Sunday, October 10, 2010

We were up by 7am, ate breakfast and then off we went, once again on the Autostrasse, racing toward Torino. What I did not tell you the other day, was that when Kim and Cris picked up the minivan, they thought they could make a tight turn but ended up scraping the passenger side of the van! Oh, my! It did not look that bad, a long scratch really, but it just goes to show you how tight some of the streets here really are. Today we drove down yet another narrow street when we came upon an Italian guy leaning against his parked car. He took one look at Kim driving down this little street and hopped into his car and moved it! We laughed over that one! We drove as far as Modena, then decided to rake a look around. Little did we know there was a race thru town, so they had most of it blocked off. We drove all over trying to find our way back to the Autostrasse and although we did see a lot of pretty scenery it took us about 45 minutes to get out of town! We never did find the town square, lol. Our next stop was gas. They have these rest stops called the "Auto Grill" where you can buy gas and food and often times groceries-really fancy groceries (prosciutto, salami, cheeses, chocolates, dried pasta, etc). The bathrooms here are always an adventure-you may or may not have a toilet seat. The only rolls of toilet paper we saw were in Rome, otherwise they use paper that looks like cheap napkins. Finding the handle or button to then flush the toilet takes some detective work, cause none of their toilets have tanks attached to the toilets. And, sometimes you have to pay to use the bathrooms, especially public bathrooms!

Our next stop was Parma, where the make Proscuitto and Parmesan cheese. We finally found a parking place then walked until we found a restaurant. Many businesses are close on Sunday. We had a lovely meal outside sitting in the sun. But you sure can feel the change in weather from southern to northern Italy. Then we were off again, this time driving straight thru to Torino and our hotel. The rest of our group was already here and we met at 8pm for dinner. There is a restaurant and pizzeria next door to the hotel. The hotel, Hotel Guala Residence, is a residential hotel, so many of the rooms have kitchens in them. It sure is quiet when you have a room all to yourself!

Time for bed-tomorrow will be a busy day!

Saturday, October 9, 2010

We got an early start to as there were many things we wanted to do today. So after an ok breakfast (not as good as the breakfast in Rome, but you can't complain too much about a complimentary breakfast), we walked over to the Galleria dell'Accademia to see Michaelangelo's statue of David. It really is amazing! There are also quite a few other statues, paintings and the Di Medici collection of Strativarious violins. We then walked to the Duomo (the famous church in Florence you can see from almos anywhere in the city). After looking around at the carved doors and marble statuary, we walked to the marketplace near the Ponte Vecchio. Florence is famous for leather goods, handmade paper and gold jewelry. It was fun looking around at all the vendors. We each bought a few things and a few gifts, then went to the Uffizzi Galleria (by appt only so we quickly made reservations in the morning for the afternoon . The Uffizzi houses many art pieces (paintings and statues) that were collected centuries ago by the Di Medici family. There are a great number of Botticelli paintings hanging there. After we got "cultured", we walked to the Ponte Vecchio (which means old bridge) to look at jewelry. While everything was beautiful, nothing said "buy me April"! After that, it was off to dinner at Cafe Concerto, which was in the Piazza Michael and I stayed at ten years ago when I took cooking lessons outside Florence. I remembered quite a few stores, etc walking around there. A nice surprise! The restaurant had live music starting just as we were leaving so we listened for a while. The Italians seem to have a fascination with American rock and roll! Very interesting, lol! Afterwards us girls rode on a carosel that was set up in the Piazza-just like kids! We laughed so hard and had a grand time! Then it was back to the hotel. We leave in the morning for Torino and the start of our cooking class. Hard to believe!

Friday, October 7, 2010

Bouna Serra! We got a late start this morning as it took Kim and Cris longer to get the van than they thought as there was some sort of student protests that blocked the streets so they had to go around them. We never did find out what the protest was about!

We had good intentions about visiting all these places, but got off the Autostrasse (A1) at Orvieto. A little Tuscan town south of Florence. It was so pretty! We walked around, taking pictures, had a late lunch at a trattoria, then walked around town, ending at their Duomo (church). Such a lovely relaxing day! We found a store that sold gelato, which I ordered in Italian! Then it was time to move on and get to Florence.

Kim and Crus did a fantastic driving/navigating job! They totally rock! It took some driving around, but we finally found our hotel-hotel Le due Fontaine in the Piazza of the Innocents. Once we got settled in our rooms ( where the bathroom is so small you can take a shower sitting on the toilet!) we went out and found a pizza place-it just sounded good to all if us. Then back to the hotel, a glass of wine, then bed. We'll see what tomorrow holds!

Friday morning, October 7, 2010

It's 11:30am Roma time. We've had our breakfast (scrambled eggs, bacon, sausage, fruit, yogurt, multiple pastries, cafe-coffee, the strongest I've seen in a long time! And juice). Kim and Cris went for the van and ran into student protestor's so had to go around the way out if their way. Who'd a thought?! Another beautiful day here! More tonight. We are hoping to see Montepulciano, Siena and San Giamignano today on our way to Florence. I'll let you know if we make it!!

Thursday, October 7, 2010

Our second day in Rome! We did quite a few things today! After breakfast at the hotel (complimentary), we walked to the Metro station and took the train to the Colliseum. Once there, we spent several hours walking thru the Colliseum, then moved on to the Forum. The Forum is mostly ruins, still under excavation. It never ceases to amaze me, the age of things here. The Collliseum, the Forum and the Pantheon were all built about 2000 years ago (give or take a few hundred years). And they are still standing!!! There is history everywhere you look.

After seeing the Colliseum and the Forum, we took a taxi to the Pantheon. We decided to eat lunch first, so ate at one of the restaurants-La Reita. The food was fantastic, the day was sunny and warm, a gorgeous day! I had Seafood Risotto, the others had pasta or pizza. We shared a bottle of Prosecco. The other funny thing about Italy I had forgotten, is when you ask for water, they ask you "gas or no gas?". Which means, spring or flat water or sparkling water (frizzante). We have fallen into eating Italian style- late breakfast, lunch at 3pm, dinner at 9pm. We'll see what happens when we get home, lol!

The Panteon is entirely intact, mostly due to it being taken over by the Church, which kept it from being taken apart and used to build other buildings in Rome. Most of the murals were done by Raphael so he is buried inside the church. I'm not sure modern man could have built these buildings! After this, we went to the Piazza Navona and walked around, then sat in one of the cares and had a cocktail and people watched. This is the part of Rome I would stay in if I came again, rather than near the Vatican-more places to shop and eat! Then we walked over to the Trevi Fountain. This Piazza was packed with people! We took pictures then threw our coins in. One coin if you wish to return to Rome, two coins if you want to find true love and three coins if you want to find your true love in Rome (just like the movie!).

While walking to the Metro station, we found an Italian deli and bought bread, crackers, 3 cheeses, 3 kinds of meat, olives, cookies and wine and brought them back with us to the hotel. Did I mention how hot and sweaty you get walking and walking and climbing stairs around in the heat and sun? So we all took showers, then met up again on our balcony for a picnic dinner. Even the deli food was great-or maybe it's being in Rome, with good friends. Maybe all of the above, lol!

Tomorrow we leave for Florence. Right now, it's bedtime!

Wednesday, October 6, 2010

Well, the seven of us left Denver Tuesday morning and arrived here in Rome at 7:30am, Wednesday. Such a long day! Delta served us dinner and breakfast! I have to say that I did not think any airline served real food any more(as opposed to just snacks). We took a van from the airport to the hotel (it cost us the same to do this as it did to rake the train, so we voted for convenience). We of course had to get some Euros from the ATM-US dollars won't work over here! It was too early to check in, so we left our bags at the Jotel Spring House, then walking to the Vatican, one block away. The Vatican is huge!! It is comprised of at least a dozen buildings, not the least of which is the Basilica. The painting inside are fantastic-all the colors, the gold leaf, the carvings... After we finished at St Peter's Basilica, we took an elevator part way up to the top of the Coppola, which is the inside of the duomo (dome). Even with the elevator there were 320 some stairs left to climb!! Round and round we went-we were dizzy by the end!! But the view of the city was well worth it! You can see forever it seems. The back to the hotel, showered the out for a light dinner. Ciao!

Friday, October 1, 2010

Hello, everyone! I am back in Reno, trying to get some rest (although I still need to buy a light weight suitcase for my Europe trip AND pack!), unpack, etc. I ended up having to ship 7 boxes to myself to get everything back to Reno. My car was still packed full dispite all those shipped boxes!

Jordan and I left Denver Tuesday morning and took I-70 west to go back to Reno. The Aspens were changing so the gold color intersperced with green was spectacular! We went thru Glenwood Springs, Aspen and other places I had only heard of before but never seen. The mountains were beautiful and we drove over the Great Divide-not sure that's what you call it, but it sort of divides the US in two. We took I-70 to US 50/6 and took that up to Salt Lake City and stayed the night at the University (of Utah) Guest House. Nice facility. Wednesday morning, Jordan flew to Boise, ID for a conference and I continued on to Reno, taking I-80 all the way. It is amazing to see the changing landscapes between each state. All in all, the trip went very well and it is good to be home, at least for a few days.

Carl's Restoration Party went well-only about 50-60 people showed up, not the 100+ he was expecting (because of RSVPs). Everyone had a good time and everybody thought our food was the best! Many of them came into the kitchen to thank us, which I thought was very nice. We had Chorizo Rolls, Baked Italian Omelets, Mexican Strata, Flammekuchen, Greek Quiche and Quiche Lorraine, Rice-Sausage Torta, Sausage muffins, brownies, bread pudding, Mexican Wedding cookies, Cranberry White Chocolate cookies and Sun Moon Cookies (orange flavored cookies dipped in Chocolate). Cris and Paula from my class came and helped out with all the cooking and setting up. I'm gonna miss Carl and Bailey!

It is nice being home and cooking and baking in my own kitchen. The cat, Ah Choo, seems happy I'm home, as does Jordan! I will update recipes while I am home, putting some new ones up. I will also update this blog while I am in Italy and France so you all will know what I and my classmates are up to. Ciao for now!