What are you looking at, there in the mirror? Oh, you? You're looking at you? What, you say? That should be obvious, what else would you be looking at in the mirror? Okay, right. So, what do you see? Do you see somebody who's grown up recently? Who has a better understanding of themselves and the world around them? It could very well be that that good looker looking back at you holds all that (and more) in their eyes.
- my horoscope for today (Yahoo! Horoscopes)...
Friday, April 28, 2006
Tuesday, April 25, 2006
Under A Tuscan Sun
I have finally put my suitcase away and I guess I am ready to start talking about my trip (if I talk about it then that means that it is over, and I wasn't really ready for that to happen...)
I had a wonderful time and met some really great people (I know I say this every time, but that's just the way it happens). This tour was a little more laid-back. We had more time in each city and the overall mood of the group was a bit more relaxed. There were 39 of us, of which 24 were married/serious couples. In the beginning I was a bit disappointed with the stats, but in the end I had more fun with some of the couples than with certain single people (we had a couple of real bitches in the group!). I won't bore you with a 12 day play-by-play... Here are the highlights:
ROME
Favorite: Big hugs from Kristin as she opened the hotel room door.
Tasted: I am not a huge fan of 'weird' meat, especially if it has tentacles, but I ate THE BEST squid dish at a restaurant around the corner from the hotel!! And the octopus wasn't too bad either.
Funny: I was twice forgotten. My car service 'forgot' to pick me up for Gatwick at 4:00am. The car never showed and no one answered when I called (repeatedly). Luckily I was able to find another service and made it with plenty of time to spare. In Rome, the same thing happened... I wasn't really in a rush and was really enjoying the beautiful weather, but after an hour or so I started to get worried. The first time I was a little panicked, but by the second time I just had to laugh.
SORRENTO
Favorite: The Blue Grotto on the Isle of Capri. We took a motor boat to the Blue Grotto, then had to climb into a small rowboat. The opening was so small that we had to duck down so we wouldn't hit our heads, but inside (once your eyes adjusted to the darkness) it was beautiful!
Tasted: 1)Mozzarella/Tomato/Basil sandwich that was amazing! Mozzarella is made from buffalo's milk (rather than cow's milk) and there is such a difference in the taste!! Mmm! 2) This area is known for its lemons. They are the size of a child's football - seriously. So when they put this icy shot glass in front of me and said it was a liquor called Lemmoncello made from lemons, I thought I would love it. Can you say fire water!?! The creamy version is supposed to be nice, though.
Funny: We missed the ferry from the Isle of Capri back to Sorrento (We had beer to finish and thought we were closer to the dock than we were - there were about 10 of us). Whoops! We ran for it, but it was pulling away from the dock. It was easy enough to catch the next one and Kristin and I made friends with the over-50 tour group from England...
FLORENCE
Favorite: The Uffizi Gallery. I broke away from the group since I had seen Florence before and headed straight for the Uffizi and all of its Renaissance artMichelangelo Michealangelo exhibit that was fabulous. They had many of his machines and other inventions, not to mention his artwork. I was totally blown away!!
Tasted: Chianti from a winery in the region. Mmm!! tasty!
Funny: Our BIG night out. Three drunk American girls on the town. Oh - and Matt. Kristin and Jenny got kisses from Italian boys... I tried, but the guy's friend was drunk (I think the only english word he knew was 'tits') so he left. Oh well.
CINQUE TERRE
Favorite: Manarola, a beautiful little town in this national park. (See pictures below, even though they don't do it justice) We stayed the night in a town farther inland called LaSpezia where we went for a walk that evening to the pier. It was a nice night and we kept running into other tour members - it was a great night!
Tasted: Waiting for our boat, we grabbed a bite to eat in Porteverre. This area is known for its pesto so I ordered a pesto pizza for lunch - it was the BEST pizza I have ever tasted!!
Funny: Public toilets that are just holes infoot restsnd with footrests on either side. I couldn't bring myself to give it a try. Maybe... If it was clean... I didn't have to go THAT bad.
MILAN
Favorite: There wasn't a whole lot in Milan that caught my eye, but that night we played a card game that one of the Kiwi couples taught - it was fabulous!!
Tasted: My first taste of Nutella Gellato. Mmm!!
Funny: I have a ton of pictures from the roof of the huge cathedral, but Kristin and I got distracted and didn't actually make it insidesupposedurch (which was suposed to be amazing). Whoops!
VENICE
Favorite: This city is just fantastic!! There's nothing more I can say about it.
Tasted: My first espresso. I had to add sugar, but it was nice.
Funny: Anna was so excited about seeing Venice that as soon as we stepped outside of the train station, she had perma-grin.
ROME
Favorite: Seeing the Sistein Chapel. Pictures just can't do it justice... It was breathtaking!
Tasted: Zucchini pizza is quite tasty.
Funny: What were we thinking, trying to visit the Jewish Quarter on Passover (everything was closed)!?!
Already we've heard from a couple of people from LA (Thanks Jenny, Alfred & Andrea), so it looks like Kristin and I may have to make our way to the west coast... Damn. I guess there's more travelling in our future... :)
I had a wonderful time and met some really great people (I know I say this every time, but that's just the way it happens). This tour was a little more laid-back. We had more time in each city and the overall mood of the group was a bit more relaxed. There were 39 of us, of which 24 were married/serious couples. In the beginning I was a bit disappointed with the stats, but in the end I had more fun with some of the couples than with certain single people (we had a couple of real bitches in the group!). I won't bore you with a 12 day play-by-play... Here are the highlights:
Favorite: Big hugs from Kristin as she opened the hotel room door.
Tasted: I am not a huge fan of 'weird' meat, especially if it has tentacles, but I ate THE BEST squid dish at a restaurant around the corner from the hotel!! And the octopus wasn't too bad either.
Funny: I was twice forgotten. My car service 'forgot' to pick me up for Gatwick at 4:00am. The car never showed and no one answered when I called (repeatedly). Luckily I was able to find another service and made it with plenty of time to spare. In Rome, the same thing happened... I wasn't really in a rush and was really enjoying the beautiful weather, but after an hour or so I started to get worried. The first time I was a little panicked, but by the second time I just had to laugh.
SORRENTO
Favorite: The Blue Grotto on the Isle of Capri. We took a motor boat to the Blue Grotto, then had to climb into a small rowboat. The opening was so small that we had to duck down so we wouldn't hit our heads, but inside (once your eyes adjusted to the darkness) it was beautiful!
Tasted: 1)Mozzarella/Tomato/Basil sandwich that was amazing! Mozzarella is made from buffalo's milk (rather than cow's milk) and there is such a difference in the taste!! Mmm! 2) This area is known for its lemons. They are the size of a child's football - seriously. So when they put this icy shot glass in front of me and said it was a liquor called Lemmoncello made from lemons, I thought I would love it. Can you say fire water!?! The creamy version is supposed to be nice, though.
Funny: We missed the ferry from the Isle of Capri back to Sorrento (We had beer to finish and thought we were closer to the dock than we were - there were about 10 of us). Whoops! We ran for it, but it was pulling away from the dock. It was easy enough to catch the next one and Kristin and I made friends with the over-50 tour group from England...
FLORENCE
Favorite: The Uffizi Gallery. I broke away from the group since I had seen Florence before and headed straight for the Uffizi and all of its Renaissance artMichelangelo Michealangelo exhibit that was fabulous. They had many of his machines and other inventions, not to mention his artwork. I was totally blown away!!
Tasted: Chianti from a winery in the region. Mmm!! tasty!
Funny: Our BIG night out. Three drunk American girls on the town. Oh - and Matt. Kristin and Jenny got kisses from Italian boys... I tried, but the guy's friend was drunk (I think the only english word he knew was 'tits') so he left. Oh well.
CINQUE TERRE
Favorite: Manarola, a beautiful little town in this national park. (See pictures below, even though they don't do it justice) We stayed the night in a town farther inland called LaSpezia where we went for a walk that evening to the pier. It was a nice night and we kept running into other tour members - it was a great night!
Tasted: Waiting for our boat, we grabbed a bite to eat in Porteverre. This area is known for its pesto so I ordered a pesto pizza for lunch - it was the BEST pizza I have ever tasted!!
Funny: Public toilets that are just holes infoot restsnd with footrests on either side. I couldn't bring myself to give it a try. Maybe... If it was clean... I didn't have to go THAT bad.
MILAN
Favorite: There wasn't a whole lot in Milan that caught my eye, but that night we played a card game that one of the Kiwi couples taught - it was fabulous!!
Tasted: My first taste of Nutella Gellato. Mmm!!
Funny: I have a ton of pictures from the roof of the huge cathedral, but Kristin and I got distracted and didn't actually make it insidesupposedurch (which was suposed to be amazing). Whoops!
VENICE
Favorite: This city is just fantastic!! There's nothing more I can say about it.
Tasted: My first espresso. I had to add sugar, but it was nice.
Funny: Anna was so excited about seeing Venice that as soon as we stepped outside of the train station, she had perma-grin.
ROME
Favorite: Seeing the Sistein Chapel. Pictures just can't do it justice... It was breathtaking!
Tasted: Zucchini pizza is quite tasty.
Funny: What were we thinking, trying to visit the Jewish Quarter on Passover (everything was closed)!?!
Already we've heard from a couple of people from LA (Thanks Jenny, Alfred & Andrea), so it looks like Kristin and I may have to make our way to the west coast... Damn. I guess there's more travelling in our future... :)
Monday, April 24, 2006
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
