by Anne Woodyard | Jun 6, 2022 | Altana, Cicchetti, gondola, Gondoliers, Grand Canal, Travel Tips, venice
Venice, Fall 2021, Spring 2022
What a joy to stroll through a beautiful city or town, taking in its beauty from morning to night! I’ve long preferred a memorable experience to a physical gift for birthdays or other celebrated days…and a few days in Venice was my wish for my last birthday, several months ago. 
The views from our hotel window were so gorgeous, from early morning when the gondoliers uncovered and prepared their gleaming black crafts below, to the evening when sunset painted the skies, 
that I was often content to just stand and look out over the Grand Canal, rather than my usual “rush out the door” to experience a stunning city.
Well of course we also put our feet to the ground, enjoying the quiet canal-side lanes, stopping for those inimitable Venetian cicchetti (snacks) to keep us going!
It wasn’t long til we were back in Venice, in the spring, returning to strolling and gazing – so much to take in in this exquisite city! Our attention was caught by something high above our heads – the Altanas – 
click here for our photos and tales of these unique rooftop structures of Venice.
I wonder, what will we discover next time we’re in Venice?!?
by Anne Woodyard | Jan 29, 2021 | Croatia, Dalmatian Coast, Food and Wine, France, France travel, Italy, Italy travel, Languedoc, Split, Travel Tips, venice, Vias
Interested in a Music and Markets Tour? We’d love to hear from you!
We’re looking ahead to summer – perhaps Amsterdam this year?
I recently read something that truly resonated: “Slow travel was a trend before Covid hit, but it’s savored travel I’m seeking now—enjoying everything to the very fullest.”
Savoring, as far as I’m concerned, takes time, and that’s where Slow Living comes in: staying in a place long enough – in a home, not a hotel – to savor details, daily life, off-the-beaten-track spots, local tastes, a leisurely stroll, one sunset after another….what would you add to the list?
We’re savoring life in Split Croatia at the moment, in a marvelous apartment with the most fabulous view, 
drawing me again and again to the balconies or windows. One evening we both stopped what we were working on and just stood and watched the blazing orange ball of the sun slip into the western sea – priceless!
Over the years we’ve savored life in a Cambridge flat, a Parisian pied-a-terre, an Amsterdam canal-side townhouse,
or a Barcelona apartment, shopping the local markets, 
becoming a regular at the café, riding a bicycle to the park, or just sitting in the sun on a balcony.
Long before Airbnb, VRBO was our go-to site to find homes in the places we wanted to spend time in. Seduced by the idea of a place of our own, we then bought a village house in the south of France
and that led to another way to live like a local in a desirable spot: Home Exchange! Years ago these sites offered only the options of Reciprocal (exchange at the same time) or Non Reciprocal (exchanging at different times) house trades, but now have a Guest Points program, which is working well for us during the time we are not allowed entry into France and can’t enjoy our places, La Belle Cour and Ambiance d’Aix for ourselves. Several European families or couples have been in our homes for a week or more, seeking a more inviting place to socially distance, allowing us to build up our Guest Point stash for when we can travel.
Savoring life allows time to try all the bakeries in town, we hear from our renters and exchangers at La Belle Cour in Vias, to find the BEST croissant!
Living in our home in France, home exchange or rental has allowed us time to feel like a local while in a Venice apartment in a totally untouristed part of town,
to learn from a neighbor in Vias how to make a south-of-France specialty, Petits Farcis (meat-stuffed vegetables),
to sample how the local wine tastes with the local food, to get a tip from a gowned student near our river-side Cambridge apartment to try the corner coffee shop, to keep looking up and around on our daily walk and discover a new-to-us sight, to connect the dots in our current city – oh, THAT is what we see from our window!
Several things top our list of requirements in places to settle for a while: a well-equipped kitchen, a view, walking distance to sights, transport, shopping and markets, a comfortable bed, and of course good wifi.
Our top floor apartment in Split has met all of these requirements and more…I wonder where will we savor life next?
by Anne Woodyard | Feb 1, 2016 | Ghetto, gondola, Grand Canal, Italy travel, Squero, Taverna San Trovaso, venice
Saturday-Sunday, January 2-3, 2016
Venice, Italy
Interested in a Music and Markets Tour? We’d love to hear from you!
We’re looking ahead to Spring – Prague and Budapest, or Venice and the Veneto – join us!
Well not every day of the year can be as exquisite as the first one was yesterday…and Saturday the 2nd was rainy and gray, the kind of day that would be best to just stay inside by a cozy fire. But with only 2 days left in Venice, we venture out, hooded and umbrella-ed, for a bit of exploration nearby, frequently darting inside for a snack or a meal. We’ve never taken time to see the original Ghetto before…where that name was first used in the 1500s for the island on which the Jews of Venice were isolated. The rain was so heavy it was tough to get any photos – so here’s our lone example, a door with Hebrew lettering,
and a mezuza slot on the doorpost.
The rain finally lessened after dark, and we enjoyed a bit of window-shopping – intriguing antiques and objets d’art here,
and fantastical wigs for upcoming Carnevale there. 
Sunday dawned sunny and beautiful again, and we took a roundabout way, walking along canals where we haven’t been before, 
such as this one with FIVE bridges visible at one intersection, 
to the Dorsoduro sestiere. Venice is divided into six neighborhoods, called sestiere, and Dorsoduro, literally “hard back” – the backbone of Venice along the Giudeca Canal – has always been a favorite of ours.
Looks like we’re not the only ones who like this neighborhood – there’s a traffic jam on that little bridge!
And this harlequin seems to say “welcome to my shop!”
Stopping to peer into artisans’ windows, some crafting paper, others silk scarves, others forcolas, the handsome wooden fulcrum for a gondola oar, we take in the open-air museum of Venice. Across the San Trovaso canal is one of the few squeros, gondola workshops, left in the city. 
See the gondoliers hats hung on the wall? Satisfied customers, no doubt!
And on this side Bar Il Squero has just what we’ve been wanting – a mouthwatering selection of cicchetti, snacks, 
just waiting to be nibbled with a glass of prosecco! In Budapest, we fit in a café stop every afternoon, with decadent pastries and coffee. Here in Venice, we go for cicchetti each afternoon or early evening…delicious bites (such as gorgonzola spread topped with walnuts or artichokes) with a glass of bubbly. LOVE this tradition!
We’ve made it to the Accademia bridge, an ideal perch for views towards San Marco,
or, on the other side, the Grande Curva of the Grand Canal, 
the most coveted palazzo real estate, we’ve been told.
A late lunch at always delicious Taverna San Trovaso – 
a Venice institution where the food is still great, the service friendly and knowledgeable, and the prices quite reasonable, even though it’s made it into all the guidebooks.
Then our wander continues, along the Grand Canal, 
over to the Giudeca side of the neighborhood for a sunset view,and the long way back to our apartment, to catch a view of the prettiest holiday decor in town, by San Barnaba.
Venice – you’re a delight in every season!
by Anne Woodyard | Jan 29, 2016 | Italy, Murano, venice
Friday, January 1, 2016
Venice & Murano, Italy
Interested in a Music and Markets Tour? We’d love to hear from you!
We’re looking ahead to Spring – Prague and Budapest, or Venice and the Veneto – join us!
Happy 2016, Venice! It’s a quiet sunny morning on “our” peaceful canal, 
the church bells ringing a New Year welcome. Giovanna, our lovely landlady, left a holiday panettone on the table for us, with which Kirk made some delicious French (Italian??) Toast – yum!
And then we’re off exploring – walking by Madonna del’Orto, of the ringing bells. Could the sky be any bluer?!
Must be a good omen to start a new year with a day like this!
Crossing the closest bridge (that’s our spot on the third floor across the canal),
we take our time walking through lived-in neighborhoods
on our way to the vaporetto stop – today we’re visiting a new-to-us island, Murano!
From this part of Venice it’s a quick ride to the glass blowers isle, and we’re soon walking by examples of the art, such as this shimmering blue “comet”, placed on the square during the holidays.
The factories are closed today, but shops are open –
how about a glass bustier?
– and santa’s still leading his reindeer-hauled gondola.
At one side of Murano is the museo vaporetto stop, and at the other the faro (lighthouse).
The glassblowers artistry fills churches as well as shops, elaborate chandeliers in San Pietro Martire,
and a serene glass nativity in the cathedral,
which was designed with this lovely exterior gallery 
that could be seen by those arriving from the sea by boat.
Beside the church, these mourning maidens stand beside a war memorial.
We stop for a canal-side snack as the sun sets, and the holiday lights begin to sparkle.
Delicate chandeliers are the decor over the main canal,
where you can park your boat right in front of your home.
Tinting the city in rose and coral, the sun sets behind Venice as we return,
and top off a perfect New Years Day with a great dinner at Paradiso Perduto and one of the best guitarists we’ve ever heard – Valter, from Vicenza,
about 45 minutes inland. We have been listening to a CD of his at home and remembering the wonderful first day of 2016 – may the year continue to be terrific!
by Anne Woodyard | Jan 23, 2016 | Italy, Italy travel, venice
Thursday, December 31, 2015
Venice, Italy
Interested in a Music and Markets Tour? We’d love to hear from you!
We’re looking ahead to Spring – Prague and Budapest, or Venice and the Veneto – join us!
I groaned when we decided to set our alarm at 3:45 am…ugh! But we knew our destination would be worth it! First leg of the journey – a flight from Budapest to Milan, then a train to the Central Station, then a leg to Bologna (only thing available was a connection because we couldn’t purchase ahead of time since we weren’t sure when we’d get to the Milan station), 
then FINALLY to Venice…good news was we had business class cars to ourselves!
Enchanting as ever, Venice greets us with a sunny welcome. 
Although we’ve been here many times, this will be the first time we’ve stayed in an apartment rather than a hotel – we’re looking forward to LIVING here for a few days!
Giovanna, owner of Loft Casa Aurora, meets us with a smile at the Madonna del’Orto vaporetto (water bus) stop and walks us to the canal-side apartment. We’re off the beaten track, in a quiet Cannaregio (one of Venice’s 6 districts) neighborhood, and can easily walk to all we want to see. We’re just in time for a late lunch, and Giovanna’s husband has found a nearby place that’s open for us, so we sit down with an “aaaah” and order some delicious pasta and fish. A few errands, then we unpack and plan our New Years Eve. My wish is some beautiful fireworks, and Giovanna let us know the best place to be to watch them at midnight.
We take the back lanes,
avoiding the crowds heading towards Piazza San Marco, then plunge right in to the revelry.
Lots of people are wearing masks tonight – all part of the fun, lingering around the Piazza until the midnight show.
We’ve read that the Piazza is the site of a Bacio di Mezzanote – communal midnight kiss! But we’ll be out by the water, looking up at splendor in the sky. And the crowd gasps as the first explosions light up the water and San Giorgio Maggiore in the background. 
Yes, this is a perfect spot – not far from Vivaldi’s church, along the wide Riva degli Schiavoni. Shimmers of gold fall like raindrops,
then San Giorgio takes on a red hue at the next blast. 
We’re pleasantly surprised, after spending several New Years Eves in a rowdier Florence, at the reserved yet delighted crowds. No empty Prosecco bottles tossed in the air, no booming firecrackers in the lanes, just appreciation of the beauty and a seeming spirit of thankfulness for what we all hope will be a better new year. Auguri! Happy 2016!
by Anne | Apr 25, 2015 | Jeff Koons, Lido, Paris, Pompidou, Seine, Uncategorized
Monday – Wednesday, March 30 to April 1, 2015
Paris, France
Interested in a Music and Markets Tour? We’d love to hear from you!
We’re looking ahead to summer – join us on the fabulous Amalfi Coast in July?
A quick flight from Toulouse to Paris Orly Airport, on the bus with other Rendezvous France participants, and we’re soon whizzing up to the top levels of our Seine-side hotel, with views to Paris’s own Statue of Liberty 30 plus floors below. 
Tonight we’re invited to the Lido, a first for us….and we had no idea that these Parisian shows included not just those renowned high-kicking girls, but a sword-swallower, acrobats, ice-skaters, a playful mime,
clowns, and more! In between bites of a quite good dinner we took it all in – a calliope rather like a one-man-band, 
Paris-in-the-rain sketches, 
smiling showgirls
strutting around with head dresses nearly as high as they were tall,and what had been billed as “an epic can-can” 
– my favorite part of all!
The gorgeous dresses were lined with pink feathers!
After a full day of meetings with travel suppliers from around the country, we crossed the Seine at sunset for another evening of fun, 
this time at the Pompidou Center – more dancing girls,
crooning “I Love Paris…”
and a private look at the Jeff Koons retrospective. Yes, we knew about his balloon figures, 
but not about this exotic mirror (his Antiquity series), 
or the Gazing Ball series – classical figures adorned with spheres It’s always a pleasure to view art in a quiet non-crowded setting. 
We finished our Paris quickie with dinner with our dear friends from Virginia 
(the proprietor was a better server than photographer!) – we’ve enjoyed memorable meetings with them in Paris through the years. Perhaps my favorite was that November when we looked at the holiday windows of the Grands Magasins together. Kirk enjoyed his only snails of the trip that evening.
Next stop – back to our beloved Aix en Provence!
The best way to describe us (Kirk and Anne Woodyard) is that we're interested in the stories that make the places we visit come alive.
We've visited Europe more times than we can count, learned some entertaining stories there, and met some warm and helpful people who also enjoy the wonders of music and life in Europe. Between our music-related travels, we split our time between our homes near Washington DC and in the the south of France. We look forward to sharing these stories and friends and experiences with you.