Final Days - Europe 2016

Final Days

Orvieto - A Special Small Italian Hill Town

We’ve seen the city lights for over three weeks, so we are ready for a great small hill town and the Italian countryside.  Orvieto is only a two hour train ride from Florence, and it’s got three things we really like: unique history, great food, and photo ops out the kazoo.

Prior to the Romans, the Etruscans founded the first Orvieto because it is  easy to defend.  So much of human history is about survival as well as culture.  Orvieto is perched on a very steep hill which commanded a great view in all directions and also made access very difficult from below during hostilities.

Even when you’re within the city walls, it’s hilly and picturesque.

Years ago when we were here, we took a tour of the caves of Orvieto.  This trip, we explored the city well.  Being on a fortified hilltop doesn’t reprieve you of needing water.  Hundreds and hundreds of years ago (1527), the Pope of that time commissioned the well’s construction.  Back in the day, the Pope occasionally had to flee Rome to save his skin, and Orvieto was a safe haven.  The well is quite wide (40 feet) and is almost 200 feet deep.  

It has two independent staircases, each with stairs long enough and wide enough to accommodate donkeys once used to haul the water.  Windows cut into the wall of the well provide light to the stairs.  The well still has water but is only used for tourism.  The green in the following picture shows where water condenses and then supports life.

Orvieto seems to remain in the beautiful past.  This is one town that walking the streets is rewarded.

The streets are narrow so it’s best enjoyed by walking.  Notice how even without a front yard, some Italians show imagination in presenting a beautiful home.

I wondered what street address this fine looking dwelling would have.

When past Popes visited Orvieto, they had a significant cathedral for their use.  The paintings on this cathedral almost look brand new.

Our hotel was little more than a stones throw from the Duomo.  We got a lovely suite this trip for 140 euros, and it included breakfast.  We ran across the hotel owner at the sitting area in front of the Duomo at twilight.  He almost always has a smile on his face.

Shari could be smiling about the dinner we just had.  Even though Orvieto is small, there are several very good eateries here.  One of our favorite dishes is pici, and the one pictured was the best we’ve had on our month long trip.

We learned how to make this pasta during our Italian cooking school, but we can’t really duplicate either the irregularly shaped noodles or the sauce.

But we did learn about, and continue to appreciate, really good Italian food.  Like this roast duck breast with ground fennel flower.

Orvieto offers a lot in a very small area and at a much better price than the big cities.  It’s one of our favorite places to visit!

That's it for the European 2016 trip.  Most of the rest of our time will be spent in getting home.  We've enjoyed it and for those who read the posts, we hope you enjoyed it as well!

Florence, Italy - Days 23-25

Days 23-25

John the Baptist Day

Florence, Italy

The reason we left on vacation when we did was due to John the Baptist, the patron saint of Florence.  This mid-size city is one of the places you should visit if you travel to Italy.  We stumbled into the big celebration years ago after a bike tour of the Tuscan hillside near Florence.  On June 24 each year, they pay homage to their saint in a number of ways, including a parade in which many locals dress up in medieval garb.  Coupled with the architecture and the landscape of Florence, it’s a different kind of parade that has a storybook look to it.

I guess medieval parades don’t involve many smiles.  Maybe it was the hot weather and ancient garb these gentlemen had to endure.

The crowds loved them and others, including the old armaments like the crossbows.

The most action was from the flag throwers.  No accidents were noted while we watched.

We’ve been enjoying rainless weather.  Starting a little later this year may be the reason.  We only had rain once during our month of vacation and it was back in May in Berlin, a long time ago.  Our hotel is about 2 blocks from the Duomo of Florence, so we check it out off and on throughout the day.

We are very happy with our Tuscan food here in Florence.  It would be fun to be a food critique on assignment in Italy and have someone pay for our meals.  Thanks to recommendations and some knowledge from previous trips, we’ve had a good gourmet experience here in Florence.  My favorite is the Cappellanni con Tartufalo.  It’s a very thin pasta filled with ricotta and spinach with a butter and truffle sauce.  I’ve had truffle salt and truffle oil, but until this dish, I’ve never had thinly sliced truffles.  Deliousioso!

We also had fried zucchini blossoms from this restaurant - Buca Mario.

Partly due to our leaving Italy soon, we asked about a great pizza and were directed to Ciro and Sons where they make a great neapolitan (Naples) pizza.  I know we claimed one of our favorite Sorrento restaurants made the best.  We are not sure anymore.

Florence has so many renaissance landmarks that you don’t walk far until you come across one.  So much of what we like about Italy is here!

Lucca, Italy - Days 21-22

Days 21-22

Lucca

This is the one place in Italy which we’ve returned to every trip, with one exception.  It’s our small walled city which provides both relaxation and excitation, and it even has a pasta dish named after it - Luchese.

When on a month long vacation, a little slower pace occasionally can be a plus, and Lucca is the place that can provide it.  There is the 3 mile wall/trail around the ‘Inner City’.  We mostly rent bikes and ride.

Shari is in the orange hat and shirt weaving through pedestrian and bike traffic.

Lucca also provides the opportunity to go to live classical music events.  For 13 years, 365 days each year, professional Italian performers give a one hour performance that involves small pieces of the works of Puccini, Verdi, and Mozart.  That’s about the right length for us.  The performances are brilliant.  This was the first time there was a tenor, and he had an incredible voice that filled the entire church (churches are big in Italy) without any kind of microphone.

Puccini is in the background of the picture and seems to be listening to the music.

We climbed to the top of our favorite Italian tower, the one with the oak trees on top that we call the Tree Tower.  The trees are there because back in the day people fought small and big wars on a regular basis. The guards in this tower were lucky enough to have shade.  What a kind master they had.

The climb is 230 steps, and the views are worth it.

Because we live life a little slower here, we even go to public watering holes to get our un-chlorinated water.

We do find the food in Lucca much to our taste.  Our latest favorite place to eat is da Nona Clara.  Nona means grandmother in Italian, and I grew up with an Italian grandmother, and she was a great cook as was my other grandmother.   We tend to show food pictures, and this restaurant had great risotto, roasted meats, even fried zucchini blossoms. They make all their pasta from scratch every morning. What was even better were the people who ran it.  The Italians are friendly, but if they don’t speak much English, and you don’t speak a lot of Italian, they basically take your order.  At Nona’s, they do great business, and they are running to and from.  Yet, they really like to talk and get you to talk.  We ate at Nona’s several times for the food and Cristina and the owner, Ernanio. 

I love Ernanio’s glasses

I think he looks a little like Harpo Marx (for those old enough to know who that is).  

Speaking of people we met, there were the 4 Brits from the northern part of England at the Tree Tower who needed their picture taken.  They live fairly close to Scotland, and they talk with a very strong accent.  They come from Washington, England.  George Washington’s kin came from Washington, England, and they celebrate the 4th of July every year along with us.  

After a week in a centrally located apartment within the walls in Lucca, we leave tomorrow on a train for Florence.  We will still be in Tuscany, but it won’t be as laid back.

Here are a few more photos of what we see around the lovely little city of Lucca.

  

Tuscany and 46th Anniversary

Days 17-20

Tuscany and 46th Anniversary

With our days along the Amalfi over, we have been many places in the last 4 days.  During our long drive north, we diverted along the way and stopped in Pienza.  

This is a town that is picturesque from a distance and also looking out to the countryside.

We didn’t know it, but way back in Medieval time, this town was rebuilt as an ideal model for renaissance towns across Italy.  That was in 1462, before Columbus discovered America.  Here is a picture of Shari modeling the beautiful town of Pienza.

I can’t tell you much more other than one of the streets is named Via Amore (Street of Love) and that they have a great spaghetti called Pici that we discovered on one of our first trips to Italy.

We spent most of the day driving from Sorrento to Lucca and did make it to the lovely city by early evening.  We had to park our car outside the old city walls as the streets inside the walls are almost exclusively for walking and biking.

While we still had the car, we used Lucca as a home base and took day trips.  The first such trip was to Volterra, a town Shari had seen with Grace on their trip two years ago. 

Every town we visit provides new chances to try new foods or the specialty of the region.  What caught our eye was the following:

What you are seeing is polenta (Italian corn meal I ate growing up), porcini mushrooms, gorgonzola cheese, and lardo.  As a chubby 10 year old, I was occasionally called Lardo.  In the picture it’s the six white-looking things in the upper part of the plate.  It’s cured fat from the backside of a pig, sometimes known as fatback.  It was a first for both of us, and we both found it very tasty.  Shari thought it was tough, however.  In any event, when you take a little of each of the four ingredients and eat them in unison, you have one delicious bite of food.  The first three ingredients are sufficient for a great taste.  I don’t think I can find lardo at Harmon’s! We turned our car in at the end of the day.

The next day, we were off again….this time by train… to a new place for both of us - Portofino.  We knew that many people like it, but we were not sure why. Portofino is north of Cinque Terra, an unforgettable place along the western coast of Italy.  We learned that Portofino is really a small suburb of Santa Margherita (S.M.) which has a train station that you claim is your destination when buying tickets.

I hope you don’t think I made this photo up - it’s real.  Among other things, the photo shows an unusual blend of symmetry.  The other thing I originally looked for was the super organization at the beach.  

People think their destination is Portofino, but Santa Margherita is a beautiful town, and for us, it is the more attractive.  We came by land, but many come by sea.  I told Shari I would not recommend learning to operate a boat here.

95% of the action is in Santa Margherita.  But, we had to see the notorious Portofino, so we heard you could walk to it. It was supposed to be a 5K walk, but there were distractions.  Near the western edge of Santa Margherita were these building with this unique appearance.  Even with all the motorcycles in front of it, it stood out.

Then there was the rock that arose from the sea, and it has this tree.  A seagull landed on the rock while I took the photo to give you a sense of scale. 

We eventually did make it to Portofino, and it, too, is picturesque.

For us, this was no ordinary day.  We traveled by train with multiple stops to get to a place we’d never been before.  Then we walked what we thought was a long way just to find out what Portofino had to offer.  It was part of our way of celebrating our anniversary.  This was us at the pier in the very small port of Portofino.  We had a lot of fun getting there even though there were a few challenges. 

It was all worth it - all 46 years of marriage!

Day 16 - La Dolce Vista - Amalfi Coast

Day 16

La Dolce Vista - Amalfi Coast

Everyone we talked to said don’t drive a car along the Amalfi Coast.  It’s too scary and dangerous.  So we drove the Amalfi Coast from Sorrento to the small town of Amalfi.  If it doesn’t kill you, it makes you stronger!

The Amalfi is where coastal mountains plunge into the sea in a vertical scene of precipitous crags, picturesque towns, and lush forests. Almost everywhere you look there is a picture to be taken.  During tourist season, the buses that take you to and from the small coastal towns are very crowded and don’t stop for viewing.  The roads are often 1 1/2 lanes wide, and even with a small car, there are tight spots when there is on-coming traffic.  You drive with your window down so you can hear the horns of buses near the tight and sharp corners of which there are many.

Residents park on the narrow road we drove (we didn’t see any garages), so their parked cars add to the road claustrophobia drivers experience.

There is approximately 50 kilometers (22 miles) one way from Sorrento to the town of Amalfi.  A one-way trip takes about an hour and a half.  The reward for driving are the incredible views.   

REMINDER - If you want to see  any of the pictures in a more robust size, click on the picture and it will enlarge.  To return to the story from the picture, click on the 'x' in the upper right near the picture.

At first you see mostly ocean; then islands; then boats, then the towns where the houses and shops somehow fit on extremely steep hillsides.  

Pictured above is the town of Positano which some of you may have heard of.  It’s almost dreamlike in appearance.

The coastal road contours the land and sometimes into the side canyons.  

Occasionally there is wide spot in the road and even a place to park.  The parking spots are few and far between, so we took advantage of most that we saw when we were quick enough. 

The biggest city we saw on the Amalfi coast was Sorrento with a population of about 16,000, far less than St. George.  Even though small, all the smaller ones we saw were picturesque!

Even with the steep terrain, most have beaches, and they, too, make you happy your camera doesn’t require real film.  

Shari wants you to see the car that can handle the narrow Amalfi roads, traffic, and parking.  Here is car with the 1/2 Italian driver.

This driving trip took place on our last day in Sorrento.  There are probably too many scenery pictures already, but I’m going to end with one from our patio at La Tonnarella.  We loved it here!