I have three favorite restaurants in Venice, each a completely different class of place. For nice sit down dinner that I promise you won't regret, visit Casin dei Nobili (in the Dorsoduro district just off of Campo St. Barnaba on Sacca de la Toletta, tel. +39 041 241184). For great pizza and even better location (and price), visit Ristorante/Pizzaria Accademia Foscarini (at the foot of the Accademia bridge on the Dorsoduro side, tel. 041-522-7281). For a quick bite at a cheap and cafeteria type place that offers great chance to just point and try and blend in with the locals, visit Rosticceria San Bartolomeo (tucked away just south of the Rialto Bridge, Sottoportego della Bissa, 5424/a San Marco, tel. +39 041 522 3569).

( Casin dei Nobili )

( Ristorante/Pizzaria Accademia Foscarini )

( Roticceria San Bartolomeo )

Buon appetito!

The Essential Reading List: Amsterdam

Geert Mak, Amsterdam: A Brief Life of the City (London: Vintage Books, 2001).

Manfred Wolf, ed., Amsterdam: A Traveler’s Literary Companion (San Francisco: Whereabouts Press, 2001).

Anne Frank, Anne Frank: The Diary of a Young Girl (Bantam, 1993).

Simon Schama, The Embarrassment of Riches: An Interpretation of Dutch Culture in the Golden Age (London: Vintage, 1997).

Ruud Priem, Vermeer, Rembrandt and the Golden Age of Dutch Art: Masterpieces from the Rijksmuseum (Douglas & McIntyre, 2009).

David Liss, The Coffee Trader (Ballatine Books, 2004).

Gregory Maguire, Confessions of an Ugly Stepsister: A Novel (Harper Paperbacks, 2000).


General Books About Art and Travel

Amy Tucker, Visual Literacy: Writing About Art (New York: McGraw-Hill, 2002).

Rick Steves, Travel as a Political Act (Nation Books, 2009).


Resources on the Web

The Web Gallery of Art: http://www.wga.hu

Welcome to the newest member of the Ashbaugh clan!  We picked up little No Name at the El Dorado Country Animal Shelter, where the mellow little dude stole our hearts.  Cora still seems more curious than anything at the moment, though she does her fair share of hissing.  Here's a first look at the new kitten!

( Pictures under the cut... )

We made it over on the chunnel with no major issues; the fire made things hectic; but we managed to grab one of the few trains. Having fantastic time in France. Are convinced no one knows food and relaxation like the Normans. More cider and galettes, please. They do not even seem to mind our atrocious French. Hope you are all well.

Just a quick note to say that we are here and doing very well!  Off to France tomorrow. (*fingers crossed*)

Well, our big Europe trip is just around the corner. I am in the middle of creating the perfect one-bag wardrobe, which requires (sadly) a bit of shopping. I am feeling fairly confident that I will manage a single bag though! (Famous last words? More than likely.)

Since I am leaving laptop and internet behind me, I probably won't be able to post nearly as often as I did from Florence, but I will do my best nonetheless. I thought I would start out with posting our itinerary so people might know where we are at any given time. So here we go: