Asiago - "Des Alpes" our apartment

6-13 July

A long distance view of our apartment building  - its main role is as a ski resort.

Our apartment was on the top floor - one of those with a pointy roof and a wooden balcony fence.

Inside - plenty of electronics!

View from our balcony - another ski resort building below, and Spar supermarket just beyond - very convenient.  In the distance is a huge war memorial - more later.

We did not have very good weather in Asiago - it rained almost every day, but this was another view from our balcony on a rare sunny morning.

This foggy morning was rather beautiful.

Asiago - Northern Italy - stilt walkers and fire show

6 July - arrival in Asiago.  We stayed here for a week, in an apartment with some orienteering friends from New Zealand.  On the first evening the township put on a wonderful outdoor show for the hundreds of visitors who had arrived for 5 days of orienteering in this region.

Candles are lit in the central square.

Stilt walkers and fire!

Bassano del Grappa

July 6 - Heading north-west from Venice to Asiago.  One of our stops was at the township of Bassano del Grappa.  This was a town with wide open piazzas and a covered bridge.  It is most famous for grappa - "firewater" made from pomace (discarded grape seeds, stalks and stems).  Potent stuff!  We visited the Poli distillery and Owen bought a bottle which he shared with friends for the rest of our trip.

River Brenta

Owen on the covered bridge - note the grand piano!

This famous covered bridge was designed by Palladio in 1569.  It has been rebuilt several times - the last time after WWII.

Venice - orienteering and sight-seeing

4-5 July - We last visited Venice in the early 1970's.  It hasn't changed much except for the growth in tourist numbers.  It's still a very beautiful city and fascinating to wander around.

The main reason for coming to Venice was an urban sprint event being held here on the Saturday morning.  Finding the start was a navigational challenge in itself - here it is.

One of the bridges we crossed walking to the start.

The orienteering event was great fun, and required careful map reading through narrow alleys and across many bridges.
Here are some of the Kiwis recovering afterwards with very expensive cold drinks.

This was my orienteering map.

We spent the rest of this hot day wandering around and taking in the sights.

Piazza San Marco and St Mark's Basilica

Doges Palace, Piazza San Marco.

Torre dell’Orologio, a clock tower built between 1496 and 1506

A gondola traffic jam

The famous Rialto bridge

The Grand Canal

On the way to Venice - Soave and Vicenza

4 July - On the way to Venice we stopped overnight in Soave, and went on to explore the elegant world heritage township of Vicenza.

Soave is famous for its breads and white wines.

In the morning we walked up to the castle above the walled town of Soave.

Vineyards around Soave

Next sight-seeing stop was Vicenza, a UNESCO world heritage town.  Much of the architecture was by Palladio in the 1500's (probably not this sculpture though!)

The Piazza del Signori and the bell tower, Loggia del Capitaniato (which is straight up and down in real life).

Rather a dull day in Vicenza - too bad because the buildings were very colourful.

Two beautiful cities - Mantova (Mantua) and Verona

3 July - We headed eastwards across Northern Italy and took stops at two very beautiful and historic cities.

Mantova (Mantua) had a very historic town centre.  The round building is a Roman building, now a church.  Other buildings dated from the 1500's.

Palazzo Ducale, Mantova

On to Verona, famous for its opera festivals.  This Roman arena is now used for outdoor operas.

Verona was very spacious and much of the inner city is pedestrian only so it was a pleasure to walk around and explore.

This gate, La Porta Borsari, was built between 50 and 40 BC.

Markets were busy both in Mantova and here in Verona.

Famous, and very old frescoes in Verona.

Yes, we are in Italy!

Another view of the Roman Arena in Verona.