Jun 102007
 
Hanging at SFO. We got there waaay early, but at least we didn't have to deal with long lines.

Hanging at SFO. We got there waaay early, but at least we didn’t have to deal with long lines.

Waiting for our connecting flight in Munich. We don’t look too bad considering the 11 hour flight over.

Our first glimpse at Venice as we approach the airport.

Our first glimpse at Venice as we approach the airport.

Water Taxi

Water Taxi


We had a great water taxi ride from the airport to the hotel. Our driver was more tour guide than taxi driver, pointing out everything as we made our way across to Venice and up through the Grand Canal. He had a beautiful wood craft – the guys enjoyed the ride from the back.

Gelato

 Jun 10 '07  Tagged with:
Jun 102007
 

Gelato is an important part of any meal. We begin our exploration of Italy’s best this evening.
Eric – Chocolate
Kevin – Chocolate
Sarah – Lemon Ice
Carl – Caffe

Jun 112007
 

Before we headed down to breakfast this morning we figured a little local TV would help us learn some essential Italian. After 15 minutes we only learned one phase, but it seemed to be used a lot:

“Grazie, Scooby!”

Maybe another show would have been more helpful.

Jun 112007
 


View Larger Map
Here is a map of Venice with pins for our major stops.

The Grand Canal

The Grand Canal

Gondola on the Grand Canal

Gondola on the Grand Canal

St. Mark Square

St. Mark Square

Dinner on the Canal

Dinner on the Canal

We had a great time with our guide, Roberta. A lifetime native of Venice, she not only gave us background and history about the city, but insight to daily life on the island. Even though we shot over a hundred pictures today, only a few were able to capture something close to the experience.

We began with a three hour walk through the city, learning about architectural challenges, the various owners and conquerors of Venice, local industries (mostly shipbuilding and glass making) and why locals don’t always like living on the canals (50 versions of “O Solo Mio” every night).

Important take away: the two biggest threats to Venice are salt moisture and Napoleon. And at least Napoleon eventually went away.

Aside from the canals, the biggest tourist attraction in Venice is Piazza San Marco, with St. Mark’s Basilica made from parts, um, “inherited” from around the world. During construction, you could only come into the port if you brought something from recently conquered Constantinople, like a pillar (or even better, a matching set!). The end result gives the cathedral a patchwork quilt feel.

Roberta then took us on a one hour water taxi ride up the Canal Grande to learn more about the history of the residents and residences. We then wound through the smaller canals down to the major Canal della Giudecca, where we disembarked and hit the gelato bar for a needed rejuvination. We walked all the way back up to the market area near Ponte di Rialto, where we said our goodbyes to Roberta and settled in for lunch.

We managed to find the hotel on our own, and after some R&R headed out for dinner along the canal. And more gelato!

For an extra challenge after dinner we decided to find our way home without using a map.

Jun 122007
 

Score as of Monday night:
Eric: After Eight (mint chocolate chip), Caramel
Kevin: After Eight, Stracciatella (chocolate chip)
Sarah: Lemon Ice
Carl: Lemon Ice, Mint Chip

Jun 122007
 

Kevin was reading our “Fast Talk Italian” phrase book looking for useful language for conversations. Here’s what he’s learned:
“Sono vampate.” “I’m hot.”
“Ho bisogno una dottoressa.” “I need a female doctor.”

Jun 122007
 

We self-toured today. Our first stop was the island of Murano, where all the glass companies are. We bought a day pass for the bus system, which like the taxis is obviously all water based. Murano is a 20 minute ride, with great sightseeing along the way. Taxies zip by in both directions in the main channel, which is also shared with barges carrying working cement trucks, cranes, supplies and other essentials.

Heating the Glass

Heating the Glass

Removing from the Oven

Removing from the Oven

Shaping the Glass

Shaping the Glass

The Schiavon showroom with glass blowers was recommended to us, so that was our first stop. The blowing demonstration was amazing – Kevin and I stood right next to the furnace while Sarah and Eric were in a cooler spot with a better view into the flames. The blowers were creating a huge vase with swirling red and black stripes. After the vase was completed, they put it in an oven where they would cool it down over three days to keep it from cracking.

Schiavon Glass Showroom

Schiavon Glass Showroom

Canal in Murano

Canal in Murano

Upstairs in the showroom, we were tagged as big spenders and given a “no obligation!” tour of the more exclusive showrooms. Sarah got the full hard sell on a 7,500 euro vase. By continuing to say “no” she was doing an excellent job negotiating the price. “We’ll give you this smaller one, too. Free!” “We’ll split it up as two credit card charges so you don’t have to pay import tax! Save $400!” Our favorite line was, “It’s not how much you spend, it’s how much you save.” We ended up saving a lot, because we didn’t buy it.

After lunch (and gelato!) we went in search of more furnaces to watch more glass get blown. Despite all the signs pointing all around town, we couldn’t find any that were actually open and blowing glass. The highlight was a sales person who told us, “They are going to lunch. They will be back tomorrow.”

Atop the Cathedral Belltower on St. Giorgio Maggiore

Atop the Cathedral Belltower on St. Giorgio Maggiore

We took the bus back to San Marco, and then jumped onto another bus going across to the island of St. Giorgio Maggiore, where the belltower of the cathedral offers an incredible view of Venice. (Part of my ‘vacation algorithm’ is to go to the top of things, so the belltower was a required stop.)

We then bussed our way over to Ca’ Rezzonico, a museum with evidently a great display of life in Venice in the 17th and 18th centuries. I say evidently, because it’s closed on Tuesday. A perfect excuse for nap time back in the hotel.

Heading out to dinner, we were amazed at how fast we could get to St. Marks Square now that we knew where we were going. We then wound our way back over to the Grand Canal for dinner and then…
(wait for it…)
gelato.

Tomorrow we will bid farewell to Venice, rent a car and head on down to Modena.

Jun 132007
 

We rented a car in Venice for the leg to Modena. After not seeing a car for two days in Venice it was quite frustrating to get stuck in a major traffic jam getting on to the autostrada just across the bridge. Otherwise uneventful except for decoding the toll system.

The directions we had to the Maserati factory from the highway seemed simple – a quick exit and a couple of turns. But without a detailed map of the area, and a series of roundabouts and missing traffic lights, we were hopelessly lost. We stumbled our way into a bar, far from where we were supposed to be, and asked directions. None of the three people there spoke any english, and our meager understanding of italian didn’t work at all. Luckily we had a piece of paper with the Maserati logo on it and the address, but the barkeep gave up trying to explain to us how to get there and volunteered one of the other people to drive there so we could follow. This worked out great, and given the route we had to take I’m not sure we would have understood the directions in clear english.

Sarah pointed out to Eric and Kevin that italian sounds nothing like spanish (we had just been fooling ourselves).

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Jun 132007
 

The Maserati Factory in Modena.

View Larger Map

IMG_3829We waited in the reception room, which housed a GranSport convertible, two Quattroportes, a GT3 racecar, and another Quattroporte under wraps that would be presented to its owner the next day. We began our tour by walking out into one of the two parking lots, the one used exclusively for Fiat-group cars. The other, larger, lot was nearby and had pictures of famous Maserati road and race cars on it. Two Gran Turismos, one left-hand-drive, one right, drove by as we looked at the parking structure.

We continued by walking by the staging facility where they gathered all the components that would be installed in cars the next day. There were mountains of engines, transmissions (both automatic and semi-automatic), dashboards, driveshafts, and everything in between. As I stared drooling at this pile of mechanical goodness, two more Gran Turismos went by.

We then entered into the actual production line, which was probably 95% Quattroportes, with the remaining 5% being pre-production Gran Turismos (there were no Coupes, Spyders, or GranSports to be seen anywhere on the production line). There were two similar production lines that the cars would go down, then they would go down a third. One stop on the second line consists of lifting the entire, pre-built drivetrain into the chassis. During the third line, the cars get their doors installed, but not until about ¾ of the way down the line. The doors start at the beginning of that line as hollow shells, but slowly get built up to their full spec. When they are installed, it is about a 30 second process involving a vacuum-sucker thing that grabs the window of the door, and it is put into place.

The painting process was then explained, most of which is actually done at the Ferrari factory. The guide told two stories, one of a woman who wanted the color of her car to match the color of her lipstick, and one of a man from Dubai who had his car painted gold. 8 pounds of gold were used in the paint, and the interior was red ostrich-hide (unfortunately, they didn’t have either of those cars there).

When the cars leave that facility, they do so under their own power. Every car then goes on a 60-mile shakedown to make sure that everything is working correctly. You probably know that auto companies balance the tires. Maserati balances the gearbox as well. The cars are also put through their paces in a small facility out back, which includes a suspension test. The last place we stopped was the final quality-control room, which housed four more Gran Turismos which were being rigorously checked (our guide told us that four people from Pininfarina had been in the day before). Any small paint imperfections or dents are fixed, and the cars are sent off to wherever they will end up.

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Jun 142007
 

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One of the main stops planned for our trip is a visit to the town of Maranella, home to Ferrari. (Map) So last night we had dinner at Ristorante Montana, next to the Ferrari test track, a favorite of drivers, racing celebs and fans alike. Nevermind that it took the hotel twenty minutes to figure out directions for us, or that the directions were wrong but we managed to spot it anyway. The walls are covered with signed cloth napkins, racing suits, parts of F1 cars, helmets, and the likes.
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We headed back over this morning to see the rest. Not having a VIN number of our own, we couldn’t arrange a tour of the factory, but we did get to see it from the outside and visit the company’s own museum, Galleria Ferrari. Eric was in his own Mecca, and acted as our tour guide. He took about 270 pictures, here are a few:

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