Venice, Italy

On October 20, 2018February 3, 2019 By treesatravelsLeave a comment

October 18-20, 2018

The Milan trip was short but only because we wanted to fit in Venice as well before heading to Paris. Earlier this year, we went to Italy for our honeymoon. We got to see many cities then but didn’t really touch the north part of Italy. With it being so easy to get to Italy from Zurich, we couldn’t resist but try to see as much as we could within our week off. So off to Venice we go!

Venice is known for its canals and winding streets. When we first arrived there, we checked into our AirBnB that was located off the island of Venice. It would of been nice to stay on the island but as you could guess, it would’ve been more expensive. Luckily, from where we were staying to the island, it was an easy bus ride of just ten minutes.

The island of Venice is small but also can be very confusing. There are so many winding road ways that are random and far from a grid. At the time we went, there were a fair bit of tourist but I wouldn’t say it was crazy packed. When we first got to the island our first afternoon, we headed to Rielto Bridge but first stopped in San Rocco. The church was small but very ornate inside.

The Rielto Bridge is the most famous bridge in Venice island. It is very beautiful, white, ornate, full of shops and people and over looks the Gran Canal. Next to the bridge, there was a large duty free shop. Our AirBnB host had given us a tip of a free view of the island from the top of the duty free department store. Free view of the island? Yes please! The view was really awesome. You could see the Gran Canal wrap around the tight neighborhoods. It was unfortunate we couldn’t stay up there longer (there was a staff member keeping time on the groups that came up) but I guess it was free so we couldn’t be so upset.

A nice thing on the island was the yellow signs. What are the yellow signs? I’m not sure the origin but there are signs on the streets that basically tell you where the big monuments of Venice are. So following those signs, we went to check out San Marco Plaza. Unfortunately, we didn’t make it before sunset and it was pretty dark by the time we got there. What was pretty amazing though was seeing Basilica di San Marco, even at night. It was huge and so decorated. Along the plaza there were also many restaurants with soft yellow light, illuminating the patio tables. It was a pretty romantic place to be, soft lighting, live music playing, and the most beautiful backdrop of the basilica.

We were very lucky to have a great host who gave us lots of local tips and suggestions for food! We checked out Al Timon for dinner for some Italian style tapas. We had a really good dinner that started with a plate of cichetto (italian tapas) for appetizer followed by first course of a red sauce seafood homemade pasta, with yellowtail fish as second dish. We also really enjoyed our first time in Venice by having some red wine with dinner. All this for about 60 euros!

There are many perks to food in Italy but one of our favorites is GELATO! So what a perfect way to end a delicious meal and travel day with some delicious Italian gelato! Soon after, we walked across the Constitution Bridge, which was very modern compared to everything else on the island, and headed back to rest up for the next day.

Our second and last day, we wanted to do as much as possible. It does suck when our visits are so short but we try to make the most of it. When we came to Venice, we didn’t really have a game plan as to what to do and see. Luckily, like I mentioned before, our host was super helpful and knowledgeable about the island and things to do in and around the island. She had suggested the two neighboring islands of Murano and Burano. We had never heard of them before but with a full day, we decided to check them out.

The route of the ferry first stopped at Murano. So off we went! Murano is known for their glass. When we first got off the ferry, we heard a man telling us about a free glass blowing factory we could go have a look at. If this place was known for glass, we had to go check out where they made it right? When we arrived, we got to see some glass masters blowing glass, making cups, vases and paper weights. The items were pretty cool to see but they would be difficult to travel with. The weight and fragility just make it too difficult.

The island was pretty small and we just walked the main canal checking out some of the glass shops before jumping on the ferry to head to Burano.

Burano was visually a more appealing island. This place was known for their brightly colored houses and lace. It was amazing! Literally every single house was painted a bright, fun color! I kept thinking, “This place is an Instagrammers dream!” Everywhere you looked, there were people trying to snap the perfect picture. Us included!

Late afternoon, we headed back to Venice to try to catch some sights before the sun went down.

After a late lunch of pizza, we walked around a bit before heading to our gondola ride tour time. It may be super touristy thing to do, but it’s like seeing the Eiffel Tower when you go to Paris, you just have to ride in a gondola on the canals when you go to Venice!

Since we purchased our tour online, it wasn’t a personal experience. We shared the gondola with four other people. It was pretty cool to ride along the canals but I kept feeling like the boat would tip over! The man controlling the boat from the back was skilled to stand and just freely move about. Along with the uneasy feeling, there was also a lot of water traffic. Gondola’s everywhere! What I really did enjoy though, was it was sunset and the water and buildings looked really beautiful.

Another really interesting place on the island was Acqua Alta Bookshop. The book store was filled to the brim with old and new books. Along with books, there were posters, postcards, old photographs, magnets, and even two shop cats! While roaming the winding roads of Venice, you pass by many shops! Shops selling everything from masks, to souvenirs, to large candies, clothes and shoes! I was so lucky to find this local shoe shop with the owner working the shop. We spent some time there, chatting up with the owner and walking out with two new pairs of Italian leather shoes. Thanks hubby!

For our last dinner in Venice, we got a nice recommendation from the shoe owner as a place to eat. The place was crowded and we had no reservation but thankfully they made space for us. We were right next to a French couple, thankfully they didn’t seem to be too bothered by sharing a table with us. The restaurant was bustling with people, food and servers. We ordered a caprese salad (buffalo mozzarella cheese, tomatoes, basil – cheese was very good but didn’t top the one we had in Amalfi!), a seafood pasta (pretty good, had shrimp in the shell, clams and mussels, but not homemade pasta), liver and polenta. Polenta and liver is famous dish for Venice so we ordered it. I, personally don’t like liver but this had sautéed onions which made it better..also having bread with it helps too. To top off the meal, we had a delicious tiramisu! All that for about 60 euros. Not too shabby!

Our last afternoon, before our flight to Paris, we decided to quickly go back on the island for one last meal. We found this cute little place with a lovely outdoor seating area. The food was not bad. Mostly, I was happy to be able to see the island once more before leaving.

Venice was everything we hoped it would be. We were so lucky to have good weather, not over flowing canals, beautiful sights and full bellies. Italy is of course one of my top countries and the beauty of Venice definitely contributed to that! I would highly recommend this charming place!!

If you like moving images more, CLICK HERE for our video from our time in Venice, Burano and Murano.

Off to Paris!

xx
t.

Milan, Italy

On October 18, 2018December 15, 2018 By treesatravels1 Comment

October 16 – 18, 2018

Hello again Italy! So like I had previously said, Caoliang had a week off before starting work days in Paris. We started off the week in Luzern but finished it in Italy. Why Italy? More like, why not? Really the idea came into mind because Caoliang really wanted to have Italian pizza again. Just for that?! No really, the pizza is amazing and Milan was only a few hours away by train from Zurich. Plus, we had never been to the north end of Italy yet, so here we are!

By the time we had arrived in Milan, it was about two in the afternoon. We got settled into our AirBnb and figured we should just walk around and see what’s near by. We also were in need of sim cards for our phone, so that held priority over everything.

The first day was kind of a bust. We spent lots of time trying to figure out the sim card (lack of information from sales person, etc.) and just walked back and forth from the shops to the phone store. We did have an amazing dinner that night though. A friend had recommended we try out Trattoria del Abel for their risotto. Milan is famous for their risotto and rice dishes because of where Milan is geographically located. Also, Caoliang loves risotto so even though the restaurant was a little out of the way, we had to go try it!

While traveling, we don’t really make reservations at restaurants, partly because we don’t know the exact time we would be eating, and also the language barrier. Luckily, we arrived right at 8 (when they opened) and got seated. The menu had many a la carte items but we decided to do it big and just order their tasting menu, one Land menu and one Sea. As the name suggests, one menu had items from the ocean and the other, items from the land. From our Land tasting menu we ordered Aritzese oyster mushrooms, the Aquila’s risotto, rabbit with black cabbage and tiramisu. From our Sea menu we ordered mussels soup with beans, Bordighera risotto, the sea bass and warm coconut cake.

The food was really good and really different from each other. I was so happy we decided to do a big dinner and really experience the different foods of this restaurant. The price for each menu was 28 euros. Really not bad!

Our second day in Milan was a bit more productive. Since we walked the famous shopping streets of Via Monte Napoleone and Via della Spiga the day before, we figured we could skip those. Also, we aren’t the kind of people that could be shopping on those streets!! A bit too fancy for us. Instead, we headed to Piazza del Duomo. Walking there, the city of Milan was pretty different from other Italian cities, such as Florence. It was very much so a metropolitan; big buildings and busy streets. Duomo di Milano was magnificent! Even though we didn’t go inside, the outside was really intricate and and beautiful. Piazza del Duomo, the square in front of the duomo, was also pretty interesting. There were pigeons everywhere! Filled with tourists and pigeons, the square was packed with people trying to take pictures or holding out their arms for pigeons to fly on them. Even though it made for great people watching, I was not going to be holding out any kernels for any pigeons!

Afterwards, we walked to an interesting place I had researched, Santuario Di S. Bernardino Alle Ossa. Here, there was a chapel that had skulls and human bones lining the walls. Creepy right!? But interesting so I wanted to check it out. According to turismo.milano.it…

The walls are almost entirely covered with skulls and bones, arranged in niches and on cornices, pillars and doors. They are believed to be the remains of the deceased from the Brolo hospital, from the corpses taken from the defunct seventeenth-century cemeteries. The skulls enclosed in cases above the door are those of executed prisoners.

And creepy it was, but also very beautiful. It is almost surreal to think about being in a room with hundreds of people’s bones surrounding you. We sat in there for a minute, said a quick prayer, and we were on our way. While we were in there, we saw other tourists or interested locals coming and going, too.

One of the big reasons Caoliang wanted to come back to Italy, as I might of mentioned before, was for their pizza!!! So, of course we couldn’t go another meal without it being pizza!! We found this little, colorful spot called Piz not too far. It was nearly closing time but luckily we made it and got seated right away (many places close midday). There were only a couple choices for pizzas on their menu. In our case, it worked out fine because instead of wasting time deciding on a pizza, or wondering which pizza was good, we got both pizzas! This place must get people who request this often because our waitress was already on it, offering us “half and half.” This consisted of half the classic Margherita and half the Bianca. When it arrived shortly after, the waitress instructed us to eat the Bianca first. I didn’t find that surprising since even with pasta, you eat the lighter sauced pasta before the darker sauced. The pizzas were amazing!!! A perfect blend of flavors in a cozy, unique space for an excellent price. We left that place full and satisfied!

We then walked off our lunch by heading to Colonne di San Lorenzo. This place looked like it was taken out of some Roman empire. There were huge columns but in a city square. It looked very out of place to me, especially with boutique shops around it. When looking up what this place is, I was right to say it is Roman. This place is actually Roman ruins and now is known more for a hang out spot for local Milanese to get together and drink in the evenings. Us going in the day time could explain why it was so vacant!

The rest of the day in Milan was spent walking around to different sights. The day concluded with us seeing Sforzesco Castle, Sempione Park, Arco della Pace and even Milan’s Chinatown! I was happy I got to see another city in the great country of Italy. Even though Milan is probably not my favorite, it was definitely nice to see what the big fashion capital of Italy had to show us.

Off to Venice next!! The city of canals here we come!

xx
t

Luzern, Switzerland

On October 15, 2018November 2, 2018 By treesatravelsLeave a comment

October 14, 2018

DAY TRIP! Ok so today Caoliang actually had off. They just finished their last show in Zurich the night before and we have a week off until Paris work day begins! We’re starting our holiday off with staying in Switzerland and visiting a nearby city, Luzern. While researching Luzern, one of the things that kept popping up with this “Golden Round Trip.” What is that? It’s a path that starts at Luzern and goes up to Mount Pilatus and back using different forms of transportation; boat, cogwheel and aerial cable way. The ticket to do this was a little pricy but being in Switzerland I was more interested to see the mountains than the city of Luzern. So the night before we purchased tour tickets to go on this “Golden Round Trip.” For each of us, the tour costed about 112 francs. If you’ve kept up with my travels, you see that we often do tours. In all honesty, yes it is a little annoying you have to stay with a group, but when you are on a time crunch and you rather just have someone else do the thinking and guiding, it is totally worth it!

So once we left Zurich, we arrived in Luzern’s main station shortly after. The tour didn’t start until noon which gave us some time to walk around the station and see sights that were nearby.

One of the “to-see” items in Luzern was this wooden bridge, called the Kapellbrücke. It is the oldest wooden covered bridge in European and a popular sight in Switzerland. It was conveniently located near the central station so it was easy for us to go walk around and check out the different perspectives from there. The bridge was pretty nice, being covered in flowers and having paintings inside dating back to the 17th century.

Soon it was noon and time for us to begin our tour! The first leg of the tour was a short bus ride to the start of the aerial cable way. The tour guide was more like a sheep herder. He would make sure everyone was together, give us our tickets, tell us what time to meet, and then let us go. The aerial cable ride was quiet long. When seeing the height and length, you can’t help but wonder, how did they build this thing!? From Kriens, the cable car took us up to Fräkmüntegg, about thirty minutes, where we boarded a different, larger, cable car up to the top of Mount Pilatus, an additional five minutes. It was truly amazing being on the side of this mountain.

Once we got to the top, our guide instructed us to be back at the meeting point in roughly an hour and a half. From the top, there were different walking/hiking paths you could partake or you could just sit at one of the many public seats and enjoy the view. This mountain is also famous for having Capricorns! Unfortunately for us, we didn’t get to see any.

Anyways, Caoliang and I decided to try to fit in as many routes as possible until we had to be at the meeting point. First, the Dragon Trail! In the Middle Ages, people believed that dragons actually lived on Mount Pilatus. The Dragon Trail is an easy walking trail that is etched into the side of the mountain. There are pockets in the trail where you can see out the side of the mountain. It was beautiful but so cold! The summit is 2,132 meters above sea level, just FYI.

Once we got to the end of the Dragon Trail, we were linked to another viewpoint that gave us a stunning view of the mountain and surrounding areas. Even though the wind was blowing and chilly air creeping through my jacket, the sun was shining and it was a beautiful day to enjoy the views. Again, Switzerland continues to be like a post card. There were perfect views in every direction you look.

I think we spent a little over an hour exploring different trails and view points before we rushed to the cafeteria to get something to eat. Again, Switzerland is expensive so we actually ended up sharing an Ala carte plate (it was pretty big) that costed us 19 francs (about 19 usd). We quickly inhaled our food as the meeting time was close approaching.

Onto transportation number two, the steepest cogwheel in the world! Many people also do the Golden Round Trip the opposite way we did. We even ran into one of Caoliang’s coworkers who came up the cogwheel, instead of going down it, like we would. It sounds scary, “world’s steepest cogwheel” but from where I was sitting, it actually was a breeze. The trip down allowed us to see the mountain from a different perspective. The ride down was actually so slow, and I was so tired, I actually fell asleep!!

Our last mode of transportation was going back to Luzern by boat. The boat ride was very smooth with no bumps or swaying. There was even a small cafe inside the boat if you fancied a glass of wine or snack. We kind of just hung out til getting back to the city. It was really spectacular to see the view from the top though. Now that I think of it, I rather enjoy mountains and getting to see what the view is like from the top. Let it be cable car, cogwheel or even hiking, I think mountains are beautiful pieces of Mother Nature’s art.

Once we returned to the city, we had a bit of time till our train back to Zurich. With our extra time, we decided to go visit the huge lion monument that wasn’t too far away from the main station. The lion monument commemorates the Swiss Guards who were massacred in 1792 during the French Revolution. The lion’s expression is sad as a huge stake is in its side. It is hard to tell from pictures, but this lion is actually pretty massive.

After the lion, I still wanted to see if we could get a higher view of the city of Luzern. We then headed to Zytturm. We actually were headed towards something else, but with tie dwindling, we ended up at the Zytturm. It is a clock tower that dates back to 1535. Inside, you could see all the working mechanics of the large clock tower. It was pretty interesting how the public could go all the way up into this clock tower.

Times up! The city of Luzern and Mount Pilatus were gorgeous. This short day trip concluded my time in Switzerland, for now. I am definitely leaving with a good impression. With super clean streets and post-card like views, this country really lives up to it’s reputation. Until next time Switzerland!

xx
t.

Zurich, Switzerland

On October 14, 2018November 2, 2018 By treesatravelsLeave a comment

October 10 – 14, 2018

Yay! Back to Europe I go! It’s October and I finally get to see my husband and go back on tour with him. At this time, he is in Zurich, Switzerland. He has actually been there for some time but I just wasn’t able to join until now for visitor restriction reasons (it’s a lot to explain).

Anyways, before I came my husband told me that Switzerland is beautiful but pretty expensive. Because of that fact, I was happy to only be there for a few days. It was just enough to see a bit of Switzerland but not long enough to end up spending heaps of money on food or going out.

Even though my time in Switzerland was short, I was able to see a bunch of friends on tour and even see the Swiss mountains.

One of the fun things I got to do was go to a pumpkin festival with a bunch of the other OAMs on tour. It really was like a girls day out! The pumpkin festival had everything pumpkin. There were huge pumpkin art displays, super big pumpkins, and a self-serve food area with delicious dishes (yes made from pumpkin)!

It was nice to be out in such beautiful weather with such nice landscaping. If you’ve been to Houston, you know that it is flat, flat, flat with not really anything to see. Switzerland is the complete opposite. Just staring out at the horizon you feel like it’s not even real. It was like looking at a post card.

Aside from the pumpkin festival, I also got to walk around the city of Zurich a bit. The city is very clean and even smells that way! The weather was also cool enough to wear a jacket. One of the things I liked the most about Zurich was the river that runs through downtown. It really makes for a beautiful picturesque view while wandering around.

Zurich is my first stop in many the next few months. For you guys who are wondering, Caoliang is still on the European tour with Totem and they are set to be here for at least another year. After Switzerland we will be in Paris and then London. How long will I be gone? Well we are hoping until Spring next year, there has been some obstacles we have had to figure out, but fingers crossed everything will go smooth from here.

Well for now I leave you guys with my compilation video of my short time in Switzerland. CLICK HERE to enjoy!

Thanks for keeping up! See you in Paris!

xx
t

treesa travels

Month: October 2018

Venice, Italy

Milan, Italy

Luzern, Switzerland

Zurich, Switzerland