This morning we got a little bit of a later start to go to our Italian cooking clsss! We arrived and met Chef Andrea, as well as the other participants for the class. We all sat around and ate a little breakfast, croissants and these little almond cookies. After about a half hour, Chdf Andrea came in to talk to us about local Roman cuisine. We went over typical dishes for this region, such as carbanara, and then he told us our menu. We would be making a four course lunch!
At this point, we all donned our aprons, and headed into the kitchen. Set on the counter, there were probably 20 fresh ingredients (fruits, vegetables, spices, meats, cheeses) for us to use in our cooking. Chef goes to the market early in the morning and shops for the class so everything is super fresh. We of course took tons of pictures with the ingredients before we got our first cooking assignments. One by one, Chef Andrea handed out ingredients to start prepping for the different dishes. Dad was required to blanch and peel tomatoes, Allie was cutting celery, carrots, and onions for the tomato sauce, mom was skinning and cutting peaches, and I was cutting mozzarella. I even got to taste a piece and boy, was it delicious! My job didn't take very long, so I also cut eggplant and zucchini to stuff the zucchini blossoms. Once I finished cutting everything, I worked with a couple of other people to stuff the zucchini blossoms. We made two kinds: prosciutto and mozzarella and eggplant, zucchini, and mozzarella.
After the zucchini blossoms were stuffed, we worked on making the beer batter to fry the zucchini blossoms. We talked about the importance of yeast and why it needs to be completely dissolved. We set that out to rise before using it for frying.
We finished that and then it was time to make the pasta dough. Chef Andrea talked to us about the different kinds of flour and that what makes pasta al dente is the kind of flour used to make the pasta. You must use semolina flour to get pasta al dente. However, some pastas, such as fettuccine, are not supposed to be al dente because it is made using white flour. We definitely all learned something new. The gluten in the flour and the protein is what is important and helps make the dough strong. The stronger the flour, the more al dente your pasta will be. He put the egg in the center of the flour and the yolk was orange! I've never seen an egg like that before. We worked together to fold the egg and flour together to make the dough. We wrapped it in plastic so that it would not dry out from the heat of the kitchen.
We all continued working together to strain the tomato sauce, fry the chicken (that was Dad's job), make the lemon custard and peaches, and Chef Andrea fried the zucchini blossoms.
At this point, it was time to make the spaghetti. Wow, there were so many tools to use!! First, you break the large dough ball into smaller pieces. Then you run the small piece of dough through the pasta machine several times to make the dough smooth. Next, you put the dough through a smaller setting in the pasta machine to make it long and thin. You cut that into smaller sections, dust with flour, and then put it on this machine that has strings like a guitar. You role over the strings with a rolling pin and then strum the strings to make the pasta fall through! Just like that, you have spaghetti noodles. Then, you lay them on a rack to dry. We all took turns with the different jobs. It was a lot of fun, but hard work!
Once this operation was finished, it was time to eat!!! We all grabbed a plate and a small dish of a yummy pesto sauce to bring to the table for the appetizer course. I grabbed both kinds of fried zucchini blossoms to try. Mom, Dad, and I all opted for the wine pairing, which we thought was a tasting, but ended up being four full glasses of wine! The zucchini blossoms were delicious! The ones with the eggplant and zucchini inside ended up being my favorite. For the first course, we had our delicious spaghetti with homemade tomato sauce and cheese. It was unlike any pasta I've ever had before! I savored every bite and was actually sad when I had finished it. Our second course was chicken with peppers and a side dish of rosemary potatoes. That was also delicious! For dessert, we had the lemon custard and peaches in a martini glass. On the plate, Chef Andrea had piped "cooking class" with our names. It was beautiful and yummy, and I don't even like peaches!! All of the wine we had was perfectly paired and very good! It might have been some of my favorite we had while in Italy. We ended with a shot of lemoncello and then were in need of a good walk!
We walked over to Campo di Fiore, which ended up being kind of a dirty square with a bunch of restaurants, so we continued walking on to Piazza Navona, which had beautiful buildings and fountains. Allie and I stopped to watch a magic show, which wasn't very good. I had heard about the beautiful view of Rome from the Aventine Hill, so we walked closer to 40 minutes to get there. On the walk there we actually walked through the Jewish quarter and saw the beautiful synagogue. The view was pretty, though I don't know if it was worth the walk. While we were there, we saw 5 brides and grooms come to take pictures in that spot. We attempted to take a taxi back to the hotel, but we couldn't get one and ended up having to walk all the way back. My family was cursing me a bit on the way back. We took some time to rest, and then went back out for our last gelato. I got Oreo cookie and stracciatella. It was yummy!
Though I am sad that our trip has come to an end, I am ready to go home! We have made memories to last a lifetime and I am so grateful we got the opportunity to do this together as a family! Ciao, Italy!!
Sunday, July 16, 2017
Friday, July 14, 2017
Day 10: The Lost City
Today was our earliest start yet, as we needed to meet at 6:30. While Allie and I were ready at our designated time, mom texted us that they had overslept! Instead of our original plan of taking the metro and walking to the train station, we ended up taking a cab to get there on time. We got to the meeting spot at the train station with plenty of time to spare. Allie and I were able to pick up a little breakfast. I got a crema, which literally tastes like coffee ice cream, and a chocolate croissant. We boarded our train and headed off towards Naples. We took a high speed train so it was going almost 300 km/ hour. It took about an hour to get to Naples and from there it was another 25 minutes by bus to Pompeii.
Once we got there we met up with our tour guide who told us some information about Pompeii. The city was covered in 30 feet of ash more than 2,000 years ago after the eruption of Mount Vesuvius. The city was completely lost for 1,700 years. In this time, new cities were built on top of it, never realizing there was an entire lost civilization underneath. He told us that a farmer was building a well and fell down it. When he did, he landed in an amphitheater and realized that he had found something big. In the last 200 years, they have been able to excavate a lot of both Pompeii and Herculaneum, however they are still continuing to excavate and learn new things about this lost civilization. It was incredible to see how everything was so well preserved due to the ash. We walked in and out of houses, shops, and temples, as well as along roads and saw fountains. Our tour guide told us that they found more than 2,000 bodies while they were excavating. The bones and teeth were still there and they were able to caste plastic molds of these people. They were able to take DNA samples and figure out how wealthy they were based on what they ate. It was amazing how much information they were able to piece together about Pompeii.
Once our tour was finished, we enjoyed a granita, I got lemon, and then headed back to Rome. We arrived in the train station and was able to take the metro two steps back towards our hotel. We stopped for some lunch and had two kinds of pizza: 4 cheese and sausage and mushroom. We also had a caprese salad. After lunch, we decided to do some souvenir shopping, which we had yet to do in Rome. Everyone was able to get something they had been looking for. We took a longer break this afternoon to get out of the heat and relax.
We met back up for dinner and went to a restaurant closer to the Pantheon. We got prosciutto and melon, meatballs and spaghetti (yay), and tagliatelle with mushrooms. The restaurant also gave us some free champagne! Everything was delicious and we enjoyed a relaxing meal. We capped the night off with, you guessed it, gelato. We went to a place that had 150 different flavors. I opted for mint and chocolate. It was delicious!
Tomorrow we have a little later start to the day, so I am exited to be able to sleep a few extra hours!!
Once we got there we met up with our tour guide who told us some information about Pompeii. The city was covered in 30 feet of ash more than 2,000 years ago after the eruption of Mount Vesuvius. The city was completely lost for 1,700 years. In this time, new cities were built on top of it, never realizing there was an entire lost civilization underneath. He told us that a farmer was building a well and fell down it. When he did, he landed in an amphitheater and realized that he had found something big. In the last 200 years, they have been able to excavate a lot of both Pompeii and Herculaneum, however they are still continuing to excavate and learn new things about this lost civilization. It was incredible to see how everything was so well preserved due to the ash. We walked in and out of houses, shops, and temples, as well as along roads and saw fountains. Our tour guide told us that they found more than 2,000 bodies while they were excavating. The bones and teeth were still there and they were able to caste plastic molds of these people. They were able to take DNA samples and figure out how wealthy they were based on what they ate. It was amazing how much information they were able to piece together about Pompeii.
Once our tour was finished, we enjoyed a granita, I got lemon, and then headed back to Rome. We arrived in the train station and was able to take the metro two steps back towards our hotel. We stopped for some lunch and had two kinds of pizza: 4 cheese and sausage and mushroom. We also had a caprese salad. After lunch, we decided to do some souvenir shopping, which we had yet to do in Rome. Everyone was able to get something they had been looking for. We took a longer break this afternoon to get out of the heat and relax.
We met back up for dinner and went to a restaurant closer to the Pantheon. We got prosciutto and melon, meatballs and spaghetti (yay), and tagliatelle with mushrooms. The restaurant also gave us some free champagne! Everything was delicious and we enjoyed a relaxing meal. We capped the night off with, you guessed it, gelato. We went to a place that had 150 different flavors. I opted for mint and chocolate. It was delicious!
Tomorrow we have a little later start to the day, so I am exited to be able to sleep a few extra hours!!
Day 9: Vatican City and the Eternal City
This morning, we headed out to conquer something new, the metro. We walked to the metro station, successfully bought our metro card, and took the metro 5 stops. We then had a short walk to just outside the Vatican walls to meet our tour guide. When we checked in, they informed us that we had a private tour. Since we booked everything through a travel agent, we didn't know that we had a private tour. We followed Paula to get our tickets and enter the Vatican Museum. She sat us down and told us that in the Sistine Chapel, there is no talking so she wanted to take some time to explain the frescos we would see inside. She showed us that on the walls the story of Jesus was on one side and the story of Moses on the other. She also explained the ceiling and main wall behind the alter, both painted by Michaelangelo. After she finished her explanations, we headed into the museum.
She walked us through many rooms with different pieces of art. We started in a room with all Egyptian artifacts, and we even got to see a mummy! We then walked through halls with sculptures, painted ceilings, tapestries, and painted maps. Then, we got to go into the Sistine Chapel. It was overwhelmingly gorgeous. We were so glad that Paula gave us the introduction before we went in so that we were able to know what to look for and understand what we were looking at. Pretty much every space is covered with frescos. I learned that the conclave, the election for the next pope, is always held in the Sistine Chapel. After we oggled everything we could, we moved out of the Sistine Chapel and onto the main square of the Vatican. Paula showed how it is supposed to be in the shape of an embrace to welcome all Catholics into the arms of the church. However, it is left open to welcome anyone who wishes to be there. We then went into Saint Peter's basilica. We saw la pieta by Michaelangelo, as well as many other sculptures. I liked how they had the size of all the other major cathedrals in the world to show how Saint Peter's is the largest. When we were finished, it was time to leave Paula. We saw the Swiss Guard and took some pictures. We also took some steps back to admire Saint Peter's in its entirety.
It was then time for lunch. Unfortunately, our options were limited, so we chose the best of the worst and ate quickly. We walked back to the hotel to change because we had to wear clothes that covered our knees and shoulders for the Vatican. Then, we went to grab a cold snack. I got a small gelato with Dad, and Mom and Allie got slushies. The kind they have here we have all agreed is something we wish we could bring back to the states with us. It is such a refreshing snack! We then walked over to the Pantheon and were amazed by its size. Entrance was free, so we took a quick look around inside. We quickly realized that this was another church! We had no idea that's what it was used for. The thing that makes it a Pantheon is the hole it has on top.
Once we left the Pantheon, it was about a 15 minute walk over to the Spanish Steps. While mom and dad relaxed by the fountain in front, Allie and I climbed the 135 steps. It wasn't too bad, compared to the many other climbs we have done this vacation. It wasn't the best view from the top, but we enjoyed it enough and walked back down to cool off in the shade. People were refilling their water bottles in the fountain, so Allie chose to do that too! It was fun to watch her step in to fill it! At this point, we were all in need of a rest, so we went back to the hotel to shower and change for dinner.
Once we had a decent amount of time off our feet, we got a taxi and headed to the restaurant, Felice. This restaurant was recommended to us by the Chef who is leading our cooking class on Saturday. It was soooooooo delicious!! We started out with a bottle of Brunello wine, that Dad was excited about. It was the best wine we have had since coming to Italy. We then got a mixed green salad and a platter of fried vegetables. If I knew you could fry vegetables, I would have enjoyed them a lot more when I was younger. The first course is always pasta, so we tried two. One was one they were famous for which was loaded with cheese. It comes to the table and they toss it for you to mix in the cheese. The second one we got was ravioli with cherry tomatoes. Both were fantastic! It was definitely the best ravioli I've ever had and some of the best tomatoes we have had in this trip. We were already feeling pretty full, but for the second course we got beef brajole, fried meatballs, and veal. We had so much food that we didn't even have room to eat the veal. We ended up bringing it back and giving it to the concierge in the hotel. We finished our wine, passed on dessert, and took a taxi back to our hotel.
It was on our must- do list to return to the Trevi Fountain at night, so we walked back over there. It was a bit underwhelming, but we all agreed we were glad it wasn't overstated because it would make it look more touristy. Mom, Allie, and I all did the obligatory coin flip into the fountain, in our right hand over our left shoulder of course. After relaxing by the fountain and watching many struggle to take selfies, we called it a night in preparation for our early start the next morning.
She walked us through many rooms with different pieces of art. We started in a room with all Egyptian artifacts, and we even got to see a mummy! We then walked through halls with sculptures, painted ceilings, tapestries, and painted maps. Then, we got to go into the Sistine Chapel. It was overwhelmingly gorgeous. We were so glad that Paula gave us the introduction before we went in so that we were able to know what to look for and understand what we were looking at. Pretty much every space is covered with frescos. I learned that the conclave, the election for the next pope, is always held in the Sistine Chapel. After we oggled everything we could, we moved out of the Sistine Chapel and onto the main square of the Vatican. Paula showed how it is supposed to be in the shape of an embrace to welcome all Catholics into the arms of the church. However, it is left open to welcome anyone who wishes to be there. We then went into Saint Peter's basilica. We saw la pieta by Michaelangelo, as well as many other sculptures. I liked how they had the size of all the other major cathedrals in the world to show how Saint Peter's is the largest. When we were finished, it was time to leave Paula. We saw the Swiss Guard and took some pictures. We also took some steps back to admire Saint Peter's in its entirety.
It was then time for lunch. Unfortunately, our options were limited, so we chose the best of the worst and ate quickly. We walked back to the hotel to change because we had to wear clothes that covered our knees and shoulders for the Vatican. Then, we went to grab a cold snack. I got a small gelato with Dad, and Mom and Allie got slushies. The kind they have here we have all agreed is something we wish we could bring back to the states with us. It is such a refreshing snack! We then walked over to the Pantheon and were amazed by its size. Entrance was free, so we took a quick look around inside. We quickly realized that this was another church! We had no idea that's what it was used for. The thing that makes it a Pantheon is the hole it has on top.
Once we left the Pantheon, it was about a 15 minute walk over to the Spanish Steps. While mom and dad relaxed by the fountain in front, Allie and I climbed the 135 steps. It wasn't too bad, compared to the many other climbs we have done this vacation. It wasn't the best view from the top, but we enjoyed it enough and walked back down to cool off in the shade. People were refilling their water bottles in the fountain, so Allie chose to do that too! It was fun to watch her step in to fill it! At this point, we were all in need of a rest, so we went back to the hotel to shower and change for dinner.
Once we had a decent amount of time off our feet, we got a taxi and headed to the restaurant, Felice. This restaurant was recommended to us by the Chef who is leading our cooking class on Saturday. It was soooooooo delicious!! We started out with a bottle of Brunello wine, that Dad was excited about. It was the best wine we have had since coming to Italy. We then got a mixed green salad and a platter of fried vegetables. If I knew you could fry vegetables, I would have enjoyed them a lot more when I was younger. The first course is always pasta, so we tried two. One was one they were famous for which was loaded with cheese. It comes to the table and they toss it for you to mix in the cheese. The second one we got was ravioli with cherry tomatoes. Both were fantastic! It was definitely the best ravioli I've ever had and some of the best tomatoes we have had in this trip. We were already feeling pretty full, but for the second course we got beef brajole, fried meatballs, and veal. We had so much food that we didn't even have room to eat the veal. We ended up bringing it back and giving it to the concierge in the hotel. We finished our wine, passed on dessert, and took a taxi back to our hotel.
It was on our must- do list to return to the Trevi Fountain at night, so we walked back over there. It was a bit underwhelming, but we all agreed we were glad it wasn't overstated because it would make it look more touristy. Mom, Allie, and I all did the obligatory coin flip into the fountain, in our right hand over our left shoulder of course. After relaxing by the fountain and watching many struggle to take selfies, we called it a night in preparation for our early start the next morning.
Wednesday, July 12, 2017
Day 8: This is what dreams are made of
Today was an early start as we had to catch the train from Florence to Rome! About an hour and a half later, we arrived in Rome and met our driver. He didn't speak any English, but he did help us with our bags! We sped along the streets, pointing out sights to each other along the way. We arrived at the front of our hotel, where there was a protest happening. We made our way through the crowd of people and found our way into the hotel. Inside, the front desk explained that the building across from us is the Parliament building and the people are protesting a new teaching regulation. Mom told me to go out and show my support! Inside, the hotel was gorgeous! Since it was still early, our rooms aren't ready, so we stored our luggage, regrouped, and headed back out onto the streets to find a place for lunch. We got a recommendation from our hotel and we were able to sit outside. We were definitely in a good spot to people watch. One thing about all the cities we have visited is that people are constantly trying to sell you things. Unfortunately, that got a bit annoying, but I was still able to enjoy my ham and mozzarella sandwich.
After we finished up lunch, we found our way to a stop on our hop on/ hop off bus. This stop ended up being the Trevi Fountain! It's amazing that here you could round a corner and there is a big, beautiful fountain on the other side. It was not what I was expecting st all! It was so much bigger. After taking many pictures, we agreed to come back later to see it at night. We eventually found the bus, hopped on, and headed towards the Colosseum. When we got there, our entrance wasn't until 4:30, so we went to the Roman Forum first. These were ancient ruins of an entire city! It was incredible to see. After spending about an hour and a half there, we were all pretty hot, so we took a short rest in the shade. Then, it was time to enter the Colosseum! It was amazing! It is so large and there is so much to see! It was one of those moments where you always dreamed of going to a place and then it was actually happening. We spent a long time walking around on multiple levels, taking pictures, and learning more about gladiators!
Once we finished in the Colosseum, we were all pretty tired, so we hopped back on the bus to make our way back to the hotel. Our rooms were ready, so we headed upstairs. The rooms are beautiful! Definitely the nicest hotel we have stayed in so far. We took a short break to shower and rest and then we went back out for dinner. We decided to go to a restaurant around the corner from our hotel and sat outside. The food was delicious! We started with two kinds of pasta, though I only ate the spaghetti with truffles, which tasted like garlic and oil sauce. Nevertheless, it tasted amazing. For my second course, mom and I shared grilled steak, grilled vegetables (eggplant, pepper, and zucchini) and roasted potatoes. Everything was better than the next. We also decided to have dessert at the restaurant, because our tired feet couldn't carry us anywhere else. Allie and I shared a chocolate lava cake with ice cream. Yum!
We had a great first day in Rome and are looking forward to another memorable day tomorrow as we visit Vatican City!!
After we finished up lunch, we found our way to a stop on our hop on/ hop off bus. This stop ended up being the Trevi Fountain! It's amazing that here you could round a corner and there is a big, beautiful fountain on the other side. It was not what I was expecting st all! It was so much bigger. After taking many pictures, we agreed to come back later to see it at night. We eventually found the bus, hopped on, and headed towards the Colosseum. When we got there, our entrance wasn't until 4:30, so we went to the Roman Forum first. These were ancient ruins of an entire city! It was incredible to see. After spending about an hour and a half there, we were all pretty hot, so we took a short rest in the shade. Then, it was time to enter the Colosseum! It was amazing! It is so large and there is so much to see! It was one of those moments where you always dreamed of going to a place and then it was actually happening. We spent a long time walking around on multiple levels, taking pictures, and learning more about gladiators!
Once we finished in the Colosseum, we were all pretty tired, so we hopped back on the bus to make our way back to the hotel. Our rooms were ready, so we headed upstairs. The rooms are beautiful! Definitely the nicest hotel we have stayed in so far. We took a short break to shower and rest and then we went back out for dinner. We decided to go to a restaurant around the corner from our hotel and sat outside. The food was delicious! We started with two kinds of pasta, though I only ate the spaghetti with truffles, which tasted like garlic and oil sauce. Nevertheless, it tasted amazing. For my second course, mom and I shared grilled steak, grilled vegetables (eggplant, pepper, and zucchini) and roasted potatoes. Everything was better than the next. We also decided to have dessert at the restaurant, because our tired feet couldn't carry us anywhere else. Allie and I shared a chocolate lava cake with ice cream. Yum!
We had a great first day in Rome and are looking forward to another memorable day tomorrow as we visit Vatican City!!
Tuesday, July 11, 2017
Day 7: Pisa and Pizza
This morning, Allie and I set off towards the Duomo to climb to the top. 463 steps later, we reached the very top! After catching our breath, we were able to take in the fabulous views of Florence. We took time to walk around the whole top to see the sights from every side. We took many photos. Then, we climbed back down to meet mom and dad to enter the cathedral. When we walked in, we were expecting it to be as over the top as the exterior, however it was a bit more understated. Everything was beautiful, but there weren't many ornate details. We spent some time walking around and taking pictures and then exited to visit the museum. The museum showed what the facade looked like in the Middle Ages (more of a gothic style). The museum also gave more information on building the cupola, which is the dome on the top. We saw a few more statues that used to be in and around the cathedral. Then we went back to our hotel to change before our tour to Pisa.
The meeting point was about a 20 minute walk from our hotel. We arrived and Allie and I went in search of lunch. We ended up getting a tomato and mozzarella sandwich. We climbed aboard the bus and 1 1/2 hours later, we arrived in Pisa. Our tour guide less us to the Square, known as the Square of Miracles. We met our local tourgude there, who gave us information about the different monuments in the square. She gave us more detail about the Baptistry and the Cathedral. We were able to go inside of the cathedral and it was much more ornate than the cathedral in Florence. They even had a mummy of the patron saint of Pisa inside! After going inside the church, we walked over to take a closer look at the leaning tower of Pisa. Contrary to popular belief, it is not actually sinking on one side, but actually the opposite. One side is being raised higher than the other due to water and soft soil underneath, combined with the weight of the tower. The tower is leaning 4 degrees. At one point the tower was leaning 7 degrees and was closed 10 years to help fix it.
When the tour was completed, it was time for us to climb the tower. This time, the climb was only 296 steps, which wasn't nearly as bad as this morning. It was weird climbing because you can feel the tilt inside. In a few short minutes, we reached the top. We got some nice views of Pisa, the top of the church, as well as the Pisa soccer stadium. We also were able to see the 7 bells at the top of the tower. We learned that the leaning tower of Pisa is actually the bell tower for the church. Once we had gotten all of our pictures, we climbed down to take some of the obligatory pushing over and holding up the tower pictures. We quickly realized that it was a lot harder than it looks!! After several tries, we got some pictures that were passible. We walked over to the souvenir shop. It was just about time to meet back up with the tour as we were paying. Allie and I rushed ahead to let the group know we were coming. As we were approaching the meeting point, the tail end of the tour was walking out of the gates! Mom and Dad weren't there! As we attempted to keep up with the group, we tried to keep in contact to let mom and dad know where we were. After speaking with our tour guide a few times, they finally made it back to the bus! We thought there was a chance they were getting left in Pisa.
Once we arrived back in Florence, we were all hot, tired, and hungry! We ate at a restaurant next to the Palazzo de Vecchio. As we scanned the menu, we realized this was a sister restaurant to one we had eaten at a few nights ago. We decided to stay and try some other things they had on the menu. We had bruschetta, Cesar salad, gnocchi with mozzarella and tomato sauce, and pizza with ham, salami, and mushrooms. Everything was yummy! While we ate, another orchestra played in the square, this time from Maryland! What are the chances of that?!?! To cap off the night, we went and got cannolis.
It was a great last day in Florence and we are excited to move on to Rome in the morning!
Monday, July 10, 2017
Day 6: Cinque Terre
Today we woke up bright and early to meet our tour for Cinque Terre (which translates to five lands). The tour left from Florence, but since Cinque Terre is on the coastline, it was about a 2 hour ride. As we neared our destination, the roads became very small and windy! Our driver, Jonathan, was expertly able to get us around without any trouble. The views were magnificent! Cinque Terre are 5 small towns built literally on the sides of cliffs.
The first town we visited was Manarola. He took us around to see some pretty views. Then we went down into a little cafe for a snack and some wine. Cinque Terre produces their own wine by the same name. It was a dry, white wine. I thought it tasted kind of like a Chardonnay. We also had focaccia bread, cheese, olives, and garbanzo beans. The Liguria region is known for their focaccia bread, and it did not disappoint! After our snack, we were able to walk around for a bit. We then met back up with the tour and walked down to the port to catch the ferry to the next town.
The second town we visited was Vernazza. This was the largest of the 5 cities, but was still very small. The higher you go, the better your view gets, so we climbed to the highest part of the town, the Castillo, to get the best view! It was beautiful! Large mountains, the cliffs, and crystal blue waters made up the majority of the view. In each town, the houses are also painted many colors such as pinks and yellows. Jonathan told us this was so in the past, fisherman could still see their houses while they were fishing. After our walk, we stopped for lunch at a restaurant that was still pretty high up, so it overlooked most of the town. Jonathan told us that the Ligurian region is also known for pesto. For lunch we got spaghetti with pesto sauce, another kind of small penne pasta, and shrimp! It was all very good. When we were finished lunch, we headed back down to the town and did a little souvenir shopping. We ended by going through a cavern to the beach. Since we didn't bring our bathing suits, we just reached down to touch the water. We headed back to meet the rest of the group to head to our third stop.
The third town we visited was Corniglia. We walked along the hiking path and Jonathan told us that only 100 people live in this town. We had some free time and our family decided to get lemon slushies to cool down. We then walked to the back of the town where there is a balcony. It had such beautiful views of the town and the water. We enjoyed the view for awhile and then walked back to the meeting point. At this time, we headed baxk to Florence.
Once we arrived back in Florence, we headed back to the hotel to freshen up before dinner. Since we had such a heavy lunch, we decided to try the preschuitteria, which was all meats, cheeses, spreads, and bread. It was all so super fresh and delicious! The meats were literally hanging from the ceiling. Though it was a little out of our comfort zone, we were so glad we tried it.
As we walked back from dinner, we saw an orchestra setting up outside the Palazzo de Vecchio, so we sat down to watch. They were really good and it was a beautiful night to sit out and listen. When the concert was finished, we of course headed over to a gelateria for gelato. This place also had macaroons to put in your ice cream! It was yummy!
Tomorrow will be a full day, so we are going to get ready for bed!
The first town we visited was Manarola. He took us around to see some pretty views. Then we went down into a little cafe for a snack and some wine. Cinque Terre produces their own wine by the same name. It was a dry, white wine. I thought it tasted kind of like a Chardonnay. We also had focaccia bread, cheese, olives, and garbanzo beans. The Liguria region is known for their focaccia bread, and it did not disappoint! After our snack, we were able to walk around for a bit. We then met back up with the tour and walked down to the port to catch the ferry to the next town.
The second town we visited was Vernazza. This was the largest of the 5 cities, but was still very small. The higher you go, the better your view gets, so we climbed to the highest part of the town, the Castillo, to get the best view! It was beautiful! Large mountains, the cliffs, and crystal blue waters made up the majority of the view. In each town, the houses are also painted many colors such as pinks and yellows. Jonathan told us this was so in the past, fisherman could still see their houses while they were fishing. After our walk, we stopped for lunch at a restaurant that was still pretty high up, so it overlooked most of the town. Jonathan told us that the Ligurian region is also known for pesto. For lunch we got spaghetti with pesto sauce, another kind of small penne pasta, and shrimp! It was all very good. When we were finished lunch, we headed back down to the town and did a little souvenir shopping. We ended by going through a cavern to the beach. Since we didn't bring our bathing suits, we just reached down to touch the water. We headed back to meet the rest of the group to head to our third stop.
The third town we visited was Corniglia. We walked along the hiking path and Jonathan told us that only 100 people live in this town. We had some free time and our family decided to get lemon slushies to cool down. We then walked to the back of the town where there is a balcony. It had such beautiful views of the town and the water. We enjoyed the view for awhile and then walked back to the meeting point. At this time, we headed baxk to Florence.
Once we arrived back in Florence, we headed back to the hotel to freshen up before dinner. Since we had such a heavy lunch, we decided to try the preschuitteria, which was all meats, cheeses, spreads, and bread. It was all so super fresh and delicious! The meats were literally hanging from the ceiling. Though it was a little out of our comfort zone, we were so glad we tried it.
As we walked back from dinner, we saw an orchestra setting up outside the Palazzo de Vecchio, so we sat down to watch. They were really good and it was a beautiful night to sit out and listen. When the concert was finished, we of course headed over to a gelateria for gelato. This place also had macaroons to put in your ice cream! It was yummy!
Tomorrow will be a full day, so we are going to get ready for bed!
Sunday, July 9, 2017
Day 5: Firenze on Foot
Today was another action- packed day in Florence! We started the day by meeting Gabriel, our private tour guide for a walking tour of Florence. He mostly focused on the history of the Medeci family. He showed us many different churches and squares, as well as important palaces like the palazzo de vecchio and the palazzo pitti. He gave us a lot of great facts that helped put the city into perspective. After about 3 hours, we left Gabriel and went for some pizza to relax and get off our feet. The one thing about Italy is they do not rush you at restaurants and you can relax and eat for as long as you like.
We decided after lunch to journey over to the palazzo pitti to see the Giardino di Boboli (Boboli Gardens). They were magnificent and provided many beautiful views overlooking Florence. Though it was very hot and we were all extremely sweaty, we all enjoyed it.
Once we felt we looked around enough, we journeyed back into the center of town in search of something cold to drink. We walked back across the Ponte Vecchio, which is the oldest bridge in Florence, due to the fact that the Nazis destroyed all of the other ones to delay American progress into Italy in 1944. People used to live in small houses on this bridge, but those houses have since been renovated into jewelry stores. Only jewelry is allowed to be sold on the bridge. We walked into a Pinocchio store along the way and learned that the author of Pinocchio is actually a Florentine! We eventually got back to the same street as our hotel and found a cafe that sold iced chocolate! It was delicious and helped cool us off.
At this point, Dad needed a little rest, but not the rest of us! I convinced Mom and Allie to climb the bell tower of Santa Maria del Fiore (in piazza de Duomo) with me! We made it up all 414 steps to take in the breathtaking view of Firenze. We took lots of pictures and congratulated ourselves on making it up! Even mom surprised herself! The journey down was much easier.
After taking some time to rest and cool down, we went back out for dinner to a place not so far from our hotel that we had found earlier. We got two kinds of pasta: ravioli and tagliatelle. We also tried a steak and chicken. Everything was delicious! Of course, in keeping with mom's goal, we also had some montepulciano (red wine). When we finished, we went to a gelateria that was recommended by our tour guide this morning. It was called Grom, and was about one block from our hotel. He told us that this was the real Italian gelato, vs. some of the other places that are tourist traps. We enjoyed it while taking in the view of the Duomo at night.
We came back to the hotel a bit earlier today due to the fact that we have an earlier tour in the morning! Can't wait to see what tomorrow brings:)
We decided after lunch to journey over to the palazzo pitti to see the Giardino di Boboli (Boboli Gardens). They were magnificent and provided many beautiful views overlooking Florence. Though it was very hot and we were all extremely sweaty, we all enjoyed it.
Once we felt we looked around enough, we journeyed back into the center of town in search of something cold to drink. We walked back across the Ponte Vecchio, which is the oldest bridge in Florence, due to the fact that the Nazis destroyed all of the other ones to delay American progress into Italy in 1944. People used to live in small houses on this bridge, but those houses have since been renovated into jewelry stores. Only jewelry is allowed to be sold on the bridge. We walked into a Pinocchio store along the way and learned that the author of Pinocchio is actually a Florentine! We eventually got back to the same street as our hotel and found a cafe that sold iced chocolate! It was delicious and helped cool us off.
At this point, Dad needed a little rest, but not the rest of us! I convinced Mom and Allie to climb the bell tower of Santa Maria del Fiore (in piazza de Duomo) with me! We made it up all 414 steps to take in the breathtaking view of Firenze. We took lots of pictures and congratulated ourselves on making it up! Even mom surprised herself! The journey down was much easier.
After taking some time to rest and cool down, we went back out for dinner to a place not so far from our hotel that we had found earlier. We got two kinds of pasta: ravioli and tagliatelle. We also tried a steak and chicken. Everything was delicious! Of course, in keeping with mom's goal, we also had some montepulciano (red wine). When we finished, we went to a gelateria that was recommended by our tour guide this morning. It was called Grom, and was about one block from our hotel. He told us that this was the real Italian gelato, vs. some of the other places that are tourist traps. We enjoyed it while taking in the view of the Duomo at night.
We came back to the hotel a bit earlier today due to the fact that we have an earlier tour in the morning! Can't wait to see what tomorrow brings:)
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