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Italy

luglio 2017
Un’avventura di 23 giorni di Kelly Leggi altro
  • 48impronte
  • 3paesi
  • 23giorni
  • 241fotografie
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  • ViaggiatoreItaly
    Giorno 10

    Prosecco and Vivo

    14 luglio 2017, Italia ⋅ 🌙 24 °C

    We returned to our apartment and Brad and I had a quick glass of prosecco on the patio before we had to leave for dinner. We had to take a bus a good ways across town and then a quick 5 minute walk to the restaurant, Vivo.

    We arrived at 7:30 and a very kind server explained the menu to us in English. The menu changes every day based on what the fisherman catch so they don't have an English menu. There were three choices for antipasto, primi and secondi. We got three antipasti, three primi and shared a secondi.

    Our antipasto included a dish of squid tentacles with a tomato sauce; a bowl of mussels with fried bread cubes; a poke bowl with mackerel. They were all delicious and it worked out well that we all preferred so different.

    For primi we got a tagatelle with shrimp/lagostine like crustaceans (our server told us the name, but we'd never heard of it before); noodles with zucchini and shrimp; and risotto with spiky shelled snails. Again, everything was amazing, but Evan liked the tagatelle, Brad liked the risotto, and I liked the shrimp pasta best.

    Our shared secondi was a mixed fried seafood platter. There are no pictures because we dove in too quickly, but it was full of sea asparagus, squid, sardines, and shrimp - amazing!!

    I was totally stuffed by now, but Brad and Evan opted for dolci (dessert). Brad got a panna cotta with burnt caramel and Evan got a chocolate cake. Good thing we had a 40 minute walk home afterwards!    Leggi altro

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  • ViaggiatoreItaly
    Giorno 11

    Santa Maria, Mercato, Bargello

    15 luglio 2017, Italia ⋅ ☀️ 31 °C

    Our first stop of the day was at the Santa Maria Novella church. Brad wanted us to not just see the Renaissance style church, but also a few of the art pieces inside. The outside is really beautiful as it uses different coloured stones and marbles to create a decorative effect. It is very different than most of the churches we have seen.

    Inside was lovely as well. There were very large stained glass windows and a variety of paintings, sculptures, and frescoes. The most important piece was by Massacio who basically figured out how to create perspective in his paintings. You could see other works where the artist has just painted everyone the same size, which gives no sense of distance. Massacio figured out how to make things appear more "3D" and not so 2D.

    After the church, we walked back to Mercato Centrale so we could have lunch in the upstairs area. The food options were mind boggling! There was antipasti, tripe sandwiches, supplis, vegan sandwiches, sushi, pizza, and pasta. We tried some pork soup dumplings; a veggie and shrimp crepe roll; a small salad of mozzarella, tomatoes, eggplant and greens; and Evan wanted to try fried rabbit, so we had that too! Fried rabbit is fantastic!

    Quite full, we set off for Florence's national museum, the Bargello. The first floor was mostly sculptures done in a variety of mediums including bronze, porcelain, and marble. We got to see Donatello's version of David, which is much smaller and more boyish than the Michelangelo version. We also got to see works by Giberti and Brunschelli. The second floor was full of artefacts like keys, jewelry, medals, coins, armour and weapons. Evan really like the weaponry and picked out what items he'd use in a zombie apocalypse!

    It was late into the afternoon by this point and the line to get into the Boboli Gardens was massive, so we decided to make our way home and cool down before dinner.    Leggi altro

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  • ViaggiatoreItaly
    Giorno 11

    Butter and Anchovy and Darts

    15 luglio 2017, Italia ⋅ ☀️ 29 °C

    Brad and I enjoyed the last of our prosecco before heading out for dinner. We had a reservation at Butter and Anchovy, named for a traditional Tuscan antipasto. Luckily, it was only a few minutes from our apartment.

    We started with the namesake dish of butter and anchovies. We were brought slices of slightly toasted bread with curls of butter and some anchovies in oil. Evan was not a fan, but Brad and I enjoyed the salty buttery taste!

    For our primi, we each got our own dish (although there was a lot of trying of each other's as always). Evan chose a gnocchi with a basil pesto and white fish; Brad had risotto with pieces of raw fish and shrimp; and I had spaghetti with anchovies. All the dishes were very good, but the real gem of the night was our secondi. We shared a platter of grilled mixed seafood, which included langoustine, shrimp, squid, and a firm white fish. We also got a side of fried zucchini blossoms, which were sweeter and meatier than expected- I'm not sure why we don't eat this in Canada because it's delicious! Anyway, the grilled seafood was truly outstanding!

    We shared the dolci course, which was a tiramisu. Evan claims he's never had it before, so I guess having your first taste of tiramisu in Italy sets the bar pretty high!

    The night was still young (in an Italian way) so we popped into a craft brew pub, Archea, for a quick pint. Evan noticed the darts machine and asked the woman behind the bar if he could play. He popped his money in and he and Brad played a round of darts. After a few darts crashing to the floor, he eventually got the hang of it and was disappointed when it was time to head home.

    We are off to Pisa in the morning! Hopefully the tower won't fall over before we arrive.    Leggi altro

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  • ViaggiatoreItaly
    Giorno 12

    The Leaning Tower

    16 luglio 2017, Italia ⋅ ☀️ 27 °C

    We had to be up early today to get to the train station. Seeing as that it was Sunday morning, the streets were quiet with the exception of church bells tolling.

    We boarded our train to Pisa and had a nice hour ride through some small towns and the countryside. We got to see the mountains again and fields of solar panels along the way. It's so sunny here it's hard to believe there aren't more solar panels in use! We've had blue skies for our entire trip!

    It was around noon when we pulled into the Pisa train station. We walked about half an hour into the city so we could see the famous Leaning Tower. Our tickets to climb the Tower weren't until 3:45, so we wandered the square a bit and tried to dodge all the people taking the "I'm holding the Tower up!" photos.

    We decided to go off the beaten path for lunch and on our way, we ran into a Fiat parade! I don't know how many there were, but they were all colours and they were all honking their horns - quite the sight! We also happened across two Ferraris that we had seen driving earlier. Evan was pretty pumped to get his picture taken beside them!

    Finally we found this hole in the wall restaurant that we'd been looking for. It's so tiny that you mostly just see people taking their food to go, although there are two tiny tables on either side. This places specializes in all sorts of charcuterie. They had over 50 sandwiches on their menu! I got a pistachio mortadella with smoked cheese and eggplant; Brad had salami with roasted peppers; and Evan chose prosciutto and cheese. They were huge meaty delights! We are ours in a nearby park in the shade.

    We explored a bit more of the city, which is a university town. The University of Pisa dominates the central area, and it's be interesting to be there when university was in session. Instead of tourists everywhere there'd be students, I imagine. There were also tons of touristy souvenir shops selling the Leaning Tower in many forms (pencils, keychains, bags, you name it).

    On our travels we came across a very Anglo coffeehouse, so we popped in and had iced lattes (these are basically non-existent in Italy) which was a nice break from all the espresso shots we've been having. Evan had a lemonata (lemonade) while he tried to catch up on his journaling.

    Feeling refreshed, we made our way back through the tourist hordes to go into the cathedral that is next to the Tower. The alter was especially decorative, although I'm not sure you can really see it in my pictures.

    Our time to climb the Tower neared, so we checked all our bags and got in line. We got into the base of the Tower and were given a very short history of the Tower, and then we were allowed to climb the steep 250 steps to the first lookout. The staircase was very narrow and winding as you could feel the tilt, so you had to be careful as you went. However, the view was worth it! It was neat to walk around because it was like being on a fair ride that undulates. Evan was less keen about going right up to the barrier, but Brad and I enjoyed the view.

    You also had the option to go up to the very top level, so we climbed more stairs to get there. Here you were right next to the huge bells that reside at the top. This view was even more spectacular than the first level, though Evan might disagree! We walked around the top for a bit before making our descent. It was quite the experience!

    After we collected our bags, we slowly made our way towards the train station. We stopped a few times to fill our water bottles at the public fountains and we also stopped for gelato. We took our time to enjoy the sights of Pisa, which is small but pretty.

    We finally caught our train at 5:55 and headed back to Florence. Our train home was more of a milk run, so it took a bit longer to get home than it did to get to Pisa.    Leggi altro

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  • ViaggiatoreItaly
    Giorno 12

    Cena (Dinner)

    16 luglio 2017, Italia ⋅ ☀️ 25 °C

    We arrived back in Florence at 7:15 and made a quick stop at CarreFour to get a bit more pecorino as Brad was going to make cacio e pepe at home for supper. It was a bit more labour intensive than we assumed, but it turned out very well! We were pretty hungry and so we devoured it quickly!

    Everyone is off to bed as we have to get up early in the morning to go on our Chianti wine tour!    Leggi altro

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  • ViaggiatoreItaly
    Giorno 13

    Siena Wine Tour

    17 luglio 2017, Italia ⋅ ⛅ 22 °C

    This morning we were out the door by 8:40. We had to walk about 25 minutes to get to our tour meeting point. Promptly at 9:30 we hopped on our Mercedes mini man and we were off to Chianti Classico country.

    Chianti Classico is a wine region of about 40 000 acres, only 20 000 dedicated to vines. There are 17 wine regions just in Tuscany and this is one of the most important. Most of the wineries are very small and family run.

    On our agenda, we had three family wineries of different sizes to visit. Our first stop was the largest vineyard as they produce about 100 000 bottles a year. It was called Montecchio. We got a tour of the cellars before sampling three wines: a young Chianti Classico, a reserva, and a super Tuscan. First we learned how to correctly smell and taste wine, which was really neat as our guide was a sommelier. We also got to sample the olive oil they make as well. It was so good that we bought a bottle of both the reserva and the olive oil. I'm sure the oil will make it home, but I'm not sure about the wine!

    Our next stop was the medium sized vineyard. Here we were greeted by a Vancouverite! We haven't encountered many Canadians, so this was a treat! He showed us the vines and the olive trees, as well as the French oak barrels (each barrel costs 1000€, about $1700 CAD) that the Sangiovese grapes are aged in. They can only use the barrels for four years and then they have to get rid of them. After the tour, we tasted three wines - all reds. We enjoyed these three and it was interesting to taste one that hadn't been in an oak barrel as opposed to one that had as you could really taste the difference.

    Our last stop was the smallest winery, Casa Emma. We didn't get a tour here, but as you drove up you could see the vines. It's incredible how rocky the soil is, which is apparently very important for growing vines. Anyway, here we had lunch with our wines. We started with both a white and a rose, which were paired with bruschetta, salamis, and cheese. We also got a Tuscan bread and tomato dish that Evan compared to mashed potatoes. With our third wine, a red, we had a pasta course. It was similar to a bucatini with tomato sauce. We have been told that Tuscan cooking always involves tomatoes.

    The wines and the views were both spectacular! Our drive back to Florence from Siena was beautiful and far more forested than one might assume. We learned about Chianti Classico and how it's not at all like Chianti, which we had not known. It was a pretty fantastic Mother's Day gift!    Leggi altro

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  • ViaggiatoreItaly
    Giorno 13

    Apres Wine

    17 luglio 2017, Italia ⋅ ⛅ 22 °C

    We arrived home shortly after 3:30 and needless to say, Brad and I needed a nap. I blame it on getting up so early!

    After we awoke, we managed to get ourselves going so that we could go out for dinner. We decided to go to a place that was only 15 minutes away and highly recommended for its tripe. We didn't have a reservation, but seeing as it was a Monday night we got in right away.

    We began with tripe meatballs (polpette) which were deep fried and very rich and savoury! The tripe had been ground up, unlike previous versions of tripe we have tried. Then we had primi. Evan ordered tagatelle with a white ragu, which was so delicious! It tasted like butter! I had ravioli in a tomato and onion sauce stuffed with tripe, and Brad had rigatoni with a duck sauce. All the pasta dishes were outstanding and just what we wanted!

    Evan is not one to say no to dolci, so he had a warm chocolate flourless cake. It was almost like a slice of lava cake. He was pretty happy about the entire meal!

    After dinner, we walked home and got ready for bed. Tomorrow is a long day of art, art, climbing the Duomo, and more art!    Leggi altro

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  • ViaggiatoreItaly
    Giorno 14

    Uffizi, Duomo, more Gelato

    18 luglio 2017, Italia ⋅ ☀️ 34 °C

    We had a 9 am booking for the Uffizi Gallery this morning, so we were up early once again. We had to wait in one line to pick up our reserve tickets, then wait in another line to enter, and then another line to actually get into the Gallery. And this was with a reserved time slot! Anyway, we made it through all the lines and got in.

    It's always a bonus to have someone with you who has study art history. Brad was able to explain the importance of many pieces to us, and he directed us to the really significant pieces so that we didn't get art overload. We got to see pieces by Giotto, Botticelli, da Vinci, and Caravaggio. The real standouts were Botticelli's "Birth of Venus"; da Vinci's "The Annunciation"; and Caravaggio's "Head of Medusa." The Gallery itself was an interesting building as well. I had no idea it'd be around since the 1500s!

    We spent two hours at the Uffizi before finding our way out. It was lunch time, so we got out of the tourist area and went to a pizza and beer joint we'd passed earlier called Fermento. We got to sit outside under a canopy, which was quite lovely. We all got our own pizzas, which were made with a sourdough crust. Our big pizzas were maybe not the fuel we needed for our next activity, but they were certainly delicious!

    Our reserved time to climb the 436 stairs to the top of the Duomo's cupola was at 2 pm. We walked over and eventually found the line, which moved quickly. Then it was time to climb! They have warnings before you go up that you shouldn't climb the stairs if you're claustrophobic and once we got going, I understood why. The stairs were winding and became increasingly narrower as you went up. You couldn't even pass anyone until you came to an alcove! However, the climb was worth the incredible view at the top! You could see all of Florence! It was beautiful.

    We probably hung out at the top for about half an hour before making our way down. Going down was tough because the stairs were so steep. However, we did it and Evan was happy to be back on the ground! Before leaving the area, we went to check out The baptistery doors that were done in bronze by Giberti.

    After all that, it was time for a quick stop at Perche No? (Why Not?) which is a gelateria I had read about. Evan had coffee crunch and stracitella, I had chocolate and fresh mint, and Brad had almond and pistachio. It was a refreshing treat after a hot climb!    Leggi altro

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