Our flight was Thursday morning. The hotel was very convenient to the airport, and made our morning much less rushed than if we would have stayed in the city. The shuttle driver also knew about the special American only International terminal, which from conversations we overheard from fellow travelers, was a source of confusion for many. We spent part of our time before the flight in the lounge, and rest shopping to spend the few Euros we had left. Between the easy ride over and the good luck with finding the right terminal and getting through security, we thought the bad luck from the day before was behind us. However, we soon got to experience the side effects of the Delta/Northwest merger as the boarding process started to spin out of control. It was apparent there was a lot of confusion amongst the crew. However, the seats were much nicer in the Northwest Airlines Airbus than we had in the Delta Boeing coming over. Although the seats were far superior in the Northwest plane, the safety demonstration video for Delta is the clear winner. Not only does the Delta video have a hotter actress, they don't subject you to 20 minutes of gay Air-robics before letting you start watching movies. The flight back was much longer (nearly 2 hours) than the flight over. The incompetence continued once we got here, as immigration was quick, but we waited over an hour for our bags before we could go through customs. Customs amounted to handing over the form we had filled out as we continued walking, so we could have brought whatever the heck we wanted back with us, so long as we got past the dogs in the baggage handling area. Oh well - lesson learned for next time.
Despite our sorrow for leaving Italia, nothing can beat seeing the look on Dominic's face when we met him at the airport. :)
Sunday, April 5, 2009
Florence Days 3 and 4
Tuesday we had hired a tour guide for a couple of hours in the afternoon, but had the morning to continue exploring the city. After sleeping in and enjoying a leisurely breakfast, we headed out to challenge the street vendors. We headed directly to San Lorenza - where there are tons of open air booths and the prices are negotiable. After being there all of 10 minutes, we had a good sense of what goods there were to purchase. Leather was everywhere - belts, gloves, purses and coats. We got sucked in by a street vendor that actually had a full blown store right through the back of the tent. Their specialty was leather coats, and the sales guy sure knew his stuff - he had a coat in the right size on Rachel before she knew what was happening. Despite the numerous styles and sizes and colors, the first one turned out to be the best one. Regardless of how hard Erik tried to play hard to get, Rachel refused to walk out of the store as a negotiating tactic. In fact, declaring in front of the sales person that she was not leaving without this coat. But,, this was after some price negotiating, so it wasn't all lost. It wasn't long before Erik was trying on a fine Guido coat of his own while Rachel was checking out. We were both very pleased with our purchases, but were pretty much shopped out after that, much to the dismay of all the other street vendors who could spot us a mile away. We also explored the nearby central food market, which is also used by the locals for all the best meats, cheeses, wines and oils everyone could ever want. We cursed the restrictions on bringing food back to the US, and didn't spend much time looking at things we couldn't buy. It was lunch time by then, and our friend Heather had recommended a nearby Pizzaria with Neapolitan owners - supposedly the best pizza in town. It was definitely good - comparable to what we had in Sorrento. After a quick stop at the hotel to talk to Dominic, we headed out with our tour guide, Matalina.
Our plan for the couple of hours we had her was to do a little walking tour, and go through the Accademia to look at The David. It had started raining, which put a little damper on the walking tour, so we ended up going into Santa Croce Cathederal, which is where several famous people, 
including Galileo and Michelangelo, are buried. We were very thankful for Matalina's suggest to visit there, since it was not high on our list of destinations while we were in town. However, it turned out to be very beautiful and very important to the local history. Next stop was the Accademia. Again we enjoyed Matalina's insights, as well as bypassing long lines by using her privilege as a guide. She showed us things about The David we would not have otherwise noticed. She also explained about some of the other statues in the museum, although The David was the focus of our time there. The statue is much more impressive in person than we had imagined. We learned about Michelangelo's brillance as the statue was carved from a single block of marble, without any castings to practice before he started carving. A block of marble that was said to have waited 100 years for Michelangelo to come along. We also were pleasan
tly surprised that Matalina was able to purchase us tickets to go to the Uffizi the next morning, which we had already written off because we were unsuccessful in getting tickets in advance, and weren't sure we had the time to go. We had one more stop for the day - the Duomo Museum. Again, this museum wasn't high on our list, but was definitely worth going. One of Michelangelo's Pietas was here, as well as the original "Gates of Paradise" from the Baptistery (made of gold) and a haunting wood carving of Mary Magdalene by Donatello.
including Galileo and Michelangelo, are buried. We were very thankful for Matalina's suggest to visit there, since it was not high on our list of destinations while we were in town. However, it turned out to be very beautiful and very important to the local history. Next stop was the Accademia. Again we enjoyed Matalina's insights, as well as bypassing long lines by using her privilege as a guide. She showed us things about The David we would not have otherwise noticed. She also explained about some of the other statues in the museum, although The David was the focus of our time there. The statue is much more impressive in person than we had imagined. We learned about Michelangelo's brillance as the statue was carved from a single block of marble, without any castings to practice before he started carving. A block of marble that was said to have waited 100 years for Michelangelo to come along. We also were pleasan
tly surprised that Matalina was able to purchase us tickets to go to the Uffizi the next morning, which we had already written off because we were unsuccessful in getting tickets in advance, and weren't sure we had the time to go. We had one more stop for the day - the Duomo Museum. Again, this museum wasn't high on our list, but was definitely worth going. One of Michelangelo's Pietas was here, as well as the original "Gates of Paradise" from the Baptistery (made of gold) and a haunting wood carving of Mary Magdalene by Donatello.We got back to the hotel and had them make us dinner reservations at Il Santo Bevitore, another place recommended by our friend Heather. This was definitely different than the other restaurants we had eaten at, and although we loved the atmosphere, there were a limited selection of dishes that appealed to us. But, in the end, what we did eat was really good, from the appetizer, to the pasta, to the wine, to the dessert.
Wednesday was supposed to be a half day in Florence, and the rest of the day traveling back to Rome. We had planned to meet Matalina at 10am for our visit to the Uffizi. However, we ran into a few obstacles that morning. Although we had no trouble getting a cash advance in Sorrento, we couldn't find a bank in Florence that was willing to. Poor Erik ran all over the bleepin city trying to get cash, as we had to pay Matalina in cash, and needed some money for taxis. He finally found a bank machine that worked, and we were on our way. Again Matalina's privilege saved us lots of time - we had only a short line to navigate to get into the Uffizi. A quick trip up a crowded elevator saved us a long climb with the rest of the tourists. She also knew where the important works of art were in the museum, so it was not nearly as overwhelming as it would have been if we went without her. This is where her art history education really began to shine. We saw a chronological evolution of Italian art styles, and learned that they really don't know much about the early works of art since there is little documentation. We were particularly impressed with the few paintings by da Vinci. The detail in these lesser known paintings was incredible. Our time with Matalina was over before we knew it. Our initial plan was to grab the 1:30pm train, but given the crazy morning, we decided to take a leisurely lunch at Natalinos - we just couldn't leave the city without eating there one more time!! We ordered the same bottle of wine we had last time, since it was so good. We asked if any of the local stores would carry this wine, and learned that they had a small store across the street where they sold it. We went there hoping to buy several bottles to ship home, but they didn't ship, and only had 2 bottles left. Since we're allowed 2 liters of alcohol through customs, we bought the 2 bottles to put in our luggage, in addition to the one in our bellies.:) We also couldn't leave without eating gelato one more time. 
YUM! At this point, we were looking at the 3:30 train, but learned when 
we arrived at the train station that it was cancelled, so we took the 3:50pm train. Thankfully it was only 1 1/2 hours to Rome, although the train station was a good 30 minutes from our hotel - which was near the airport. After another crazy taxi ride, we arrived at the hotel, which being a Marriott began our assimilation back to American culture. After the long journey behind us and ahead of us, we could only muster energy to go to the hotel restaurant which could only be described as a disappointment after a week and a half of excellent food.
YUM! At this point, we were looking at the 3:30 train, but learned when 
we arrived at the train station that it was cancelled, so we took the 3:50pm train. Thankfully it was only 1 1/2 hours to Rome, although the train station was a good 30 minutes from our hotel - which was near the airport. After another crazy taxi ride, we arrived at the hotel, which being a Marriott began our assimilation back to American culture. After the long journey behind us and ahead of us, we could only muster energy to go to the hotel restaurant which could only be described as a disappointment after a week and a half of excellent food. Tuesday, March 31, 2009
Florence Day 1 and 2
Sunday morning we got up, checked out, and headed for the local train. Most of the day was spend traveling - just over an hour to get to Naples, then the high speed train for over 3 hours to get to Florence. We had about 30 minutes between trains, and I really needed to go to the bathroom. There was, of course, a long line for the women, and no line for the men. Not only was there a long line, but from what I could gather from folks in front of me, and the sign on the wall, it was going to cost me to use the bathroom. The line was moving so slow, that after 10 minutes or so, I gave up, and watched our bags while Erik went to the bathroom. He was done in a minute, and didn't have to pay, so perhaps the sexes are not yet equal in Naples! We grabbed some pizza to take on the train, and I used the free bathroom in first class.
The further north the train went, the worse the weather got. First, just cloudy, but just before Florence, we hit rain. We decided to take a taxi rather than dragging our bags through the rain (only) 960 yards to the hotel. Once we arrived at the hotel, we had to haul our bags, which are getting heavier as we add souvenirs, up 26 steps to the hotel lobby. We dropped off our bags, and decided that despite the bad weather, we should do some sightseeing, since our time in Florence is short. We headed out to check out the Ufuzzi, hoping we would get lucky with short lines, but they were long as expected. Next stop was the Ponte Vecchio, where we window shopped the gorgeous but very expensive jewelry. We made our way across the river and ended up at the Pitti Palace.
But not before getting gelato from a corner store with beautifully decorated mounds of gelato. It was late in the afternoon by then, so we only had time to see one of the museums in the Pitti Palace - the Palantine Gallery. The gallery featured many works by Pietro Benevenuti, but the real highlight was the architecture of the palace itself, especially the frescos on the ceilings and the ornate carvings. We then made our way back to the hotel, and asked for a dinner recommendation. Thomas, one of the hotel owners, suggested Restaurant Natalinos. He said it was only a 10 minute walk, but it seemed like we walked forever to get there. However, the walk was totally worth it. The food was the best we've had in Italy. And, the wine was as well. Their house special pasta is pear stuffed pasta in a gorgonzola sauce. Sounds crazy, but it was amazing!! We spent several hours eating and relaxing, and had a second course of chicken and peppers, capped off by a slice of chocolate cake which was closer to fudge in consistency than cake. The walk back to the hotel seemed shorter - somehow a full belly and a bottle of wine will do that, I guess.
But not before getting gelato from a corner store with beautifully decorated mounds of gelato. It was late in the afternoon by then, so we only had time to see one of the museums in the Pitti Palace - the Palantine Gallery. The gallery featured many works by Pietro Benevenuti, but the real highlight was the architecture of the palace itself, especially the frescos on the ceilings and the ornate carvings. We then made our way back to the hotel, and asked for a dinner recommendation. Thomas, one of the hotel owners, suggested Restaurant Natalinos. He said it was only a 10 minute walk, but it seemed like we walked forever to get there. However, the walk was totally worth it. The food was the best we've had in Italy. And, the wine was as well. Their house special pasta is pear stuffed pasta in a gorgonzola sauce. Sounds crazy, but it was amazing!! We spent several hours eating and relaxing, and had a second course of chicken and peppers, capped off by a slice of chocolate cake which was closer to fudge in consistency than cake. The walk back to the hotel seemed shorter - somehow a full belly and a bottle of wine will do that, I guess.Monday was a day trip to Tuscany. There were 4 other people from our hotel and us in a small van. We choose this day trip because it combined seeing some of the small towns in the area with visiting a winery and doing a wine tasting. The driver gave us an overview of the day when we got in the van, but little did we know that was the only speaking he had planned to do for the day. It was a sharp change from the constant narration we received from Carmello during our tours in Sorrento. Not for the better. Our first stop was a winery in Chianti country called Casa Sola. We got the grand tour of the fields and their wine and olive oil making process. We got lucky with the weather - although the ground was still quite soggy, it was sunny and beautiful. 
We learned that most of the process is still done by hand, and also learned the difference between hot pressed and cold pressed olive oil (yes, you can taste the difference). Of course, the best part was getting to taste the wines. After learning about the different aging processes for the different wines, we got to experience first hand the benefits of the additional time spent on the more expensive wines. Although they fed us meats and cheeses with the tasting, it did little to blunt the good buzz we had walking out of there. We're looking forward to receiving our case of chianti, uh I mean "olive oil" back here in the US.
We learned that most of the process is still done by hand, and also learned the difference between hot pressed and cold pressed olive oil (yes, you can taste the difference). Of course, the best part was getting to taste the wines. After learning about the different aging processes for the different wines, we got to experience first hand the benefits of the additional time spent on the more expensive wines. Although they fed us meats and cheeses with the tasting, it did little to blunt the good buzz we had walking out of there. We're looking forward to receiving our case of chianti, uh I mean "olive oil" back here in the US.The next stop on the tour was San Gimignano, a town on top of a hill entirely surrounded by a wall. It is quite impressive to see from afar, but is a cute little town once you get inside the walls. We were given about 1 1/2 hours to explore the town, but this included eating lunch, so to save time, we grabbed a slice of pizza (not nearly so good this far north - those Southern Italians have cornered the market on pizza), and sat on the steps of a well in the center of town to eat. We 
used the rest of our time to shop and check out the amazing views. We missed our chance to climb to the top of the tower in the middle of town, as they had it closed temporarily for a shift change. Oh darn. We enjoyed some gelato from the shop that was the World Champion in 2006-07, and it was quite yummy. Despite our drivers lack of commentary, he certainly knew how to drive us into restricted areas so we had little walking to do to enjoy the towns, which we appreciated as we passed tourist after tourist hiking up the hill from the parking lots outside the walls.
used the rest of our time to shop and check out the amazing views. We missed our chance to climb to the top of the tower in the middle of town, as they had it closed temporarily for a shift change. Oh darn. We enjoyed some gelato from the shop that was the World Champion in 2006-07, and it was quite yummy. Despite our drivers lack of commentary, he certainly knew how to drive us into restricted areas so we had little walking to do to enjoy the towns, which we appreciated as we passed tourist after tourist hiking up the hill from the parking lots outside the walls.
Next was a quick stop at another small town - Monteriggioni - which was even smaller village, surrounded by walls. It consisted of one church and a hand full of shops. We were able to pay to climb to the top of the wall, and could walk around part of the wall on a metal walkway they had constructed. Our final stop was Siena. Again, for a town where you're not allowed to drive, our driver found a way to take us all the way into the city's 
main square - Il Campo. We had more time to spend here, so started by hiking up to the duomo. It was late in the day by then, and many of the sites were nearing closing time. We opted not to go in, but instead used our time to walk around and see as much of the city as we could. We did some more shopping, and some more eating. The driver was scheduled to pick us up at 6:30 to head back to Florence. After relaxing and enjoying the weather in different places throughout the city, and exploring the many streets and back alley shops, we were more than ready for the trip back to Florence. We decided to do dinner on our own - without a recommendation, but paid for it with just so-so food at Trattoria Marione's. This restaurant was actually recommended to us as a great lunch spot for their soup, but I guess in comparison to the tour de force from the night before, anything would have seemed just so-so. I blame that on choosing the house wine instead of something a little more tasty.
main square - Il Campo. We had more time to spend here, so started by hiking up to the duomo. It was late in the day by then, and many of the sites were nearing closing time. We opted not to go in, but instead used our time to walk around and see as much of the city as we could. We did some more shopping, and some more eating. The driver was scheduled to pick us up at 6:30 to head back to Florence. After relaxing and enjoying the weather in different places throughout the city, and exploring the many streets and back alley shops, we were more than ready for the trip back to Florence. We decided to do dinner on our own - without a recommendation, but paid for it with just so-so food at Trattoria Marione's. This restaurant was actually recommended to us as a great lunch spot for their soup, but I guess in comparison to the tour de force from the night before, anything would have seemed just so-so. I blame that on choosing the house wine instead of something a little more tasty.
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