John - I envy you the chance to spend time in Italy! Meg and I spent two weeks in northern Italy in March 2007 (including a day in Venice with Dario and a friend of his plus Gianfranco.) Our trip was about half at Lake Garda and region, the rest of the time in Venice with that time confounded by the meetings I was supposed to be part of. And we had a week in Rome in 2009 with again a meet-up with Gianfranco. Wonderful sights, good people, good food - what else could one ask for in a trip?
FWIW in your planning, the several days Meg and I spent in Venice and the lagoon included a trip to Murano and Torcello. (They seem pretty much a package deal to me. The travel time to that part of the lagoon is long enough and the two destinations are close enough together, that if you do one you might as well do both.) I just checked the time stamps on images shot that day. We took the bus from Venice at 10:15 a.m. We went to Murano first and spent a couple of hours there walking the streets, shooting the colorful buildings, visiting the lace museum, maybe a lunch there as well. Then back on a bus to Torcello. We arrived Torcello about 2:45 p.m., wandered the island, climbed the church tower, etc. Left there about 4:15 p.m., we arrived back in Venice about 5:00. If I were to do it again, I would try to leave Venice a bit earlier, spend more time on Murano, but an hour and a half on Torcello seemed plenty. We weren't particularly rushed, didn't have an evening schedule that required we be back in Venice at a given time. The one time constraint is the fact that the bus schedule for Torcello is limited, so if you miss one bus you might wait 30-40 minutes IIRC for the next one. Also note that when I speak of leaving Venice and arriving back in Venice I am referring to the main bus stop for departures to that part of the lagoon, i.e., Fundamenta Nuove, which is still some time away from the train station, Rialto Bridge, San Marco Plaza, etc. stan On Oct 27, 2011, at 9:40 AM, Dario Bonazza wrote: > Update: Once again, it's a very hectic time here, with grandma who died > today, a sister hospitalized and more troubles all together. I do hope > something will settle before we can meet in Venezia. > This said, I still want to meet you in Venice, probably on Sunday 6th. Never > been to Torcello, hence it could be the right time for that! > > However, I still advice you to take at last one day in Ravenna on your way > from Venice to Florence. I believe you cannot miss some peculiar monuments > like: > Basilica of St.Vitale > http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Basilica_of_San_Vitale > Mausoleum of Galla Placidia > http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mausoleum_of_Galla_Placidia > Basilica of St.Apollinare in Classe > http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Basilica_of_Sant%27Apollinare_in_Classe > Basilica of St.Apollinare Nuovo > http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Basilica_of_Sant%27Apollinare_Nuovo > > ...and then at least a glass of wine with me :-) Let's keep in touch. > > Cheers, > > Dario > > ----- Original Message ----- From: "John Coyle" <jco...@iinet.net.au> > To: "'Pentax-Discuss Mail List'" <pdml@pdml.net> > Sent: Sunday, October 23, 2011 8:38 AM > Subject: RE: PDML meet in Italy ? > > > Thanks Dario, and I would really look forward to meeting you. I should > mention that > dinner would be something of an imposition, as not only would there be my > wife and I, but > also her daughter and friend: I would not want to ask you and your wife to > cope with that > lot! > If you are happy to come up to Venice (I should say Venezia!), either the > 5th. or 6th. > would be good , as we might well include an expedition to Torcello - have you > ever been > there? > Unfortunately, I think any other week-end we will be too far away to meet up, > as our plan > is to head towards Florence and Rome, which does take us away from Ravenna. > > Regards > > John Coyle > Brisbane, Australia > > > > > -----Original Message----- > From: pdml-boun...@pdml.net [mailto:pdml-boun...@pdml.net] On Behalf Of Dario > Bonazza > Sent: Friday, 21 October 2011 8:24 PM > To: Pentax-Discuss Mail List > Subject: Re: PDML meet in Italy ? > > Hi John, > > I live in Ravenna, hence I'll be happy to meet you here or in Forlì, which is > just > half-hour drive from home. However, during the week I can hardly think of > finding more > than one hour or so, free for such meeting. Perhaps a dinner will better do > the trick, but > I have to ask the wife for that ;-) Oh, and I'll be away on 9/11. > On the other hand, a meeting (possibly widened to other PDML folks?) during > the weekend > could be welcome too. I can consider 5 or 6 in Venice, and 12 or > 13 elsewhere. Bologna is 1-hour drive from here, while Firenze is 2 hours and > a half, by > motorway (if everthing goes well, which is not always the case with the > Appennines route). > Let's see if others show up and then decide. > > Dario > > ----- Original Message ----- > From: "John Coyle" <jco...@iinet.net.au> > To: "'Pentax-Discuss Mail List'" <pdml@pdml.net> > Sent: Friday, October 21, 2011 10:00 AM > Subject: PDML meet in Italy ? > > >> G'day all - my wife and I are off to Italy in a week's time for a month, >> and it would be >> good to catch up with any PDML'ers who may be available during the trip. >> We'll be in Verona 31/10 and 1/11, Venice 2/11 till 7/11 . Then we have >> ten days with no >> fixed itinerary, but will be driving between Venice and Rome, where we >> will be from 16/11 >> until 26/11. In the gap between Venice and Rome, we're thinking Ravenna - >> Forli - >> Bologna - Firenze. >> >> Any takers? >> If we can arrange a meet up, I'll email my mobile number so that >> rendezvous can be >> arranged! >> >> >> John Coyle >> Brisbane, Australia >> >> >> >> -- PDML Pentax-Discuss Mail List PDML@pdml.net http://pdml.net/mailman/listinfo/pdml_pdml.net to UNSUBSCRIBE from the PDML, please visit the link directly above and follow the directions.
