Fond Memories of the "B's"

In the fall of 2010, we took a trip the we have dubbed Berlin / Italy.  Our itinerary included about 5 days in Berlin, followed by a few days in the lakes region of Italy, and wrapping up with a few days in Cinque Terre.  How we chose this particular mix of places is buried in the recesses of my memory banks.

We were pleasantly surprised by how much we enjoyed Berlin.  It's a very accessible city, with wonderful museums and walk-able neighborhoods. It's quite modern, having been mostly destroyed during WW II and then stunted during the communist regime.  But it is flourishing today and embracing the lessons of its past. Jim was particularly enamored with the architecture of the modern museums on Museum Island.  It reminded us a bit of the wonderful museums in Valencia. 

After "just enough" time in Berlin, we jetted to Milan, where we rented a car and drove along the shores of Lake Como to Bellagio. Thank goodness we splurged and got both automatic transmission and a GPS. The road to Bellagio was narrow and windy, and the other drivers were, well, Italian. We arrived at our lovely hotel thoroughly fried and thankful for a high quality restaurant on the premises.  Much to our waiter's surprise, we scarfed down an entire appetizer of prosciutto and melon followed by a delicious (but apparently not memorable) main course.  We spent the next couple days exploring Lake Como, including lunch at the "roof of the world" and a huge mound of mussels in George Clooney's adopted town.  

Sadly, our trip was cut short by the death of Jim's dad on his 88th birthday.  He had a full life, but suffered from ill health for his last several years.  As is often the case, we greeted his loss with both sadness and relief that his difficult journey had ended.  We packed our bags and headed homeward for his funeral. So far, we haven't made it to Cinque Terre.  It's on the list... 

Fast forward to the spring of 2013, when we made one of our "power trips" to Europe, this time for 5 days in Benelux.  We savored the wonderful cuisine of Brussels and explored the fortress walls in Luxembourg. But charming medieval Bruges was definitely the highlight of the trip.  We loved walking through the narrow, cobblestone streets, and meandering across the canals.  And then we happened upon a tapestry shop that provided us with the icing on the cake.  We agonized a little about the price tag and discovered when we arrived home that it was a bit bigger than we envisioned, but ultimately, we just had to have this tapestry of Bellagio crafted in Bruges.  

So there you have it.  Fond memories of three B's -- Berlin, Bellagio, and Brugges.