A classy Italian trip

Steven Hendlin

To celebrate our 26th anniversary, we decided to take a two-week

holiday trip to a couple of our favorite places in Italy.

This was our first time traveling to Europe in winter rather than

fall, but we wanted to see how festive the cities would be with

holiday decorations, and a lifelong friend who lives in Florence had

invited us to some holiday parties.

On Dec. 23, we flew directly to Zurich and then took the short

flight to Milan. The airport security had been tightened at LAX due

to the change to the orange-color-coded high alert the day before but

this did not cause any undue delay. It’s worth noting the business

class seats in the new Airbus A-340 planes used by Swiss Air.

Finally, they have created a seat that makes long-distance flight not

only tolerable but downright comfortable.

After a night in Milan, we took the train to Venice, where it was

freezing but the sun was out. We spent four nights at the Gritti

Palace, a world-class hotel that had perhaps the best service of any

place we had ever stayed. Yes, it is very expensive, but this is one

hotel you will never forget.

On Christmas Eve, we attended the midnight Mass at Basilica San

Marco. This is one of the most beautiful churches in the world, and

it was memorable to witness Mass in this glorious setting. There were

more than 1,000 people congregated, with most of them standing during

the entire proceeding.

Before our arrival, the concierge at our hotel had arranged to get

us tickets for the opera, “The Barber of Seville,” at the quaint and

charming Malibran Theater. We sat in the third row and just loved

watching this light-hearted opera, even though it was all in Italian

with no subtitles. We made sure to read a detailed synopsis, so we

had some idea of the plot.

I think Venice is a place that begs you to spend your time

outdoors, roaming the narrow streets and canals, soaking in the

unique Venetian culture. But this culture -- and your enjoyment of it

-- is curtailed when it’s freezing. Still, we were glad to have

revisited a romantic and magical place we never tire of.

We took another train to Florence, where it was slightly warmer. I

was surprised to see that the holiday time brought so many tourists

from various parts of Europe. It seemed every bit as crowded as if

you were there in summer or fall. We made sure to revisit some of the

museums and churches, including the Uffizi, the Academia to see

Michelangelo’s “David,” the Bargello, Opera Santa Maria del Fiore,

Santa Croce and the Palatina Gallery in the Pitti Palace. We also

made sure to visit the Capella Brancacci, in Santa Maria del Carmine.

Here you can see Masaccio’s frescos -- a real delight for those

appreciative of early Renaissance art.

One of the highlights of our trip was a party we attended on New

Year’s Eve. Our friend’s close friends, a very wealthy

Italian-American couple, invited us to their apartment, which had

been furnished in the utmost of Italian good taste and was located on

the edge of the Arno River. The people attending were from many parts

of the world, including some Americans who had fallen in love with

Florence and chosen to retire there. The large heated terrace allowed

us to enjoy watching fireworks explode over the Arno at midnight, as

we toasted in the new year. It felt like the perfect place in the

world to be at that moment.

After seven days in Florence, our final train ride brought us back

to Milan, where we stayed at the centrally located Villa de la Ville

Hotel. We celebrated my birthday in Milan by going to see da Vinci’s

“The Last Supper,” where you need reservations and are escorted in a

group of 25 to view the magnificent fresco for 15 minutes. The

restoration was significant in its effort to show the art, as it

would have aged after hundreds of years. It is an awe-inspiring piece

of work that far transcends any popular effort to analyze it (“The Da

Vinci Code” novel).

We came home refreshed, glad to see the sun and relatively warm

weather, and happy to once again have had the opportunity to enjoy

the history, culture, cuisine and personality that Italy has to

offer.

* STEVEN HENDLIN is a resident of Corona del Mar.