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Montecatini-Terme

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    • ViaggiatoreEuropean Road Trip
      Giorno 10

      Thursday

      14 settembre 2017, Italia ⋅ ⛅ 21 °C

      14th September
      The first thing we find out this morning is that two San Marino football teams were in the restaurant last night celebrating the start of the football season.
      We set off for Montecatini and decide to keep off the autostrada and drive over the Appenine Mountains as far as possible. It is an interesting drive of around 100 miles climbing round the narrow roads and then descending, there's hardly any traffic but we do get stopped at roadworks a couple of times. We stop for coffee at a village in the mountains. The Hotel Pia looks very nice and there is secure parking, we have a balcony that looks out over a square with a very vigorous fountain. I don't think we'll be sleeping with the balcony doors open tonight!
      The Italian coffee culture is quite complicated and we are determined to understand it so that we actually get what we want. A Cappuccino is equal parts espresso, steamed milk & foamed milk and is usually drunk at breakfast with a pastry. Caffe Latte is espresso with more steamed milk and Less foam and Latte Macchiato is steamed milk 'marked ' with a dash of espresso. All these are drunk in the morning before 11am. If you order a 'caffe' you get an espresso, this is their normal coffee and Caffe Americana is espresso diluted with plenty of hot water. If you just ask for a 'Latte' you get a glass of milk. (Which is what you've asked for)!
      It is a warm evening and we take a short walk into the centre of Montecatini. It is buzzing! We sit outside at a bar we have been to before 'Cucina Toscana'. Pasta, Prosecco, Vino and live music too, we have a really lovely evening.      Leggi altro

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    • ViaggiatoreItaly Part II
      1
      Giorno 41

      Then there was dinner

      7 aprile 2019, Italia ⋅ ⛅ 15 °C

      Enjoyed an incredible meal with Libero and his son at Villa Machiavelli. Started with a Limoncello-Prosecco followed by a tour of their old cellar and beautiful garden. Upstairs to a private dining room where we enjoyed wine pairing with appetizers, meats & cheese, crostini, gnocchi, pasta, roasted potatoes and Prime Rib. Delicious. Bring on the Prosecco for dessert of panna cotta and tiramisu. Glad I wasn't driving... love their Prosecco!!!!Leggi altro

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    • ViaggiatoreItaly Part II
      Giorno 38

      Cinque Terre

      4 aprile 2019, Italia ⋅ 🌧 13 °C

      Pictures, postcards, stories cannot full explain the beauty of this area. The vineyards terraced on the hill side, the colorful homes and storefronts, the coastline and force of the Mediterranean..... it is an experience you must see in person! As part of this tour during warmer weather you will arrive in La Spezia and take a boat between the 5 (cinque) villages. We walked, and walked, and walked some more then took the train to the farthest village. Toured there and had a simple lunch and gelato. Took the train back to La Spezia where our motorcoach brought us safely to Hotel Columbia. Little wine shared with new friends and fun time at dinner. More adventures tomorrow so off to bed.
      One thing I really like about this travel style is we are staying at the Hotel Columbia for 6 nights... there is so much to explore from here within an hour or so drive it's a great location.      Leggi altro

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    • ViaggiatoreItaly Part II
      Giorno 37

      Fresh market and pasta making

      3 aprile 2019, Italia ⋅ 🌧 15 °C

      Montecatini morning was cloudy, rained a bit on our way to the fresh market in Florence. Met Chef Libero and Rosa. We broke into groups of 5 or 6 and were given a list of a few items needed for our cooking lesson and lunch- in Italian.... they did give us Euros to purchase the items. Once we translated our list consisted of red onions, bunch of Rosemary and Sage. Mission accomplished. We the wandered through the market looking at all their fresh meats, cheeses, breads, and fruits. After enjoying bread and stuffed sun dried tomatoes we got back on the coach to Libero's restaurant & estate vineyard. Warmly welcomed with a glass of blue champagne! Yes, blue, hint of raspberries.
      On to pasta making. Donned in apron and hairnet sous caps, we got to work making ravioli for our lunch. Also made a panzinela salad, zuppa and biscuits (what I would call biscotti).
      Amazing wine tasting with starters of fried squash blossoms, crostini & fried polenta.
      Rained while we ate and drank then the sky cleared and we had a beautiful drive back to the Hotel Columbia.      Leggi altro

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    • ViaggiatoreTaste of Tuscany Sept 2017
      Giorno 6

      Chianti Greve September 12

      12 settembre 2017, Italia ⋅ ⛅ 21 °C

      Sept 12th We both slept well, up at 7, breakfast at 7:30, board the bus at 8:30. Buffet breakfast with the usual salami, mortadella, Brie, cheese, fruit, bread, eggs, coffee...typical European style. We arrive at the town of Greve around 10:00 and walked into the cute plaza, they are know for boar meats. We had coffee, a pasty and walked around to going inside some of the stores. It was a short bus ride through the hills to Castello di Verrazzano Winery. The bridge in NY was named after the verrazzano family. Cari was taking a selfie and as I went to photo bomb her the wind came up covered my face. We cracked up!!! So much as a career as a photo bomber😂. We had a lovely tour of the small property and were able to see bunches of grapes hanging to make holy wine which" Various suggestions have been made as to the origins of its name, none of which has been verified: wine of miracles that alleviates suffering in people with the plague, a wine similar to the one made in Xantos, a Greek island where Passito was made, otherwise simply the holy wine used in religious Mass; the etymology of Vinsanto, to this day, remains intriguing and mysterious." On to the wine tasting and lunch. The dinning area was lovely and there was a wood burning oven. First course: salame 2nd course: pecorino w/aged thick balsamic, 3: Penne w/tomato sauce with dried seasoning on the side. 4:pork roast and canneli beans, 4: biscotti with a tasting of their holy sweet wine. The biscotti definitely needed to be soaked in the wine, they were so hard they could have been used as a weapon. The 3 wines we tasted - white, chianti Classico and chianti reserve were flowing. Every one had a great time. I was sitting next to Glenn and (the kids )Valerie and Manuel cute young couple and Cari sat next Marg and Barbara. (Ted Turner) and Martha and John from Kentucky. On the bus ride home Lynn (tour guide) put on Dean Martin Volaré and "When the moon hits your eye" everyone sang along to only the first verse HAHAHA. I was a fun bus ride home and then it became very quiet, everyone fell sleep. We went back to the room until 6:15 and met with our Canadian Friends Marg & Giacomo (Glenn) for dinner. We walked a few blocks away to Vittorio Trattorio and saw Valerie and Manuel so we all ate together. We shared the smallest mixed salad, I had ravioli with cream and walnut sauce - good , and Cari had gnocchi bolognese - good. I stopped and bought a coco gelato on the way home. Another great day!Leggi altro

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    • ViaggiatoreTaste of Tuscany Sept 2017
      Giorno 7

      Montecatini Alto Sept 13

      13 settembre 2017, Italia ⋅ ⛅ 22 °C

      Slept in a little bit. 16 of our group went to Florence today. Went down for a nice breakfast and then walked into town looking for a spa so we could enjoy a massage or some kind of treatment. The place we went into had nothing available, appointments are necessary. We tried the big one "The Excelsior " they also were unavailable. So we continued to walk through the park area to find the Funicular. A 25 seat train/Wagon on an uphill track that takes you up to Montecatini Alto. Small cobble stoned streets and a darling village with lots of small shops and a lovely little piazza. We sat to have lunch. Cristi had a spritz and a piedina which was pretty pathetic.. a flour tortilla with one slice prosciutto and lots of lettuce. We shared a mixed salad I had a glass of white vino and a lovely plate of caccia & Pepe pasta. White cream sauce over capellini, perfetto! Took the funicular back down the hill , walked through the park to the hotel. Showered, washed the hair, relaxed a bit. And then went out for a pretty long walk along the Main Street with several upscale shops . it's a busy little town with primarily a younger scene. Stopped and had a espresso. Checked out the Columbia House Spa for availability etc. we ended up sitting in some wonderfully comfortable outdoor furniture on the patio at Syrah wine bar, Terri Maninna had recommended. We both had spritz', in fact we shared a third one ! They had a self serve appetizer table. Kind of a weird combination of food. Three puréed dips with sliced baguettes around each. The brown one that looked like baby poo she says was 'meat' ! Not so good. The yellow tan one looked like hummus, wasn't! She says it's potato, real bland. The gray one was ripe olive, yay! Like a tapenade. There were a couple of family style plates of Farro salad, couscous, rice with green olives. Some orange purée was some sort of veggie, maybe carrot, or root of some kind. Marg and Glenn walked by , so we joined them to take a walk to find dinner. We ended up at a place down a little alley way, only two other people there when we arrived. We shared a salad . Cristi had a Margherita pizza, I had gnocchi with pistachio cream sauce, it was very good. Took a leisurely walk back to hotel.Leggi altro

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    • ViaggiatoreTaste of Tuscany Sept 2017
      Giorno 4

      Our new friends on this tour

      10 settembre 2017, Italia ⋅ 🌧 18 °C

      Lynn was our tour guide. Originally from San Francisco, moved to Italy 30 years ago very sweet lady reminded me of Diann Sorenson .

      Marg & Glenn aka Giacomo Caputo, Trail, British Colombia
      Patricia & Barbara(Ted Turner's girlfriend) Newport Beach
      Pat, wild and crazy & Barb ,quiet reserved
      John& Martha, Kentucky
      Charles & Kathy , Boston
      Norm & , NYC
      Barry & Doris , NYC
      Valerie & Manuel, youngest couple of the trip , Portland
      Sonja, single traveler , San Francisco
      Manesha , anemia fainting spell, Baltimore
      Cora,always holding up the group, Florida
      Elena, Cora's daughter, Florida
      Steve & wife, latecomers from San Francisco      Leggi altro

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    • ViaggiatoreTaste of Tuscany Sept 2017
      Giorno 5

      Sienna & San Gimignano Sept 11

      11 settembre 2017, Italia ⋅ ⛅ 22 °C

      Breakfast & then on the bus at 8:30am. We had an Italian guide name Margarita when we got to Siena . Toured the basilica Caterinia., the beautiful ornate church of sienna and then to the central arena of where the Palio happens twice a year. A huge courtyard with shops and restaurants around. We stopped and had aperol spritz and pizza ristuca( prosciutto & arugula! Perfetto! . Continued onto San Gimignano . The countryside was lovely. So picturesque! Walked up to the towers, shopped along the way . So many ceramic shops! Returned to hotel at 7:15pm. Dinner at the hotel with the group at 8. So fun. Wonderful meal. Celery and zucchini cream zuppa, pasta with a pesto red sauce, then a wonderful sea bass with potato soufle, semifreddo dessert. Back to the room by 10.Leggi altro

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    • ViaggiatoreTaste of Tuscany Sept 2017
      Giorno 9

      Cinque Terre September 15

      15 settembre 2017, Italia ⋅ 🌧 17 °C

      Friday September 15
      Early wake up 6:15am. Breakfast and in the bus by 7:45am. Through Lucca , spotted a few hot air balloons along the way, and then along the coast. We leave Chianti and enter Liguria region. Known for focaccia, seafood and pesto. La Spezia is where we pick up our local guide Gianluca. Our first is Manarola , curvy tiny streets with lovely colorful hillside homes along the way. We then take the local train along the beautiful waters , only 2 minutes , to Riomaggiore. Another quaint little town with shops and restaurants all over. We stopped and had some wonderful olive focaccia and excellent mixed calamari! Deliciosa! Back on the train to Monterosso. Walked along the water to the center of town. Adorable streets lined with cafes and shops galore. We stopped at a place to Aperol spritz. No ice! Cristi enjoyed hers and finished mine for a change! Cristi had a beautiful caprese salad. We shopped around the quaint little shops. Got a few things. Got a gelato and limon granita and continued walking. I waited to have accughe (anchovies)gamberi (shrimp)& calamari fritto! Finally found it at the entrance of the train station! Back on the train to La Spezia, not a very pretty town. We said good bye to Gianluca. Riccardo, our bus driver was there for us. An hour and a half drive back to hotel. Up to the room to freshen up. Had a drink in the lobby bar with a few if the group. Met up with Glenn and Marg to walk to our Bistro del Corso with our umbrellas. Just a light rain. We had 8o'clock reservations, the lady told us 5-10 minutes, we sat outside under the awning. She brought us Prosecco and wonderful flat bread , on the house! We were seated at 8:45. Very slow service, but good food. Marg ordered the penne with prosciutto & zucchini, Glenn had a spicy salami pizza, aka pepperoni, Cristi & I shared a salad & ravioli with butter and sage. Family run restaurant! The Nonnie was in the kitchen working hard, the young son greeted us, husband was washing & drying dishes by hand! Walked home by 10:45pm.Leggi altro

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    • ViaggiatoreItaly Part II
      Giorno 39

      Regional meal in Montecarlo (Italy)

      5 aprile 2019, Italia ⋅ ⛅ 15 °C

      Another amazing experience, Regional dinner at a family estate: vineyard & olive grove.
      After a walk to the vineyard and an explanation of the olive press, we headed into dinner: bread, meats and cheese, olives, barley soup, sauteed veggies, roasted potatoes, grilled chicken, ribs, and sausage... wines of course with biscotti to finish with. Such a terrific way to meet the locals and see their way of life. Trafalgar has many of these experiences on most of their itineraries. We even met a group that was on a Costsaver tour which included this meal. Something for everyone!Leggi altro

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