This past weekend we were visited by Ted, our good friend from Seattle, for a few days. It was so nice to see a familiar face again! We had a few great adventures and definitely had a lot of laughs.
The day he arrived we dined at Osteria Broccaindosso which Niraj and I had heard so many wonderful things about but had not yet been able to try. This restaurant was fantastic and we ate until we could hardly move! Basically, you pick what courses you want (we chose antipasti - appetizer, primi piatti - first course, dolci - dessert) and they bring out plates with EVERYTHING that they are making that night for each course! We must have had 6 different antipasti, 5 different pasta dishes, and probably about 10 desserts. Needless to say it was tons and tons of food but it was great to try so many homemade dishes.
Friday we hopped on a bus and made the short trek out to the Lamborghini Museum. That was incredible! We had a guided tour of the museum floor and even got to go into the factory. Oh my, those cars are stunning and absolutely perfect. The cars are completely hand-made and custom ordered. The factory currently makes two models in limited colors (gray, black, white, orange, yellow), and sticker prices range from 400,000 euros to 1.1 million euros! We saw a few of the cars driving off the line and heading out for their road test, and we saw all parts of the cars from the engines to the frames to the brake pads. Unfortunately, cameras were not allowed in the factory but here are our museum pictures.
Over the weekend we headed to Tuscany. We spent Saturday morning in Pisa, so (of course) we saw the leaning tower and the Piazza dei Miracoli, took silly pictures kicking over the tower, and had a nice picnic on the grass. From there we went to Lucca which was a complete 180 from Pisa. The entire city wall is still intact and the city has not yet been overrun by tourists... definitely nice to get away from tourists. We walked through the narrow streets, had a fabulous dinner at a local Trattoria, and just enjoyed the serenity of the town. Sunday morning we packed up and moved onto Florence where we spent the day wandering around the Ponte Vecchio, eating gelato, exploring the markets, checking out the Uffizi and the Academia, and taking lots of pictures.
Here are a few choice pictures from Ted's visit.
Yesterday I had another chance to meet up with some old friends when I met Brandon and Molly (also from Seattle) in Florence! Yes, Florence twice in one week... but who would complain about that?! We had a great lunch and then wandered all over the city up and down and up and down the hills! We saw Galileo's house and Fort Belvedere, marveled at amazing views from churches on top of the hill and Piazza Michelangelo, and walked along the Arno river. Another great day in Tuscany.
All in all, things are still fantastic as usual. Our time over here is winding down very quickly and it is so hard to believe! My parents are coming in tomorrow and we will be spending two weeks traveling around, so there will definitely be lots more stories and pictures to come...
Thursday, March 25, 2010
Tuesday, March 16, 2010
Under the Tuscan Sun
This past weekend, while Niraj was slaving away in class and in the library, I ventured off with 7 other woman (who have dubbed ourselves the Ladies of Lesiure) to Tuscany for a girls getaway. It was fantastic and was definitely the epitome of all you would expect of Tuscany.
We left early Saturday morning and made a stop over in Greve, a little town just south of Florence in the wine zone of Chianti. When we arrived, we explored the Saturday fresh air market that is to typical of Italy. The sun was shining which felt terrific after the massive snowstorm the entire country experienced the week before. We opted to buy a pork sandwich and some fruit from the vendors and sit outside to people watch and bask in the sunshine.
From there, we did a very scenic, hilly drive towards Montepulciano. The drive was stupendous, and every direction en route provided never-ending views of wineries and rolling hills. Montepulciano was yet another town full of character and charm, and after hiking up the hills we reached the main piazza. We explored a cantina that housed some of the biggest wine barrels I have ever seen, and then we all sat in a cafe four hours tasting wines of the region.
We then ventured to Pienza where we had rented out an agritourismo. From this point forward is when the true Tuscan experience really began! The farmhouse was run by a couple who was oh-so-very Italian. After showing us our rooms and our quaint little apartments, the owner then proceeded to bring us two bottles of the Vino Rosso that is produced on the site. Not only did he give us the wine, but he sat right on down and drank it with us! After that, he stated over and over how we weren't eating enough (if you're not eating all the time then Italians are not satisfied) so he made reservations for us at his favorite Trattoria. The meal was fantastic and we gorged ourselves with Ceci noodles and wild boar sauce. After all, we had to make him happy!
The night got even more eventful when we returned from dinner. Once we got settled and started a fire in our cute apartment, he returned yet again with a bottle of grappa and a bottle of amaro, the sweeter liqueur. These are two very typical after dinner digestives here in Italy and were also both made in house. Once again, he plopped right on down and drank it with us swapping stories and overcoming the language barrier!
The next day we were shown even more hospitality. We awoke to clear and sunny skies, so we decided to sit outside to drink tea/coffee and enjoy the baskets of goodies provided by the farmhouse. After breakfast we were given a full tour of the agritourismo. We saw the vineyard, the cantina, the animals, the wine barrels, the bottling rooms, and all the foods produced by the family. We were treated to generous samples of wines, pecorino cheeses, prosciutto, and sausage (including sausage made from pig's head!) that were all made on site. Once again, it was all about keeping us well fed! The food was fantastic and we really felt welcomed. We spent the rest of the day exploring Pienza, sitting in the sun, marveling at the views of the valley, and eating gelato.
Here are a few choice pictures:
Enjoying mimosas in the sunshine
On the hilltop of Pienza
The agritourismo where we stayed
Having our feast prepared by the owners
The Ladies of Leisure under the Tuscan sun
All in all, it definitely was not a bad way to spend two days with the ladies!
We left early Saturday morning and made a stop over in Greve, a little town just south of Florence in the wine zone of Chianti. When we arrived, we explored the Saturday fresh air market that is to typical of Italy. The sun was shining which felt terrific after the massive snowstorm the entire country experienced the week before. We opted to buy a pork sandwich and some fruit from the vendors and sit outside to people watch and bask in the sunshine.
From there, we did a very scenic, hilly drive towards Montepulciano. The drive was stupendous, and every direction en route provided never-ending views of wineries and rolling hills. Montepulciano was yet another town full of character and charm, and after hiking up the hills we reached the main piazza. We explored a cantina that housed some of the biggest wine barrels I have ever seen, and then we all sat in a cafe four hours tasting wines of the region.
We then ventured to Pienza where we had rented out an agritourismo. From this point forward is when the true Tuscan experience really began! The farmhouse was run by a couple who was oh-so-very Italian. After showing us our rooms and our quaint little apartments, the owner then proceeded to bring us two bottles of the Vino Rosso that is produced on the site. Not only did he give us the wine, but he sat right on down and drank it with us! After that, he stated over and over how we weren't eating enough (if you're not eating all the time then Italians are not satisfied) so he made reservations for us at his favorite Trattoria. The meal was fantastic and we gorged ourselves with Ceci noodles and wild boar sauce. After all, we had to make him happy!
The night got even more eventful when we returned from dinner. Once we got settled and started a fire in our cute apartment, he returned yet again with a bottle of grappa and a bottle of amaro, the sweeter liqueur. These are two very typical after dinner digestives here in Italy and were also both made in house. Once again, he plopped right on down and drank it with us swapping stories and overcoming the language barrier!
The next day we were shown even more hospitality. We awoke to clear and sunny skies, so we decided to sit outside to drink tea/coffee and enjoy the baskets of goodies provided by the farmhouse. After breakfast we were given a full tour of the agritourismo. We saw the vineyard, the cantina, the animals, the wine barrels, the bottling rooms, and all the foods produced by the family. We were treated to generous samples of wines, pecorino cheeses, prosciutto, and sausage (including sausage made from pig's head!) that were all made on site. Once again, it was all about keeping us well fed! The food was fantastic and we really felt welcomed. We spent the rest of the day exploring Pienza, sitting in the sun, marveling at the views of the valley, and eating gelato.
Here are a few choice pictures:
Enjoying mimosas in the sunshine
On the hilltop of Pienza
The agritourismo where we stayed
Having our feast prepared by the owners
The Ladies of Leisure under the Tuscan sunAll in all, it definitely was not a bad way to spend two days with the ladies!
Tuesday, March 9, 2010
More random thoughts on the day to day life...
1) Even though it is March and everyone suffers from spring fever, watching big snow flakes slowly fall to the ground is still very relaxing.
2) Zucchini Risotto and Spritz are absolutely delicious, especially when home-made!
3) Italians could benefit from thicker apartment walls, especially since the people who live next door are obsessed with techno music (especially Madonna) and have recently taken to playing it at all hours of the day.
4) On a similar note, the guitarist living next door on the other side is playing Clapton, Santana, and The Animals daily and (unfortunately for us) has not yet improved much this year...
5) I am extremely excited for asparagus season to finally be arriving and can't wait to try the famous asparagus grown here in Emilia-Romagna!
6) Skype is fantastic, and it has been nice talking to friends and family back home on occassion.
7) As much as we complain about the overall slowmoving-ness of this country, the loud neighbors next door, the lack of a clothes dryer and a dishwasher, and the amount of dog poop all over the sidewalks, it is hard to believe that there are only 2 1/2 months left in the school year and that we will be heading home soon!
2) Zucchini Risotto and Spritz are absolutely delicious, especially when home-made!
3) Italians could benefit from thicker apartment walls, especially since the people who live next door are obsessed with techno music (especially Madonna) and have recently taken to playing it at all hours of the day.
4) On a similar note, the guitarist living next door on the other side is playing Clapton, Santana, and The Animals daily and (unfortunately for us) has not yet improved much this year...
5) I am extremely excited for asparagus season to finally be arriving and can't wait to try the famous asparagus grown here in Emilia-Romagna!
6) Skype is fantastic, and it has been nice talking to friends and family back home on occassion.
7) As much as we complain about the overall slowmoving-ness of this country, the loud neighbors next door, the lack of a clothes dryer and a dishwasher, and the amount of dog poop all over the sidewalks, it is hard to believe that there are only 2 1/2 months left in the school year and that we will be heading home soon!
Sunday, March 7, 2010
San Luca
This weekend, Niraj and I finally did the ultimate tourist thing in Bologna. It was one of the first sunny days that we have had here in a long time (it has been a non-stop week of rain and snow lately) so we thought it was a great day to finally go check it out.
We ventured up the hills outside the city walls to the Sanctuary of the Madonna di San Luca. The journey to San Luca consists of a 3.5 km long walkway covered by porticoes the entire way! There are a total of 666 arches, making it the longest stretch of its kind in the world. It was definitely a hike to get up there though!
The Porticoes
Once we got up there we saw beautiful views of the mountains and the valleys surrounding the city. Here are a few pictures:
We made it up there right at sunset, so it was nice to see a sunset over the mountains again!
In front of the Sanctuary of the Madonna of San Luca
Inside one of the towers of the church with the mountains through the window
View of Emilia-Romagna
We ventured up the hills outside the city walls to the Sanctuary of the Madonna di San Luca. The journey to San Luca consists of a 3.5 km long walkway covered by porticoes the entire way! There are a total of 666 arches, making it the longest stretch of its kind in the world. It was definitely a hike to get up there though!
The PorticoesOnce we got up there we saw beautiful views of the mountains and the valleys surrounding the city. Here are a few pictures:
We made it up there right at sunset, so it was nice to see a sunset over the mountains again!
In front of the Sanctuary of the Madonna of San Luca
Inside one of the towers of the church with the mountains through the window
View of Emilia-Romagna
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