One Year Away

Tara and Lora

1.  Gelato all the time / anytime

1.  Pedicures 

3.  Circumvesuvian train – again, no AC

Joe

We have added a few new pics to the Italy album.  Enjoy!

We stopped in Rome for one day on our way to Sorrento and then for two days on our way back.  It was an
unusual city for me because although it was overrun with tourists, hot and expensive it still created a good impression. 

The city that was the capital of the western world for so long has an impressive collection of ruins and other sites that are on the “must do” list for tourists.  We hit the main ones like the Colosseum, Palatine Hill, Trevi Fountain, the Spanish Steps and the Vatican. 

The Vatican is technically a sovereign nation but you don’t need to show your passport to get in…just buy a ticket.   We followed the advice of Tara’s guidebook and arrived early to avoid the line, but we were too late.  By the time we got there the line up to get into the Vatican stretched over
halfway around the country – literally.
Luckily the line moved quite quickly and about 90 minutes later we were trudging through one gallery after another of ancient treasures, statues, Egyptian artifacts and paintings.  At times though it was like walking through a  crowded subway station with the most exquisitely painted ceilings imaginable.  The end prize that made it worthwhile was the Sistine Chapel with its high ceiling and Michaelangelo’s masterpieces. 

The best part of Rome for me was the old neighborhoods that surround the famous landmarks.  Narrow streets with beautiful buildings twist and turn seemingly going nowhere then lead suddenly you’re standing in front of world famous landmark.  And you’re never far from a gelato shop of course.

Lora

We have added more photos to the Italy album!

After a week of hectic travel from Varenna to Florence to Orvieto and a day in Rome, we were looking forward to experiencing the slower pace Italian lifestyle of Sorrento and Capri. We first visited Sorrento, a small Italian fishing village nestled cliffside overlooking the Mediterranean. After arriving at Hotel Del Corso, where we made our home for the next two days, we strolled the small cobblestone streets of Sorrento. It didn’t take us long to notice that every store sold items that had to do with lemons: lemon dishes, lemon towels, lemon aprons, lemon oil, limoncello (Italian lemon liqueur), fresh lemonade, lemon everything! Turns out, Sorrento is the lemon heaven of Italy! All kinds of lemons are grown in Sorrento but the most impressive are the ones as big as a football. They may look tasty but we discovered that they are used more for show and decoration rather than for eating….they are much ìpulpierî than a normal size lemon and not as juicy. In Italy, lemons are mainly used to make tasty lemon desserts and liqueurs, which of course we had a sampling of during our visit. So our two days in Sorrento were spent eating, drinking wine, a visit to the ruins of Pompeii, and did we mention eating and drinking wine?!

From Sorrento we took a huge jet boat to Capri, which is pronounced KAHH-pree in Italian. After getting off the jet boat, we stood in line of about 40 people deep to catch a bus to Anacapri where our hotel is. The little bus came and we thought that there is no way we were going to make it on, especially with all of our luggage, and we would have to wait another half hour for the next one to come along. Oh no, we made it on, they pack people into these buses like sardines! Then there was the trip up the mountain, rather, more like a cliff, to get to Anacapri. The roads are so small that often two cars, not to mention two buses, cannot pass each other without some careful maneuvering. A horn is not an option it’s a necessity for survival. It is not uncommon to have to back up on the road to let another car pass! If you have a car in Capri without a scratch on the sides then you probably do not drive it!! The views from the bus trip were amazing as you can see in some of the pictures in the Photo Album.

Capri was made famous as a vacation spot of Roman emperors such as Augustus and Tiberius. And in the 19th century it became the vacation spot of aristocrats on their tours of Europe. Capri’s nickname is the Island of Dreams. Indeed, we found it dreamy. Our first night we ventured into the main piazza of Capri where we found every top designer store you could imagine. It wasn’t surprising that our most expensive meal was this night, but well worth it! We spent the next two days riding the buses all over the island to hit the main beaches of Capri. At last, some relaxation in the sun! It’s funny that they are called ìbeachesî as they are not like North American beaches which are full of fine sand and crashing waves, rather, Capri’s beaches are mainly rocks and cliffs with tons of cabana style restaurants and decks perched off the cliffs and overlooking the emerald colored Mediterranean sea dotted with huge expensive yachts.

We each agreed that Capri is one of our favorite destinations in Italy. Our two days came to an end and we are off to finish our site-seeing and shopping (Joe excluded) in Rome!!!

Joseph

We have added more pictured to the Italy album. Enjoy!

No matter where you are, Mount Vesuvius dominates the skyline from Naples to Sorrento. Even today the mountain looks like the volcano it actually is; Vesuvius is considered active and last erupted in 1944. The Cicumvesuviana train we took skirts the base of the volcano and stops at the most famous archaeological site in all of Europe; the ruins of Pompeii.

We got off the train (which was covered in graffiti like many things in Italy) and went straight to the audio guide rental stand near the entrance to the ruins. The first thing we did was look at the map of the ruins and plan a route. Although I knew that we were visiting the ruins of a city it never really dawned on me how large the excavated area is. Just a few minutes later we were walking through the remains of an ancient Roman city listening to the voice of our pre-recorded guide explain everything we were seeing.

Mount Vesuvius erupted in 79 AD and buried the town under 30 feet of ash and rock. The ruins were discovered in the 1600’s and excavation began in 1748 and is still continuing. Some of the buildings are remarkably well preserved and others have been faithfully reconstructed by archaeologists. The memory that will stay with me is of standing in the central square of the town, the Forum, surrounded by columns, statues, temples and ancient administrative building and looking up to see the ominous shape of Mount Vesuvius rising above it all.

The ash that buried the town also buried many of its inhabitants. When archaeologists were excavating the site they heard hollow areas beneath the rock they were digging through. Ingeniously, they made a small hole in the rock and poured plaster into the hollow. After it dried they chipped away the rock and uncovered perfect casts of human bodies. The flesh had decomposed leaving only a hollow area and a skeleton inside. The casts are incredible, you can make out the clothes they were wearing and the expression of pain on their faces.

The ash that buried the town also protected the ruins; they are so good that it doesn’t take much imagination to visualize the town as it once must have been.

However, the high heat of the day meant that we were always looking for shade; behind walls, in temples, in the thin shade of marble columns, or anywhere. It also meant that we got tired faster and after visiting for a few hours we needed to get out of the heat, have a cold drink and eat. So our tour of Pompeii ended and we made our way back to the coast and the air conditioning of our hotel rooms.

Tara

We have added over 25 new photos to the Italy album.  Enjoy!

After spending our 2 first days settling into Italian life – a.k.a La Dolce Vita – we headed for Florence. Florence, as expected, is a bustling and touristy city in comparison to the tranquility of Varenna. The crowds and the spike in temperature made it slightly uncomfortable at times.

Our first day in Florence we decided to brave the lineups and visit the Academia, home to the statue of David, Michaelangelo’s famous marble sculpture. It was worth every Euro to see this masterpiece and was the highlight of our Florence visit. After admiring David we made our way to Ponte Vecchio, a bridge lined with jewelry merchants and breathtaking views of the city. We ended our day with a quiet takeout dinner and wine on the patio of our hotel.

It was here that we decided that 2 days would be enough in Florence. So we had the brilliant idea to rent a car and leave Florence a day early to drive around Tuscany and visit vineyards. Great idea – in theory!

We spent most of the following day walking from one side of the city to the next trying to figure out if we needed an international license… Everyone had a different answer (we asked everyone from a policeman to the person at the information office) but we preferred the answer from the car rental representative: "Me, I don’t care, but the Polizzia may if you get stopped". Then we spent the rest of the afternoon going from one rental car company to another and found that the only available car would cost us 350 euros for 2 days… Conclusion: The train it is!

The next morning we packed our luggage and took a train to Orvieto, home of Orvieto Classico wine. This picturesque city sits on a cliff in Umbria surrounded by miles of vineyards. It resembles a medieval town with fortress walls. We tried our best to wander the streets to find the nicest views or alleys. This was a short visit but half a day in Orvieto is all you need unless you use it as your "base camp" and plan early enough to get a car and drive through the area in search of a good wine tasting experience.

Next stop: Rome!

Tara

Mission:    Find the best gelato in Italy

Panel:        Joe, Penny, Lora and Tara


Gelato is the Italian version of ice cream.  The history of gelato dates back from the 16th century.
There is confusion about its origin or inventor, but as the story goes it is credited to Bernardo Buntalenti, a native of Florence who delighted the court of Catherina de Medici with his creations.  Gelato in Italian literally means “frozen” but it basically used to indicate the Italian type of ice cream.  One of the basic differences of the gelato versus American ice cream is that gelato contains less air and is therefore more intense in flavor.  In part gelato is healthier than traditional ice cream since it is made with all natural ingredients, contains less calories and less butter fat (Thank God!).

Soon after our arrival, we noticed Italy was littered with gelaterias and that was the inspiration for our experiment.  So far every bite has been a little taste of heaven.  In Varenna, Penny and Joe tested chocolate and amaretto flavors, Lora gave chocolate and mint a test drive and Tara went out on a limb with hazelnut!

I
n Florence, the birthplace of gelato, the girls left Joe for a shopping excursion (hardly any damage done for any interested parties) while Joe stayed back at the hotel in an attempt to regain some sanity away from the “girl talk”.  Unfortunately for Joe he missed Phase II of our experiment.  On our second try, Penny dove into the chocolate and Nutella, Tara devoured pistachio and peach while Lora had snickers and mint flavors, for a change.

Our next phase was unexpected, in Orvieto home of Orvieto Classico (white wine) we couldn’t pass up the opportunity for gelato.  We stopped in a random gelateria and experienced the following flavors:  Lora did a complete 180 and opted for straciatella and capriccio (a mix of Nutella and hazelnut?), Joe chose chocolate rum and hazelnut in hopes of starting his drinking early, Penny had none other than chocolate and capriccio and finally Tara had the capuccino and straciatella.  To date, this has been our favorite gelato.

However, our experiment is not over and we are determined to find the best gelato in Italy!

Stay tuned!

Penny

We’ve added an Italy album with some pictures of us and our new travel buddies, Tara and Lora.

After arriving in Milan, we headed straight for the train station where we took an early train to Varenna.
That was to be our first stop in Italy and where we were going to meet up with Tara and Lora.

The train took us through tiny towns scattered along the coast of Lake Como.  The scenery was beautiful and made us feel as though we were on a movie set simply because it was just too perfect!  Our train stopped at the tiny Varenna station and with our backpacks we made our way down to the town and to our hotel by the lake-side.

We stayed at the Hotel Olivedo which is run by Laura, a very surly
lady who, according to Tara’s guide book and our experience, rarely cracks a smile.  The hotel was lovely and right by the small pier.  After check-in and a short nap, I got a phone call from Tara who told me that she and Lora had just arrived.  For two people who had just gotten off a plane and were jet-lagged, they sounded surprisingly energetic.

We met up with the girls and were off to our first Italian meal.  It turns out, most of our time in Varenna was marked by food and wine.

We did manage to take a hike up to Castello Vezio on our second day there.  The hike was longer than expected as a result of our poorly drawn map.  But the hike took us over beautiful hills and through tiny hill-top villages.  The  castello turned out to be no more than a small old fort but the hike to get there made it worth it.

While in Varenna, we also took a ferry to the nearby town of Bellagio.  Once there, we shared a bottle of red wine on a piazza and had dinner on a patio overlooking the lake.

Varenna was a great introduction to Italy.  Small, quiet and with a great landscape, it was a perfect place to recharge our batteries, get over jet-lag and prepare for the weeks ahead.

Penny

Dear readers,

For the Italian leg of our trip we are being joined by my friend Tara and her friend Lora. We met the girls in
Varenna by the edge of Lake Como in northern Italy where we spent our first night in Italy.

Tara is the mastermind behind our Italy two week trip and has us going to Florence, Rome, Sorrento and Capri. Over the next couple of weeks, we hope to keep you updated on our travels and Tara and Lora will be acting as special guest bloggers. So keep posted to see some of their posts in the coming days!

Lets give a warm welcome to Tara and Lora and hope that Joe will be able to survive three girls in Italy…