, we found ourselves in what looked like the big open water. From afar was the Rialto Bridge, and I knew that we’d have to walk through the Rialto to get to PSM. At one point, our gondola “sailor”, is that what he’s called? Anyway, he pointed to a small building, probably 3-4 stories high - that’s where George Clooney got married. This was a real neat experience and have the opportunity to share this Ethan and Madison.

The rest of the afternoon was spent shopping in Venice. As I have mentioned, it was filled with stores every single corner we turned. The girls,  Madison, Nancy, Emily, and Janelle, shopped for a few clothes, some of them, they plan on wearing when we get to Paris.

We finally made it to the Rialto Bridge. This was a very crowded bridge. Lots of vendors selling selfie sticks, and it also served as a perfect spot to take our

family pictures. After leaving the Rialto, we walked some more, and finally ended up in Piazza San Marco. Let’s just say it probably took us close to 3 hours to get to PSM with all the walking, eating, and shopping - but that was okay, we weren’t in a hurry. The square was larger that life. I pinched myself. I’ve always admired the PSM replica the Venetian in Las Vegas, and now, there I was looking at the real deal. Another thing I checked off from our bucket list….done!

For the rest of the afternoon, we decided to see Venice from its sunlit beauty to its nighttime glory. We ate at a restaurant called “Planeta” that was recommended by Igor, a front desk manager we met at Hotel Bruno. For dinner, it was all about fresh pasta and pizza - from Linguine Clams to Tagliatelle with Lobster. We were really beginning to appreciate the freshness of the pasta. I, for one, am quite particular with pasta. I like it Al Dente. I don’t want it sitting in hot water for a long time. I like having it with a bite. 

After dinner, we stumbled upon a dessert shoppe that caught Nancy’s eyes earlier. Come to find out, they made fresh tiramisu on the spot. Nancy loves

 Pistachio and she ordered Tiramisu al Pistachio. That was just delicious. The tiramisu was served in a cup, with layers of Lady fingers, and the cream, and on top, chunky pieces of pistachio. We shared that and was about to leave and vowed to return before we returned to the apartment. But, wait, what if we get lost later? Well, we ordered another tiramisu - just your good ol’ Tiramisu Classico - happy now? You betcha!

We walked back to the square and near the water, and we were able to take pictures with the sunset. The wind also started to pick up which made the waves of the open water look even more interesting. It was around 8pm when we decided to make our way back to the apartment. Again, we had no map, but decided to follow the signs. This time, we followed the signs that showed “Piazzale Roma” - I remembered seeing that earlier, and our apartment was somewhat close to that area. So we walked, and remembered the stores we passed by earlier. It was close to 9pm, and we stopped by another pizzeria (I forgot to mention), we ate earlier during the day. All the pizzas were served fresh out of the oven. At first, it was just Ethan and Madison who wanted to eat. This was not a sit-down kind of a pizzeria. It was all counter service. Everything they served looked so enticing, and boy, were we enticed! We ordered calzones, and 4-5 different slices of pizza. That was a perfect way to end our evening. 

Oh Venice, we’d love to visit again. Every street corner gave us a pleasant surprise. Every shop had its uniqueness and we’re hoping to come back again in the future. Grazie!

Destination: Firenze and Pisa

We left Milan around 10am. We took a high-speed train, the Frecciarossa. While on the train, the kids were able to do their homework. I surfed the net and dozed off every now and then. This train was so fast and it’s no wonder we made it Florence in no time. Upon arrival at the station, we took 2 taxi cabs to Piazza di Santa Croce, this is where our apartment was located. It was only a 5 minute drive, and driving around Firenze for the 1st time, it felt like being in a Bourne Supremacy movie. The streets were crowded, tight…it was an organized chaos. Drivers knew what to do, and the pedestrians seemed to be cognizant of their surroundings. First impression….wow, it was just like everything I imagined it would be.

Our apartment wasn’t ready for us yet so we dropped off our stuff downstairs, and started to walk around. The cab driver mentioned Via Montanoia, a 10-minute walk from our apartment. We didn’t know where to go, but we let our eyes decide our fate.

Central Market

We entered a market and walked around and found a crowd build-up in front of Panificio. No one spoke English so it was all about finger pointing and letting our hands do the talking. We ordered lasagna, a prosciutto sandwich, a pizza, and a couple of sodas….all for $11.50 Euro….not bad…that fed the four of us. Ben ordered something similar. There were no tables, but we managed to eat in this make-shift little dining area. I’m telling you, it was just what we needed. Nothing too crazy, just a  simple lunch with the locals.

Food crawl

We had 2 hours to kill before making our way towards our apartment, so what did we do? We crawled, we tippy toed from one coffee shop to a bakery, to a pasticceria, to a few shoe stores. We watched the crowds grow and diminish in some areas. It was an easy stroll that we did. I personally loved the alley ways, and the colors of this little town. It was just picture perfect. With that said, time to check our apartment.

Don’t judge an apartment by its stairs
We entered our apartment and we were greeted by Filippo. We followed him 3 flights up. The staircase were narrow, and when you add our carry-ons and luggage, it was an out-of-breath experience. I was beginning to get very concerned. But I told myself, you’ve read the reviews, Jason, so don’t worry about it…..sure enough, once Filippo opened the doors, it was a wow moment - the hallways, lighting, the roomy bedrooms with private bathrooms, the trendy kitchen…and then bam….the views overlooking Piazza di Santa Croce. This apartment surely delivered the goods and we were happy!!!

I’ll sleep for 15 minutes

Em and Ben decided to take a nap, I hopped in the shower and asked Nancy to wake me up in 15 minutes…NOT. Darn you, Jet lag! I slept close to an hour, but it was a much needed rest. Shortly after, we all got ready and headed out for dinner.

Club Culinario Toscana Da Osvaldo

Filippo recommended Club Culinary Toscana Da

Osvaldo and that’s where we went for dinner. At first got a little lost, I found another restaurant, Ristorante Del Fagioli, which looked very enticing, but I trusted Filippo’s suggestion. When we first looked at  Club Culinario, there was hardly any guests. But we went in anyway and were led to this almost-private room. Our waiter, Lorenzo, spoke very good English, and so we started to pick from the very interesting menu. We all ordered something different, the menu was quite unique. The most memorable were Ethan’s and Janelle’s pasta with sausage and black truffles. Madison, on the other hand, had an unforgettable ravioli with spinach. She enjoyed this one sooooo much, and the very generous tried not to share…she tried…but that didn’t work with me. i got a piece of her stuffed ravioli.What a relaxing dinner, great conversation, great company, and sumptuous dinner. 

We explored the city center by walking towards Piazza de la Signoria took pictures of David outside Palazzo de la Vecchio and the Ufizi. Foodieness struck again and we found ourselves at Bar Berso for Gelato. That was a perfect way to end our first evening in Venice. The next day is planned to hectic so we needed our rest.

Leaning on Pisa

Whoever I talked to prior to this trip mentioned that we might as well go to 
Pisa when we go to Venice. So we took the 9am train out of Firenze, and headed for Pisa. We got to Pisa around 10am. Took a cab from the station directly to Pisa. At this point, I had no idea that tower was going to be right —> there! I was pinching myself. I’ve seen hundreds of pictures of the Leaning Tower of Pisa, and now, there I was standing a few few feet away from it. Not long after, we found ourselves taking many pictures of the tower, oh the tourists that we are! That photo session alone took about an hour, different angles, etc….heck, this was an opportunity we never had before. By noon, we headed back to train station and made our way back to Firenze in an hour.




Is that Ponte Vecchio? Or is “that” Ponte Vecchio?

Since learning that we’ll be in Firenze, Ponte Vecchio was an attraction that was always on the top list. It’s basically an old bridge…really that’s all. Everyone else in my party did not know what to expect so they thought the other “bridges” had to be Ponte Vecchio. After convincing them that the busy market-crowded bridge was Ponte Vecchio, we all made our way on the bridge and again took dozens of pictures. The rest of the afternoon was spent walking to Piazza Duomo, the Ufizi, Palazzo de Vecchio in Piazza de la Signoria. For dinner, we went to  a restaurant I discovered by pure accident last night....Ristorante del Fagionli. Tonight, I vowed to return (against all odds). When we arrived at 8:15pm, there was a crowd waiting outside. Come to find out, I stumbled upon a Rick Steves treasure just around the corner from our apartment near Piazza Santa Croce. We were told 9:30 for our party of 8. This was worth the wait, Florentine classics, family-style, away from the touristy beaten path. That was great way of spending our last night in Firenze. This is definitely a place I'd like to visit again. Grazie, Firenze and Pisa!!!

From NYC to Milan, Italy

Leaving on a jet plane

I've flown out of JFK many times, but have never flown out of their international terminal. It's hard not to compare JFK with LAX. There were many more things to do in JFK, and the foodie that I am was surprised to see Shake Shack, a burger joint that is quite popular in NYC. I've seen Shake Shack every time I pass by 8th Ave, but have avoided it many times due to the crowd. After all, whenever I'm in NY, I'm not really there to try burgers. Well, now that it was right there near our gate, I figured that it's probably the best time to try Shake Shack. I ordered the Shack Stack Cheeseburger and a ’Shroom Burger topped with lettuce, tomato and Shack Sauce....the verdict, it was alright....I thought the cheese was quite salty. Nevertheless, I can say that I've tried it and didn't have to fight the crowd in NYC.

Flying with Emirates  If there was one thing I was disappointed with Emirates Airlines, or maybe it was a JFK-issue, it was the way they herded the cows (passengers). While each passenger had a group assignment (when to enter the 

plane), there simply was no sort of organization. The Process Improvement Engineer in me shook its head when the herd of cows piled in front of the airline steward just so we could all make our way inside). To put it “plane” and simple, it was a bit of a mess. But once we got in, the experience was extremely different. Since it was an evening flight, the lights were dimmed, and in no time, we found ourselves in a row of 4 seats. Weariness started to take over. I haven’t had enough sleep from all the activities from the day and night prior (studying, exploring NYC, etc.). After a couple of selfie pics with the family, I tuned everything out, and closed my eyes. Not long after, a flight attendant offered us warm to almost hot facial towels. I needed that!. While Ethan and Madison tuned in to their movie or TV show of their choice, Nancy and I decided to just close our eyes. We have close to 8 hours of journey up ahead.
Once we were up in the air, it didn’t take long for dinner to be served. All I can remember was the chunky chicken that was served. I don’t expect much from airplane food, but Emirates knew how to cook and serve meals. Shortly thereafter, we were knocked out, and I remember waking up 5 hours later. Why? I smelled food again. Hahahahahaha! Breakfast was served, and I had fritatta and sausage with orange juice. 

Our flight was scheduled to arrive after 11am, but the plane arrived at Malpensa International Airport shortly after 10am. I think I like Emirates!!! Going through customs was a breeze. 


Traveling lightly?  So you have to remember that we’re going to be in Europe close to 2 weeks. On top of that, I was already on the East Coast for 1 week. How in the world did I manage to just use 1 carry-on luggage and 1 back pack. To make it even more interesting, I advised the entire group that we should all travel lightly, and to my surprise, everyone did the same…all in all, we had 8 pieces of carry-on luggage, and 8 backpacks. Now, that’s progress! I am so proud of our families. Why travel lightly? Well, it’s not about the extra charges that the airlines will charge you, but I knew that we’d be walking a lot, hopping from planes to buses, to trains, to taxis. This was put to a test the moment we arrived in Milan (more details later).

My cousin’s cousin who is not really my cousin, but is now my cousin The moment we landed in Milan, I checked my iPhone and hopped on the free airport Wi-Fi. I called Gemma (using Facebook Messenger). Gemma is my cousin’s cousin who is not really my cousin, but is now my cousin. Gemma is from Milan, and she is a first cousin of my first cousin, Ate Lina (who is from Switzerland). So bam! I instantly gained a cousin :-) With the help of Facebook Messenger, Gemma and I kept in touch a few weeks ago, and from Day 1 she said not to worry and she’ll set aside time to make sure we’re taken care of. The days leading up to the trip, we talked some more, and we agreed to meet in Cadorna, a train station accessible from Malpensa Airport. I called Gemma and advised her that we arrived 1 hour early and she said she’ll be there waiting for our party.

Train Ticket woes Prior to our flight to Milan, Nancy and I made sure we had Euros with us, and that we are to only use points-earning credit cards that have no foreign transaction fees. Everything was set…until we got to Malpensa’s train ticket machines. There were 3 Trenitalia machines. From what it looked like, everyone seemed to have a hard time. There was a loooonggg line for the “cash-only” passengers. But I opted to do the self-serve. I chose all the right options, and by the time I inserted my credit card, it kept asking for a PIN code. Well, I’m not really one of those who use the credit card for cash advance so I never really had a PIN code. I tried other credit cards, still no PIN. Then I tried my debit card, and the machine did not accept debit cards. After all was said and done, we ended paying cash for our train tickets from the airport to Cadorna. The purchase wasn’t fun, but you live, and you learn.


We missed our 11:04 train, and made it to the 11:30 train instead. The ride was smooth, and took about a 1/2 hour. Most of us tried to close our eyes during this short ride. Not long after, we arrived safely in Cadorna station. Once we got off the train, I heard a voice call out my name. It was Gemma. A big hug! Even bigger surprise was to see her beautiful daughter, Sophia, who only spoke Italian. I’ll have a full section dedicated to Gemma, Sophia, Geri, and the rest of the family. 

Hey Milan, we’re here! Once we saw Gemma, we were all in business. First order of activity, purchase local train tickets. Gemma assisted with purchasing the tickets. Next up, food. Gemma, fortunately, has seen my Facebook page, so she knew that I’m not a big fan of fast food chains or franchise types of restaurants. When I’m on vacation, or anytime I’m away from home (business trip or another), it’s gotta be something with a local flair. The smaller the place, the better. The ones away from the tourist beaten path. The ones where even the locals themselves go and visit. She had the perfect one in mind…Pizza Sprontini, a 5-minute walk away from Cadorna train station. 



Back to the luggage, why the need to travel lightly  The moment we started to work our way toward Pizza Sprontini, we all dragged our luggage from escalators, to stairs to the streets…you get the picture. Once we arrived at Pizza Sprontini, everyone got their taste of dragging their own luggage through all of the crazy terrains of being in the city. I saw that coming, and I’m glad that I was able to warn everyone about keeping it all light. Ok, back to our first Italian pizza. According to Gemma, Pizza Sprontini does not boast of many different pizza choices. Instead, it only serves 1-2 different types of pizza. The one that we ordered is a margherita pizza. Not the margherita with cheese and basil, but just good ol' gob of cheese. We had a couple of choices, one was for a smaller slice, and other one was “abundante” which was served 1.5 slices. The pizza slices were served within 5 minutes. We worked up an appetite by then. What was different? It was a thick crust, typically not my favorite style. I like New York pizzas - the kind that you can fold in 1/2 and eat. But, Sprontini’s was thick - perfectly thick. It was uber cheesy. It was purely all about the cheese. In fact, there were some toasted cheese or burnt cheese that tasted even better. That was a great first lunch.


Finding our apartment on Via Brocchosi

We followed Gemma and caught a tram, We had to walk a few more blocks to finally find our apartment. Massimo, the apartment manager, was there waiting for us. I was a bit skeptical. This was our first apartment in Italy, and I wanted to make sure it had the things we needed. We rang the bell, and Massimo buzzed back and let us in. We were on the 3rd floor, but really, it was on the 4th floor (the first floor being Floor Zero). To get upstairs, we had 2 choices, walk up, or take the elevator (it was big enough to fit 2-3 people). We all made it upstairs, met Massimo, and found our home for 2.5 days. A hallway, a huge living room/dining room, 2 bedrooms, 2 bathrooms, 2 showers, 1 bath tub, a kitchen. It was perfect for our needs. The windows overlooked the main road. Right outside of our apartment was a cafe, a bakery, and a pizza joint. We were at home, finally!


A short nap, then Duomo  Jet lag took over. Once we saw the beds, and the comfy chairs, we took about an hour nap, but decided to get ready and head out. We took a tram and found ourselves in Piazza Duomo. I’ve seen this in pictures many, many times - but nothing compares to seeing it in person. It really looked like a tower of melting candles. Of course, we took lots of pictures with the Duomo in the back drop. After Duomo, Gemma took us to Anema e Cozze, known for it’s seafood pasta. Aaaahhhh we ordered quite a few pasta dishes including pizzas. It was good to relax, talk about our crazy day, and our plans for the next day. We made it back to our apartment around 10pm. Thanks to Gemma and Sophia for guiding us that day.

More ticketing business We planned on meeting Gemma near the Duomo at 9am. We tried, we really tried. Well, we were jet lag victims to begin with, and to top it all of, Milan had its Daily Savings Time change (where we lost another hour of sleep). At 7:30am, I called Gemma and asked her if we could meet her at 10am instead. We finally got out of our apartment before 9:30 which should give us enough time to take to tram rides to Duomo. We had it all planned. Gemma gave us specific details which trams to take and where to get on and off. Murphy’s Law (anything that can go wrong, will go wrong) - while we had everything planned, well, something else happened. We got on a tram, and we were told to get off after 2 stops! What???HELP!!! Where do we go? 



Running with the bulls 
We had no idea why until we saw a herd of people running the marathon. Aaahhhh (light bulb), that’s why traffic was diverted. Ok so Plan B - call/text Gemma. We ended up meeting Gemma at a nearby stop that I remembered seeing from the day before. Victory! We finally met Gemma’s husband, Geri, and along with them is precious little Sophia. By this 2nd day, Sophia and the whole gang were already enamored by her innocent charm, and lovely looks. 

Back to more ticketing business
After meeting up with Gemma and family, we headed for Milano Centrale train station to purchase ALL of our European train tickets. This in itself was a test of our American patience. This process took over an hour. We had to take a stub, and waited for our turn. Fortunately again, we had Gemma and Geri translating for us. After 15 minutes of transaction, we were able to purchase our Euro tickets. Yes!!!


Shortly after, we also met my cousin, Lina, and her husband, Rainier. They came all the way from Switzerland. They spent the rest of the afternoon with us, first by going to Ristorante Xier (an all-you-can-eat buffet), then back to Duomo and the surrounding areas, such as Montenapoleone. At this time, it wasn’t so much about the tourist attractions, but watching all of us talk and exchange stories between each other. The last time I saw Ate Lina and Rainer was back in the late 90’s when they both visited us in California. It was a great way to catch-up, and a great way for us to also get to know Gemma and her family. Thank you for visiting us, Ate Lina and Rainier  :-)

After they left, we walked more, and more, ate this and that, gelato here and there. People watched left and right - that was all part of the rest of the afternoon. Of course, all good things can’t end without a great Italian dinner. Gemma and Geri gave us more tips how to get around on Monday morning. We will be alone, and we needed to get from our apartment to the train station. Their instructions were so specific, so we successfully made it to Milano Centrale to catch our train to Florence on the next day. Gemma, Geri, Sophia - thank you for your hospitality. What a great way to start our European vacation!!!