The Bernina Express

At Torino, we walked out of the Italian train station across a square to the Swiss railway. There we boarded the Bernina Express, described as the most spectacular way to cross the Alps. The panoramic cars travel slowly on an electric, rather than a rack railway. From...

Milan and Lake Como

We left Venice at dawn, headed for Milano, Torino, and points beyond. On the way, we rode alongside Lake Como, the third largest lake in Italy, nestled up against the Swiss Alps. It’s popular with celebrities. George and Amal Clooney spend their summers here. Arrival...

Island Of Lido

We took the vaporetto over to the island of Lido, because there’s a beach!  Lido is a 7-miles long barrier island that protects Venice. Beaches extend down the eastern side of the island. There are cars on Lido, but also city buses. The vaporetto landing. We have...

Our and About in Venice

More exploration in beautiful Venice.  On the Ponte degli Scalzi Bridge that connects the Sestieri (or district) of Cannaregio with Santa Croce. The distinctive green dome of the Church of San Simeon Piccolo is in the background (right by our hotel) Next to the train...

Venice

All my life I’ve dreamed of Venice. It exceeded my imagination. In recent years friends who’ve been have cautioned me it’s been degraded by too many tourists and cruise ships, but we found it nearly perfect. The streets and the water were clean, and it smelled like a...

An Unexpected Trip to the Pronto Succorso

Venice is everything I dreamed it would be, but ironically, it was the site of the low point of our grand adventure, set in a hospital emergency room… Every few years I get bronchitis, the legacy of pneumonia I had when I was 29. When I do, I have to act quickly to...