On the road...I mean, rail....again

Friday, June 12, 2009

Our last full day in Tuscany we decided to head down to a town called Saturnia. We had seen postcards of it and decided, why not? It was a 3+ hour trip each way, through very small winding roads that you thought would not take you anywhere, but we finally made it. Saturnia is known for it's natural thermal springs. The ones that smell like sulfur. It's absolutely beautiful though. The rocks are all stained white and the water rushes down from this massive waterfall. We put on our suits and ended up playing in the rocky area for about an hour before deciding to get back on the road.

Greg in the Saturnia springs:

Me in the springs:

The Saturnia Thermal Springs:


We snacked along the way, saving our appetite for dinner and started heading back to Greve. On the journey back we got caught in a detour and had to take some rather interesting roads back. The main one led us through this tree lined path that looked more like a driveway in Gone with the Wind and then actually through a small river. Greg said we were getting our tires cleaned for free. We even managed to go down a road that our small care barely fit down.

The little river we had to drive over:


Whew! We made it back to the apartment and decided to hang out by the pool for a bit. We were going to go swimming but the water wasn't quite warm enough so we just hung out with our legs dangling in the water and enjoying some of our prosecco that we had bought. We then decided we needed a shower before dinner, since we smelled like rotten eggs.

Us by the pool:


Since this was our last night in Tuscany we hit the back roads to the rural restaurant from the other night and ate at La Cantinetta di Rignana. Greg had the Bisteca Fiorentina and I had potato ravioli. Greg had been waiting for this steak, but it was highly recommended. Most restaurants only serve it as a 1 kilo steak (Massive doesn't describe it), but this restaurant actually cuts it for you to the size you want. Greg told them he wanted a small one and still ended up with one that was almost 1/2 kilo, it was still huge and Greg didn't even finish it. We had a great dinner, the service was great, and we were at a table where we could watch the kitchen, so it was a nice time. With our bellies full we headed back to the apartment to play some cards and finish packing for tomorrow.

Greg's steak:


Saturday, June 13, 2009
We finished packing and checked out of our apartment and immediately got in the car towards Florence. We were going to hit some of the spots that we missed on Sunday before getting on the train to Naples. Our first stop was at Piazzale Michelangelo to see the 3rd David statue. This one was just as big, but it was bronze, and since it was outside, completely green.

The other David statue:

Greg and me at Piazzale Michelangelo:

Views of Florence from Piazzale Michelangelo:


We then drove towards the train station and found a spot to park at before running into Deanna's for a pastry and Cappuccino for Greg. Now that we had some sugar in us we headed by Santa Maria Novella and then the Museo dell'Opera. It was closing last time we came by so this time we were able to go in and actually see the 2nd Pieta by Michelangelo (we saw the 1st one in Rome).

Donatello statue at Museo dell'Opera:

Michelangelo's Pieta:


After we walked through and saw everything the Museo dell'Opera had to offer we went by Santa Croce to see the tombs of Michelangelo, Dante, and Galileo. The rest of the church was closed for service but the tombs were in the back where you could still see them and take pictures. From there we went by a local favorite, Gelateria La Carraia 2, for some yummy gelato (Yes before lunch).

Tomb of Michelangelo:

Tomb of Dante:

Tomb of Galileo:


After the gelato we went to the Museo del Bargello to see the Donatello & Michelangelo statues, as well as others. This building was once a Cathedral that was turned into a prison, so you could see where the walls had been covered in beautiful frescoes, then covered in cement during the prison time, and now the frescoes were slowly being recovered. We then found a small pizzeria to have a quick lunch before getting to the train station.

Donatello statue:

Room that was a former prison:


The train trip to Naples was very uneventful, we just looked at books and talked for the entire journey. When we arrived in Naples it was like complete culture shock. Tuscany had been so easy going and laid back but Naples was absolute chaos. The cars here basically drive wherever they want, whenever they want, and the scooters just go whichever way they choose. It was complete madness and I am sooooo glad we did not choose to drive around here. We took a 20 minute cab ride to our hotel, mainly because we got stopped for a motorcade, and it was only 8 euro, we were shocked at how cheap a taxi is here.

We got to our hotel and were so pleasantly surprised, we knew it was nice but didn't realize how nice. It is a 4 star hotel right on the water front, across from Castel Dell'Ovo and had amazing rooms and views. It is one of those hotels that they use for conferences all of the time. We got to our room and then decided to take a walk down the water front. We walked by Castel dell'Ovo towards Santa Lucia and could actually see Mt. Vesuvius. We went by the Fontana Dell'Immacolatello and then back to the hotel to change out of our shorts and sweaty tops. We realized that everyone there was dressed just a bit better than us so we got some nicer clothes on and headed to dinner at a restaurant right down the road, called Regina Margherita.

Marina near our hotel:

Our first view of Mount Vesuvius:

Fontana Dell'Immacolatello:

Us at the waterfront:

Castel dell'Ovo:


Quite interestingly it is a pizzeria that does sushi as well. So that's what we had, sushi & pizza, good combination (almost as good as sushi & burritos, but not quite). It was a great meal but we were exhausted, so it was time for bed.

Sushi and Pizza...yummy:

When in Pisa.....do as the tourists do

Thursday, June 11, 2009

Today we headed out to Pisa fairly early. On the drive down we couldn't find much on the radio but we did find 1 thing that made us laugh. They were actually playing "3 is the magic number" from Schoolhouse Rocks, and we just laughed and sang along.

When we got to Pisa we parked and walked until we found the Leaning Tower. While we were there we did the touristy thing, and took the typical pose with the tower. I was actually very impressed by the tower, I hadn't expected much, since most people said it was disappointing, but it was actually very pretty and amazing. We did not walk up it as the next appointment was about 4 hours away and we weren't planning on staying in Pisa that long.

Greg holding up the tower:

Me holding up the tower:

Me & Greg with the Leaning Tower:


Some sort of Karate class?:


While in Pisa we did go into the Baptistry and the Museum. While we were in the Baptistry a man came in to do some voicework to show off the accoustics, it was astounding to listen to. The Duomo across from the Baptistry was amazing as well, but we did not go in. After we walked around the grounds and took our cheesy shots we then went into the Museum. The museum was pretty good, a lot of sculptures from the Leaning Tower and Duomo that were removed for safety and a lot of models but the best part was the views of the Tower. It was absolutely beautiful.

The Cathedral (Duomo) in Pisa:

Inside the Baptistry:

The Pisa Baptistry:


Shot of the Tower, Cathedral, and Baptistry from inside the Museum:

Ancient Hippogriff:


When we left Pisa we drove to Lucca, a nearby town that is basically a small walled city. When we got there we were starving so the first thing we did was find a small pizzeria and eat. We then decided we were going to rent bicycles when we came across a place, the thing to do here is to ride bikes around the small streets or along the top of the wall. However, we walked and walked, and saw many churches and sites, but never came across any bicycle rental places, so we just kept walking. After going inside Baptistry of St. Giovanni to see the archaelogical sites and Roman baths and ancient graffitti we went into the Duomo to see the Cathedral of San Martino and the Illaria del Caretto (tomb of Caretto's 2nd wife). This tomb was done by the famous artist Jacopo. We continued on at this point into the Cathedral Museum.

Baptistry in Lucca:

The altar area:


Inside the archaelogical area of the Baptistry, this mosaic floor dates back to the 1st century:


Ancient Graffitti (and the drawing of what you are seeing):

The Dog on the right hand side:


Cathedral of San Martino:


We next walked by Torre Guinigi (Palace tower) and to Piazza Anfiteatro. This piazza is so amazing, it is a complete 360 degrees around of buildings with just a couple archways to exit. It is very intriguing. It is also a place where they have horse competitions. Here we grabbed a gelato and sat out on the piazza to enjoy. I do have to say that this was the most confusing city we had been to so far, the streets never really joined up and since they were so narrow you couldn't look up to find cathedrals and towers. After we walked by a few more small churches we found our way back to our car.

Piazza Anfiteatro:




Our next stop was going to be Monsummano Terme, a natural thermal spring, but when we got to the town we couldn't actually find it so we just decided to head back to Greve. It was kind of funny though, the Tom Tom was trying to get us on the motorway but the entrance it was trying to use was long gone so we had to take a very long detour. We eventually made it back and were able to do a wine tasting at Vicchiomaggio and then another at Castello di Verrazzano, where we bought some excellent Chianti Classico (mainly so we could get some wine glasses as well).

Afterwards we decided to stop by this wine store in Greve, La Cantina, to see what they had, we knew they did tastings as well. It was actually very interesting the way they have it set up. You buy a card with money on it, how much ever you want to put on it. Then there are these stations with about 20 bottles each hooked up to, and you insert your card, push the button related to the wine you wish to sample, and it spits the wine into your glass and deducts the appropriate amount from your card. That way you can try as few or as many as you want and you don't have to wait on someone to give it to you. Tastings were priced from .60 to over 6.00 each, so depending on what you tried you may be able to sample a few or a lot. We sampled about 6 different wines, we tried to pick ones we hadn't had yet and different ones that were recommended by our book. We didn't buy any though, we already had enough to last us the rest of our trip.

Wine sampling at La Cantina:


We had dinner at Caffe le Logge in Greve, which was pretty good, before doing our daily routine of cards and wine at the apartment. It was very nice to be able to unwind and relax.

Pigeon....really????

Wednesday, June 10, 2009

Today was a fairly uneventful, but fun, day. We had breakfast at the apartment and then went into Greve so Greg could get his daily cappuccino and then did a bit of souvenir shopping. We then jumped in the car and drove back to Castello di Gabbiano for a wine tour and tasting. The guide was very friendly and was explaining to us about the Gabbiano vineyard and wines and why they plant roses at the end of each vine. We found this interesting since we were curious about it. He said that roses and vines catch the same diseases but roses will always catch them first, so if there is a disease in that row they will know based on the roses state of being. So, they are there for a reason and not just to add color. Anyways, Greg and I were the only ones on the tour for the first 15 minutes and then a couple from NC showed up, so it was actually nice to have someone else there. We then went down to see the wine cellar that was dated from around 4th century or so before doing a bit of tasting.

Gabbiano property:


We were able to taste 4 different wines, 2 grappas, and olive oil, all which is made on this property. If you have never had it, grappa is very strong and harsh. However, the grappa that they made and aged on their property was much smoother, almost like a whiskey, so we ended up buying some, along with a bottle of wine and olive oil. As we were heading to the car we saw the big white dog that we had seen a few days prior and gave him some loving as well. We were going to have lunch here but it was still too early (only around 11:30 am) and so we decided to go back into Greve and just get some pizza.

Gabbiano plate:

In the cellar:


The pizza place we wanted to go to doesn't do pizza at lunch, only dinner (doesn't make any sense to me either), so we found another place at Casa del Popolo, that definitely catered to locals. The pizza was good, the service was not. As it was our mid point of our trip we decided to do some laundry. We found a place, and it didn't take too long so we were able to get back on the road and actually visit some other areas in Tuscany.

We drove to Castellina in Chianti, another small hillside town, and walked around town for a bit before grabbing some gelato. This town is very cute and has a thing with odd female statues. Before getting back on the road we decided to stop into a cafe and grab a coke and small snack. As we were leaving Castellina we stopped by and saw an Etruscan tomb. We started to walk into it (it is completely underground) but it was so dark and creepy and there were warning signs torn down that we opted NOT to go any further. It was neat to see how these tombs were built under hills though.

Looking over Castellina in Chianti:

The main church in Castellina in Chianti:


The Etruscan Tomb:


Greg entering the tomb:


We still had a bit of time when we headed back to Greve so we stopped in to Vescine Vineyard and had a tasting with another family from Chicago. The guy doing the tour had a really good personality and we tasted about 7 different wines from their estates all over Italy before purchasing an excellent bottle of Prosecco and Chianti Classico before getting back in the car and heading towards Greve. We tried to go to another vineyard in Radda but they were closing up. We then drove through Radda (a different way back) to get to a recommended restaurant that is considered very rural. They weren't lying, the restaurant is completely off the track and away from everything, over 2 miles down a dirt road, and sits on the side of the mountain so you have spectacular views. We got there about 6:30 pm and they didn't open until 7:30 and we didn't want to wait that long, so we got back in the car.

The Chianti Classico label at Vescine:


After driving around for a while we settled upon going back to Castello di Gabbiano for dinner. This was our favorite meal of the entire trip, quite unexpectedly. Most places that you eat at in Italy charge you a cover charge AND 12.5% gratuity, so definitely watch your bill. Also, they will leave a basket of break on your table and if you eat from it they charge you per person on that too. Well, Gabbiano was not like that. We sat down and they immediately brought us a glass of prosecco and a small appetizer. We then ordered crostinis and chianti beef for additional starters. For our main meal Greg had a pork fillet in rose sauce that was very good but didn't touch my meal. I ordered rissotto with pigeon (yes you read that right), and it was out of this world. The two chunks of pigeon on the side were not great, it is all dark meat and a bit chewy, but the rissotto with small shreds of pigeon in it had the best flavor of any rice/rissotto meal I have ever tasted. We both devoured as much of it as possible before calling it quits.

Greg & I with the big white dog at Gabbiano:




As we left the restaurant the white dog was lying close to the car so we gave him some love before heading back to our apartment to play a few rounds of cards with our newly bought wine and then calling it a night and heading to bed.