In Transition

Today (11/30 Friday), we left the hotel early to get some breakfast (espresso and croissant) and to see if the luggage check was open at the train station since the strike was going on and it was open, small miracle. Once we checked out of the hotel, we checked our luggage and then headed out around town. We checked out the daily mercato for our neighborhood. We are looking forward to doing some shopping as they had great selections of produce, meat and seafood. We then went to the bakery near our apartment which has the most beautiful things, although there is a price to go with it.

Next stop, the Coloseum and the Forum. We did not go in either since we had Parilla but we took some pictures and reveled in the beautiful sunny day. We walked over to the Vittorio Emanuelle II (wedding cake) monument/building and ate our pastries sitting on the edge of the fountain. (Ray & Pat – this is the fountain where we had our picture taken together). We then moved on to the Pantheon and the Trevi fountain. We were really surprised to find more people at the Trevi fountain than when we were there at the end of September in 2000. We did a little more walking and then decided to return to the station and wait/sit until it was time to collect our luggage and head to the apartment as we could not check in until 4:00. Once we got to the station and saw all of the trains parked and all of the people just standing around we knew we had made the right decision to leave Atrani a day early.

Our apartment is huge. It has a living room with a formal dining table, a bedroom with a queen size bed and a big window on to the courtyard, a second very small bedroom, a kitchen with small dining table and a bathroom. There is a huge hall that connects all of the rooms and the ceilings are at least 12 feet high. It is on the 5th floor, but luckily there is an elevator.

Black Friday

We woke up to rain and planned on a quite day (11/29 Thursday). Luckily I had been forming a friendship with our landlord for the Atrani apartment via email (via email because he left for Rome the morning after we arrived) and we had a couple exchanges back and forth, then he sent an urgent message. There was going to be a transportation strike on Friday (Black Friday) and we would have a difficult time getting to Rome. Antionio and his mother gave us some options on travel and we decided our best option was to leave Atrani a day early to go to Rome. This allowed us to get here before the strike and we would have only spent the day in the apartment for the most part due to the rain. To our surprise, Antonio’s mother bought us bus tickets and she met us walking to the bus. We can not say enough kind words about Antonio and his mother as they went above and beyond what anyone else would have.

We caught the bus after standing in the rain for 10 minutes and then were not able to get 2 seats because the junior high kids were going home for the day on the same bus. After an hour, we got to Salerno and luckily the bus driver assumed we wanted to go to the train station and told us when to get off as it turns out the bus stops a couple of blocks from the station when it is going in this direction. We had a short window of time to get our tickets and thought we were not going to make the train as a guy in front of us seemed to be doing some complex transaction and there was only one window open. We made the train with a few minutes to spare.

Once we got on the train we started looking in the guide books to pick out a few hotels to try since we our apartment rental did not start until the next night. We left the station and headed to our first choice hotel, they were booked for the night and did not take dogs. They did allow us to use their phone and my next choice was available and accepted dogs. We made our way over and got checked in. Did I mention, it was raining in Rome also.

We went to a pizzeria from the guidebooks called Est! Est! Est! which turned out to be pretty good and they allowed Parilla to dine with us. We had a traditional appetizer of tomato risotto and cheese chunks that are rolled into a ball, breaded, and fried. We also had fried zucchini flowers which once we started eating them we discovered they were stuffed with cheese and anchovies. Both were pretty good. After appetizers, two pizzas and ½ liter of wine the entire bill was only 25 euro. A pretty good deal these days. After dinner we walked over by the Coloseum a then up the street with the apartment. We slept pretty well as it had been a very hectic day.

Sorry No pics this time. :(

We Made it to Ravello

The morning sun was just as spectacular today (11/28, Wednesday) as yesterday. We headed over to Amalfi to do our shopping for the day. Today we took the cookbook with us and looked to see what seafood was available and then decided on a recipe. We also went to the Panza bakery. Our landlords provided a welcome basket with goodies from this bakery and they were very good. The bakery was even better than we imagined. We got an assortment of fancy pastries.

We went to the Duomo in Amalfi which had a mix of many styles from Moorish to Rococo. This is a definite must see if you are in the area. The entrance fee is more than worth it. We headed back to Atrani dropped off the groceries and picked up Parilla.

We walked up the Via Amalfi walkway that goes east and up from the apartment and ate our pastries overlooking the sea. We then continued up the walkway and eventually made our way to Ravello. This was a better route than yesterday as we did not have to walk on the road at all, but there were a lot of steps. Ravello sits 1500 meters above the sea and the views are breathtaking. It is said that Ravello was the inspiration for one of Wagner’s pieces and there are many concerts and music festivals in the town. There were 2 dogs in the central piazza that really wanted to get to know Parilla. We walked over to the east side of town and could see the towns of Maiori and Minori. Maiori was the town that had the fireworks last night.

As we walked back through town to head back to Atrani we met a new canine friend who was guiding us through town. This turned out to be not so good as the dog would not leave us and was pretty far down the trail with us and would not go back to town. We were very worried about the dog not finding its way home so I walked it back to town and eventually got it to depart. Then I walked back to Aaron and Parilla. On the way I passed two little old ladies who carrying big bundles of tree trimmings. It was a moment from the old world. On the way back I started counting the stairs and there were 1253 by the time we got into the apartment.

We had the best caprese on bread with our local buffalo mozzarella and tomatoes and basil from the local market. It really hit the spot after our walk.

For our evening walk we went back to Amalfi to get a good bottle of local wine. It also included another stop at Pranza to select dessert for the evening. We made the best meal of the trip tonight. We had Risotto con Gamberi in Umdio con Pomodoro, Pereroncino e Capperi (Risotto with shrimp braised with tomatoes, chili pepper and capers) although we used langoustinos rather than shrimp. We also made Insalata di Finocchio e Arance (fennel and orange salad). We will definitely be using both of these recipes again. For dessert we had a torte with chocolate mousse and pound cake and the entire cake is covered in a layer of chocolate.

Another perfect day in paradise. If we don’t return home this would be a good place to start looking for us.

Atrani and Amalfi

Today (11/27) started in the most spectacular way. We woke with the sun at the foot of our bed. We left the shutters open and woke up with the sun shining over the sea. It was very cool. After a leisurely breakfast which included blood orange juice and biscotti, we headed out to Amalfi which is a full 10 minute walk away.


On the way out we saw some nice asses. They are used to get marble blocks and other building materials up the tight streets and stairs.

Part of the journey to Amalfi includes walking through a restaurant to avoid walking through the tunnel with the cars and then walking on the road around a curve with all of the cars. Space is at a premium here.

We did some shopping and bought the best produce. We got zucchini, finnocchio (fennel bulb), tomatoes, mandarin oranges, and an Amalfi lemon. We bought the most beautiful pasta that is made locally and only in the local styles, so they do not actually have the spaghetti cut but some similar ones. Lastly we picked up some mozzarella as this is the epicenter for buffalo mozzarella. The weather was very beautiful and after climbing the stairs back to the apartment we had both worked up a sweat.

Aaron and I went out again in the afternoon and walked around Atrani. We started climbing and encountered a very enthusiastic and friendly elderly gentleman who was very instant that we take the path he was walking but in the opposite direction which is the path to Ravello. Since we did not have anything better to do we took his advice. We did not walk all the way to Ravello as it is 1500 meters (approximately 4500 feet above Atrani) but probably went about half way. We walked through a valley that was very picturesque. There were houses perched on the far side of the valley that do not appear to have any road to reach them. There are lemon and orange trees terraced all over the valley. Once we got to the section where we had to walk on the road we decided to turn around.

Once we were back in Atrani we did a little more exploring and had some other town people direct us toward the Ravello pathway. We are pretty sure they send all tourists there hoping they won’t make it back from the road.

Next we went back to Amalfi for a more through exploration and a light lunch of pizza neapolitana (pizza with marinated anchovies) and bruschetta amalfaitana (bruschetta with tomatoes, basil, marinated anchovies and olive oil). Both we very good, but the waiter asked us for both items if we realized there were anchovies. There must be a lot of returned items with anchovies. We walked through town and down the sea wall for the sunset and then made our way back home.

Assisi to the Atrani

This is our big driving day, Monday (11/26). We are going from Assisi all the way down to the Amalfi coast. We left our hotel at 7:30 hiked back up the hill to our car with our suitcases. We looked back over our shoulders and the entire valley was covered in clouds and we were above it. It was truly spectacular. I think I forgot to mention in the last post that you are almost always walking up or down in this town. Once we got the car, I had to take the parking pass back to the hotel and when I started back out Aaron came down the street with the car. We thought only locals were allowed inside the walls but it turns out that anyone can drive through while only locals can park.

Once we were on the road it was a long drive. We drove on state highways, but tried to stay off the Autostrada, which is our equivalent to interstates. There were some very spectacular views of valleys and castles or towns on the tops of hills. There was a lot of fog through out the day, but also some areas that were bathed in sun. One of the most spectacular things we saw was the Montecassino monastery at the top of the mountain surrounded by clouds. Due to being on the highway and the light we were not able to get a picture. Even though we could not see the landscape and slope of the hill below the monastery we could appreciate how high it was over the town of Cassino and what a difficult mission it was the American troops to capture the monastery in WWII.

The further south we go the road signage became more difficult to decipher or the sign would appear at the time you needed to turn without any warning. We eventually made our way to Salerno. We got within a few blocks of the rental car agency before having to ask directions, which was not too bad for not having a detailed map or any real directions.

Luckily the Hertz office is across the street from the bus/train station and we were able to get on the bus to Atrani without too much effort. The ride to Atrani was exhilarating. It would have been worse if it had been earlier in the day and there was more daylight, but luckily we could not see very much. This is the road that people always talk about almost hitting the bus or running off the road. The bus drivers are truly professionals. I think we will take the ferry back to Salerno when it is time to go to Rome.

Once we got to Atrani, our landlord met us at the bus stop. We had to walk along the road (that we were just driving on) pulling our suitcases and hugging the building on the side as there are not any sidewalks. We then started climbing the stairs to the apartment. The apartment is everything the landlord said and more. I think we may just stay here in this apartment forever. This place is even nicer than the 4-star Westin we stayed at in Venice.

We walked down to the town square to get a few groceries and then made a simple dinner. This has been an absolutely perfect birthday.

Three Mountain Towns in a Day

We left Florence at 8:00 a.m. on Sunday (11/25), just ahead of the Marathon which was good. We were not going very far the first day so we decided we could make a couple of stops along the way.


The first stop was Sienna which we had driven through and stopped long enough to find an ATM the first time we visited Italy. This time we had the chance to walk around and see a couple of things. We saw the outside of the Duomo, but were not able to go in as it was only open for those going to mass. We then walked down to the big Piazza which is what everyone thinks of when they picture Sienna.

Next stop – Cortona! This is the town made famous by Francis Mayes in Under the Tuscan Sun. It was also quite picturesque. Aaron had visited Cortona when he went to the EuroLambretta rally in 2003. We walked around the town and perused the local flea market that was set-up in the town square. There is a beautiful park/promenade just at the bottom of the town that had some absolutely amazing views of the valley below.


We then headed for Assisi and Santa Maria d’Angeli where we planned to stay. We had made a reservation on the internet, but could not read what we got back so just assumed all was good. When we arrived at the hotel we were informed the hotel was closed but the restaurant was open. We had chosen this hotel as it was the one Aaron stayed at during the scooter rally. That gave us a good excuse to stay in Assisi. We drove up the hill and parked outside of the walls and set out to find a hotel. When the first 2 or 3 hotels were closed we started to get a little worried. We then had arrived at the San Francesco church and Aaron let me go in while he stayed with Parilla (kind of funny no dogs allowed and this is the home to the saint for animals). It was really stunning and I was really impressed how people actually seemed to respect the place rather than treating it as just another place to see. It is really amazing when you go into the underground tomb of St. Francis as most people actually stop and mediate/pray in the pews and it is totally silent.


We then started walking up the hill and next hotel we came to was open, had rooms available and took dogs. That was our miracle. We got a room at the hotel closet to the church and for only 10 euros more than what we expected to pay in the low town. We spent a couple of hours exploring the town which included a number of churches including the cathedral for St. Clair. This is the one that had such extensive damage in the earthquake in 1999. The church has been completely repaired but most of the walls are bare as the frescos were destroyed. The town is in exceptional shape as so much work was done after the earthquake. As most of you saw from the post last night we found another wine bar and had a bit to drink. It was a really great evening in a very special place.

btw- Parilla is enjoying the atmosphere too.

Saturday in Florence

We decided we should make the most of our last day in Florence (Saturday – 11/24) and get up early. We left the apartment by 8:30 and continued with the theme of churches. Our first stop was Badia Fiorentina which was founded in 978 by Willa, the widow of Uberto, Margrave of Tuscia, in memory of her husband. Uberto was so highly regarded that Dante wrote about him and to this day there is a memorial mass every year on the feast-day of St Thomas the Apostle. This is definitely a do not miss since it is so close to the Duomo.


Next stop Santa Maria Maggiore then moved on to Santa Maria Novella. We were surprised that there was an admission to get in (2.50 e each). This seems to be a trend that some churches are charging now. Even with the entrance fee we would recommend stopping here as the church has had extensive restorations and there is much to see. This is our first time in Santa Maria Novella as it was under restoration the last 2 times we were in Florence. There is much to see here including the only surviving wooden sculpture by Brunelleschi (the designer of the Duomo’s dome).

Our final stop was the Ognissanti. This church was founded in 1256 by a Benedictine order that specialized in wool making. There is a Botticelli that was commissioned by the Vespucci family – we are talking about the same Vespucci family that Amerigo came from. There is even a painting in the church that is rumored to have the likeness of Amerigo as a boy. This church is worth the time as it also has a beautiful courtyard off the chapel. Be sure to look at the plaque by the stairs that shows the flood level from the 1833.

We then did some wandering before heading back over to our neighborhood. Il Vanaio was open so we decided to stop for a sandwich (speck, gorgonzola and rocket), a few cichetti (this time they had my (Wendy) favorite – anchovy) and wine. This is the first day we had wine before noon. Oh well that is what being on vacation is all about. We decided to head back and get Parilla but then decided on resting for a few minutes which was lucky because it started raining about 10 minutes later and rained for a couple of hours.

Thanksgiving in Italy and the Friday after

A day (Thursday) would not be complete without the passagarie, which we usually do for 1-2 hours. Afterward we made a traditional Thanksgiving dinner of Sugo di Melanzana, Pomodoro, e Mozzarella (eggplant, tomato and mozzarella pasta sauce) from our Marcella Says… cookbook. It was good but spicy. We used fresh tagliatelle that we bought at the mercato. This pic is of our neighborhood.

For Friday (11/23) we decided to check out some churches. We started with San Remigio across the street from our apartment. It was very peaceful as people were actually worshipping and there were not any other tourists.

Next we went to the Duomo. It is as amazing as ever but there were a few things that we a little sad. All of the pews have been removed which allows more people to be inside and without the seats people seem to forget they are in a church.

We then went to San Carlo dei Lombardi and then across the street to the Orsanmichelle. The Orsanmichelle is very beautiful and should not be missed. We then made a departure from the church theme and went to Palazzo Davanzati (thanks to Allison’s sister, Lori, for the tip). It is a restored medieval nobleman’s house from the 14th century. The palazzo had been closed for over 10 years due to safety issues, but just opened this year after extensive renovations. It was great to see and amazingly it was free.

We then tried to see Santo Stefano al Ponte but it turns out that it is only open for special events. This is a tiny church in a very secluded piazza. The original church was built in 969. The church was severely damaged in the 1993 Uffizi bombing but has since been restored.
Then we moved on to the Santi Apostoli, San Spirito, Santa Maria del Carmine and San Frediano in Cestello all of which were closed because we showed up during the lunch break.

During the passagarie we went to Il Vaniao, a vino e cichetti bar in our neighborhood. They have a self-service wine bar with glasses of wine for 2 euro each and the wine and glasses are out on a table on the street. Parilla really liked it because we immediately dropped a croquette on the ground so it was hers. Once again she was a hit with everyone.

We finished the night at the restaurant where we had our wedding reception. The food was not quite as good as we remembered, but it is a sentimental favorite.

Dinner with Allison and Germ... Also a day trip to Fiesole

Wednesday (11/21) was mostly a rest day. We went back to the Mercato to get more supplies. We went shopping in the afternoon and we acquired some additional clothing to compensate for the cool weather.

In the evening we met up with a co-woker of Aaron’s, Allison, and her boyfriend and sister. We had drinks at an upscale hotel over by the Ponte Vechhio and then crossed over the bridge and went to a restaurant they had seen on Via San Spirito. We had a glass of wine hoping some people who were late for their reservation would not show at all. When they did arrive we decided the restaurant looked good enough for the hour wait. We decided to go to a wine bar over by the Pitti Palace that they had been to before and it was great. The wine bar was small with a beautiful atmosphere.

We returned to the restaurant at 9:30 and had an excellent meal. We were there for 3 hours and were eating for most of the time. Aaron had homemade tagliatelle with a duck ragu and then chicken pate for the second course. I had pasta made with a spicy salami sauce and for the main course beef carpaccio with cherry tomatoes, pecorino cheese slices and balsamic vinegar. We were so full I did not even look at the dessert menu.

Today, Thursday (11/22), we went to Fiesole. It is a small town above Florence that only took ½ hour by bus to get to. The views of Florence were great, but due to the haze over the city it did not photograph well. There are roman ruins in Fiesole which were very well preserved. The bus ride was pretty nice as you see a number of very picturesque villas along the way as the bus criss-crossed the hillside.

Once we were back in Florence we walked some more, this time from the Academia area back toward our apartment. Parilla made a number of friends along the way. We stopped at our favorite deli and they gave her some proscuitto which she loved. Our treat was finding probably the best gelato we have ever had near the apartment.

Monday 19 and Tuesday 20

On Monday evening we did the typical Italian activity, the passagarie, a walk between work-time and dinner-time to unwind. I bought the one item that I was determined to return home with, a wax stamp embosser. I purchased one on our wedding day in Florence in 2000, but it did not make it home with us.

During our walk, Parilla touched the nose of Il Porcellino (a giant bronze statue of a wild boar) for good luck. We don’t have a picture of it because Aaron accidentally erased it.
Once we got back to the apartment we had Priest Chokers (spinach and ricotta gnocchi) with browned butter and sage sauce. This is one of our favorite dishes and we were very excited when we saw the gnocchi at the Mercato.

Tuesday (11/20) we visited San Miniato on the hill overlooking the city. The church has a beautiful façade and the views are fantastic. On the walk to San Miniato we saw one of the feline communities that have been established for the cats of the city.

We also walked over the Ponte Vecchio and up to the roman gate. During the passagarie we took a number of photos of major sites and monuments lit up and with an almost full moon in the background. It was really beautiful. We did not go to very many specific places today, but walked around quite a bit of the city.

Venice To Florence

We did a lot of walking on Saturday (11/17) afternoon. We went through the Cannaregio and Ghetto areas. We walked along the Strada Nova which is one of the main thoroughfares and there were many more locals than over by the San Marco area. It was pretty cold so we ended up carrying Parilla a good part of the day.

In the evening we found the best vino e cichetti (wine and snack) bar in the Dorsoduro. It was called Cantinone gia Schiave on Fondamentta Nani. The food was good and the wine even better. There is something special about having your wine and cichetti in a standing room only atmosphere. We went for a walk because I (Wendy) was too embarrassed to go back and get a 3rd round of cichetti. When we returned the place was starting to close down, but they were still serving wine so we had another glass and talked to the owners a little while they fed Parilla mortadella. We bought a bottle of Amarone and look forward to having it with a home cooked meal in Florence.

Mid-day on Sunday (11/18) we took the train to Florence. The apartment we rented is very cozy. After walking around for an hour looking for a restaurant we decided to buy supplies to eat at home. We found this great market and café. We took home fresh pesto, finincchio salami, pasta and burrata (a cheese like mozzarella fresca but consisted of more whey making it very soft almost like a cottage cheese). It was diffreant but very good.

Monday (11/19) we went to the Mercato in Florence. It is a gigantic market that has many different stalls and everything from butchers, to cheese shops, to bakeries, to vegetables and fruits and many other things such as olive oils, balsamic vinegar, and mushrooms of all types including truffles. We bought some fruit from a very cute old Italian woman who hand picked each item and wanted to know if we were going to eat it today or tomorrow.

We have arrived

We made it to Italy. Parilla was great on the plane, train and boat. She was not thrilled with being in the carrier for 12 + hours between the 2 flights or having to wear her muzzle on the train and boat, but other than that we could not have asked for her to have been any better.

Overall the travel from Denver to Venice was pretty good. We got very luckly, rather than having to sit apart on the flight from Dulles to Rome we not only were together we got ecomony plus seats. Homemade cookies can get you somewhere. (Thanks Robert!)

We were fortunate to sit in first class on the train from Rome to Venice, even thought we only paid for 2nd class tickets. I was tired and forgot how the train tickets indicate the car and seats and we sat in first class, but none of the ticket checkers seemed to care. The seats were much nicer than 2nd class and it was quiter.

Venice is great. A little cool due to the wind chill. We were even mistaken for locals this morning by an Italian asking for directions. He was very suprised to discover that not only were we not from Venice we were not even Italian. Our plan of bringing Parilla to make us look like locals is paying off.

The dog is ready to go

Parilla is ready to to go to the EU. At some point while planning for this trip we thought it would be a "good idea" to bring our little dog along with us.

Well actually the decision was made at the point where Wendy had a conversation with AlexM about his experience with taking his little dogs over.

Thanks Alex :)

Parilla is going to fly in the cabin with us. We've borrowed a flight bag for her to curl up in (thanks Mr. Steve Peepers). And we needed to buy a cute little muzzle for when she takes the train with us.

Wendy emailed ahead to all of the places that that we were staying and let them know that they should expect the dog known as Parilla, and she sent the pic above.

How could they say no to that face?

She needed to get the EU 15 digit microchip and a form from the USDA saying that she was up to date on her shots and had a clean bill of health.

OK, only pure bureaucracy can stop us now!

Going Back to Italy

In a couple of days, my wife and I are going to go on vacation to Italy.

So, I've started this blog as a virtual postcard to all who want to track our progress during the trip.

A rough schedule of our trip will be:

• Venice (2 days)
• Florence (7 days)
• Assisi (1 day)
• Atrani (4 days)
• Rome (4 days)

Please feel free to send me suggestions on places to go, things to do, people to see etc.