Category Archives: Bloggings

Just Blogging

Bloggings, Food Blog, Reviews - Travel, Travel

Pool Day In Tuscany

Leave a comment

Today I woke up to a bell sound outside so I looked out the window to see cows walking along the fence. It was pretty cool. I couldn’t sleep so I went outside and took a little walk. I saw a bunch of cows walking around and some calves. The scenery here is unbelievably beautiful.

Cows outside our bedroom window.

 

We had a nice breakfast that included: breakfast casserole, bread, jam, fruit, and lots of coffee. At around 9:30 am I started doing some laundry and the directions said the laundry could take up to 2 hours in the dryer. I didn’t believe that could be possible so I got ready for the pool. Don went to Florence to help Jim and Doreen return their car. Others went to the grocery store but I stayed behind for laundry and pool time. It took forever, but I was having a great day at the pool!

The water was cold but it was ok to swim, especially after some drinks. I spent the whole afternoon in the pool and then got ready for dinner.

OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA

 

We did a little decorating for Greg’s birthday BBQ. The chefs made pork ribs, steak, chicken, and sausage. It was so good. There was also salad, dessert, and local wines and beers. It was an awesome dinner. It was nice to hang out with everyone. We also enjoyed a great sunset.

 

Bloggings, Reviews - Travel, Travel

Making our way to Tuscany!

Leave a comment

Today we woke up around 8 and had breakfast at our hotel.  We met Greg and Erin at 10:20 outside their hotel and we made our way to the train station. We were on a mission to make it to our villa in Tuscany. We took the 11:07 train from Monterosso to Pisa. Then from there we had to find the airport shuttle to pick up our rental car. It was tricky finding the airport shuttle because we thought it was a bus outside the train station, when really it was a train. If you’re looking for the airport shuttle in the Pisa train station just keep following the signs for “airport” and you buy your ticket right outside the train/shuttle. It’s very easy once you find it. Once we found the train it was super fast and we were able to get the rental van and make our way to Montaione to pick up the keys to the villa. The drive was pretty easy and the country was so beautiful! We also got stuck in the middle of a weird old/fancy car race. It was awkward because people were on the side of the road waiting for the cars and here we were just some Americans in a van. It was cool though!

Cool cars in a parade thing
Our van.

It took about an hour to get to Montaione so by now we were running a bit late because another group was already almost to the villa; it was after 2 pm. Montaione was a weird small town, very quiet. It had a fantastic view of the country side by where we parked though. It was also very chilly here compared to the Cinque Terre; it almost felt like fall. It took a bit to find the hotel where the woman was waiting to give us the keys.

We followed the woman to the villa and she drove like a maniac! She was literally leaving us in her dust. We were driving so fast to keep up with her and the roads were gravel and curvy. We were expecting to see Julie and Alyssa’s group at our villa but we saw them on our way there waiting outside a different villa that they thought was ours. We had no idea where we were going so we called them and told them to wait there until we knew.

She drove crazy!

When we got to the villa it was about a 5 minute drive from where we saw the other group. Greg had me and Don go on a mission to go get the other group. I was pumped to drive in Italy! We found the other group and had them follow us to the real villa.

Our villa is called Villa Le Cascine and it looks awesome!! I couldn’t believe how beautiful everything around us was. The house is huge and amazing. The pool is also awesome. Once we got settled in there was another group who was in need of help so Don, the navigator, and Julie the driver went to go find the next group. They also were able to stop by a grocery store. I stayed behind. My throat was really starting to hurt which was really concerning because I had just had strep the week before coming to Italy and I had just finished my antibiotics. I’m so worried I’m getting sick again! It’s a pretty extreme pain but I don’t want to be a downer and I’m in Italy. Luckily for me, Dave (Mel’s husband), had little bottles of Jack Daniels and he shared some with me and after 2 my throat felt great! So I hung out by the pool to drink some whisky and get to know everyone while Don rescued lost people and got groceries. Let’s just say, I felt pretty much 100% better by the time he got back.

We made our own dinner tonight, but for the remainder of our stay here we will have chefs coming to cook. The villa had a little gift of pasta and sauce so we made that and also had some bread and wine of course! It was getting dark and we were still waiting on Jim and Doreen to arrive at the villa. They had been driving for awhile and Don had been in contact with Doreen to try to figure out where they were. They got to a point where they were lost and Don knew where they were so it was rescue mission #3 time! I drove, Don navigated, and Alyssa came with us to bring Jim and Doreen to the villa. It was kind of scary driving because it was pitch black, but the mission was successful.

Here’s some pictures of the place.

Our room. None of he windows had screens, pretty cool!
Awesome pool!
Common area
Kitchen
Kitchen

Can’t wait to see what tomorrow brings!

Here’s a bonus video of Greg driving.

Bloggings, Restaurant Reviews, Reviews - Travel, Travel

Last Day In The Cinque Terre

Leave a comment

Well today I woke up and felt pretty rough. We got up and got out to eat breakfast around 9. We decided to try a restaurant instead of our hotel. It was pretty good and it was called Fast Bar. It was basically a diner.

Fast Bar-Great for breakfast!

You could get your pretty standard breakfast here so I had bacon, eggs and toast. Then I couldn’t decide if I wanted soda or a coffee so I got both a coke and a cappuccino. It was a good combo because I quickly started to feel better.

It started raining after breakfast but it quickly stopped. We wanted to take a boat tour or do the water taxi but since the water was rough they had canceled all of the boats. We decided to take the train to the first town, Riomaggiore, because we had not been there yet. Riomaggiore was very beautiful. It was also very quiet, probably because the rain had kept many tour groups away. We walked around the town and took pictures. We also had a snack here of fried anchovies, fish, and octopus. Riomaggiore was very nice; every town has it’s own charm it’s hard to pick my favorite!

I really wanted to go back to Manarola and today was our last day so we decided to go.  There was a restaurant in Manarola that I had read about called Nessun Dorma that I really wanted to try so we went there for lunch. The restaurant is high up along the water on the North side of Manarola, so the views of the town were amazing. I had a really good strawberry daiquiri and Don had a pina colada. For my meal I had a sandwich and Don had a salad. I am not sure if the dinner menu is larger or larger portions but I would say if not then this place is better for a light lunch. Everything was very good and I would definitely go back.

Amazing view of Manarola from Nessun Dorma

After lunch I was so tired it was crazy. I felt like I was just going to fall asleep standing up. All I wanted to do was sleep. We were trying to figure out what to do and Greg had texted us about a wine walk in Manarola so we decided to try it out. It was kind of hard to find where the wine walk started and we were also confused because we though it was a guided tour. But if you follow the main street into the town it will curve around and just before you get to the church you will see a wine bar and if you look up you will see a path above you that you can take stairs to. The wine walk is basically a little trail that goes along the top of the town. There is an area you can climb stairs to get a panoramic view which includes a view of Corniglia. If you have Rick Steve’s book on the Cinque Terre he gives details about this trail and how to get there. We were lucky enough to find it without the book and I also got  a second wind on the hike. The views were amazing. At one point on the hike we were above the restaurant where we ate for lunch. We rested there for a bit looking down at the restaurant and we saw a marriage proposal happen! It was exciting to see everyone react to it.

On the wine walk
The crazy, scary stairs on the way up to the panoramic view.

After the walk we decided to have a glass of wine at the wine bar near the entrance of the walk. It was a cool place, very chill and relaxed. The owner even brought us some bread and cheese. I wish I could remember the name of this place but you will see it if you’re in Manarola headed towards the church.

After the wine we headed back to the train for our final night in Monterosso. We decided to have dinner with Greg and Erin. We ate at a pizza place that was recommended by the guy at Greg’s hotel. I believe it was called Ristorante Pizzeria Da Ely. We were able to sit outside and we each had our own personal pizza. It was delicious!! I really enjoyed this place. After dinner we went to find some gelato and then we went back to hotel so we could pack and get ready to go to the villa in Tuscany!

Bloggings, Restaurant Reviews, Reviews - Travel, Travel

Cinque Terre-Corniglia to Vernazza.

Leave a comment

Today we had breakfast at our hotel, Hotel Souvenir. The breakfast was ok but nothing like what we had at Hotel iQ Roma!

After breakfast we took the train to the town of Corniglia. We wanted to do a trail between two of the towns but many of the trails between the towns were closed. The one between Corniglia and Vernazza was open and it seemed to be a good trail for us. Originally I had not planned or wanted to see Corniglia because it was very high up and required climbing about 300 steps. This did not sound appealing but we did it. When we first got up to the town it did not seem that impressive, especially compared to Manarola, but it was cute.

Me not wanting to climb the stairs.

But the views were awesome.

We walked around a bit and got some focaccia for a snack. Then we decided to do the walk to Vernazza. The walk at first was pretty hard because a lot of it was up steps. It was also a bit crowded at times. We made a lot of stops to take pictures and look at the scenery. There were really cool views of Corniglia from the trail. It was much prettier to look at from afar.

At one point we met a Giants fan and we talked about the Cubs. She also told us we were getting close and the rest of the walk was easier for us because it was downhill. We made it to a cafe the woman told us about and I got an iced coffee and Don had a lemon slushy. The views from here were beautiful and we were so happy we had completed the trail!

After our drinks were finished we went outside and were a bit confused because after walking more we were not seeing Vernazza. Don looked at his map and come to find out we were only half way! We had already been on this trail for an hour! The entire trail was just over 2 miles and should take about an hour haha. But we had more to go. It wasn’t that the trail was hard we just were taking our time and taking in the scenery. This did not make me very happy because I was getting hungry. Luckily the rest of the walk was downhill.

Once we got to Vernazza it was very busy, but pretty. We took a lot of pictures and decided to have lunch near the water at Ristorante Belforte. Their kitchen was closing soon for the afternoon so we ordered quickly. We tried some more anchovies that were prepared differently: fried, salted, and with lemon. I had a spaghetti with meat sauce and Don had pasta with mussels. We both enjoyed our meal a lot.

After lunch we took the train back to Monterosso. After a small nap we heard from Greg that him and his friend Erin had arrived in Monterosso.  We decided to meet up for drinks on the rooftop of their hotel. They were staying at Albergo Stella della Marina and it looked very nice. We had some wine and an appetizer at Enoteca Internazionale. This place was closer to our hotel but I had a recommendation for it and it looked so cute! We had a meat and cheese plate and it was delicious. Why is food so good here?!

We needed some real dinner though and Greg’s hotel guy had recommended a few places so we tried out Trattoria II Piccolo Diavolo. It didn’t look that great but the food was awesome! I really enjoyed my food. I had a pasta with red sauce and a pesto sauce; it was amazing! Don again had the mussel pasta and he said it was better than the one he had at lunch.

After dinner we continued drinking and went to a bar called Enoteca Da Eliseo. It was very fun and our waitress was awesome. We had a variety of drinks here, which resulted in us probably drinking too much. Pretty awesome day here in the Cinque Terre.

 

Bloggings, Food Blog, Restaurant Reviews, Reviews - Travel, Travel

Italy Day 2–Rome–The Colosseum.

Leave a comment

Today we woke up and had an amazing breakfast at our hotel, iQ Hotel Roma. There is a rooftop restaurant here with nice indoor and outdoor seating. The views are not great because it is not that high of a building but it was nice to sit outside. The breakfast was a buffet but it was the best breakfast we both have ever had while traveling! The eggs, sausage, and bacon were great! There were so many options: cheese, fruit, freshly squeezed orange juice, and many styles of coffee. It was very good.

After breakfast we walked to The Colosseum; it was only about a 20 minute walk from our hotel. It opened at 8:30 and we got there around then. I read the lines can get really long so I’m really glad we got there when we did. I had already bought tickets online so we didn’t have to wait in that line.  Tickets were only 14 Euros per person and they are valid for 2 days. With these tickets you can visit The Colosseum, The Roman Forum, and Palatine Hill. You can only enter the sites once, but these tickets are nice that you get 2 days to see the sites. Here’s the link to the ticket site if you are ever interested:

Colosseum Tickets

We did all three sites at once because this was our last full day in Rome. Getting to the Colosseum early before the crowds was essential because we had great views and we could take pictures easily. I think that going here early is key, because within a half hour to 45 minutes the tour groups started pouring in. We did not do a tour but we did buy an audio tour when we got there for 5 euros. I really enjoyed seeing the Colosseum, it was a really cool. It was very pretty and just hard to believe these ancient ruins exist in a city.

After the Colosseum we walked across the way to the Roman Forum and Palatine Hill. The Roman Forum was basically an ancient marketplace. Within the forum there were ruins of old government and public buildings.  We walked around and then made our way to Palatine Hill. From what I understand Palatine Hill was the home to many emperors of ancient Rome. It was a desirable place to live and overlooked the forum. The views of the city were fantastic. It was also very cool to see the Colosseum from atop Palatine Hill. We did not explore Palatine Hill as much because we were getting ruined out and we wanted to see more of Rome.

We made our way out of the ruins to look for some lunch. We chose a place called L’Archetto. I was still craving pizza so I ordered a pepperoni pizza, which really turned out to be a cheese pizza with red and yellow peppers on it, haha no pepperoni. So now I know! But it was delicious, much better than the pizza we had the night before. Don ordered what looked like a spaghetti with hot dogs in it. He said he really enjoyed it. It was definitely the best meal so far here in Rome.

After lunch we took the bus so we could get closer to Trevi Fountain. The fountain was so crowded, but it was very beautiful. We took some pictures here and had some gelato.

Then we walked more and found The Pantheon. That was pretty cool and free to enter.

 

After that we kind of just wandered around and ended up looking over the river. We were both getting tired of walking and wanted to find a place to chill. Don looked up a cool bar and so we headed towards it. On the way we found the Piazza Navona, which is a city square with some pretty cool fountains. There are also a lot of restaurants and bars surrounding the Piazza Navona.  We decided to take a rest and have a drink at a place called Caffe Nettuno. It was a nice place to relax for a bit and people watch. On our way out of the square we saw a pretty good Micheal Jackson impersonator.

We were still determined to try out this micro brew bar that Don found so we headed towards that. The place was called My Ale Craft Beer and Food. It was so cute! I tried a Weiss style beer and a Saison Fragola, which was a strawberry flavored beer that was amazing. Don had a scotch ale and a coffee stout. We ordered a meat and cheese tray. Everything was so good! Now this was our favorite place in Rome. The guy working there was pretty nice and he even gave use some free bread later on. If you’re in Rome and you like beer and delicious meats, cheeses, and sandwiches definitely check this place out!

Afterwards we hopped on the city bus again back to the hotel. We went up to the hotel bar to have our free drink. Don had a prosecco and I had a cappuccino. We ate some paninis and played scrabble. It was a really cool place to hang out at the hotel. We then had to get ready and pack to leave for the Cinque Terre.