Usually I have our trips planned by now, but this year everything got away from me. We will be spending two days in Bergamo after arriving in Italy and have reservations in Venice at the end of our trip, but no plans for the 4-5 days in between. Verona is out because of a wine exposition - every hotel is full to the brim apparently. Any suggestions about favorite towns in the Veneto? We would rather not rent a car. We need things to see and do - we're not good at enjoying the scenery.

Thanks for any ideas.

Vicenza is a civilized town. It will be slightly crowded because of spillover from Vin Italy but you will be able to find rooms now I am sure.

It is a walking town full of Pallasio's architecture, good food and food stores. You can see some wonderful villas like La Rotunda and Ai Nanni. The Teatro Olympico si wonderufl. It was still being restored when I visited.

3 Visi de Vecchio Roma is a superb restaurant.

Wine Notes*Tuscan Restaurant List* Wine, Opera & Food* Trip

words of wisdom to live by from Stephen Sondheim's The Frogs
{The chorus is singing a prayer to Dionysus...}
Dionysius "A hymm to me, the god of wine..."
Xanthius (His slave) "I thought you were the god of drama?"
Dionysius "I am the god of wine and the god of drama. A little wine will get you thru a lot of drama"

I could tell you about a lot of othr places but ou would need a car. Places I have not been to but would interest me are Traviso and Padova. I have been to Padova but just to see the Scrovengi which was wonderous. Giotto is amazing!

Wine Notes*Tuscan Restaurant List* Wine, Opera & Food* Trip

words of wisdom to live by from Stephen Sondheim's The Frogs
{The chorus is singing a prayer to Dionysus...}
Dionysius "A hymm to me, the god of wine..."
Xanthius (His slave) "I thought you were the god of drama?"
Dionysius "I am the god of wine and the god of drama. A little wine will get you thru a lot of drama"

Thanks Dean. Vicenza was a possibility, but I wasn't sure how much there was to do. I'll check it out. Any hotel recommendations?

And where would you go with a car?

Callie, our trip plan to the Veneto in May is almost complete. So perhaps you could glean a few ideas from our plan--but you will certainly need a car in this area.

We are staying at the Villa Margherita in Mira which is just a few miles east of Padova as it seems to be in the center of the towns we want to visit. We will be there for eight days and will be visiting Padova, Vicenza, Cittadella, Castelfranco Veneta, Chioggia, Treviso and one day for Venice where we have been many times. If we see what appears to be an interesting town as we travel from place to place we will stop and walk around.

Verona, Asolo and Bassano del Grappa are a little far for a one day trip. Our trips are centered around where we will have lunch and sometimes dinner. We like to meander around towns, sit for a coffee, do a little shopping and generally just lollygag here and there. If I am lucky I may get one or two photographs worthy of framing. We also will spend a little time being a tourist,especially in Padova, Vicenza and Chioggia.

The prospective restaurants are selected, among those are: Margherita (we usually don't eat in hotels but the restaurant here gets wonderful sendoffs); Antico Brolo in Padova; Le Calandre in Rubano (this choice may be eliminated because it appears to be more creative than we would prefer); La Ragnatella in Mirano; Del Gato in Chioggia; Zamboni in Arcugnano; Antica Osteria Cera and a return to Da Fiore in Venice (the main reason for the day in Venice). Also in Venice we are looking forward to a late afternoon coffee at Harry's Dolce.

There is a surfeit of excellent restaurants in Bergamo. We loved Taverna del Colleoni Dell'Angelo on the beautiful Piazza in Bergamo Alta. I am sure there are several others which you will easily find in this affluent city.

Peter

With a car I would do the Valpolicella. Mazzei, a winery in Negrar di Valpolicella has agrotourismo accomadations, quite nice by reputation but we did not look at them.

The entire Valpolicella area is wonderfula nd it home to some of Italy's best wine amking. Plus youwould be going with great vintages being released. 2001 for Valpolicella Superiore, 2000 for "Special" Valpolicella, Amarone DOC, and 1999 for Amarone Riserva are all great. We ahd one of the best meals we ever had in Italy at Enotecca di Valpolicella in Fumane di Valpolicella for €121 with an expensice bottle of Amarone and a 3 wine sampling. I think the wine was €70 of the total. Plus you could day trip to Verona.

Wine Notes*Tuscan Restaurant List* Wine, Opera & Food* Trip

words of wisdom to live by from Stephen Sondheim's The Frogs
{The chorus is singing a prayer to Dionysus...}
Dionysius "A hymm to me, the god of wine..."
Xanthius (His slave) "I thought you were the god of drama?"
Dionysius "I am the god of wine and the god of drama. A little wine will get you thru a lot of drama"

When I stayed in Vicenza, I stayed at a commercial hotel int he industrial dostrict. While the staff was wonderful, the buildings surrounding it had barbed wire and guard dogs. I would not recommend it at all.

Wine Notes*Tuscan Restaurant List* Wine, Opera & Food* Trip

words of wisdom to live by from Stephen Sondheim's The Frogs
{The chorus is singing a prayer to Dionysus...}
Dionysius "A hymm to me, the god of wine..."
Xanthius (His slave) "I thought you were the god of drama?"
Dionysius "I am the god of wine and the god of drama. A little wine will get you thru a lot of drama"

The Veneto without a car....I guess I would say Padova, instead of Vicenza--just because there is more to do in Padova itself. Vicenza is easier with a car because many of the villas are located in the countryside and difficult to reach by public transportation.

Padova's "centro storico" is quite sophisticated--the market is one of the best in Italy. There is a lot to see over and above the Scrovegni Chapel, which should not be missed. Train connections are good to the north, south and west. Day trips to Vicenza, Bologna, Ferrara, Treviso and the towns in the foothills of the Dolomites are relatively convenient.

Jim Zurer
Great Travels Inc.
Washington DC 20015
My Slowtrav Classified Ad
http://www.great-travels.com
jim@great-travels.com

Thanks to everyone for the ideas. Now to make some plans and some reservations....