Little Venice...Chioggia!

Chioggia is a nice town some 50 km from Venice (by car).

It is quite similar to Venice, because it has some canals, various bridges and lots of calli (narrow streets).

Along some canals there are porticoes where you can see shops and cafes.

This is Ponte Vigo. The "Rialto Bridge" of the town.

Here's one of the calli.

lCorso del Popolo is the main street of Chioggia.There is a good choice of cafes and shops here.

This is another palace at corso del Popolo.

Chioggia doesn't have any beach. There are some in Sottomarina, which is part of Chioggia. Sottomarina is about one km far from Chioggia. 

Sottomarina has a strech of beaches long around 10 kilometers.

I took a day trip to Pellestrina from Chioggia. This is an island, part of Venice.

Pellestrina has several colorful houses,like in Burano; one of the islands of Venice.

Le's say this is a "hole in the wall".

Pellestrina has lots of calli.

This is a closeup of a house in Pellestrina.

I also took a day trip to Venice.

Nice spot in Venice.

A short holiday at the sea side. Portofino.

Portofino is a small village some km far from Santa Margherita Ligure. It is visited by lots of famous and rich people.

In this pic and in the previous one you can see the so-called Piazzetta (i. e. small square). It is surrounded by several restaurants and shops. Be careful...Almost everything in Portofino is expensive.

After a stroll on the Piazzetta and somewhere else I headed to the church of S. George which is on a hill overlooking the Piazzetta.

Here's some pics taken from that hill.

The church of S. George was rebuilt in 1950 after having been destroyed during the WWII. It is a simple church. Here you can see part of its portal.

In Portofino there is a castle. Castle Brown; which is thought originated from a Roman tower.

The courtyard of the castle.

 

Almost every room of the castle had lots of old white and black pics with actors, ploliticians and other famous people.

Here's a pic taken from the castle area.

A short holiday at the sea side. Day trip to Santa Margherita Ligure.

Santa Margherita Ligure is a town some ten minutes far by train from Zoagli.

This town has lots of buildings decorated at tromp l' oel as other places in Liguria. Have a look at the red building...the green shutters on the left are painted.

Santa Margherita has some nice narrow streets as you can see.

I had some delicious meals in Santa Margherita. Here you can see my "happy hour" taken at lunch time. My drink came with lots of nibbles. Mini sandwitches, chips, olives, raw vegetables...

Salad with carrots, maize and other things.

I am very rarely in a mood to shop when I am on holiday. Santa Margherita has tons of shops of every kind if you need to buy something to take home.

This bear is really beautiful and very expenisve. It costed 48 euros!!!! 

 One of the highlights of Santa Margherita is undoublty Villa Durazzo Centurione. It was built in the late 1600. I didn't visit it, but I explored its beautiful park.Have a look at the path. This way of decorate gardens and parks are called "risseu".

A short holiday at the sea side. Zoagli.

Zoagli is a nice seaside village on the Ligurian coast (IT).

Its beach is made of pebbles.

Zoagli has two promenades built of stone overlooking the sea.

You can have stroll or rest on them and also say a prayer.

Here you can see a small part of the main square of Zoagli.

This is Sem Benelli's castle. It is a mansion more than a castle. Sem Benelli was a writer and director.

It was difficutl to take pis of Sem Benelli's castle, because it is privately owned; there are some aparments there. I took my pics through the gates of this estate.

Bergamo. The day trip.

On saturday june 2 a visit to the castle in Grumello del Monte was scheduled. I went there by train from Bergamo. The journey took around 25 minutes.

The castle has some rooms opened to visitors; a chapel and a tower.

These doll's houses caught my attention. They were in a dark corridor.

This is part of the tower.

There is a old prison inside the castle. The skeleton you see seems real.

Teresa (Tere1)

A wine tasting was included in the tour of the castle. Cold cuts and cheese accompanied the wines. The castle's proprietors produce and sell wines.

This chocolate cake was really good!

This is the entrance of the castle.

Dave(Painterdave) Anja....???? and Orietta (Orietta.it).