on the road again...

We are on a train going from Florence to Venice right now (well, at least we are writing it on the train – we don’t have internet access here, so we will have to wait to post this until we get to Venice).

This means that the Tuscany portion of our trip is finished, and I have to say that we are a little sad about that. Tuscany was the main reason that Leah chose to come to Italy in the first place, and it definitely lived up to all of our expectations (although I have to admit that our minds are not the only things that expanded in our time in Tuscany – I am sure our waistlines did the same).

As we mentioned earlier, we hit San Gimignano (known for its medieval towers, used to protect the aristocracy from attackers), Volterra, and Siena. We kind of ran out of time in Siena, as we visited late on a Sunday afternoon, and many things were closing. We did see plenty there, however/ Maybe the most impressive was the main square in town, where the city hall was the center (as opposed to most towns, where the church is in the center), and twice a year, they convert it into a track for horse racing. One rider from each of 10 (or12) neighborhoods in Siena rides for the pride of their area and bragging rights until the next race. They fit 15,000 spectators both inside of the “track” and in the balconies, and then bring in sand to line the actual racing portion of the track – quite a production, from what I understand.

Yesterday was our main wine tasting/buying day. We hit the towns of Montalcino and Montepulciano (both known for specific types of Italian wine), and then finished in Cortona (that of the movie “Under the Tuscan Sun”, and Leah’s one must-see town in Tuscany).
Montalcino is famous for their Brunello di Montalcino wine, and we were able to taste several different versions of the wine. Lucky for us, there was a lady from Denmark, who had been an exchange student in Wyoming (of all places – sorry, Jeanne) that helped us at the Enotecha (wine shop). She was extremely knowledgeable and was actually able to help us a great deal because she spoke such fluent English. Unfortunately, the Brunello is a fairly expensive wine (and shipping rates are fairly ridiculous), so we weren’t abel to get as much as either she or I would have liked, but we did come out of there with some, and we are very much looking forward to receiving it in a few weeks.

Next was Montepulciano, which is famous for their Nobile di Montepulciano. These towns are maybe only 15-20 miles aparts from each other, but they are associated with specific wine regions that produce fairly different (or at least fairly different, considering their proximity) types of wine from the same grape. We got there about the time that everything was closing for lunch, so we sat down in the main square and had some lunch ourselves. It is a little strange getting used to everything closing for an hour or so in the middle of the day. After things opened up again, we went to the oldest wine procuder in town (Contucci), and received a tour from a man names Andamo, who must have been very passionate about his wine. He treated every visitor like they were both his first and last all rolled up into one, and did so with a great exuberance. It is people like him that make traveling to different places very gratifying. This wine was quite a bit cheaper, and that is a good thing, since Leah liked it A LOT, so we got a few bottles and are looking forward to receiving it in the mail as well.

Cortona was a little bit different in that we really didn’t go for the wine, but instead to just “soak it all in” (Leah’s favorite activity here in Tuscany). It is also a little different from all of the other towns in that it was extremely hilly. Everything in town seems to emanate either up or down from one flat street that runs through the middle of town. It was very picturesque (which I am sure played a role in the decision to film the movie here), and provides a breathtaking view from the top of the hill where it sits. It may be my imagination, but it seemed like there were more than the normal amount of female tourists looking to live out their own version of “Under the Tuscan Sun”, but I can definitely say that I can now see why they would pick such a place to do so.

After all of that driving around, we actually made it back to the winery, where we stayed for our three nights in the Tuscan countryside, before sunset, so we decided to share a bottle of their wine out on the terrace facing the west. It was yet another surreal moment in a trip that has provided many so far. After the sun had set, we left for dinner at the winery’s own restaurant (If you are still reading, and would like to hear more about the meal, please read on. Otherwise, ciao! We will post again soon from Venice)

The lady in charge of the Agritourismo (basically a B&B on a farm or winery) where we stayed was great, and dinner this night was a perfect example. I guess the restaurant at the winery is open for either lunch or dinner, but not both (as it is in a fairly remote area, and there can’t be much clientele for a restaurant as fancy as this). Anyway, they had a large group earlier in the day for lunch and had planned to close for dinner, as is normal. Well, instead, Coralia (the lady who worked with us) asked them to stay since we had at one time expressed an interest in eating at the restaurant, and this would be our last night with them. They graciously complied, so when we walked in that night, we had this beautiful restaurant all to ourselves. The only other people there were the chef in the back, and the waiter/chef that waited on us. I wish we would have taken a picture so we could show you how nice this was.

Seated in what was now our own private restaurant, the waiter started us off with some sparkling wine before telling us our menu options. After we ordered, he then brought us a bottle of their ’95 riserva chianti classico to have with our meal. The first course consisted of zucchini flowers stuffed with ricotta cheese, drizzled with olive oil and garnished with a small amount of pesto. When we ordered, I thought that this meant they would cut some zucchini up into the shape of a flower, and then stuff that, but it turns out that they actually harvested the flowers from a zucchini plant and used those. It sounds a little strange, but it was very good. That course was followed by a pecorino cheese tortellini with eggplant. The pasta was stuffed with the pecorino (as you would expect), and then placed on top of an eggplant & garlic puree (for lack of a better term) and then garnished with fried eggplant slices. I think this was our favorite dish of the night (maybe of the trip) – even though I am not usually a big fan of eggplant, this was great. The third course was a spaghetti-type pasta with a sweet pepper red sauce and venison. They followed this with the main course – roasted pigeon with a twice-baked gold potato. Again, ordering pigeon sounded a little strange to us, but we thought we would give it a try and it was definitely worth it. The flavor was great, and the meat was very tender. Lastly, they brought dessert out to us. Leah had a lavender-mint mousse with strawberries and I had an Italian version of flan – both were very good. The whole experience was just amazing – we definitely felt spoiled at the end of the night.

That is it for now. Hopefully we will be able to post again soon with great stories of Venice.

Kris & Leah

Pinch me I must be dreaming...

We left Florence yesterday (9-22), picked up our rental car and headed out to the Chianti region of Italy. We spent most of the day driving and stopping at little towns along the way - lunch in Greve. We also stopped at the wine museum & tasting room in Greve (although the museum part was relatively small and insignificant). They had over 150 wines to taste, and dispensed them in a sort of wine vending machine, where you would buy a tasting card for a certain amount of money, chose the wine that you wanted to taste, and pushed a button right above it to dispense the wine out of a little fountain. It is a little difficult to explain, but it was really cool (we should have taken a picture).

After Greve, we went to our Agritourismo, which is absolutely wonderful. That being said, we were very lucky that we actually got there. We actually found the winery associated with the B&B fairly easily, but no one was there at all. We looked just about everywhere we could to find someone until we went to the kitchen of the restaurant there to ask one of the cooks what to do. Of course, he didn,t speak any english, so it wasn't much help, but at least he knew that we were there for the B&B. Just as we were about to leave (as our rented cell phone didn't get service there), we saw a lady chasing after us. It turns out that the cook left a message on her phone saying that some people were looking for her, and she checked her message after she had just gotten back from harvesting the grapes. As luck would have it, she got the reservation wrong and thought that we were coming in the next day, so if she wouldn't have caught us then, we would have been out of luck altogether last night. Anyway, everything got settled, and we love staying there (we will post more pictures later).

We spent most of today visiting different Tuscan Hill towns. Starting with San Gimignano, then to Volterra, and then fiinishing up right now in Siena. Everything was beuatiful and looked just like you would expect a Tuscan hill town to look. It was very cool to see these places, portrayed in so many movies and pictures, in person - they are really as beautiful as you would expect.

This may be our only post from Tuscany, as we have to drive several km to get to an internet cafè, but we should have wifi at the place where we are staying in Venice, so we should be able to make them fairly regularly again soon. Hope all is going well on your end.

-Kris & Leah

Day 6, Tuscany (outside of Siena). This is the Agritourismo we are staying at.

It is so beautiful here...we are still in awe. Waiting for someone to tell us they made a mistake

and we need to move down the street...2 pools, amazing views!

Day 6 - Florence, rubbing il porcellino for good luck!

Right in front of our hotel.

Day 5 - Florence, top of Duomo looking over Florence

Day 4 - Florence, Ponte Vecchio bridge

I love it...

We are sitting here in Florence, Italy in an Irish pub, drinking German beer and watching rugby with our new French friends. Really this is a small world. We make it bigger than it really is.

A day in Florence...

I love Florence...I love Rome...but I LOVE Florence. So much more laid back. Easy going...and clean!! We are having such a wonderful time. We have seen so much art and history my brain is just absolutly mush. I'm not complaining, it is so wonderful but I'm beginning to understand why people spend years here studying this stuff. It is so much to take in and really digest.

I think Kris already mentioned we visited the Pitti Palace and the Sience Museum yesterday. I would love to come back and spend more time at the Pitti Palace...it consist of 3 museums and a garden tour. We only had time for one! Where we went in the palace you could see the gardens...AMAZING. Mom you would love it! Granted I only saw it for a moment. We ran into a couple that said it took them 4 hours to get through just the gardens! If I had lived back then I sure would want to have lived in a place like the Pitti Palace!!

Today we started off climbing the dome at the Duomo. I'll post pics later...way cool. Huge!! Then we headed to the Bargello, then the Uffizi (holy cow...I can't explain all the amazing art here...google it!!), the Accademia to see David (wow), the Duomo babtistry, and finally the Duomo museum. All incredibly amazing. I have to admit I am looking forward to not visiting a museum over in the next 3 days. We pick up our rental car tomorrow and we will be visiting the small towns of Tuscany....and drinking a lot of wine.

My legs and feet are so tired. My brain especially is swollen!! I love it though. I just don't want to come home. I think I will stay here and send for all of you :) Maria - please buy your place in Luca...I will take care of it for you!!

Love to all...

Pic's

Ok, here are a few more...hopfully more to come!

Day 4 (9/20) - Florence

Day 2 (9/18) - Trevi Fountain - throwing a coin in the fountain to insure our return to Rome!!

Day 2 (9/18) - Trevi Fountain

Day 2 (9/18) - enjoying a gellato!

Day 2 (9/18) - Kris's favorite part of the Pantheon

Day 2 (9/18) - Pantheon

Day 2 (9/18) - Roman Forum

Day 2 (9/18) - Arch of Septimius Severus, Roman ForumDay 2 (9/18) - Colosseum

Day 2 (9/18) - Colosseum

Day 1 (9/17) - Inside St. Peter's

Off to Florence!

After three days in Rome, we left for Florence today. Rome was wonderful, and it was hard to b elieve that it was time for us to leave, but we are excited to get to Florence! It is hard to believe that we have already been in Italy for four days now (unless you ask our feet, in which case, it feels like we have been here for four weeks).

Anyway, we arrived in Florence about noon today and found that the room at our B&B overlooks a cool outdoor market (Leah may post a picture later that shows our view). It is right in the middle of almost everything we want to see here, so we should be in much better shape than in Rome (If we were to change one thing about our stay in Rome, we would probably stay closer to the center of town. We stayed near the main train station so that we would have easy access to most everything, but it was a little further away from most of the sites than we would of liked. Also, it was in a chinatown-type area of Rome, so when we went out to look for good Italian food & culture, we found a lot of Asian influence, which is not bad, but not necessarily what we were looking for during our three days in Rome). Florence has a much more small town-type feel than Rome, and that is a nice change of pace. Don't get me wrong, there are still plenty of people out in the streets here, but it seems a little more laid-back.

Once we got checked in, we took in a couple of sites. We first went to the Pitti Palace, which used to be the main residence/compound for the Medici family that ruled Florence for many years. This was fairly interesting, as it housed many paintings from several prominent Italian artists, and also had a few rooms decorated closely to how they would have been at the height of the Medici family's power. After the Pitti Palace, we took a whirlwind look at the Science Museum. We had to get through the whole museum in an hour because we took a little longer than expected at the Pitti Palace. The museum had many different types of scientific instruments used by the people of the 17th & 18th century, which were all very interesting, but probably the highlight of the museum was the stuff they had from Galileo. They had some of his instruments, including a couple of his telescopes, adn amazingly enough, they even had the preserved middle finger from his right hand. I have no idea who thought to preserve that, or even why, but it is right there for everyone to look at.

Tomorrow, we have a couple different art galleries (including the one that houses Michelangelo's David), and the main church here in Florence, so we are trying to rest our feet as much as possible until we have to leave in the morning.

For those of you interested in only our day's events, this is the end of the post for the day. For those of you interested in hearing about the food (and a quick NFL comment at the very end), read on...

I didn't say a whole lot about the food in the first couple of posts because I was basically following the rule that says: "If you can't say anything nice, don't say anything at all". For the first couple of days, almost all of our meals were made of either espresso & pastries or pizza, or panini sandwiches. All of these were fairly good, but nothing really worthy of note. The one meal we did decide to take the time to enjoy was horrible. Several people told us just to look for hole-in-the-wall-type places to eat, and it turns out that our first choice was not good at all. I had a chef's special (which turned out to be risotto and cheese, as in the kraft macaroni and cheese except with risotto), and Leah had some gnocchi that was covered in what tasted like chef boyardee sauce and a salad that didn't come with any dressing. All of that and two glasses of the house wine cost a little over 45 euro (60 dollars). Also, keep in mind that teh portions are quite a bit smaller here, so when I talk about all of these multi-course meals, we are not bursting at the seams (or at least any more than normal) trying to choke them down.

Yesterday, instead of taking our chances with guessing, we followed the advice of the guidebook we have been using, and things got a lot better. For lunch, I had a pasta carbonara dish and Leah had a plate of melted scamorza cheese (like a stronger version of mozzerella) with Proscuitto ham draped over the top, and both were wonderful. Everything was so fresh that you could just taste the difference from the night before.

Last night, we had a fairly elaborate meal that will be difficult to top the rest of the trip. We started out with canteloupe wrapped in Prosciutto ham (which I am guessing that we will be serving to our own guests the next time we have the occassion), and that was followed with gnocchi in a black truffle sauce. Neither of us had tasted truffles before, so we thought it would be fun to try. While it was not our favorite dish, I can definitely see the allure - it was so rich and tasty that it was tough to put down. After the gnocchi, they brought us some canelloni stuffed with a type of mild sausage, and followed that with the most delicious filet of beef in a balsamic vinegar reduction with a little garlic mixed in. I am definitely going to have to figure out how to put this together - I don't think it should be that hard, but it may take a few tries to get it just right. All of that paired with a pretty decent house wine was about as good as you could ask for.

Tonight, we had a meal that was similarly great. We started out with a standard caprese salad, which tasted just a little bit better because we were in Florence, followed by a spinach & ricotta ravioli dish with a walnut sauce. The walnut sauce sounded kind of weird on the menu, but it was really good. I can't imagine that it would be good with everything, but I am going to have to learn how to make it because it was great with the ravioli tonight, and it was so different from anything else I have tasted before that it was a cool surprise. The main course was a chicken milano, and it was very good, but not spectacular - pretty standard stuff. However, we had what they call "Panna Cotta", which is a cooked cream dessert covered in a homemade chocolate sauce. I have no idea how they make this, but it tasted like whipped heavy cream that is the consistency of a light custard. It is very difficult to describe, but very easy to eat - it was fantastic!

That is about it so far when it comes to food. I think we just had bad luck with the first place because everything else has been very good. It is amazing to taste how fresh everything is here - it definitely makes a difference. If you are really still reading and want to hear me talk about the NFL for a quick moment (Carsten, I hope that is you), please read on. Otherwise, we will post again tomorrow - see you then!

As dor the NFL, is there really a more boring and predictable sports league right now? At least the NBA allows you to wonder if the game is being fixed by a referee. I have now gone the first two weeks of the season (the most exciting part of the season, IMHO) without watching a single game, and I don't miss is one bit. I never realized how much following Jake was keeping me interested in the league, but I think that was the only thing (along with fantasy football, which I have already proven that you don't really have to follow the NFL as long as you don't mind not winning each year). I have checked the Broncos scores, and it looks like after a decisive 15-14 victory over the powerhouse Bills team, they followed up with a 23-20 annihilation of the juggernaut that is the Oakland Raiders at home. That just screams "Super Bowl Champions" to me. I initially said that they would go 9-7 this year, but judging from those scores, they will be lucky to make it to .500 this year - they must be absolutely horrific. They have just been lucky enough to have two of the worst 5 teams in the league the first two weeks of the season. I also like how their "revamped" defense gave up 20 points to a team that was last in the league in offense last year, lost one of the best receivers in the league in teh offseason, and neglected to sign the very first pick in the draft until it was too late for him to make a difference this year. That is embarassing.

Pictures!!

St. Peter's Square...one of my fav's. Ooops running out of time on on the PC at cafe...will be back later tonight!! Off to have a good dinner!!!

We started out our trip in Seattle...we were able to visit some of the fam! Bob, Linda, Kris and I having drinks!!