DAY 06: Rain in Chianti.

Pie for breakfast!

We took off to the Chianti region of Tuscany this morning. A 45-minute (and very curvy!) drive later, we arrived in Castellina in Chianti. The town was much smaller than we expected and it was raining quite hard by time we arrived. We decided to stop for a cappuccino just after arriving to warm our bones a bit. We didn’t end up doing a whole lot other than some window shopping, but were able to stop for a nice lunch before heading back to the car.


The beautiful textures of the Chianti countryside.


A typical scene from our Italian adventures: us wearing garbage bag-like ponchos.

At Re Gallo, we were treated to artichoke ravioli with a sage and butter sauce, a pecorino omelet, and a traditional pici (thick spaghetti-like noodle) with Sienese sausage and porcini mushroom sauce. This place was quite the find for the low cost associated with it. I think we spent less than $10 per person, but left fat and happy!

The rain let up slightly, but we still dropped our plans to continue on to Radda in Chianti. The drive had been a bit nerve-wrecking and we didn’t want to get any further on without knowing if the roads would be dry on our return. So, we turned back to San Gim. The ride was certainly scenic, filled with grapevines and olive groves. We even saw a farm filled with what appeared to be truffle hunting dogs! We were all blown away by the diverse look of this area.

Back in San Gim, Mom and I decided to take a walk through town in order to seek out the perfect ceramic purchase. I bought a few goodies and finally decided on a ¼ liter wine carafe with Chianti’s signature black rooster hand painted on it. Mom purchased a lovely red poppy spoon rest and a “ciao bella” shirt for Aubree. Awhile later, we met Shawn and Liz for the “world’s best” gelato at Pluripremiata in the Piazza della Cisterna. We couldn’t disagree with their award-winning gelato—it was incredible! They had a unique selection of flavors including raspberry with rosemary, limoncino, and vernaccia wine. I’m still regretting not ordering a second serving with the creamy orange-chocolate variety.


One of San Gim's lovely ceramic shops.


A store in San Gim selling none other than... Chianti.

The sun finally appeared late in the afternoon, so we took a final walk along the old wall. On the way back, we picked up some pizza to create a mish mash of a picnic dinner back at our hotel. It was our cheapest meal yet, but nonetheless light years better than most things we can get at home for a comparable price. Not to mention that we really had a lot of fun eating as a group in the little dining area just outside our hotel room!


A school bus coming back into town for the day.


Piazza della Cisterna, San Gimignano.


A sweet kitty enjoying her own little slice of Tuscan heaven. Her sweet little tongue made us miss our Lu.


That sweet kitty's little Tuscan paradise. Off to the right, she had a sweeping view of the countryside. Lucky kit!

DAY 05: Volterra.

This morning, we took off for Volterra, a hill town that we’ve been hearing about for years now. Determined to get to know it a bit, we planned on spending the duration of the day there. The drive was beautiful as Volterra sits high in the hills, so we ended up quite high in the hills and I was mildly freaked out as a result. We stopped for photos a few times, amazed at the vegetation, poppies, and saffron flowers on the horizon.


Getting ready to leave San Gimignano.


Getting close to Volterra...

We parked just outside the city’s walls and walked in through an ancient gateway. Volterra was very charming and didn’t seem as overrun by tourism as our home base. We immediately stopped for a meal that turned out to be a highlight of our trip. We found an outdoor seating area at Enoteca La Vena di Vino on a quiet street. For €10 each, we were served quite the spread! We shared two large plates of proscuitto, salami, tomatoes, three varieties of pecorino cheese, and slices of mozzarella. We also indulged in a pecorino fondue, easily one of the tastiest creations we’ve experienced from the regional cheese. It was so rich that eating it with a simple piece of bread was divine. I also had a glass of a local, earthy tasting red wine called “Le Balze”. This little place, for me, was proof that being passionate about high quality food and drink doesn't have to be snobby (or expensive, for that matter!). All in all, it was an experience that I don’t think any of us will forget anytime soon.


Our special lunch spot in Volterra.


The dining patio plopped in the middle of a functioning street across from the enoteca.


Oh joy! How we love Tuscany.

The city was filled with great sights, too. Liz went to an Etruscan museum just as a light sprinkle began to fall. She was able to see many interesting artifacts, but also seemed quite amused at the museum’s toilet—one that required her to stand while tinkling! Mom, Shawn, and I wandered to the edge of town to view the ruins of a Roman theatre and baths. Although the area was used as a garbage dump until its rediscovery in the 1950s, the ruins appeared to be in great condition and were easily viewed free of charge from a road just above. We also visited a gate in the city’s wall called Porta All’Arco. Built in 300 AD, a miracle saved it from destruction during WWII. We quickly wandered the town’s main square, admiring its striped church, reminiscent of Siena’s own duomo. Overall, we really enjoyed exploring Volterra’s streets… even in the rain.


A doorway crammed with plants.


Roman ruins in Volterra.


Mom and I had a good chuckle over this street scene for awhile. She commented that the undies were waving like a call to surrender. Then we pondered whether or not the owner of the panties had already surrendered...



Several hours later back in San Gimignano, we had dinner reservations at Trattoria Chiribiri, just around the corner from our hotel. A small place with only half a dozen tables, this trattoria served us an unbelievably cheap yet grand meal (€13 per person w/drinks). Between the four of us, we shared pumpkin ravioli, gnocchi with a creamy tomato sauce, a spinach and meat crepe, and tagliatelli with fresh porcini mushrooms. Even though we were full, we squeezed in zuppa inglese (sponge cake soaked with vanilla and chocolate) for dessert. All in all, this day in Tuscany was the culinary highlight of our trip.

DAY 04: Going to Tuscany.

We left Venice around 9:00 am on a Eurostar heading towards Florence. Getting to the train station with our luggage was a pretty funny experience. We first hauled our bags down the stairs of our hotel and then rolled them along the cobblestones to a nearby vaporetto stop. When we arrived at the station, we lifted our bags up several more steps to get inside. Liz gave us all a good laugh by simply dragging her bag up the steps, making a loud clunking noise as it went along.

Our Eurostar train was new with huge overhead bins to boot. For the most part, I love riding on trains… especially when the ride is scenic. The trip to Florence was fairly short at 2.5 hours. From the station there, we grabbed a cab to our car rental agency with the Italian cabbie giving us directions to Tuscany the entire time. We rented a VW Golf and headed right out of chaotic Florence. The drive to San Gimignano was an easy one and we were getting excited as we passed rolling countryside and cypress trees along the way.

In San Gim, we reserved a 2-room suite (#5) at Palazzo al Torrione. Arriving at the hotel to see our amazing room and the view it offered was spectacular. We were elated at how cute our room was and its proximity to the center of town was fantastic. We were also located right next to the hotel’s breakfast room, so taking advantage of that would be called for.


View from our suite at Palazzo al Torrione: proof that the sun did shine for some portions of our trip.

Because the sun was shining, we decided to head out and explore as soon as we dropped off our bags. We first stopped for lunch at a pastry shop (or pasticceria), Armando e Marcella. The selection of chocolates, pastries, traditional Tuscan cookies, and sandwiches overwhelmed us. While the others ate panini, I chose a piece of tomato bruschetta larger than any I had ever seen before. The flavor of it did not disappoint, either!


One of the most amazing pasticcerie I've witnessed yet: Armando e Marcello.

We chose to avoid the main street since it was flooded with tourists and headed for a stroll along the old wall. We drank in the views and marveled at how beautiful the countryside below looked. The varying textures of the landscape and the organized manner with which it has been planted is what sets Tuscany apart from other similar settings. We eventually went back inside the city walls and explored some more. We visited Sant’Agostino, a monastery at the far end of the city, and went into a salumeria to purchase some sopressata and pecorino aged within a rind rubbed with tomato. What a treat!






Scenes from our wall walk...

We ended up in one of two main squares, the Piazza del Duomo. We sat on the church’s steps and watched as locals had just begun their evening ritual of passeggiata. Virtually all tourists had left town. I asked our mothers if this scene is what they had envisioned before the trip, and was surprised to receive a “no” in response. My mom, in particular, said that she thought the trip would be filled with museum visits, but now found herself feeling part of daily life in Tuscany.


Piazza del Duomo

Shawn and I went out for dinner on our own that evening, visiting a recommendation from our pal John, La Mandragola. We splashed out, trying some very interesting dishes. We had a pecorino tart and a caprese salad, followed by two parpardelle dishes (one with wild boar ragu, the other with a saffron sauce). Our mothers, meanwhile, headed out for another adventurous meal on their own.



Pecorino tarts and noodles with saffron sauce at La Mandragola.

DAY 03: Reconnecting.

Two of my biggest fears for the trip came true at the start of day three. I opened our shutters to a rainy day and my mom woke up with a migraine. Ugh! We decided to take a slow start to the morning until both issues smoothed themselves out. Liz, S, and I had our typical breakfast and hoarded some goodies for Mom since she opted to stay in bed late. Awhile later, S and Liz ventured out to the train station to reserve our Eurostar tickets for the next day’s journey to Tuscany. I stayed back with Mom, but since she was snoozing, decided to take my camera out into the market just below our hotel.



Wandering around the Rialto Market on my own was exhilarating. The place was swarming with locals, picking up their groceries and buying flowers in droves. I enjoyed seeing new-to-me produce while practicing my Italian by studying each little sign advertising a vendor’s goods. I quickly walked through the seafood portion of the market, as well, when I noticed an Italian man and his young daughter. I stopped to look at them, thinking of my friend Trina and her husband, Giorgio, who live in Venice with their own daughter, Zara. S and I met up with them on our honeymoon here four years ago.

Since I had wandered around longer than expected, I decided to head back to the hotel. As I rounded the corner to return to the produce market, I saw Trina standing at a stall with a young blonde girl. I hesitated for a moment out of pure shock, but after I approached her, I think she was far more shocked to see me standing there. The little girl with her was Shyla, her now 2-year old daughter. It turned out that the man I had seen earlier was actually Giorgio (with Zara), as well! This chance encounter was beyond belief since we ran into her in a similar manner during that honeymoon trip.




Scenes from the Rialto Market.


Trina and Giorgio's girls, Zara and Shyla.

I led all four of them back to our hotel. Shawn and Liz had returned, and my mom was up and feeling better. We all went down the street to a little place where we celebrated this encounter with a bottle of prosecco and a large plate of crostini. We sat at a little table parked to the side of a small street while Venetians bustled past us. It is this type of moment that I look forward to when coming to Italy.

After visiting for a bit, we moved to another small bar (known for serving espresso rather than alcohol) to nibble on some pastries. Trina’s girls gobbled up pretty little chocolate cakes and giggled as they ran in and out of the bathroom. Asking about our move to Seattle, Giorgio (who works with glass professionally) commented that we had relocated to the home of the “guru”, Dale Chihuly. I found this interesting since Chihuly has only fine-tuned an art form that Venetians perfected. We bid them farewell shortly after and went to visit Giorgio’s glass shop in Venice’s Dorsoduro neighborhood. Once there, Liz and I each purchased a pendant. His designs are organic and elegant, unique to what apparently appeals to the masses.


My pendant, created by Trina's husband Giorgio.

After wandering around Dorsoduro, we went to Gelateria Nico for a local speciality, gianduiotto, a chocolate hazelnut ice cream smothered in whipped cream. The sun was finally peeking out, so we sat along the lagoon’s edge and enjoyed our treat before heading back for a rest.



Mom enjoying gelato from Nico.



Random scenes from Dorsoduro.

We opted for another cichetti bar for dinner later in the evening. This time, we chose Al Bomba, where its lovely owner served us eggplant, an “exquisite” baccala, crab fritters, polenta, an asparagus patty, a rice and mozzarella ball, and much more. The sheer number of choices here was outstanding and, for €10 per person including drinks, we stuffed ourselves. Our hostess was lovely, too, and encouraged us to practice our Italian skills with her.


One of the many pasticcerie in Cannaregio.


A flyer advertising a screening of the Champions League final right in Venice. Too bad Chelsea lost (more on that later...).

After dinner, we finished our evening with a gondola ride. When in Venice, it must be done! Shawn haggled with a “Casanova” of a gondolier (Luca) outside of the market. For a spendy €90, he took us on a 2km journey through the Cannaregio neighborhood that lasted around 35 minutes. The neighborhood’s small canals were quiet as we skimmed past the former of homes of Marco Polo, Vivaldi, and Napoleon’s sister. We saw an amazing church, Madonna dell'Orto, just along a canal’s edge, as well. What was most impressive about this ride, however, was the gondolier’s skill when navigating under several bridges. At one point, he told us not to worry as we approached a rather low bridge. He explained that the water level was particularly high and that we should all move to the right side of the boat. We were then leaning just enough that we barely missed scraping the top of the bridge as we glided underneath it. He performed this maneuver more than once that evening, much to our amazement—a memorable ending to our time in Venice.

DAY 02: Venezia & Murano.

Starting our day in St. Mark's Square.
We rose to a beautiful day and threw open our rooms' shutters to discover a view of Rialto Market and the Grand Canal below. After a breakfast consisting of the usual croissant, yogurt, and cereal, we decided to go straight into St. Mark's Square to ascend the bell tower. By time we arrived, there were already hoards of tourists swarming the Doge's Palace and the Basilica. Our line for the campanile was relatively short, however, so we were at the top of Venice in no time. Red roof tiles, many more churches, and the lagoon stretched as far as our eyes could see. We took in the view and decided to head out to Murano island afterwards. We walked through Venice's Castello neighborhood to reach the vaporetto stop, window shopping for highly detailed masks and other treasures along the way.


View from the bell tower (campanile).


Sweet kitty on a church doorstep in Venice's Castello neighborhood.


Getting to the vaporetto stop was challenging as we took a photo every ten feet. Venice is just that beautiful!

Murano.
Less than a 10-minute vaporetto ride from Venice is Murano, a separate island in the lagoon known for its longstanding glass making history. We stopped for pizza at a cafe adjacent to the vaporetto stop where we were able to sit in the sun with a fantastic view of the lagoon. After lunch, we wandered along Fondamenta dei Vetri to browse glass shop after shop. We particularly enjoyed a shop at #54 where we purchased several affordable pendants made by a local artisan. In general, Murano felt like a mini-Venice with less crowds. Overall, we found Murano to be slightly less charming than Burano...


Mosaic in Murano.


My mother's pendant, purchased for approximately $15 in Murano.

Cichetti for dinner.
After resting for a bit back at our hotel, we went out for cichetti, Venetian-style tapas that we typically make a meal out of. We started at Cantina Do Mori followed by our regular haunt, the Ruga Rialto. At Do Mori, we ate our nibbles in the street just outside the back door. Standing in such history-filled surroundings while having a glass of wine was a surreal thing. At the Ruga Rialto, we huddled around a tiny table next to the cichetti spread. The same bartender we’ve seen here during our past three visits to Venice was behind the counter and he fed us well! We tried calamari, stuffed eggplant, meat fritters, crostini, and so much more. We attempted to visit a favorite from our last visit, Alla Botte, but were told that they weren’t serving cichetti any longer. We couldn’t figure out if it was a permanent change, or if we were just a bit late that evening. We wandered back across the Rialto Bridge to try Bancogiro, but were told we couldn’t be served food outdoors because it had been sprinkling earlier in the evening. That was truly disappointing news as this busy spot was on my must-do list.

Acqua Alta.
Once we were sufficiently filled up, we went to St. Mark's Square. I like it best in the evening, after the hoards day trippers have left. Three bands were playing and it was magical as ever. We later noticed high water in the square for the first time. Even though we have heard about this problem for years, it was a bit shocking to finally see in person. There was a large pool forming just outside the entry to the Basilica. Another pool was forming in the middle of the square. Finally, closer to the water, we noticed water lapping right up onto the pavement alongside the water's edge. After absorbing this for awhile, we decided to grab a gelato (our second of the day!) and call it a night.


High water heading into St. Mark's Square.


S and Liz lovin' that first gelato of our trip.

DAY 01: Our overnight flight.

The recaps shall start now. =) Hopefully they will slowly appear over the next week or two...

DAY 01

We left for the airport in Seattle around 8:00 am Thursday morning to catch our short, comfy flight on Alaska to SFO. Once on our KLM plane in San Fran, we sat for over an hour at the gate before we were told to deboard so they could fix an issue with the overhead speaker. At the gate check-in, we were told that making our connecting flight in Amsterdam "shouldn't be a problem" since we had over five hours of time built in for a layover.

As a precautionary measure, I called my mother during her layover in Detroit to give her detailed directions for finding our hotel in Venice. Venice isn't a good place for letting instinct guide you. Getting into the city from the airport is not a logical process. I reassured my mother before hanging up that everything should be fine and we would see them in Amsterdam.

Three and a half hours later, our plane finally left SFO. By my calculations, we would arrive into Amsterdam just as our next flight was starting to board. That is precisely what happened, but because we also had to get through immigration, the plane pulled away without us. KLM put us on another flight six hours later (!), so we found a hidden corner of the airport complete with reclining lounge chairs where we could sleep for awhile.

After our brief nap, we headed out to spend the €20 in vouchers KLM issued to us for a meal. We ended up with some of the most vile airport food possible: deep fried cheese croquettes and cafeteria style french fries. And this came after eating an unidentifiable meal of "breakfast tapas" on our overnight flight. Fortunately, the shops in Schipol Airport were less disappointing. I ended up snagging a sweet little ceramic canal house and some fun wooden shoe magnets.

After such lengthy delays, we finally pulled into Venice's Marco Polo airport at 10:30 pm. We threw our elaborate money-saving transportation plan into the lagoon, and decided to risk that our travel insurance would refund us for the spendy water taxi. We spent €95 to be quickly taken to our hotel just behind the Rialto Market. Fortunately, our mothers were there waiting for us. We hugged and shared our adventures with one another. They had gone out for a nice meal alongside the Grand Canal to celebrated Liz's birthday and rested for a bit while waiting for us to appear. We were finally in Italy!


Our disgusting KLM breakfast. It was unidentifiable and called "morning tapas".


S near our Amsterdam airport sleeping nook.


The nasty meal we wasted $30 (or 20 Euros) in vouchers on.


Us, as we finally arrived at the gate in Amsterdam where our mothers had been just 15 minutes earlier. We finally got a plane into Venice six hours later.

A peek.

Here is one of my favorite shots from the Venice portion our trip. I rarely get in front of the camera, so it is always fun for me to see one come out like this.

Now, just another 1,600 to go through...

We are back!

And, goodness, are we ever having a hard time staying up! We left Milan at 7:00 pm Seattle time last night and are trying to push through until at least 8:00 tonight before heading to bed. Jet lag is a real stinker. Can't wait to share goodies from our trip once my head and body are functioning...

Heading back.

Today was our last full day in Italy. Aaah, che bella Italia! We're off to a hotel outside the Milan airport and head home very early tomorrow. We finally saw some sun yesterday and were able to tour some pretty awesome villas. Lots and lots of pics were taken.

See you on the flipside!

Remind me to avoid Italy in May.

It is still raining. We passed a bit of sun during our train ride yesterday, but it has not let up since we arrived. Really bummed today since we were trying to avoid Seattle weather at this time of the year and we seem to have run into more of it. The forecast is saying more of the same, so it is def. wearing on me.

Going to go try to find something to do now, although we have come to a place that is based on views and being outdoors.

Ciao for now.

Pisa.

We're moving on to Lake Como today with a stop-over in Pisa. The four of us are planning on climbing the leaning tower. I can't imagine what a weird sensation that will be.

After we get to Lake Como, we're really hoping to find a "calcio" bar so we can watch Chelsea v. Man Utd. in the Champion's League final. This game is Chelsea's last hope for a title this year, so the season is finally over after this.

See you in Lake Como!

And it's still raining.

Keep your fingers crossed for us. It has been raining pretty hard today and we are supposed to climb THE leaning tower tomorrow. =)

Off to drink some wine...

San Gimignano and Volterra.

We are now in beautiful Tuscany. It is funny--we decided last year to travel in May to escape the last of the rainy Seattle weather... and it has been dry and 80 to 90 degrees there. Guess what it is doing here? Raining! Fortunately, it is not raining hard, so we are still having an awesome time. We just have ponchoes on in our photos now.

The hilltowns we have visited so far have been undeniably charming. The food is, of course, ridic. So delicious, so traditional, rich and filling. Just now, for instance, we finished spinach and meat crepes, pumpkin ravioli, tagliatelle with fresh porcini mushrooms, and gnocchi with tomato cream sauce. YUM! Earlier, we gorged ourselves on several salami + pecorino plates and actually got to experience pecorino fondue (which we did not know existed). It was outrageous.

When not eating, we have been wandering sweet alleys, looking at lovely flower boxes in windows and doors (so Tuscan!). And in 4 days, I have taken over 400 photos. Shawn and I have been speaking loads of Italian too! Not sure if I will write tomorrow, but we are off to Lake Como on Weds...

Bring on the Tuscan sun!

We're on a Eurostar train to beautiful Tuscany this morning! We are basing ourselves in San Gimignano for 3 nights and plan to explore the surrounding area. I'm so looking forward to all the lovely food and wine we experienced on our honeymoon four years ago. The scenery is amazing, too. Hoping our town will have an internet cafe so we can keep you updated...

Venezia!

Ciao from Venezia!

Let's start off by saying that our moms have assumed in the past that we have taken photos posted on this blog during our trips. The above photo (and all that will follow while we are away) are courtesy of Microsoft. =) Our photos always come afterwards!

Anyhow, we have been here for 2 days now. Our flight from SEA - SFO - Amsterdam - Venice ended up taking over 27 (!) hours. We were not able to meet our mothers in Amsterdam in time and they flew on to Venice without us. They did super, though, and found the hotel with ease. Venice is not a place that is logical at all, so we were so excited to find them in our hotel when we arrived. What a relief! KLM will be getting a letter from moi.

We've spent the past two days exploring. We went to Murano and bought glass pendants. We ascended the belltower courtesy of its modern elevator. We saw a bit of flooding in St. Mark's Square (which was rather disturbing) while listening to live music. We ran into my old high school friend, Trina, at random in the market just below our hotel (and followed up with a visit over drinks and lunch). We bought more glass pendants (making for a total of 7 between the 3 women on this journey). Shawn has had 2 birrinos (tiny beers!) and a spritz con aperol. We've eaten loads of cichetti (Venitian tapas) and 3 pizzas. We devoured 12 gelatos amongst the 4 of us. And every one of them was delicious!

More from Toscana...

Ready to roll.

We're heading to Italy with our mothers this week. We'll be away for 11 nights (including one night sound asleep on a trans-Atlantic flight), and hope to blog along the way. Internet cafes in rural England were few and far between last fall, but I feel confident we'll run into some in Italia.

Stay tuned!