Italy: October 16, Venice

We all got up early, so we could get to the Doge's palace before the crowds.  Good decision! We got the audio tour and made our way through this amazing palace. The Doge of old Venice was an official elected for life by the elite houses of Venice. The Doge didn't really do that much except keep all the feuding houses in check. In fact, he was basically a prisoner; he couldn't leave his palace unescorted, he was constantly under surveillance by people employed by the different houses, and it seemed like a job not to be envied. 

Interior courtyard at the Doge's Palace

The Palace was great, though. Lots of amazing art, interesting stories about the private apartments and council rooms, and after crossing the bridge of sighs, there were lots of prison cells to see. Lots.

A prison cell.  Just kidding! This was a giant meeting hall, with portraits of all the Doges painted around the top

In the afternoon, mom and dad and I walked around a bit, and checked out the Rialto bridge.  When it was time for dinner, we were all anxious to not repeat last night's meal. And technology saved the day! I looked on google maps and found a place right by us, that we would never have been able to find on our own. It was down a little alley off the main street, then through a small courtyard, under an arch, in a dead end (the dead end being the grand canal...so you could get to it by boat from that way). Google had pictures and reviews, and the reviews were outstanding. We made our way there, and had an amazing meal. The restaurant is called Taverna del Campiello Remer.  Our waiter Silvio was fun and friendly. I had rabbit, lots of people had beef with balsamic and parmesan, there were seafood dishes and pasta dishes, and for an appetizer, we all shared a pot of mussels and clams.  It was great, and we were all very happy.

The practically hidden entrance to the Taverna

After dinner we strolled around, got gelato, and saw Venice at night, which was of course, lovely.

All of us inside the Taverna, with our waiter, Silvio

Italy: October 15, Venice

In the chaos of getting 8 of us into two taxis with all our luggage to the Florence train station, dad's carry-on bag got left behind in the apartment. (At least we didn't forget Kevin!) At the train station, Paul and Sarah decided to stay behind, go back to the apartment for the bag, and join us later in Venice. In dad's bag was his camera, and they had a photo shoot around Florence after recovering the bag. When I get some of those pictures I'll include them.

The rest of us went on to Venice, a magical city. We were met by Antonio, who took us to our palazzo. Yes, Palazzo. We got settled in, and Dad and I returned to the train station to meet Paul and Sarah's train. Since their train was late, we were able to find a small park to sit in and enjoy a bit of Venice that is not very common. Most of the main part of Venice is tightly packed buildings built around stone courtyards and streets (with no cars or bikes, of course). There is very little greenery here. We met Paul and Sarah, and all of us went to dinner at a place near our palazzo that was very, very, slow, with mediocre food, and terrible customer service.

Reunited at last!

 It was not the most amazing day in Italy, but I really enjoyed the park.

The Grand Canal

We also had fun, during most nights of our trip, playing Settlers together, or other games like Scopa (an Italian card game.)

Playing Settlers in our Palazzo. Notice we are drinking out of goblets.

Italy: October 14, Florence & Pisa

Most of the group went to the Ufizi early this morning. Mom, Brian, and I went out for crepes and then to a lovely little garden.  Later, I met up with Dad, Cliff, and Phoebe and we went to Pisa on the train. Pisa is a smallish town, easy to walk through. We got lunch, then went to the famous leaning tower.  Cliff and I climbed it, a much easier climb than the Duomo. When we got home from Pisa, we all went to a big dinner at an Italian steakhouse near our apartment.  I only have one picture from this day. And it's the classic Pisa one. Sorry.

Italy: October 13, Tuscany

Today we took a Tasty Tuscany Tour. Our guide, Katarina, picked us up in Florence, and took us around Tuscany to discover the cuisine.  Our first stop was to visit a small pasta workshop that makes fresh pasta. Francesco taught us how he makes pasta, and showed us all these machines that press pasta, shape it, and can add filling to ravioli. We bought some to take home for dinner.

Next stop was a winery and olive oil press. Massimo took us to the cellars and talked to us about the wood used to make wine barrels, how long to age wine, and what makes a good olive oil. Then we had an olive oil and wine tasting.

Katarina took us to a saffron farm for lunch.  The farm grows saffron, which is very expensive and difficult to produce. It is made from the stamens of the crocus. It has to be harvested and dried in one day. Our lunch had saffron-infused dishes, such as saffron ravioli, and homemade saffron ice cream for dessert. This appetizer plate had different types of bruschetta, a battered sage leaf, an artichoke casserole, and pear with peccorino.

After lunch Katarina took us to San Gimignano, a medieval walled town. We walked around on our own for a bit and took pictures of the Tuscan countryside. 

Our final stop was truffle hunting with Francesco (a different Francesco.) He is a professional truffle hunter, and he taught us about using his dogs, Noaro and Angie, to help find these elusive and very valuable fungi under the ground. We walked through the forest for a bit, but couldn't find any before it started to rain. It was really enjoyable.

Italy: October 12, Florence - Evening

This evening we got a special treat. Sarah had arranged for us to get a tour of an olive oil press and olive grove, followed by a delicious, homemade, authentic Tuscan dinner. She has connections with an American woman living in Tuscany named Janet, and her Italian husband, Stefano.  They picked us up in Florence and took us out to their house in the countryside.  This is a picture of an old chapel nearby.

It was a beautiful area. Janet showed us how the olive oil business works. It was very interesting, and unfortunately we learned that it is a very bad year for olive oil. Most olive trees have been infested with olive flies, which makes the olives unusable for oil.  There may not be any olive oil at all from this region this year.

Stefano cooked us a delicious dinner, partly in the outside wood-fired oven.  I don't have any pictures of the dinner, because I was too busy eating it! There were dishes like rabbit liver crostini, freshly baked bread drizzled with their olive oil, white bean salad, and pear with peccorino cheese for desert. It was an amazing meal!

Mom and me in the Tuscan countryside

Italy: October 12, Florence - Morning

This morning we did a bit of exploring around Florence. We started with a breakfast of coffee and croissants at a nearby cafe.  I never drink coffee, but I thought I would try some this morning. I decided it was gross.

Wandering around Florence we saw this cool sculpture in the Piazza della Santissima Annuziata.

 We had also been noticing lots of traffic signs that had been creatively modified. There were lots of good ones in the city, this is the only one I got a picture of.

Then we found Via Laura!

 We also went back to the cathedral and visited the Baptistry, which has interesting and beautiful mural work on the ceiling.

Italy: October 11, Florence

We began our sightseeing adventures today. We started by walking along the Arno river and visited the Galileo museum. It was a lovely day, sunny and warm, not too hot. The Galileo museum had lots of neat artifacts in it from science research through the centuries.

I also discovered the National Library!

 After lunch, we went to the Cathedral. It is called the Cattedrale di Santa Maria del Fiore, but it is known as the Duomo, because of the historic and massive dome on the top. The cathedral was built in the late 1200's, but the dome wasn't completed until 1436. Constructing a dome like this was a scientific achievement at that time, and was managed by Filippo Brunelleschi, amid artistic rivalries, secrecy and technical challenges. National Geographic has a short and interesting article about the Dome.

Some of us climbed to the top of the Duomo, a tiring but rewarding exercise. Looking out over Florence, you can also see the Campanile, the cathedral's bell tower. Visitors can climb that, too, but we had done quite enough climbing for one day.

Italy: October 10, Florence

We arrived in Florence, Italy! There are eight of us on this trip: Mom and Dad, Paul and Sarah, Brian, me, Phoebe, and Cliff.  We rented an apartment in Florence from Air BnB. It is great! Here we are in the living room just after we arrived. 

Paul and Sarah got a room with a round bed and worked out the best way to share it. 

Our first night in Florence, we went out for a lovely, delicious Italian dinner at a small restaurant near our apartment. 

Then we strolled around Florence. This statue is near the Palazzo Vecchio, and there were lots people looking at the statues, street musicians playing, vendors, and folks just walking around enjoying the warm evening.