Veneto

Islands of La Giudecca

One of the historic neighborhoods of Venice, La Giudecca is formed by a series of islands all connected between them by big and small size bridges overlooking the canal, which carries its name – Canale della Giudecca. The area was once known as Spinalunga, describing the spine of rocky outcropping that makes up the islands. In recent times La Giudecca has been growing thanks to land reclaimation: the Sacca Fisola, placed on the western side of the Laguna. La Giudecca is located south of Venice and is a nice, peaceful residential area, lacking of all the noisy tourists roaming around the downtown areas. In fact it is one of the few places in Venice that truly still belongs to the Venitians!

More Tours of Venice

Venice Tours & Itineraries II

Venice is considered one of the most beautiful cities in the world. It is a combination of 118 small islands in northern Italy. Tradition has it that fishermen settled on the islands centuries ago and eventually it was used by the Italian military. Venice is full of history and definitely has a distinct culture. I would say Venice has a very cozy atmosphere because all the buildings are so snug together and it’s true what they say, “you haven’t been to Venice, unless you got lost in Venice.”

Venice Tours

Venice Tours & Itineraries

Venice is a world of its own. We took a train from Florence to Venice and never expected the train to actually stop in Venice (how was it going to cross the body of water?). Boy, was it spectacular – pulling into the train station and thinking to myself, “the only way around this city is by boat”. It was so interesting, so unique, so other-worldly. I felt like a kid in a candy store or like I entered a world of make believe. After gathering our luggage I purchased a cigar in the station and headed outside to wait for a taxi, a water taxi.

Arabba Ski Resort

Ski Holiday in Arabba

The Arabba ski resort is located at the base of Sella Massif at the foot of Pordoi and Campolongo passes, in the heart of the Super Ski Dolomiti region and boasts 1,040 kilo meters of ski trails and 465 lifts. It's also one of the highest resorts in the Dolomites.

The most practical way to get to reach the resort is to fly to Venice-Marco Polo Airport and take a train to Belluno.

Dolomite Tour I : A Long Journey on our Motorcycle

The Move

Hi there, Here we are Joe & Eva, two people who decided to change their lives. We talked about it for ages. As you know, there is always a long road between wanting something and actually doing it !! We were also entangled in our responsibilities - jobs, kids, money, without even mentioning our fear of jumping into the deep end.

Contemporary Jewelry from Venice

Carnival season is almost over in Venice. The splendor of the palaces along the Grand Canal, the majesty of St. Mark's Square and its gilded basilica, the bustling traffic on the waters of the lagoon are all major players, not just backdrops, which add to the unique flavor of the jewelry venice italy

Venetian carnival. Magnificent costumes are paraded slowly, silently and regally through the streets and squares of Venice, pausing to allow tourists to snap numerous photographs that will help them to bring back to their places of origin memories and magic of Venice.

Honeymoon in Venice

Truly Romantic in Every Way

Your first impression of Venice will be one of enchantment. The sights and sounds of the city are intoxicating. Your excitement will carry you along cobblestone paths to every nook and cranny of the city.

Watch gondolas whisk passengers along the charming canals of the city. Be sure to ride in a few of these delightful boats yourself. Then, get lost in a maze of pathways, and walk hand in hand over tiny bridges that cover the water streets.

Murano

Murano island

Murano Island - A Glassmaker's Paradise Since 1291, this tiny Venetian island has been the home of Venice's glassmaking industry. Glass production was moved to Murano Island from the main part of Venice because its production posed quite a fire hazard. (Note: The buildings in Venice were constructed mostly of wood at this period in history and the extreme heat that is required to make glass liquid so as to mold and shape it obviously caused the Venetians some concern.)

Venice is Drowning

One of the main reasons behind the charm of Venice, is the fact that is seems to be floating upon the waters of the lagoon. However the dark truth is that the city is actually sinking and has been for centuries. Venice has always lived on borrowed time, it is a city that should not exist - a whimsical maze of heavy marble palazzi and churches built upon ancient wooden piling sunk into a salt marsh. It is a wonder that Venice survived to the present day to face a threat that may finally end the life of this faded beauty: rising sea levels due to global climate change.

Gondolas: Venice in Black

All the Gondole in Venice are Black.

It almost doesn't make sense, in a city suffused with rich color around every corner - purple/yellow/orange/red flowers cascading over balconies and iron railings, marble pillars of pink, blue-gray, white, and the green-black shadows on crystal green canals - that the very icon that epitomizes Venice in the minds of people world-wide would be black.

Belluno, Alps and Dolomites

Belluno - Ponte nelle Alpi - The Bridge to the Dolomites.

Once you leave Venice behind and head north towards the Dolomites, you may wonder for quite some time when you will ever see them.

And suddenly out of the haze, they appear on the horizon. Once you have reached Vittorio Veneto, you are already in the lower region of the Alpine zone. As you clear the last tunnel, you'll see the beautiful Alpago valley on your right mirrored in Lake Santa Croce , with the peaks of the Dolomites shimmering above the water. In a short while, you'll reach the unusually charming city of Belluno.

Veneto Region of Italy

The Veneto Region comprised the main portion of a larger area that is known as Venitia, which (along with Friuli and Trentino) make up the northeast quarter of the country. To the north lie the haunting crags and shafts of the Dolomite Mountains with the Veneto occupying the basins and marshy deltas of the Po and Brenta rivers. To the south lies the gastronomic paradise of Emilia-Romagna, to the west are Lake Garda and Lombardy. The eastern shore is bordered by the Gulf of Venice and the wildlife rich lagoons and marshes along the coast.

Dolomite Tour Part III

From Belluno to Agordo

The weather today is very dramatic. Some of those fluffy cumulus clouds look real mean and dark. But there is still some sunlight with blue patches of sky. So we say that we will give it a try and get on our bike.

We take the road from Casan through Ponte nelle Alpi . We cross the Alpini bridge, turn right and hit the road to Agordo. At first the road is uneventful. Once we pass Mas the landscape starts to get interesting with winding curves and beautiful mountains covered in full green. The high rocky Dolomites stand as sentinels in the background. Rushing water flows nearby. We don't see it but hear it as we follow the Cordevole River.

Dolomite Tour II

Motorcycle Dolomite Tour

It was a beautiful clear day, with a deep "azzuro" blue Italian sky. Only a few patches of snow hung on the high Dolomites. Cumulus clouds drifted in the wind as if they were out to see if all is well out there.

So in a split second we decided, "Let's go!" We got dressed and off we went. We decided to take our motorbike into the high Dolomites. We checked the map and headed out to Longarone, then on to Pieve di Cadore. This part of the SS 51 way is not very exciting.

There's far too much traffic, mainly trucks rushing on their way to deliver something somewhere.