Italy is actually three countries. The North, The Central, and The South. Our BMW Tour this summer gave us two weeks to explore the North and the Central. Two hundred years would not have been enough. We named this tour “Forza Italia”, the force of Italy, the essence of Italy. We did, if only briefly, experience that essence.
We had eighteen people of diverse occupation and age on this 2001 tour. Our BMW Tours always begin in Munich, a good jumping off point for the wonders south of the Alps. And jump is what it feels like. A trip through the inspiring Brenner Pass between Austria and Italy makes you feel as if you have leaped into the heartland of Italy. Our first stop was Venice.
So much has been written about the good and bad of Venice that I won't begin to critique the city in this account.
Venice is city not to be missed. It may be over touristed and overpriced, but this city always has a way of charming it's visitors. No matter the number of tourists, there is still an intimacy about Venice.
For “day trippers” or weeklong guests, Venice is a feast for historian, art lover, photographer, or shopper.
To add to your enjoyment of the Venetian Lagoon, be sure to take the water taxis to the islands of Murano and Burano and have a meal on Torchetto. The only way to ride in a gondola in Venice without conspicuously being a tourist is to be in love.
We had two days in this city. Our hotel, The Marconi, was on the Grand Canal by the Rialto Bridge. Exploring the back alleys and small piazzas was my favorite impression of Venice.
We moved from this spot in the North to our next accommodation in Central Italy.
The Palazzo Viviani is located in the small town of Montegridolfo. This former ducal palace,
really a walled fortification, was one of the most fantastic settings for our eclectic band of
travelers.
The master suite
From Montegridolfo we visited Perugia and Assisi on our way to heaven.
Yes, heaven. That is the only way to describe Tuscany. If heaven isn't as nice as Tuscany, I might try to arrange to come back.
This is my fifth visit to Tuscany but I have only barely scratched the surface of things to see and do in this magical place. This is the seat of the Renaissance and it is easy to see why great art sprang from here. Every day is a visual and emotional assault on the senses. You can read up on Tuscany in the guide books, look at the hundreds of photographs people have taken, but nothing prepares you for the indescribable feeling of the place. If you wander south of Florence into the Tuscan Hills, you will forever be charmed. I mean this as much a warning as well as an inducement. Once you experience Tuscany you will be compelled to return.
This is why we keep coming back:
We haven't seen every work of art
We haven't visited every hilltop town
We haven't photographed every beautiful scene
We haven't eaten every delicious Tuscan dish
We haven't shopped at every town's market day
We haven't tried every vineyard's Chianti
We haven't hiked every trail or driven every back road
Does one carry landscape in one's body? Is it in the genes? Could be, my grandparents were from here.
I'm never sad to leave this magic place because I know I will reurn.
But leave we did, on a quest for the ocean and the Ligurian Coast.
Santa Margherita, on the Italian Riviera, seems like the perfect location for a mixed touring style.
We roughed it by hiking in the Cinque Terre and we hob knobbed with the rich and famous in Portofino.
The Cinque Terre had been the best-kept secret in Italy but since Rick Steves has publicized it the area has become very crowded. Still, there is no place in the world that I have found that compares to hiking or boating between these five unique villages. My favorite seafood dish, linguine with clams, is served in a restaurant, Gambero Rosso, in the village of Vernazza. Gambero Rosso, advertises itself as, "the best seafood restaurant in Italy you can't get to.” After the two hour hike from the adjoining village of Corniglia, the food at Gambero Rosso is your pot-of-gold at the end of the rainbow.
A contrast in lifestyle from the primitive Cinque Terre is Portofino.
The beautiful people, with their fabulous yachts at anchor, are a show worth seeing.
Eat at the harborside restaurant, Delfino, and watch the passeggiata.
We discovered a little cove beyond Portofino called San Fruttuoso. It is just a stone covered beach with a restaurant and an old monastery but we enjoyed a day there.
San Fruttuoso
Lake Como in the summer can be hot and this summer was no exception. We enjoyed a day in Bellagio with a meal on the waterfront at a restaurant overlooking the lake. The pesche di lago (lake fish) was excellent.
The heat and haze drove us out a day early but our next drive through the San Bernardino Pass in Switzerland and our next stop, the Swiss hamlet of Appenzell, brought us the cool relief we were seeking.
Appenzell was only intended as a stopover on our way back to Germany but the village, it's people, and it's scenery kept us an extra day.
Some of our group hiked, others rode the Santis Gondola to snow capped peaks, and some drove their cars on small mountain roads to capture the scenery in these photos.
Time was running out on our journey. We had to make one more stop --- Baden Baden.
This was our chance to cruise the Black Forest, enjoy the many spas, and try our luck at the casino.
Friedrichsbad
Casino
We will have some very fond memories of this trip and of the new friends we've made. Any one of our stops could have been a vacation in itself, but to experience the whole of this voyage with good friends, good food, and beautiful places is the lasting treat.
Ray Iacovelli
Summer 2001
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