Firenze. Be preared: A lot to talk about in this post!
Finally! My family arrived in Florence! I thought the day would never come! When I finally saw them at the Firenze Santa Maria Novella train station, I started to cry! The crew consisted of my mom, my sister Lauren, her boyfriend, Gary, my other sister Regan, and her husband Brooks.
After getting all the bags to the amazing hotel which looked out onto Piazza della Signoria (one of the most famous Piazza in Florence), the family needed to rest! Once everyone was settled in we went to an amazing trattitoria that was really just a hole in the wall! It was called Trattitoria Sostanza. Lauren had heard about it from a friend and it was a wonderful three course meal with red wine and a smiling authenic staff. It felt like we were in grandma's kitchen. The restaurant only takes 40 people in two sittings. Thank goodness we had reservations! It was there, we decided, we do not like the famous Italian desert called Vin Santo. Liquor and biscotti are not our thing! We are pretty sure Valerie Bertinelli was sitting next to us.
On the way back to the hotel, we saw a club of waltz dancers just dancing in the Piazza. With just a boombox, this simple common space was turned into an elegant dance floor. My mom and I joined in for the photo op! This was a great first night experience for my family; it displayed the culture well. Only in Italy...
The next morning it was off to the Taste of Florence Tour! This would end up being one of my favorite things I have done in Italy. I had been to Florence almost weekly since being in Tuscany but it wasn't until this tour did I understand the city and its food! I am still learning.
The slogan of the tour was "Where food is art"; I liked that. We met the group, which was only 9 people, at San Lorenzo by the leather market. Our first stop was at the a local pasticeria then off to the central market, where the locals do their shopping. Here, we started with tripe and veal; I do not like tripe! We then tasted several cheeses, including pecorino and parmigiano, balsamic vinegars and glazes, crostini, sauces and chutneys, wine, and more. The balsamic tasting was my absolute favorite. We actually tasted a $300 bottle of balsamic that had been aged in fifteen barrels. I could truly taste the difference. As a girl who has never had a kitchen until now, I learned so much! Apparently you don't cook with extra virgin olive oil? Whoops.
Our next stop was at a local wine shop. This enoteca is a hidden treasure and is said to be the largest in Florence. Here, we tasted Tuscan wines and learn about their origins. Again, as a girl who just turned 21, I learned a alot! Our last stop was at one of Florence's oldest and best gelato shops, Perque No (which means, why not?) where we tried gelato, sorbetto and semi-freddi. I still think Arezzo (where I live), has the best gelato! I may be biased.
The tour was done around 3:00 pm so we still had the rest of the day. We decided to make our way up to the famous Piazza Michelangelo on the other side of the Arno. I had heard from friends that this was the best place in the city and the views were breathtaking. They were right! While we didn't actually spend much time in the actual Piazza Michaelangelo, we did go up to one of the most amazing churches I have been in (and I've been in a lot of churches lately!). The view was indescribable. These pictures don't do it justice!
Christmas Card 2010?
San Miniato al Monte is a Romanesque church standing atop one of the highest points in the city. It is currently a working monastery and had the most amazing cemetery I had ever seen. The graves and mausoleums were unreal. They seemed to go on forever, each with its own unique style and architecture.
The next day was my 21st birthday! In celebration, is was off to the leather market! As seen below, after much deliberation, I decided on a leather jacket for my birthday present from my family. The look on my face explains my excitement. My sisters and mom made some small purchases. I don't think the boys were prepared for this long of an excursion.
After some more sightseeing and all that shopping, the boys were hungry! We got a big pizza and simply sat on the steps of the piazza and people watched. That is how I picture Italy.
The next day was my mom's birthday! It was off to Siena! Siena is about an hour away from Florence on the train. It was a beautiful train ride (there is no such thing as an ugly train ride in Tuscany), we got to Siena around noon.
I had already been to Siena with my class so I had a little knoweledge of the city. Siena is absolutly beautiful and the Piazza where the famous horse races take place is one of my favorite place in the city. I played tour guide for my family.
Brooks didn't follow the tour... look what happened...
This is one of the best pictures from the day. I actually took it on my iphone.
In celebration of my mom's birthday we had a huge lunch! It was so nice for us all to be together.
After lunch, we went to the Siena Cathedral. It truly is my favorite church I have ever been into. The facade is built with white marble, pink Siena stone, and dark green stone called Prato. The inside of the Cathedral has green and white marble columns in a striped pattern. It is divine. The light and power of the architecture consumes you.
Then it was time for Lauren to go. Her and Gary went on to Venice and Regan and Brooks went up to Cinque Terre. My mom and I would meet up with Regan and Brooks again in Lucca in a few days but I had to get back for class.
Arezzo:
My mom had come back with me to Arezzo and I showed her all my local spots. It was wonderful because she cleaned our whole apartment and it was just so nice to have her here. I had class on Monday so she wandered Arezzo while I had class. I had one class on Tuesday but was finished by noon. Lucky for her, that day we had a scheduled wine tasting at Barracchi Vineyards in Cortona. Barracchi produces the 3rd best wine in Europe and 9th best in the world! I believe it!
The vineyard itself is unreal. It may have been one of the prettiest places I've ever been. It was like a fairy tail. My friend Kate is good friends with the owner, and it has been said, he may even have a little crush on her. Needless to say, being with Kate got us VIP treatment.
It was a spectacular day with great friends, family, scenery and wine. I plan on going back to Barracchi before I leave!
The next day we met Regan and Brooks in Lucca. Lucca is about an hour and a half outside Florence and is known for its circular piazza that was once an amphitheater. In Lucca, you can also ride bikes along the city walls. We had a great experience with our bed and breakfast; everyone was so friendly in Lucca.
We got up the next day and were off on our bikes! It was the perfect time of year; the leaves were changing and the atmosphere was so pristine.
None of us had ridden a bike in a while so we all had a bit of a rocky start. We also made some funny videos of us on the bikes that ended up with me falling off the bike while trying to record!
The weather was great in Lucca! We ate lunch outside. It was there that I actually got a hamburger! Alas! American Food! It had been forever since I had one so I jumped at the opportunity when I saw it on the menu! I don't think I had ever had red wine and a hamburger. Haha.
Shopping of course commenced after lunch and bike riding.
Charming is the best way to describe Lucca.
It was back to Arezzo again! Regan and Brooks came back for two days in Arezzo and I showed them the sights. I took them on a walk through the mountains, shared my favorite gelato, and pretty much showed them everything in Arezzo. Regan and Brooks then left for Rome and my mom and I went to Assisi!
Assisi is actually in Umbria and is the birth place of St. Francis. I had already been there with my class (earlier blog post) so I could show my mom around. She loved it there, although it was freezing. She made a good point that I hadn't noticed before; the buildings in Assisi were all light. The feeling of the city is less dark. The church was just as amazing the second time. It was a great day trip.
After Assisi, my mom and I went back to Cortona and spent the night. This time we got to see more of the city and felt like Diane Lane!
Too many churches? haha. I loved the pues in this church in Cortona.
My mom's trip was coming to an end. We spent our last few days in Rome. There, we actually SAW THE POPE! There was a celebration for All Saint's Day at the Vatican and we got to see him speak. It was a neat experience; the Vatican was packed.
Pope Benedict XVI is on the screen!
We did all the typical tourist Rome things: Trevi fountain, Colosseum, Pantheon, Spanish Steps.
It was a wonderful trip. I already want my family to come back!!
