Browse Tag: europe

Italy Part 3: Pisa & Cinque Terre, Sept 8-10

I can’t believe it’s been a month since we said goodbye to Cinque Terre.  That’s crazy.  Well, here is a recap of our visit to Pisa and Cinque Terre:

Leaning Tower of Pisa

On Tuesday (9/8), we left Florence by hopping on a train and headed out to Cinque Terre.  On our way there, we stopped at Pisa to say “Buon Giorno” to the famous leaning tower.  At the Pisa train station, we dropped off our luggage (yes, it’s safe) and hopped on the bus.  It dropped us off at the piazza and it looked like we were at Epcot Center.  The Leaning Tower was just standing there in its glorious tiltedness with tourists gathered all around taking the requisite “holding up the tower” photo.  Of course, I took one but we didn’t stay much longer than that.  Instead, we walked down the street for some lunch and walked back to the train station.

Monterosso

The train ride from Pisa to La Spezia was comfy but the train to Monterosso was crowded.  Most of the ride was through a series of tunnels and we were pleasantly surprised by the blue ocean that appeared each time we came out of one of them.  Cinque Terre is made up of 5 (cinque=five in Italian) villages and ours was the last stop.  Once we arrived, it was such a nice change of scenery and pace.  It was warm and breezy with not many cars or even bicycles around.  The beach is rocky but there were plenty of people out in the water and sunning on the rented chairs.

il Casello

We spent lots of time just hanging out by the water, drinking house wine, eating gelato, and reading.  After a week of walking, sightseeing, and busy schedules, we were SO ready for some lounging around in the sun.

Vernazza

We also took a hike from Monterosso to Vernazza, which was more treacherous and difficult than we had expected.  We both wore flip-flops and didn’t really bother bringing much water.  Fortunately the view was lovely but my quads were burning by the end from all the stairs I had to climb.

Vernazza

Vernazza is another small village that seemed to have a larger number of old people.  I think it bummed Jes out a bit.  We had some yummy focaccia pizza and browsed the shops before heading back to Monterosso.  Luckily we didn’t have to hike back and took the train instead.

Miky

pesto

For dinner, we ate a Restaurante Miky on both Tuesday and Wednesday nights.  It had a Michelin sticker on the door and was a great tip-off for us.  On the first night, we had an awesome dinner of mussels, anchovies, and lobster gnocchi.  There were so many other items on the menu that looked good so we made reservations for the next day as we waited for the check.  On the second night, I had a yummy frutti di mare and a very interesting cheetos-shaped pasta with pesto.  Jes also ordered a fish baked inside a salt dome.  They presented it at tableside and it was very tender and flavorful.

UCLA dollar

On Wednesday afternoon (09/09/09!), we hung out at Fast Bar and contributed to their wall of US dollar bills.  I drew the traditional UCLA logo and we pinned it smack-dab in the middle of the bar.  It’s nice to know that we’ve left a piece of us behind in such an awesome little village on the other side of the world.

frutti di mare

I also had another fantastic plate of frutti di mare at a beachside eatery one afternoon.  Cinque Terre is known for their pesto and seafood and boy did I take advantage of that.  I can’t tell you how many mussels and clams I ate during those two days.  It’s a good thing I learned how to like bivalves.

We had a great time in Cinque Terre and had some tasty tasty seafood.  I also had a really good lemon sorbet paired with raspberry sorbet on our last night there.  Mmmm…

Here are all 152 photos from Pisa and Cinque Terre.

Italy Part 2: Florence, Sept 5-8

I finally got through all of the photos from Florence.  Here’s a little recap:

Train to Florence

On Saturday (9/5), we rode the train from Rome to Florence and bought first class seats.  It’s really inexpensive and totally worth it!  The seats are comfy and adjustable, there’s a beverage cart that rolls by, and there are power outlets at every seat.  The ride was about an hour and a half and just enough time to rest, grab a half-bottle of wine, and watch the scenery zoom by.

Magnifico Massere

Once in Florence, we checked in to Hotel Casci, which is a cute little mom and pop-owned place that serves breakfast every morning, has free WiFi, and the rooms have A/C.  In the evening, we wandered the narrow streets and found a really good restaurant called Magnifico Messere.  After such disappointing meals in Rome, this was exactly what we needed.  We had the most amazing “coccoli” (fried dough dumplings) with stracchino cheese and prosciutto.  We also learned that if the server doesn’t speak much English, the food will be good.

The Spring

The next day, Sunday (9/6), it was Jes’ birthday.  We headed out early to Uffizi Gallery since we didn’t purchase a reserved ticket.  Apparently this museum is notorious for 2-hour-lomg lines without a reservation.  We arrived about 20 mins before it opened and got in within 20 minutes after it opened.  We saw a few famous paintings like “The Spring” and “Birth of Venus”.  They were really strict with photo taking so my sneaky photos are not very good.

Ponte Vecchio

Before lunch, we went to Ponte Vecchio, which is a famous bridge that has a bunch of jewelry stores built on it.  There are also a bunch of Africans selling fake bags.  They’re laid out nicely onto large white sheets that help them wrap up all their merchandise when there’s word of a policeman rolling by.  It’s pretty fun to watch them come and go so quickly.

obika

For lunch, we went to obika mozzerella bar.  We ordered a platter of 5 cheeses served with olives and tomatoes over a bed of baby spinach.  It came with bread, oil, and vinegar and it was so yummy.  I guess the only thing missing was a side of prosciutto but we had just eaten a huge platter of it the night before.

David

We also went to the Accademia to see Michaelangelo’s David…the real one.  I say that because there’s a replica outside of Uffizi too.  We had read that this place required a reservation too but when we arrived around 5 pm, there was no line and we walked right in.  They were extra strict about no photographs but I snuck a couple anyway.  Hee hee.

Duomo

We spent the afternoon near the Duomo where we saw a bunch of gypsies dressed in all white with their faces painted white as well.  They carry around a cup of flowers and change and aggressively sneak up on you with a creepy kissing sound.  They continue to follow you with the kissy sound until you turn around to look at them.  They shake the change cup in your face and when you say “no”, they make a hissing sound behind you.  Most people will just ignore them but I was so weirded out by them.  I tried so hard not to make any eye contact with them and walked out of my way to avoid them.  For such small women, they’re pretty scary.  Jes just laughed at me and continued to make the kissy sound throughout the rest of the trip.  Unfortunately I didn’t get a photo of any of them.  Maybe it was a good thing.  If you still want to see, I found this photo on flickr.  I get shivers just looking at them.

aprons

On Monday (9/7), we got up early for a 5-hour Cooking School.  They picked us up by the river and we were joined by a van-full of people all from the U.S. and Canada.  Chef Simone was awesome…quiet, meticulous, and explained everything really well.

grappa

Jes also asked if we could taste the grappa that went into the sorbet and it was some pretty strong stuff.  The chef also didn’t hold back on pouring us 3 different wines throughout the day: prosecco, white wine, and red wine.  Each time he went to the outside pantry, he returned with another bottle.

Nina rolling pasta

Jes cutting gnocchi

We made a total of 5 courses including pasta, gnocchi, and sorbet.  They gave each of us an apron and recipe book and we got our hands dirty.  The food turned out really well and we had a lot of fun preparing, watching, and chatting with the chef.

laundry

In the afternoon, we did some laundry at the local laundromat and then had our last meal at Osteria de’Benci, which was also very good.  It’s so nice to know that there really is good food in Italy.

Here are the rest of the photos.  There are only 158 this time.  🙂

Italy Part 1: Rome, Sept 3-5

Hi Everyone!  We left Rome yesterday and had a wonderful time.  The only bummer of the whole experience was the heat and humidity.  Other than that, we saw plenty of famous and historical sights and wanted to share some of them with you.  I figured it would be best if I did this while 1) I have internet access and 2) it’s still fresh in my memory.

St. Peter's Basilica

We took the bus to Vatican City and I was in awe of St. Peter’s Basilica. It’s so beautiful and grand and I couldn’t help wonder if the Pope was around.

Sistine Chapel

We also visited the Vatican Museum where the Sistine Chapel and the famous “Creation of Man”.  Despite the signs and a guard yelling “no foto!”, I managed to sneak a shot.  Thankfully it came out.

Colosseum

Our hotel was just around the corner from the Colosseum and it was crazy huge inside and it’s amazing that it’s still standing.

Trevi Fountain

At night, we enjoyed hanging out at Trevi Fountain.  It was my favorite place to hang out.  I got a gelato while Jes got a bottle of Peroni beer and we just hung out at the fountain people-watching.  It was crowded but you wouldn’t be able to tell by this photo.

There you have it.  It’s like a quick Cliff’s Notes version of our first few days in Italy.  We are now in Florence and this hotel has free internet access so maybe I’ll post more updates soon.  We just finished our first day here and have a 5-hour cooking class planned for tomorrow.  Should be fun!

And HAPPY BIRTHDAY, JES!!!