Every few years, the Lewis family embarks on a journey out of reach of laptops and cell phones. This year, we chose to meet up with my Italian father-in-law in Venice. Per his advice, we also checked our Bologna, as its central location provides easy access to the heart of Italy’s food and wine region. We spent a week in each location, and not to our surprise, were unsuccessful in finding a bad meal.

The planning phase paid off for us big time. Taking along a 2.75 year-old offers a few challenges, but nothing a portable DVD player and plenty of toys, books and snacks couldn’t handle. Although bulky, my Bose noise cancelling headphones were also worthwhile…not just for me, but because they also fit my son relatively comfortably. The only other bulky items we found invaluable were our larger Canon Rebel digital SLR and international power converter.

Our overall goal was to travel light, which was possible due primarily to the fact that we rented apartments instead of staying in hotels. We also didn’t bring a car seat, which turned out to be a huge help. On the light side, I brought my trusty Sony CyberShot, which meant I had a camera on me at all times, and it paid off in ensuring all special moments were captured forever.

In terms of big takeaways, I would say that the Italian culture (even in larger cities) is wonderfully village-style. People seem to enjoy life all day long, socializing over gelato, espresso and wine. The ingredients are largely locally farmed or produced and did wonderful things for our American ailments, including my lactose intolerance and my wife’s gluten allergy. Turns out we could both enjoy our treats (gelato, bread & pasta respectively) without any symptoms common stateside.

We flew from Portland, through Amsterdam and Paris before arriving in Venice. Although we had an extra stop or two, it was worth using points. Arriving in the evening, we’d booked a hotel near the Venice airport. While the accommodations were nice enough, and a good value, I wouldn’t recommend staying at the Titian Inn. My wife left her brand new REI jacket in the closet when we left for our apartment in Venice the next morning, and when we called, the jacket was already gone, and nobody had yet stayed in our room. Apparently, the Titian Inn doesn’t pay their staff enough.

The trip improved as we hopped a bus to Venice, then a vaporetto to our apartment near a hospital. The location turned out to be very convenient – 2 doors from an Internet café, 4 minute walk from a supermarket and 10 minutes to St. Mark’s Square. Over our stay, we found a few neat features in our recently remodeled apartment that we’d like to import: dual-flush toilet, towel warmers and an innovative dish drying rack integrated into the cabinet above the sink. One item I wouldn’t import would be the bridges, at least not until our son is out of a stroller.

Walking around Venice (and later Bologna), we couldn’t help but notice a few prevalent occurrences not common in the states. The 3Ps included poo poo, PDA and pigeons. For the small number of dogs, you really had to watch out for dog poo on the streets. Additionally, the Italian culture is quite passionate, and it’s not uncommon to see a dozen couples making out in public places. Lastly, there were pigeons everywhere, particularly in St. Mark’s where the controversial practice of pigeon feeding provides a particularly attractive photo opportunity.

In terms of sightseeing, highlights included the Peggy Guggenheim Museum, The Doge’s Palace and the glass and wide canals of Murano (which was the inspiration for Tacoma’s Hotel Murano). The food was fantastic, and having a native Italian as a tour guide and chef didn’t hurt. I did surprise myself by watching a bit of MTV, as it was the only channel in English. A rather disappointing observation about Venice was the amount of garbage in the water, which was a stark contrast to the largely clean sidewalks.

Venice is truly a unique place, one of romance, beauty and tourism. After a week, we were ready to head inland to Bologna, a much less traveled area for tourists. The train took us directly into the heart of town, and it was only a few block walk to the location where we picked up our apartment keys: I Portici Hotel. I Portici Hotel Bologna itself was a bit of a surprising treat. Recently remodeled, the hotel was originally the home of a family that supplied the iron for the Eiffel Tower. The property retains original frescos and the city’s only cabaret theater.

Our Bologna apartment was also in a good location, although we were farther away from the action. Our first stop was MAMbo, Bologna’s museum of modern art. The installations were almost out-done by the building itself. We also experienced the best meals of our trip in Bologna, and one was home-cooked. While we paid nearly $15 US for the hand-made tortellini at a local shop, it was well worth it.

While there are plenty of sites in Bologna, my two favorites were the Two Towers and Petronio Basillica. I hiked up 500 steps and 375 feet to the viewing platform on the Asinelli Tower. The Petronio Basilica on Piazza Maggiore is an imposing structure indeed. As the fifth largest church in the world, it was never completed, as dictated by Rome, since it would have been larger than St. Peter’s.

Our first day trip out of town was Modena, the gateway to Maranello, or the most important city in the world of automobiles. Known for housing the Ferrari factory and museum, it’s also nearby the headquarters of Maserati and Lamborghini. The timing was good, as I’d driven two Ferraris and a Lambo just weeks earlier in Bellingham, Washington, thanks to World Class Driving. While waiting for our bus to Maranello, we did get a bite to eat and had what I think was the best gelato of my life.

The Ferrari Gallery was perhaps the only to-do on my list of Italy attractions, yet I found myself disappointed. Although Ferrari’s DNA is of the racing nature, I wasn’t as interested in the F1 cars, which took up almost 50% of the gallery. That left little room for 60 years of street legal masterpieces. I did like the Daytonas and Enzo, but most of the cars were far from show condition (bumps, scraps, dirty tires) and of the 80s vintage that is of little personal interest. That said, it was worth a visit and I plan to return once I’m a proud owner of a Ferrari, so I can get a factory tour.

Our next day trip was the other direction, to Faenza and Rimini on the coast. Faenza is known for its ceramics, and particularly the Ceramics Museum, which houses the largest collection of ceramics in the world. After a walk through the vast museum, we grabbed a magnificent lunch at a local fish restaurant before heading back to the train station.

The second leg of our daytrip took us to Rimini, a coastal town known as a vacation and party hot spot. In order to enjoy the Adriatic beach, visitors are encouraged to rent a chair from one of the dozens of hotels or properties along the waterfront. Not being accustomed to having to pay for a natural resource like sand coming from Oregon, at least the fees provided access to a playground and bathroom facilities. A brief walk up the beach took us to an impromptu arena where they hold beach polo tournaments.

Our last Bologna day trip was to Parma, known for its architecture and housing one of the oldest universities in the world. Also known best for the famous cheese, American, Parma is a wonderful town full of churches, restaurants and structures damaged in WWII bombing raids. The most impressive of sights included the  and adjoining Baptistery, which was built over hundreds of years due to the limited supply of pink Veronese marble. Yes, we did have pasta with Parmigiano Reggiano cheese while visiting.

All in all, our visit to Italy was a smashing success. We came home with one less jacket, but a ton of memories (photos here in case you missed the link earlier) as well as a bottle of balsamic vinaigrette that is older and more expensive than the bottle of wine we purchased at the same store. I’m sure we’ll want to return to Venice in the future, but I’m surprised to say that I look forward to visiting Bologna and the surrounding region again soon. I just need to get that F430 Ferrari.