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Italy

July 2017
A 23-day adventure by Kelly Read more
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  • TravelerItaly
    Day 14

    David

    July 18, 2017 in Italy ⋅ 🌙 24 °C

    We had a 5:45 time slot booked to see David at the Galleria d'Academia. Today was a very scheduled day, but if you want to see the good stuff you need to book in advance (or stand in a hot line for hours).

    We arrived around 5:30 and had to wait in line to get our tickets. Every museum has you go through a metal detector. Brad said that previously a man had used a hammer to attach the statue of David, so I suppose these precautions are necessary.

    The Galleria is very small and everyone is basically there for one reason. We did see a number of unfinished sculptures that Michelangelo had started as well, which was neat to see because you could still see the chisel marks on them. David was much bigger in person than I had imagined! His hands were enormous and the definition in the legs and arms was impressive. He had all the veins and muscle structure of a real person! We were awed. Evan couldn't help but notice how big his "jigglys" were (Evan's seen a lot of jigglys on this trip).

    We took a few spins around David before checking out some other religious art as well as a room full of plaster casts.

    After exiting through the gift shop, we found ourselves out and about but too early to have dinner. We popped into a pub called Mostodolce so Evan could work on his journal while we had a quick pint. While Evan wrote, we decided that we'd head back to the Mercato Centrale for a quick supper. So, we packed up and walked over. We decided to try a few things for supper including a squid ink suppli (called arancini here); a mixed grilled seafood skewer with salad; a meatball sub (more like meatball in a pita); and some rigatoni with Bolognese. We even tried a cannoli for dessert!

    By this time it was 9:30 and we had a long walk home. I can't say we mind the walks though because everyone is out and about at night. It's so hot that the evening is the only cool part of the day and I think people take advantage of it.

    Tomorrow is our last full day in Florence and I know we are all going to miss this city!    Read more

  • TravelerItaly
    Day 15

    Pitti Palace, SandwiChic, Shopping

    July 19, 2017 in Italy ⋅ ☀️ 31 °C

    This morning began very leisurely as we all had a chance to sleep in. When we finally got ourselves together, we walked over to the Pitti Palace, which houses all sorts of museums. We were most interested in their art collection, or the Palatine Galleries.

    When we walked into the gallery we were stunned by an incredible chandelier! I suppose that was to give us a small taste of the opulence of the palace itself. Every room is lined with Renaissance paintings and all the ceilings are painted with various motifs. Among the pieces we got to see were another Caravaggio, Visari, and a Reubens. The rooms were a bit of a labyrinth with offshoots here and there. Evan and I wandered off on our own for a bit, but then decided to stay put so Brad could find us!

    After the Palatine Galleries, we toured the apartments. They once housed some of the Medici family and then were inhabited by the Grand Duchess. We got to see the furniture and other decorative items from the bedroom and ballroom. In addition, we saw a bathroom that was designed for a visit from Napoleon. Lastly, we did a quick tour of the modern art collection. Brad was hoping to see work by an Italian "futurist" but 10 of the rooms were closed - that's Italy for you! We did, however, get to go down the huge staircase they refinished 10 years ago so that was a bonus!

    It was now past 2 and we needed lunch, so we walked a few blocks to SandwiChic. This place came highly recommended, and it deserves its accolades. The whole place is about the size of a walk in closet. You order at the counter (they have so many sandwiches to choose from) and then we ended up sitting on stools tucked into a corner. Once you had a bite, you didn't mind being totally squished and hot though - they were delicious! I had one with capocolla, smoked buffalo mozzarella and artichoke spread; Brad and Evan got sbriciolona (like a salami), pepper jam, and cheese.

    Completely stuffed, we spent the rest of the afternoon shopping. They have several high end streets with big designer names (Chanel, Gucci, Prada) so only window shopping happened there! Brad bought a cool new watch with an eye in the centre, but then we had to endure Evan making a lot of eye puns afterwards!

    We returned to our apartment to cool down and so I could finish the laundry. Later we will head out for our final meal in Firenze!    Read more

  • TravelerItaly
    Day 15

    Our Hood

    July 19, 2017 in Italy ⋅ 🌙 24 °C

    It was our last night in Florence, so we decided to keep it local. We walked about a 100m to a restaurant that is on the Michelin Guide for 2017 called Alla Veccia Betolla. We pass it every day and every night, and in the evening it is always packed with people. So, it seemed like a sure bet.

    We went right at 7:30 because we didn't have a reservation. It is communal seating, and we were seated by a family of five from San Diego. They had just arrived in Florence via Rome. They were doing three weeks in Italy just like us!

    We ordered the primi course and each got our own pasta. Evan had lasagna, Brad had penne with a spicy tomato sauce, and I had a thin pasta with porcini mushrooms. Then we shared a secondi of veal steak and zucchini flowers. The steak was juicy and charred just right, and I've spoken previously about our love of fried zucchini flowers. The real bonus of the meal was the huge bottles of Chianti on the table. It was basically all you can drink house wine for 4€!

    The waiter didn't have to twist Evan's arm too hard to talk him into dolci. Evan got an apple tart (really a tart/ crepe hybrid) with vanilla gelato. I barely got a bite as I was chatting with the people from San Diego (who also ordered the tart after seeing ours). Luckily we had planned to go to the sorbettoeria just across the street.

    I'm not sure what the technical differences are between sorbet and gelato, but we had seen this sorbettoeria lined up most nights. Evan got the straticalla and caramel sorbet, while I got lemon-sage and ricotta with honey. I know those flavours sound bizarre, but they were delightfully refreshing! We ate our sorbet in the park while we watched a game of football (soccer). It was the perfect evening to cap off our time in Florence!    Read more

  • TravelerItaly
    Day 16

    Full of Bologna

    July 20, 2017 in Italy ⋅ ⛅ 31 °C

    We cleaned up the apartment and meet up with Giorgio at 11 am. He kindly called us a cab (no hailing in Italy!) and saw us off. We made it to the train station with time to spare, and soon found our platform.

    The train ride was only 35 minutes and because we were on a high speed train, it mostly went through tunnels. This was a bit disappointing as we were hoping to see the view. Anyway, we arrived in Bologna at 12:35 and got a cab rather quickly. We were taken to our hotel, Porta San Mamolo and were, thankfully, allowed to check in early. Our hotel is quirky as it's a series of small buildings in one complex. Our room is very nice and had huge wood beams running through the ceiling.

    After settling in, we walked to the central market, which is way smaller than the one in Florence. We ate at a small restaurant that specialized in tartare. I had a tuna tartare burger; Brad had a salad with anchovies; and Evan chose the make your own sandwich option. Then we toured around the town square for a bit. Bologna is much different than Rome and Florence, the buildings seem more medieval and less Renaissance. There are 40 km of porticos to protect people from the heat as well, which is helpful! Also they don't have the super narrow sidewalks, which we are pleased about!

    We decided to book tickets to climb the 496 steps to the top of the Torre degli Asinelli. We could only get a 4:15 time slot, so we grabbed a quick coffee to pass 45 minutes. Then, it was climbing time! The Tower is 97.2 m high and that equals a lot of steps! We climbed and climbed and eventually reached the top platform where we had a lovely view of Bologna! It was pretty tight at the top, but we managed to see all the vantage points. Then we had to climb down, which was much more challenging than up because some of the staircases were so steep. Evan was not so keen on the heights and he said that his lunch might reach the bottom before he did! Hahaha! In the end, he was fine.

    It was getting late and we had to head back to the hotel in order to get ready for dinner, so we made our way back along the winding roads.    Read more

  • TravelerItaly
    Day 16

    Danilo e Patrizia

    July 20, 2017 in Italy ⋅ ☀️ 30 °C

    We made a reservation for a highly rated restaurant called Danilo e Patrizia. If you think of Bologna as a circle, our hotel is at the bottom and the restaurant is in the top right quadrant. So, we had to take a bus for about half and hour, which worked out well because we got to see a lot of another area of the city.

    We ended up way in the suburbs and found the restaurant nestled in a park like setting. Danilo himself greeted us and seated us outside (al fresco!). He told us all the pastas were handmade. We began to look at the primi menu, which is always the pasta course, and there were at least 20 pastas! One even had donkey meat. We passed on the donkey, but instead tried the tagliatelle with ragu, tortellini in brodo (a meat broth), and ravioli stuffed with cheese and bacon and topped with white truffles. It was all absolutely stunning! There isn't too much that beats fresh pasta! Brad and I also tried a local wine called Lambrusco, which is a sparkling red wine. It is lovely on a hot summer's day.

    For the secondi, Danilo recommended the suckling pork with roasted potatoes. He added some fried zucchini and fried cream for us (as in, he didn't charge us for these). Yes, fried cream! Apparently it's tradition to eat it with meat, and it is amazing! It is sweet and salty and crunchy - to die for. The pork was succulent as well.

    We shared a dolci of creme caramel and Danilo also gave us little pieces of an almond and chocolate cake as well. By this time we were stuffed! We eventually got our bill and then Danilo insisted we have an apertif. He brought out two bottles and two shot glasses and just left them on our table. Brad chose limoncello and I had a liqueur called Corvino which seemed like sherry. We were treated like family and we had such a lovely meal!

    Afterwards, we caught the bus home. Well, truthfully I got us on the wrong bus, so we had to get off and Brad got us going back in the right direction. Nonetheless we made it back to our hotel!    Read more

  • TravelerItaly
    Day 17

    Food and Ferraris

    July 21, 2017 in Italy ⋅ ☀️ 30 °C

    This morning we embarked on our much anticipated Food and Ferrari Tour. Our tour van met us two minutes from our hotel and off we went.

    Our first stop was a parmigiana regiano producer. The producer makes 100 000 wheels each year, so it's considered a large producer. We had to suit up in protective gear before entering the production facility.

    We first watched the cheese being cooked in large copper vats. Then we moved to the room where the cheese is first moulded in a plastic ring and then transferred to a metal ring. Once it maintains its shape, it's moved to a salt bath where it stays in the salted water for quite awhile. Finally we got to see the huge aging room where there was literally a library of cheese! We learned how they tap it to listen for bubbles and then how they flame stamp it to show that it's been approved.

    Finally, we got to taste both a 24 month old parmigiana and a 36 month old one. We expected the 36 month one to be quite sharp, but it was the opposite. The 36 month cheese was much milder than the 24. As a bonus, we got to wash it all down with a locally produced sparkling wine!

    The next stop was at a small prosciutto producer near Modena. They produce about 30-40 000 legs each year. Depending on the aging, each leg can go for €400-€700! We got to see the three cooling and salting stages of prosciutto. Then we saw where they hang the legs to age them, as well as how they run a lard and pepper combination on the legs to seal them. Legs can age anywhere from 2-5 years. At the end, we got to taste the prosciutto. It was so and velvety, unlike some of the more leather like prosciutto you sometimes gets at home. We also got a small glass of Lambrusco to go along with our tasting. It's never too early to drink here, apparently!

    Back on the bus, we drove to a balsamic vinegar producer. This family has been making balsamic vinegar for over 100 years! We got to see the room where the barrels of balsamic are kept and they explained how each year they harvest grapes, squeeze them, cook them, and then add liquid to the barrels. A young balsamic is aged for 12 years, but the longer it's aged the better it becomes. This is obviously a generational operation for good reason! We then tasted balsamic on cheese and on a vanilla gelato. It was interesting to try a 15 year old versus a 30 year old balsamic. Apparently it also has medicinal benefits as the wealthy used to have a teaspoon after dinner to ensure good digestion and good sleep.

    The fourth stop was Evan's most anticipated- the Ferrari Museum in Maranello. We got to tour the museum and explore the history of the Ferrari company and see many of the early Ferraris. Evan was quite excited by the newer Ferraris - the ones that look like race cars. He quite enjoyed taking pictures!

    It was 2:30 by this time and that meant it was time for lunch. We left Maranello and drove back towards Modena.

    We had a six course lunch at a place called Ca Bianca. Our first course was a puffed pastry with prosciutto on top. Then we had three pasta courses: tortellini filled with spinach and ricotta; tortellini filled with meat; and a tagliatelle with ragu. We were feeling quite full at this point, but the dishes kept coming. The fifth course with grilled vegetables (eggplant, endive, zucchini), roast potatoes, and steak (grilled just medium rare - just!). The final course was a glass of lemon sorbet and a glass of whipped marscepone. We finished with a shot of espresso and were back on the bus towards Bologna, completely stuffed and exhausted.    Read more

  • TravelerItaly
    Day 17

    Al Sangiovese

    July 21, 2017 in Italy ⋅ ☀️ 30 °C

    We weren't especially hungry after such a full day of eating, so we just hung out in our room for a bit.

    Eventually we felt we should eat something or we'd be hungry at 10 pm when we needed to get ready for bed. So we ventured just down the street to Al Sangiovese. The owners were the ones serving tables, which is a practice we've come to enjoy here. They are the ones who are truly invested in the restaurant, so it seems like they take the time to ensure you are enjoying everything.

    Anyway, we shared two antipasti: a vegetable pie and a Bologna dish that's comprised of goat cheese with a porcini mushroom sauce. Then we each had a primi. Evan chose a dish that featured traditional handmade pasta in broth; Brad had lasagna; and I had a typical Bolognese dish of hand twisted pasta with peas, ham, and mushrooms. Brad and I also shared a bottle of organic red wine from the Emilia region, which was very nice!

    We had joked with the owner that we had been eating all day and simply could not have dolci, and she responded with, "I am from Bologna, I know! All we do is eat here!" Maybe that's why it's regarded as being a great food city!

    After finishing our wine and paying (we also enjoy the no tipping policy here!) we had a quick walk back to our hotel. Tomorrow we take the train to Venice for the last leg of our trip!    Read more

  • TravelerItaly
    Day 18

    Venice is sinking!

    July 22, 2017 in Italy ⋅ ☀️ 32 °C

    We left our hotel at 11, and got a cab to take us to the train station. We could have walked 30 minutes to get there, but it was already 30c by 9 am, so cab it was!

    Our train ride to Venice was uneventful and only took about 90 minutes. We were on another high speed train, but luckily it didn't go through tunnels and were able to see the countryside. Evan watched episodes of the Simpsons as we traveled.

    Arriving in Venice was quite a shock! You stepped out of the train station and there was the Grand Canal! It was RIGHT there! Brad had to get us vaperetto passes, so Evan and I sat with our luggage and watched the water busses and water taxis go by. Once we had our tickets, we hopped on our first water bus (vaperetto). It moved much more slowly than I had anticipated, but it is a busy waterway and there are other water vehicles on it. Eventually we made it to our stop and we called our host. She met us in a square just beyond our stop and took us through winding streets and over bridges to get to our apartment.

    We got acquainted with the place and then had to hurry to get to Saint Mark's Square as we had timed entry into the Basilica. Another win for us because without the timed entry, we would have been waiting in a very long line. I don't have any pictures from the Basilica because you are not allowed to take any, but I can tell you that the ceilings were all mosaics, which is a pretty stunning sight! The mosaics were of many different Biblical stories and I could not believe how far they stretched on for. Even the underside of the arches were done in mosaic!

    After we were routed out of the Basilica (they want you there for 10 minutes only!) we walked around the Square for a bit. People seemed to be enamoured with feeding the pigeons, which is actually against the law here (and rightfully so).

    We finally meandered our way back to our area. The streets here are more like alleys and they go every which way! It is incredible how the waterways are ever present and take the place of streets here. You often read about it or see it on tv, but you can't really believe it until you see it - it almost doesn't seem possible.

    We bought a few groceries to serve as our last few breakfasts and then headed home. Evan was a sweaty mess and had to have a shower once we got there. The humidity is so high that it didn't take more than a few steps for him to become soaked.

    Before long we had to get going for dinner. This required a walk, a vaperetto, and another walk - taking about 35 minutes altogether. We chose to dine at CoVino, as we had read good reviews about their three course dinner.    Read more

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