The First Week

Hey everyone! I've decided to start a blog to make it easier to tell everyone everything. Plus, I don't want to forget anything that I've done. So here it goes.

When I first arrived I was amazed by Rome! It all looks so quaint and beautiful. Once we got settled in we went for a little walk and just happened to stumble upon the Coliseum. I was stunned! It was just sitting there in the middle of the city amidst all the hustle and bustle. That is when I really started to realize that Rome is a history book. After our stroll, we were exhausted so we crashed for several hours. Waking up again was the hardest thing. But we pushed through and got an amazing dinner out of it. Our group went to a small restaurant called the Gallina Bianca. We had pizza and gelato for dinner and let me tell you, best pizza I had had up till that point in my life! The crust is so thin and the ingredients so fresh. There is just no comparison. And I don't know what it is about Rome, but eating pizza and ice cream for dinner just seems healthier than in the states.

The next day we set out for the real adventure. We had a walking tour of Rome scheduled for the middle of the day. I don't know if you guys have been checking up on your global weather lately, but Italy is experiencing a heat wave. Our tour guide, Nick, led us to all the main attractions. We stopped by a Santa Maria Basilica. The facade is made from the ruins of an ancient roman bathhouse. History lesson of the day, the word spa is apparently an ancient acronym. It comes from the saying "Salute Per Acqua" or health through water. The ancient romans believed that water was the source of all life. Continuing our theme of water we headed to the Trevi Fountain. I must admit, it's actually smaller than I expected. And much more concealed. It is located at the end of a palace in a small plaza. The water comes from an ancient aqueduct and is safe to drink, if you are brave. Some girls in our group filled their water bottles from it and survived, so I guess that's a good sign. I threw one coin into the fountain to hopefully ensure that I will return to Rome. I thought about throwing more, but finding love in Rome and getting married in Rome just don't appeal to me for some reason. Maybe they will when I return. We then continued through tiny cobblestone streets to the Pantheon. We were just walking down a street and BAM! it hit us. The Pantheon in all its marble glory stood before us when we got to the end of the tiny street. Romans like the surprise effect like that. The Pantheon, might I say, is huge. The architecture is amazing too! The entire dome roof is supported by nothing except the walls on the outside. And there is a big hole in the middle of the roof. Doesn’t seem structurally sound to me, but it’s been standing a lot longer than I’ve been alive, so I guess they did something right. The hole, or eye, is the only source of light in the place. It also lets in a lot of rain, for which the ancient Romans created a pretty advanced drainage system. The ancient Romans were geniuses. We made our way to the Coliseum after the Pantheon, making several stops along the way. We stopped at a big beautiful white building, the Capitol, and the forum. The Coliseum amazed me even the second time I saw it. Probably because the first time I didn't see it up close. Every detail has meaning to it, even the decorations on the tops of the pillars. The combination of the three different pillar tops was supposed to say to visitors, We are Rome, Please come in, We are strong and will not fall on you. All that, just from simple decorations. The inside was incredibly intricate too. The maze of cages in the bottom was enough to wow me. Can you believe that it used to be completely covered in marble? What happened to that marble you might ask yourself? Well, during the Renaissance, architects needed marble and they needed it fast, so they deconstructed buildings, such as the Coliseum to take the marble. Did they not know that thousands of years later people would go to see these ruins that they pretty much destroyed?!?!? Silly people. At least they were green and recycled though. This night we ate dinner in a 2,000 year old tower. It was pretty spectacular. They brought us out a pasta dish and we all scarfed it, thinking that was it. Then they brought out salad. At this point we were like, maybe they just do things backwards here. Nope. The meat came next. Meat and potatoes! How were we supposed to eat meat and potatoes after gorging on pasta and salad? I, personally, could only eat a few bites. But those were some mighty delicious bites. Chicken Saltimbocca and rosemary potatoes. That will certainly be on my list of things to make when I get home. Next came the tiramisu. Anyone who knows me, knows I ate all of that. I had been dying for some tiramisu since before I left the states, and I got it! So I was pretty happy. After that we all felt like dead weight, but that did not keep us from enjoying the Roman night up on the roof of our hotel. We had a pretty spectacular view overlooking the city from up there.


The next day we went on a bus tour of Rome. Talk about being super tourists! We saw many of the same things we saw the day before, but we added the Vatican, the circus maximus, and the site of Julius Caesar's death to the list. We also got to experience driving in Rome. I pray that I never have to do that again. It looked like we were going to hit so many people and so many cars. I had to close my eyes several times. After that we hopped on a travel bus to head up to Tuscany. On our way to our resort, we stopped at a place called the Tarot Gardens. This lady had these dreams that dealt with the Tarot cards and she wanted to bring them to life. So she spent 15 years sculpting and constructing these things. It was like Alice in Wonderland, Willy Wonka, and Lady Gaga all wrapped in to one! Kinda trippy, but extremely cool. She even lived inside of one of her sculptures. She had an entire apartment, appliances and all. And all of it was covered in mirrors. Pictures don't even do this sculpture garden justice. It was just a incredible that this place was stuck in the middle of the Tuscan countryside, surrounded by farms and fields and little villas. Here is the website to the gardens. http://www.nikidesaintphalle.com/ 
We then arrived at our resort. There were sunflowers everywhere! Sunflowers are one of the big exports of souther Tuscany. The sunflower fields looked like they extended forever from our hotel out. It was amazing! If I ever marry an Italian, let's just say you all will see this place for my wedding. But with the likelihood of that happening, I'm just going to recommend that you all come for a visit. We ate dinner at the resort like true Italians. Dinner didn't start until after 8. We started with two anitpasti dishes, then spaghetti, and then nutella pizza! I would try and describe the food, but you can only say the words amazing and incredible so many times.


Now we get to Wednesday. Wednesday is the day my dreams came true. We got to go wine tasting at a Tuscan vineyard! Just driving through the country to the vineyard would have been enough to satiate my desire to see beauty. The huge vineyards with rows and rows or grape vines and olive trees against the backdrop of rolling, green mountains. I don't know whose jaw would not drop seeing that. At the vineyard we got to learn how to make wine. So new goal in life, make wine. Even if it's just a bottle. The staff then served us a traditional Tuscan lunch. It started out with prosciutto, salami, sausage, cheese, and honey. Believe it or not, cheese and honey is pretty darn good. This is when we got our first taste of wine. They brought us out a bottle of their white wine and rose wine. So we learned that you start light, and work your way darker. We got to pour ourselves a taste of the wine. We examined it for color and transparency. To be honest, it looked like wine to me. Then we learned the proper way to swirl and smell it. Wine tasting is no even really about the taste. It is about the experience of the wine. It should please all of the senses. Next we took a sip and let it rest on our tongue. Resting on the tongue is very important. We then got melon to go along with the rose wine. And finally we got liver pate and bruschetta, pronounced bru-ske-ta, to finish off the meal with the red wine. I feel like a wine snob now. So when I become of age in the US, nothing will live up to the standards set by Tuscan wine. After leaving the winery, we traveled to a little coastal area called Cinquale, which is where I am now.


Thursday we got to adventure up in the part of the Alps that are here. We visited a little town called Pietrasanta. This is where all the big name sculptors go. The town itself is like an art gallery. It is just littered with sculptures everywhere. It was really neat to see the city wall that was built during the Medieval times. It still blows my mind at how old these things are. Just imagine if construction was still like that. Our cities would last through anything! Our next stop was the marble quarries in the mountains. So these mountains are literally made of marble. Like the entire mountain! All they have to do is cut out a piece of it. There is a whole long process of how they do that, but that's still all they have to do! We got to walk in a cave that was pure marble! Like the floor, the walls, the roof. All marble. Solid. Do you know how much you would have to pay to build a marble room? And here we were, just standing on solid marble. We then stopped at a Lardo production place. Lardo is exactly what it sounds like. Lard. The quarry men back in the old days had to eat cheap, high calorie food in order to have the energy to work. So they found a way to make this stuff called lardo. They take the back fat of the pig and put it in these marble tubs, layer it with salt and tons of seasonings and let it sit for 6 months. It smells a bit funky, and looks a bit off, but it doesn't taste half bad. At first I was skeptical of eating pure lard, but hey, when in Tuscany... As one girl put it, it is like eating meat butter. Don't get me wrong, this isn't something I would eat on a daily basis (just imagine the blood pressure and clogged arteries) but it was something I might try again. After this we got dinner on the beach, and they served some of my favorites! Pesto lasagna, caprese salad, and fruit for dessert. Once again I say, delicious! Don't worry, I will cook when I get home.


Today we started out with a tour of the Carnival museum. They have Carnival here too! Just like Rio. Why don't we do this everywhere in the States? It should start happening. We got to see some of they floats and they are huge! They are housed in three or four story tall warehouses. Here, most of the floats deal with political issues and make fun of politicians. Not to be crude or anything, but I did see the unmentionables of some European politicians. That I could have lived without. I don't think that part would fly in the States, but we need to start celebrating Carnival. Then we traveled to the promenade where the Carnival parade takes place. It is in a town called Viareggio. I don't know how big the towns are here because it is like southern California, there is no separation between the towns. Yet, they all have the same small town feel. Since this place is famous and on the coast of Italy, rich people from all over vacation here constantly. We saw yachts that were probably worth $100 million. One day, one day. After lunch we headed back to our hotel for a beach day! The beaches here are amazing. The sand is soft as flour and the water is pretty warm. I don't know what it is about the Mediterranean Sea, but it has healing qualities. You get into it, and even if you didn't feel bad before, you just feel better. My hair had some really awesome beachy waves when I got out. I'm starting to look Italian! Besides the blondeness. Now it's time for dinner. Italian seafood on the beach. 


Sorry this is so long! But it is so hard to be concise about a week of traveling in Italy. The rest will be more regular and shorter, I promise!