Siena, Italy

Sienna is quite a stunning retreat in Tuscany, it is a less touristy version of Florence.  We stayed in a cozy AirBnB in the heart of town with a nice bedroom, bathroom, free WiFi, laundry and a wonderful homemade breakfast.

Not to mention...We a great view of the city from our window.

The red-bricked streets of Siena are bustling with people enjoying the quaint medieval city. 

We visited the cathedral (Duomo), at the top of Sienas highest point. The cathedral was very lavish- and had more statues and mosaics than I could ever imagine.  Inside were the great works of Michelangelo and Bernini. 

Siena is divided into nine sections, symbolizing the ruling Council of the Nine, which commissioned it during their rule of Sienna from 1292 to 1355.  During the Palio, each district races a horse in the town square.  Spectators from all over the world come to watch the races and cheer on their favorite horse.  When we were there the districts were starting to set up their flags to get ready for the upcoming races.

We found a great little gem tucked away off the busy pedestrian streets.

At Pizzicheria de Miccoli you can find Proscuitto de Siena, aged meats, fine cheeses, and great crostini.  We would get sandwiches from the shop (we even tried wild boar salami) and sit in the Piazza del Campo and enjoy people watching.

YUM!

The Piazza del Campo is surrounded by restaurants and the center is an incline that would slowly start filling up with people in the late afternoon hanging out in groups enjoying the ambience. As the sun starts to set hundreds of bats come out and dance around the sky overhead. We would lay back, relax, and enjoy the show.

We made an adventure out of Siena by renting a Vespa scooter and taking it through the Tuscan countryside.  I was a little hesitant to jump on board because neither of us had ever driven a Vespa but Jordan was very convincing to the rental office who insisted that we must know how to drive the scooter rent it.  Once we figured out how to get the kickstand up, we were good to go!

The Tuscan countryside was beautiful, it was a good thing I wasn't driving much because the views were distracting.

We scootered to the medieval hilltown of San Gimignano and walked around.

We had a great time in Siena, but it wasn't complete without some Gelato.  As the last stop on our Italy adventure we celebrated Siena with lots of different flavors...

and an account of how much gelato we ate...

Such great memories we have made traveling through Italy!  Hopefully we will be back soon. Caio. 

Florence, Italy

We had such a great time in Florence, there was so much to see and do! Check out our time here...read along:

Our explorations in Florence started the minute we got to the city since we had trouble finding our hotel. Hotel Albergo Bencidormi is very unassuming from the outside.  It is inside an old apartment building but once inside it was clean, fresh and user friendly. We had a private bathroom which was across the hallway, but it was no problem.  The hotel was very reasonably priced and the location was unbeatable: both walking distance from the train station and the old main center of Florence.  The receptionist was nice, and they were accommodating when we asked if we could leave our bags in the hotel after our checkout so that we could continue to wander the city.

We climbed up the Duomo, which is the main Catholic Church of Florence. Construction of the Duomo was a multi generation affair it started in 1296 and wasn't finished until 1436. The original architect died 100 years before it was finished, he must have left some pretty good plans! The view from top is spectacular! But climbing up the stairs through the narrow corridors was a pretty tight squeeze.

We hiked up to the The Palazzo Michelangelo where we admired the beautiful city from the spectacular view.  One of Jordan's most vivid memories from his visit to Florence with his family 10+ years ago was his mom leading them up to the monastery San Miniato al Monte above the palazzo to hear the chanting monks. The monks weren't chanting until later that day so they had to make the hike up twice. Unfortunately, we missed them as well and we weren't as motivated to try a second time. I was sad to have missed their chanting, Jordan not so much. Legend has it that an early christian was beheaded in the town square on the orders of the Emperor, he promptly picked up his head and started walking out of town to the top of the hill; they built the monastery where his body collapsed. I can admit I'm a little gullible but I even question if this is true...

We had a wonderful experience in Florence taking a cooking class with Taste Italy. Our guide was named Eliza and she took us on a food tour of the city; highlighting the city's food history and stopping at different markets along the way to pick up local ingredients for our meal.

One of my favorite stops was the Florence Central Market. There is everything here!  Butchers, fishmongers, cheesemongers, delis, fresh fruit, vegetables, and every delicious Italian delicacy.   If you want a good selection of prosciutto this is the place to go-you can choose from wild board, goose and venison.  If you are hungry for lunch, take the escalator to the top floor, where there is a huge dining hall of Italian eateries.

We were taken up to their country estate in the hills above Florence.  The property has their own olive gardens, were they produce 200 liters of fresh extra virgin olive oil a year.  We learned that the first press of olives is extra virgin, the second press is virgin, and the third is just plain olive oil.

Our cooking class was lead by a wonderful Italian woman named Carmella.  She was a true Italian mama and didn't speak any English, but she had translators to help her.  She had a real passion for cooking; you can tell she puts lots of love into her food because she sings to her ingredients as she cooks.

We started our cooking class with learning how to make bruschetta.  You toast the bread BEFORE you put on any olive oil.

After trying our bruschetta we prepared the ragu for the bolognese because it needed two hours to simmer. While the ragu was cooking, we learned how to make pasta, which was much easier than I thought because you just need extra fine grade flour and an egg.  Carmella showed us demonstrations on how to make different types of pasta, and what types of pasta work best with specific sauces.  

Check out her demonstration of how to make a tortellini!

Then it was our turn to give it a try... Jordan is starting to look Italian

Our finished product

We got to make our own pizzas while our pasta dried out...it only takes 90-seconds in the pizza oven to create a true "Napoleon" style.

We then made a pork roast with potatoes.  We used sage, rosemary, garlic, salt and a lot of olive oil to flavor the roast.

And then we worked on desserts...but what we made is a surprise!

 All of the food was molto bene!

and of course....tiramisu and gelatto for dessert!

After feeding ourselves well, we said goodbye to our new friends and walked along the Ponte Vecchio, looking at the local jewelry shops. 

We paid tribute to Jordan's favorite Italian political figure at the Basicilia of Santa Croce-Machiavelli

 I loved the ceiling inside!

We had a wonderful time in Florence, but it wouldn't be complete without an Italian dessert.  Up to now, Jordan and I had been looking for an Italian cannoli, and Florence was the place to find it.  After we took an evening tour around Florence with our Rick Steves app, we found the best cannoli shop just north east of the duomo called Carabe. Don't be confused if all you see when you enter is gelato. The owner makes the cannolis to order upon request, that way they are fresh and shells stay crisp.

Well Florence, we had a great time!  Can't wait to return one day soon.