Returned from this brilliant holiday 2 weeks ago. 5 nights in Bassano del Grappa in Italy and 5 nights in Lake Bled.
The Hotel Belvedere in Bassano claims to date back to the 15th Century and is "rich with atmosphere"! The "walk in shower" turned out to be a hole in the rather small bathroom, with a curtain round it, and a rather dodgy shower attachment! However, the food was very good - waiter service in the evening, and buffet at breakfast. Very nice bar too. The hotel is a short walk from the main attractions, the main one being the wooden bridge. There is a very interesting small war museum below the first taverna on the right, over the bridge. On Boxing Day we sampled the local grappa, which was excellent. The entire population of Bassano appeared to come out to promenade on this day!
Christmas Eve and a trip to Trento, which is a lovely town, with cathedral, lots of restaurants, Christmas market, and mulled wine! Christmas Day and a short walk in Bassano, and then on to Marostica where we had a fantastic 7 course lunch within the medieval castle, and excellent wines. Mark, our TM, had even provided crackers! Our dinner at the hotel, 3 hours later, was a struggle! On Boxing Day we went on the White Wine Road (there seems to be a theme to this review!) and tried the local prosecco. The "light" lunch was 3 courses! Saturday 27th, and our day in wonderful Venice. Sadly the weather was against us, and also the "private" boat took us the alternative way to St Marks, rather than down the Grand Canal. As I did my own thing, I don't know what the guided walk was like. The heavens opened at 1pm. The train journey back to Bassano was an experience - it started to snow, the points froze, and in the end we were on 3 different trains for an approx 1 hour journey - 3 hours later!
Sunday 28th and on to Lake Bled in Slovenia. Very snowy! A long coach journey but we had a few hours stop in Trieste, which again is a very interesting town. The Hotel Park is right on Lake Bled and is Bled's largest hotel. It has a fantastic indoor pool on the top floor with wonderful views of the castle. It is worth upgrading to a lakeside room, even if a little noisy. The views of the castle and church, in the snow, were magical. All the excursions on this holiday were included, bar paying for going up the cable car to Mount Vogel. I was surprised that quite a few people didn't bother to come on some of these. The climb up to the castle and to the island church, are both steep - 99 steps to the latter - but with care, are manageable (even with a dodgy hip!). Tuesday 30th and a trip to the Postojna Caves, and then lunch at the fishing village of Piran. Lunch included. New Year's Eve, a trip to the capital, Ljubljana - a small, really pretty city. Excellent pizzas! Before dinner we had a wonderful horse and carriage ride around Lake Bled. Stunning! Hogmanay was spent in the hotel, and for me was a disappointment - our group was seated by the main doors, and the band, evidently, was the other end. However, I think some people enjoyed themselves, and we taught the Germans Auld Lang Syne!
New Year's Day, and for me, one of the highlights of the tour. The morning spent up on Mount Vogel with wonderful views, and then down to the lake at Bohinj, which is breathtaking. We were lucky to visit the very unusual Church of John the Baptist, which is normally closed at this time of year. The afternoon was freetime. Our Farewell Dinner was spent in a local restaurant, which sadly, was not good - evidently it is better at lunchtime. They did not put all of us in the same room which was a shame. As BA do not fly from Ljubljana, we had to drive to Zagreb in Croatia for our flight home to Heathrow.
I'd thoroughly recommend this holiday, and to do all of the excursions. There was an additional event - an evening concert in Bled - which I didn't go to as it was so cold, but I gather was good. On the whole the food was excellent, and lots of it! Thanks to Mark who was our very good TM, and was excellent company. Slovenia in particular was "magical".
