Italy - June 2011
A little joke I want to share with you: Italians said they only use extra virgin olive oil. I asked what they did with the second or third pressings of the olives, they laughed and said they exported them to the U.S.! I wonder how much of that joke is true! J
Our “journey” to San Gimignano, Italy was quite an adventure. We left the States for Rome in the afternoon of June 2nd. Our flight was connected in JFK New York. At JFK, when we arrived at the gate to board the plane, I saw a large group of people gathered there, looking like they were boarding as well. There was no line. I asked where the line ended, everybody shrugged. Confused, but had no choice, we got into that bundle, slowly made our way into the plane. I’m not one who like (or can) fight and push my way through a crowd, and that meant I was pushed and shoved so that people behind me could move ahead! I was so relieved when we got to our seats. That was the strangest thing. I know about Italians and lines, but we were still in NY, and the majority of passengers were not Italians. I guess everyone decided to immerse themselves in Italian culture as soon as their trip began!
Then, once everyone was boarded, we had to wait, at first 10 minutes, then half an hr, then almost an hour because the flight crew had to do some paperwork before they could fly. Everyone was getting anxious about the delay. People worried that they would miss their connections in Rome. You would think that they had such paperwork taken care of before letting people board the plane, given that it’s something they do on a daily basis. Is it possible that the flight crew decided to adopt the “you’ll always have tomorrow” mentality as well?? Mind you, it was a Delta Flight. Then a woman had problem breathing, doctors were asked to report themselves to flight attendants for help. An American doctor came first, had a hard time communicate with the woman. Flight attendants tried to translate, but were afraid something may be lost in translation. Then an Italian doctor came, his face all flushed, seemed unsteady, had to support himself by leaning against a seat. Wait, he was drunk! Or at least half way there. I guess an hr flight delay did not stop him from enjoying himself and having a drink, or 5! But at least he and the patient could communicate. The doctor took her blood pressure, listened to her heart beat, prescribed oxygen tank and some drinks. And voila, she was fine. Then we got the good news, we were ready to take off. Finally.
When we arrived at Rome airport the next morning, the whole mess of no line presented itself again. We followed the herd, got ourselves into a large group of people and eventually made our way to the ONE small entrance into Italian Passport Control. When we were about 20-30 yards away from the entrance, a group of priests (they were in clerical clothing) joined the herd, standing next to us. Then they looked around, realized that obviously they hadn’t cut to the front of the group yet, they got out, walked around the group to the very front where that small entrance was, and worked their way in! It was hilarious. I wish we had recorded the whole thing.
The “line” or non-existent line to Italian Passport Control. See that tiny entrance with the yellow words above it? Yup, that was the entrance that the “line” was for.
After passed through immigration and custom, we got to Hertz rental car desk. Got a number, realized there were only 5 people ahead of us, and 3 representatives. This should be quick. No, it wasn’t. We waited an hour before they got to us. Signed the papers, gave our credit card, took directions to the garage. Walked out to the garage, presented our paper to the attendant, got our car. Then waited another 15 minutes for the GPS to pick up signal. Finally gave up and asked for directions out of the airport garage to Florence. Shouldn’t be that big of a deal, we had printed out Google directions as backup. 10 minutes on the highway, the GPS worked. And thank God it worked. Because without the GPS, we would never have made it to San Gimignano. Hell, who am I kidding, even WITH the GPS and the maps, we still didn’t make it to our hotel in San Gimignano! The GPS and Google maps did take us to a neighboring town…
As we were driving from Rome to San Gimignano, we realized that we couldn’t read the direction signs on the highways, nor understood some traffic signs. At each exit, there were at least 5-10 signs listing where that exit would take you. But you were going at 100 miles an hour, how in the world any foreigners could read those signs fast enough (in Italian no less) is beyond me. And if you slow down to look, people will tailgate, flash, pass then cut you off merely inches from your car and give you a heart attack. So, we blindly followed the GPS – exit here, turn right, speed camera ahead, ramp on left, etc. – all the way to our bed & breakfast in San Gimignano (or so we thought!) When we got there, it did not look any thing like the pictures. But I insisted that we were at the right place, we just needed to drive further down the wet dirt road (how could both the GPS and Google Maps fail us?!?) But failed us, they did. Now we needed to turn back on this wet dirt road full of puddles. And realized that we could not put the car in reverse! Somehow, Thuan managed to get us out of that mess and onto dry lane. I went into a house and asked for direction. Neither the owner, her husband or her neighbors spoke any English. We couldn’t speak a word in Italian. But somehow, through hand gestures, we managed to convey to them that we were utterly lost. The lady was an angel.
She spent more than an hour to help us find our way. She tried to call our friends who were already at the hotel, couldn’t get through. So she got on the phone with the hotel, asked them for directions. Then gave the phone to me, but the hotel did not know how to get us out of that place. The lady then tried to draw pictures, but of course we couldn’t quite understand. Finally, she and her husband got in their car, signaled for us to follow them, took us out of their town to where we had pictures for directions from our friends (thanks to Kate who had the foresight to do this!) Hugged and sent us on our way.
Even then, trying to be useful by helping to identify pictures and signs on the road, I got us lost, again. We then had to backtrack our way, went back to the point when we knew for sure that we weren’t lost. And Thuan took over the navigation. Despite being lost and frustrated, we couldn’t help but noticed how beautiful the area was. It was peaceful and romantic. It made us relaxed regardless of the situation we were in. To quote our friends, “If you’re ok with where you are, you’re not lost…you’re just somewhere else!” We were definitely OK with where we were, so we weren’t lost ;-) But of course Thuan, being the more responsible one, made sure that we stayed on course while enjoying the sceneries along the way. So, we arrived at the Bed & Breakfast (Fattoria Poggio Alloro) in San Gimignano 6.5 hrs after we left Rome airport. That drive should have taken less than 4 hrs. Turned out the hotel cannot be found using their address. We had to use coordinates, and it worked like a charm.
DH asked me, if Italians have such a relaxed attitude towards time, then why everyone is in such a rush to get to places. Good question. Any insight to the reason(s)?
Rome, Italy
Rome, the “Eternal City”, capital of Italy and the Catholic Church, is a modern, lively and fashionable city. According to legend, Romulus and Remus, twin sons of the War God – Mars and Rhea, a Vestal Virgin – were abandoned as babies and brought up by a She-Wolf. They grew up to lead a band of outlaws and adventurers before Romulus killed his brother and founded Rome in 753 B.C.
Rome’s history spans more than 2,700 years. It was the capital city of the Roman Kingdom, the Roman Republic and the Roman Empire, which was the dominant power in Western Europe and the lands bordering the Mediterranean Sea for over seven hundred years from the 1st century BC until the 7th century AD. Since the 1st century AD Rome has been the seat of the Papacy and, after the end of Byzantine domination, in the 8th century it became the capital of the Papal States, which lasted until 1870. In 1871 Rome became the capital of the Kingdom of Italy, and in 1946 that of the Italian Republic.
Roman expansion began in the days of the Republic, but the empire reached its greatest extent under Emperor Trajan: during his reign the Roman Empire controlled approximately 6.5 million km2 of land surface (~25.1 million square miles). Because of the Empire’s vast extent and long endurance, the institutions and culture of Rome had a profound and lasting influence on the development of language, religion, architecture, philosophy, law, and forms of government in the territory it governed, particularly Europe, and by means of European expansionism throughout the modern world.
For almost a thousand years, Rome was the most politically important, richest, and largest city in the Western world. After the Empire started to decline and was split, it lost its capital status to Milan and then to Ravenna, and was surpassed in prestige by the capital of the Eastern Roman Empire, Constantinople (now Istanbul), whose Greek inhabitants continued through the centuries to call themselves Roman.
Romans were great builders. Many historical sites all over Europe, not just in Italy, were built by the Romans. They built many roads too, hence the saying “All roads lead to Rome.”
They were extremely smart. Their language served as the basis for many western languages later on. They built central heating system (proofs can be seen in Ephesus). They designed and constructed aqueduct and drainage systems. They brought clean water to their people, which in turn prevented many diseases caused by consuming contaminated water. That was one of the main reasons why they were such a successful empire. They believed in the balance of Body, Mind and Spirit. Hence, they exercised, they took good care of themselves, they bathed regularly, they read, they came up with many games and forms of entertainment; they really knew how to enjoy life. In fact, they were the one who invented the saunas. Bath houses during Roman time could accommodate hundreds of people, and had cold and hot water. Until today, the citizens of Rome enjoy a relaxed way of life, and live and love life to the fullest. It is believed locally that on the last day of the world, the Romans will throw a great farewell party, a gastronomic feast with wine flowing from the city’s many fountains – “La Dolce Vita!”
Feel free to drop your comments about your own experience in Rome or ask me any question. I’ll try my best to answer them. And like always, we took tons of pictures. We can send them to you if you like.
To read about some of the main attractions Rome has to offer, such as the Pantheon, Roman Forum, Trevi Fountain, Piazza Navona & the Spanish Steps, visit http://iventurous.com/rottieto2001/2011/08/30/28/. The article on the famous Colosseum and the tour to its underground as well as third level can be found here, http://iventurous.com/rottieto2001/2012/02/10/the-colosseum-underground-and-third-tier-tour/
Where to eat in San Gimignano?
If you like gelato, check out the excellent gelateria in Piazza Della Cisterna (it’ll be on your right after you pass the main cathedral in town. It’s in the piazza with the well in the middle of it). Their orange cream, pistachio & white chocolate flavors are the best. 2 restaurants inside San G walls that I would highly recommend:
1. La Bettola del Grillo 2, Via Quercecchio, 33, San Gimignano, phone: +39 0577 907081. A cute place. They have very good Italian cold cuts (salame, prosciutto, etc.) & pizzas. Some of us (yes, you know who you are!) couldn’t get enough of their prosciutto. Their pizzas are brick-oven-baked thin crust, slightly burn, crunchy and perfect. I liked the one with mushrooms, peas and anchovies the most.
2. Le Vecchie Mura, Via Piandornella, 15 53037 San Gimignano, phone: +39 0577 940270 http://www.vecchiemura.it/ is a MUST visit. It’s a beautiful restaurant with outdoor seating area that offers amazing panoramic views. I suggest get a table outside on the terrace if you can, and you’ll get this view:
Their Insalata Caprese (Mozzarella cheese, tomatoes, and basil - all fresh), eaten with balsamic & extra virgin olive oil was EXCELLENT! The local grown tomatoes were sweet. The buffalo mozzarella cheese was freshly made, soft and just melt in your mouth. The balsamic wasn’t sour like in the States at all, it was sweet and tangy. We normally don’t like eating raw tomatoes, and Thuan doesn’t even like cheese. But their Caprese salad converted us both! We also loved their Ravioli al tartufo (Raviolis with a truffle sauce), Agnello al forno (Baked lamb), Ossibuchi in umido (Braised marrowbone steak prepared in fresh cut tomatoes), Gnocchi tartufo e formaggio (Gnocchis - potato pasta- with a truffle and cheese sauce), tiramisu and panna cotta. The tiramisu was just a blob on the plate, but it was fantastic. Not too sweet, just right. The panna cotta with chocolate sauce was amazing. We had 5 different bottles of wine here, and all of them were very good. All less than 9 euros each! The same caliber of wines in such a fancy restaurant would easily cost more than $80/bottle in D.C. Thanks to our friends for taking us to this wonderful place, and for making sure we tried the Caprese Salad.
** Back home, I found a small gourmet market that sells 12-yr-old balsamic, a bit expensive, but worth it. Still looking for comparable fresh buffalo mozzarella cheese 
Updates: We found pretty good buffalo mozzarella cheese imported from Italy. Of course they are not freshly made like what we had, but it’ll have to do. I gave up on finding fresh tomatoes that are as sweet. Something has to do with the soil in the Mediterranean. Our recreated Caprese salad at home is a 7, compared to a 10 in San Gimignano.
2/3/12 - Found Roma tomatoes! Let me know if you’re in DC Metro area and would like to re-create this dish.
San Gimignano, Italy
San Gimignano is absolutely gorgeous. It’s a small medieval walled city in Tuscany, famous for the tall towers and rolling hills of vineyards. It is very small, and can be effectively visited on a day trip from nearby cities such as Sienna or Florence. However, the atmosphere at night is completely different. It’s quiet and romantic. The cobble-stoned streets are dimly lit by softly glowed lights. When we were there, it was uncharacteristically cool for June, which added to the romantic ambience. Dense fogs came in the evening, completely covered the valleys, making San Gimignano towers look like they were floating on clouds. We stayed in a vineyard with an unobstructed view of the whole town, and were mesmerized by the scenery.
You can get here from other cities by car or public transportation. Car is recommended if you want to explore the region. And you should, because it’s beautiful. But you won’t be able to drive your car inside the town walls. There is plenty of paid parking right outside the walls. If I recall correctly, it’s $2 euros/hr. Free parking is available, but further.
San Gimignano is a wine country, wines are cheap and delicious. They have dessert wines (both red and white) which are the specialty of this region. Chiati is also very good. We were treated to many different wines when we were here, all of them ranging from 3-8 euros each, and they were all fantastic. Thuan found grappa and Cuban cigars on this trip, and he is hooked.
If you’re interested in finding good food in San Gimignano, please read my following post: http://iventurous.com/rottieto2001/?p=25
If it wasn’t for our friends’ wedding, we may have not known about this beautiful town. Their wedding was what a wedding should be, intimate, fun and full of personal touches. The backdrop was gorgeous. It is the best wedding that we’ve been to, hands down. Thanks to K & R for sharing your special day with us!
Southern Caribbean Cruise
We went on a Southern Caribbean Cruise in March. This was my first cruise, and will definitely not be my last. I got sea sick, it was worse when I was at the back of the ship, especially in the dining room. But thanks to ginger tea and caramelized ginger, I did not throw up. Also, because we sailed out of San Juan, the sea was a lot calmer; that helped tremendously with my motion sickness too. Plus, we had only 1 sea day at the beginning. We visited a new port every day. Gotta love that!
I was surprised at how big the ship was. And it wasn’t even the biggest cruise ship. Oasis of the Seas would be so much bigger. To minimize motion sickness, I was advised to get an inside cabin, as close to the center of the ship as possible. The cabin was small, but very functional. Every thing was designed with a purpose in mind. The bathroom was adequate for 2 people. I didn’t feel trapped at all.
I was amazed at how efficient the ship crews were. There were 1,600+ staff members to support more than 3,200 guests. The cabins were cleaned twice a day. Each evening, we got a new bucket of ice and entertainment schedule for the next day. On the exchange day (last day/first day of the cruise), the ship had to feed and unloaded 3,200+ people and their luggage by 11:00am. Then cleaned all the rooms, sanitized, made and served lunch, boarded another 3,200+ people, AND delivered their bags to the right rooms by 2:00pm! Every night, the kitchen prepared more than 10,000 meals all together. Yet, our dinners in the main dining room always arrived promptly and hot. Our waiter overheard us talking about one of our favorite food one day. From that day on, every single night without failing, he brought a small plate of that food prepared differently just for us. And he always brought out all the desserts they had to offer on that particular night for us to try. The service was top notch, attentive but not over bearing. The staff worked very hard, but they always greeted us with a smile.
For each meal, we had the choice of room service, 3 restaurants, main dining room and the buffet to choose from. The buffets offered plenty of choices, even the pickiest person could find something to eat here. Besides the stables - pizzas, spaghetti, hamburgers, sandwiches, fries, sushi, rice, salads, soups and fresh fruits - the buffet menus changed every day. Besides room service, there was also a café that offered food, drinks & snacks 24/7. You would never go hungry or run out of things to eat on the cruise.
The food quality, the variety, the service, couldn’t really complain. Oh and the desserts, absolutely amazing! Thuan doesn’t like sweets in general, but he loved desserts on the cruise. We had the best flan and mango mousse on this trip. The food on the cruise was definitely better than all other all-inclusives we’ve been to. And nightly entertainment was definitely better. Although I was told that it wasn’t as good as before, but to first time cruisers like me, it was great. I love cruising. It’s like a mobile all inclusive. You get to visit many destinations, but only have to unpack once. Our next one will be to Europe.
Out of the islands that we’ve been to on this trip, Antigua & St. Maarten/St. Martin were our favorites.
Barbados We took the taxi on our own to downtown, then to Brighton Beach. Unlike advertisement, downtown Barbados was kind of run down, nothing like London. Brighton Beach was un-crowded, beautiful water and sand. We then decided to walk back to our cruise ship, not realized how far it was. It was quite a walk, took us an hr and fifteen minute. Thuan wanted to take the taxi half way through, but I insisted that we walked (so that we could eat more when we got back to the ship!)
St. Lucia We booked Harrod’s private tour “Land & Sea Safari” to twin peaks of the Pitons, Marigot Bay, La Soufriere waterfalls, Botanical Garden, Drive-In Volcano, and Jalousie beach. St. Lucia’s main export is bananas, which are smaller, but sweeter than bananas we can buy from the States. Harrod also got us fresh coconuts along the way. We had a quick refreshing (read COLD!) during our short stop at the waterfalls. I wanted to go to the mud bath, but we didn’t have time for that. The drive-in volcano was interesting; steams of sulfur were of course smelly, but not unbearable. We had a delicious home-cooked meal at Harrod’s parents’ house, completed with fresh squeezed grapefruit juice. The grapefruits were from their garden. I also got to try banana ketchup, which was very interesting. After lunch, we took a speed boat to Jalousie beach, which is nestled between the famous twin peaks. I really looked forward to that, but it turned out to be such a disappointment. The beach and the ocean floor were full of rocks and coral pieces, which was painful to walk on. The white sand here was imported to make the beach more appealing to tourists. We learned that most beaches in St. Lucia have black volcanic sand (including the famous and most expensive Jade Mountain resort beach). The boat then took us back to our ship. We got to see St. Lucia both from land (very windy roads) and sea, at half the cost of RCL.
Antigua Antigua is known for their beautiful beaches. If you go to a beach a day here, it will take you more than a year to visit all the beaches in Antigua. We really loved it here, clear turquoise water, white sand beaches, perfect weather. We did the kayak tour with RCL, using Paddle’s. We paddled in the beautiful mangroves. Then boarded a speed boat to Great Bird Island. The view from the top of Great Bird Island was amazing. We did some snorkeling, but didn’t see much fish. Before we left Paddles, the host served us home-made punch and delicious banana bread, which was her mother-in-law’s recipe.
St. Maarten/St. Martin Per local tourism center, we went to a beach near Orient Beach (I forgot the name). There were definitely lots of locals there. But it was not any where near beautiful as Orient Beach. The water was calm, clear, but not blue. Also, there were lots of twigs and other debris in the sand. So we went back to Orient Beach for the rest of the day.
Orient Beach has a nude section. We saw WAY more than we liked to…but the beach was beautiful with fine white sand and crystal blue water. You can easily get a taxi from the port to this beach. All fares are regulated and posted. However, if you share the taxi with others, you can cut the costs dramatically.
Beautiful sunshine. White sand. Crystal clear, turquoise warm water. What more can you ask for?
St. Croix Again, we made the mistake of listening to locals…The beach that came highly recommended by them was such a disappointment. So we asked the taxi driver if she could take us to Carambola Beach (at Rockefeller Resort) instead. And she did, for no extra charge. Carambola Beach & the resort itself were beautiful. The waves were rougher than other places we’d been to on this trip, but nothing compared to Virginia Beach! I had the best virgin mango colada here. Again, by doing this on our own, we saved more than $100. RCL has the same tour for $89pp, bringing people to this exact resort.
Vieques, Puerto Rico
Our vacation began with an early morning flight to San Juan in March. Once we arrived in San Juan airport, our first impression of Puerto Rican was that they did not like us…Were we being obnoxious Americans? No, I don’t think so. We tried to say “hi” and “thank you” in Spanish. We apologized for not being able to speak Spanish before speaking English to them. In the restaurants, we patiently waited for our food with a smile on our face, even when we were starving! I’m a very patient person in general, and I’m all for What’s-the-rush?-You’re-on-vacation! mentality, but come on, how could a fast food place take more than 25 minutes to make an order of fried chicken?? Anyways, besides the people working for the airlines, the rest were not very nice to us. Indeed, they were rather rude. And that impression stayed with us the whole time during our stay in Vieques & Old San Juan. What a shame.
Vieques is an island in northeastern Caribbean, about 8 miles from Puerto Rican mainland. It was voted as the most beautiful Caribbean island by Travel magazine for 2 years in a roll. I’m glad we got a chance to visit Vieques, but will not come back there.
Looking back at recent Vieques history, it’s easy to understand why most locals here don’t like Americans. United States Navy used this island as a bombing range and testing ground. There was a series of protests which eventually led to the Navy’s departure in 2003.
Our flight between SJU and Vieques airport was via Cape Air. Vieques airport was tiny, with only 1 SMALL carousel. The check-in agent was also the baggage transporter, AND plane controller! Due to the size of Vieques airport, the plane was extremely small, with only 9 passengers, 1 pilot and no flight attendant. Checked in luggage were stored in the front of the plane, carry-ons were kept in the wings, and passengers were required to inform the airline their weight, so that weight could be evenly distributed on the plane. And I got to be the co-pilot! Our plane, pilot and the baggage transporter:
We stayed at Villa Coral Guesthouse.
The house is about 10-15 minute walk from Le Malecon (picture below) in Esperanza, one of the main towns in Vieques.
The room was basic, not as nice as the exterior of the house. I got grossed out about the flies and stained towels. Even with all windows closed, the flies managed to get inside the room. They were attracted to the lights we left on in the bathroom.
Vieques was very much like Vietnam, with colorful houses and narrow streets. Free range horses and chickens could be seen every where you go.
The beaches were beautiful, the water was crystal clear, and the weather was perfect. But we found the food disappointing and expensive (stir-fried vegetables and rice from a street vendor cost $8). We tried Chicken King, Richard’s Café, Duffy’s, Bili & some street vendors. One of Puerto Rican authentic dish was chilled conch mixed with mashed yucca, which was so fishy that we couldn’t handle more than one bite. There were also fried chicken, rotisserie chicken, yucca, plantain, and rice & beans. Chicken King was like a very bad KFC. Richard’s Café was horrible. We had the best fish tacos at Duffy’s. Conch salad was ok. Our best meal on the island was at Bili. Tasty fish fritters (mahi mahi) arrived at the table piping hot. Brie and chicken turnovers were delicious.
We visited Sun Bay, Playa Caracas Red Beach, Pata Prieta Secret Beach & Bahia De La Chiva Blue Beach. You definitely need a car to visit the beautiful beaches in the National Refuge Area, for the roads are unpaved, and most public transportation do not go there. These beaches are commonly listed among the top beaches in the Caribbean for their azure-colored waters and white sands. But that alone wasn’t the main reason why we were going to Vieques. I wanted to go to Vieques for the famous bioluminescent bay. And it was an experience to have.
Vieques Bioluminescent Mosquito Bay is arguably the largest and brightest bioluminescent spot in the world. The luminescence is caused by micro-organisms (dinoflagellates) which glow whenever the water is disturbed, leaving a trail of neon blue. A combination of factors creates the necessary conditions for bioluminescence: red mangrove trees surround the water (the organisms feed off the dead leaves); a complete lack of modern development around the bay; the water is cool enough and deep enough; and a small channel to the ocean keeps the dinoflagellates in the bay.
We kayaked into the bay at night. The water lit up with each stroke of our paddles. As we moved through the bay, the whole bottom of our kayak glowed. Then we jumped in and swam, our whole bodies glowed in the dark. Each time we moved our arms up from the water, it looked like thousands of twinkling stars fell from our arms into the water. Then, it rained. As the raindrops hit the water, the whole bay lit up. It was magical.
Spain
All of our dinners in Spain include all you can drink wines. Too bad my mom and I don’t drink at all. People pour out onto the streets at night around 10pm, like Le Loi street in Saigon on Christmas, or Georgetown on Halloween.
Barcelona
Gaudi’s famous Sagrada Familia (Holy Family) – a gothic Catholic cathedral, all costs have been covered by donations. Construction started in 1883, scheduled to finish in 2020. But the opening date actually depends on how much people donate. The more donations there are, the faster the construction.
Montserrat – The sacred mountain of Catalonia with spectacular panoramic views and the Basilica of Black Madonna. The rock formations have unique shapes, some look like human figures, some look like animals.
Buffet dinner & Spanish Flamenco Show – Buffet includes all you can drink wines (red and white) and Spanish specialty cocktail. Contrary to others’ opinions, I find the buffet food only OK, not great. But it does offer tons of choices, all authentic. We were the first (and only people!) in the restaurant at 6:30pm, and still remained the only group there when we left the restaurant around 8:15! Spanish eats dinner late. They usually start their night with tapas (small plates, ranging from veggies, cheese to meat and seafood) around 9:00. Real dinners don’t start until 10 or later. Then we headed to see the Flamenco show. Flamenco is a very sad dance; the dancers express the pain, miseries and injustice suffered by the minority (the Gypsy) throughout history through their music and facial expressions. The show was great, but had they explained the story line behind the dances, we would be able to appreciate the whole thing more.
Madrid – Capital of Spain, virtually created from scratch by Philip II in the 16th century. Dinner in Madrid was very good. Worth noting – the Spanish fish soup, with clams, fish and shrimps. It’s very different than most soups I’d had, but oh so delicious!
I needed hot water for Theraflu, and the hotel wanted to charge us 3 bucks for it! Kids are sent home from school from 1 to 3 for naps. They then return to school until 5. We were told that most shops in Spain are closed from 1 to 5 pm, they call it “siesta” time. But we didn’t expect a 24hr store would close for napping too! We had such a hard time finding something light to eat in the afternoon, because most restaurants are closed after lunch, and won’t open until 8 at night for dinner. Can you imagine this? Having trouble buying food in the middle of a big city??
Monaco
Monaco is the second smallest independent state in Europe, after Vatican. Amazing country, amazing views. Monte Carlo casino square is full of expensive cars (Bentley, Ferrari, Lamborghini, Porches) and beautiful people, a place to see and be seen. The café there is like a fashion show cat walk, beautiful people, in beautiful clothes, against an absolutely gorgeous backdrop!
Italy
In Italy, especially South Italy, people seem to really enjoy their lives. Great food, outdoor dining, live music performers every where, people get up and dance right in the middle of the square if they feel like it. They do picnics for lunch, they sing, they kiss just because. No one rushes you. The people are very polite and oh so romantic; they hold the door open for you, they help you with your coat, they give you flowers, they dedicated songs to you. At one restaurant, the owner even personally made one of his specialties for my mom and me! They dress well, they take good care of their appearances. The weather is beautiful. The scenery is just like paintings, especially along the Italian coastline. I like the way of life here, very romantic and relaxing. Italy, you won my heart!
One down side though, every where you go, every where you turn, people smoke! Kids waiting for school bus smoke. Men smoke. Women smoke. You get my gist, Italians smoke like chimney!
Another thing worth mentioning, there are A LOT of churches in Italy. All beautiful.
Verona Got here around noon, and was shocked to find most stores closed from noon to 3:30/4:00! This is the legendary home of Romeo and Juliet. It is believed that your wish for one true love will be granted if you touch Juliet statue beneath the famous Juliet’s Balcony.
Venice http://iventurous.com/rottieto2001/2009/06/09/venice/
Siena and Assisi http://iventurous.com/rottieto2001/2009/06/09/siena-assisi/
Rome http://iventurous.com/rottieto2001/2009/06/09/rome-vatican-city/
Vatican City http://iventurous.com/rottieto2001/2009/06/09/vatican-city/
Tuscany Florence
Florence is known for its steaks (Bisteca). It’s a humongous grilled steak, enough to feed 4 people! The restaurant owner was kind enough to accommodate us, even that dish was not on his regular menu. It was one of his specialties, so he made it himself. Delicious!
We then visited the Leaning Tower of Pisa, where we couldn’t resist but had to take those cheesy pictures of ourselves supporting the Leaning Tower!
The drive from Tuscany to French Riviera is beautiful. We traveled along the spectacular Italian Riviera coast, then cross the French border to elegant Monaco, then to Nice.
Rome - Italy
Rome is Capital of Italy, founded in 753 BC
I’m at the loss of words – The art, the knowledge, the architect, the history – amazing. How the Romans came up with the designs, with the technicality of the construction, and the construction itself are absolutely mind-blowing. Keep in mind, all this was done 2000 to 2500 years ago! I actually feel very fortunate to be able to come here. So much to see, so much to absorb in such a short period of time. I will definitely come back here when I have a chance.
Romans were extremely smart. Their language served as the basis for many western languages later on. They believed in the balance of Body, Mind and Spirit. Hence, they exercised, they took good care of themselves, they bathed regularly, they read, they came up with many games and forms of entertainment; they really knew how to enjoy life. In fact, they were the one who invented the saunas. Bath houses during Roman time could accommodate hundreds of people, and had cold and hot water. Romans were also great builders. Many historical sites all over Europe, not just in Italy, were built by the Romans. They built many roads too. That’s why the saying “All roads lead to Rome.”
The Pantheon – built by the Romans with enormous solid granite columns from Egypt as a Roman temple and later consecrated as a Catholic Church. The original pantheon was built around 27 BC, but was destroyed in a huge fire in 80 AD. The current building dates from about 125 AD, during the reign of the Emperor Hadrian, as date-stamps on the bricks reveal. The Pantheon holds the record for the largest un-reinforced concrete dome in the world. It was made possible by amazing architect and design based on arches – the “egg hardiness” theory. And all of this was done almost 2000 years ago!
The Colosseum – an amphitheatre in the center of the city of Rome, Italy, the largest ever built in the Roman Empire. It is one of the greatest works of Roman architecture and engineering. Its construction started between 70 and 72 AD and was completed around 81 – 96 AD. Originally capable of seating around 50,000 to 80,000 spectators, the Colosseum was used for gladiatorial contests and public spectacles. With more than 80 entrances, it was designed so that all 80,000 spectators could exit within 15-20 minutes. That alone is a wonder in itself. How they came up with the evacuation design is any one’s guest. In modern world, we need complicated algorithm and/or computers to figure this out, but the Romans managed to do this all by themselves without any help from any software, almost 2000 years ago! It has been estimated that about 500,000 people and over a million wild animals died in the Colosseum games.
The Catacombs of Rome – underground burial places. The first large-scale catacombs were excavated from the 2nd century onwards. Originally they were carved through soft rock outside the boundaries of the city, because Roman law forbade burial places within city limits. The soft volcanic rock under Rome is highly suitable for tunneling, as it is softer when first exposed to air, hardening afterwards. Many catacombs have kilometres of tunnels and up to four levels. I didn’t take any picture inside the Catacombs because I was scared.