Europe 2010: Italy and France - Part 3, Florence!

Ah Florence... Gelato, Bistecca Fiorentina, Lampredotto sandwiches, and more Gelato! In other words, Florence was all about the FOOD! Of course, there were the sites and museums as well. From the Duomo to the Ufizzi Gallery, Florence had sooo much to offer! Such a wonderful city with so much culture all around. Live music could be heard from the squares each night and there was a warm bustle through each of the markets. And of course, let's not forget about the food! No matter where we went, tourist joint or local dive, the quality of the Tuscan cuisine was apparent everywhere. Bold flavors and fresh ingredients were definitely the name of the game here! My mouth is watering just thinking about it again!

It seemed that everywhere you walked in Florence, you'd stumble across a gelateria. Of course we had to try as many as we could! Alas, gelato will never taste the same to me back here in the states. Florence has made us spoiled with their wonderful and gooey dark chocolate and pistachio concoctions!

Shot of the Duomo bell tower... didn't make it up there unfortunately but at least it looked pretty good from the ground!

Inside a local church we stumbled across in the city. As much as I love churches, this one gave me chills as it was extremely dark and empty inside

Frozen gelato on a stick. Genius!

This was a food cart we stumbled upon walking through Florence, L'antica Tripallo, which served up one of Florence's staples, the tripa and lampredotto sandwiches. In other words, tripe and cow's stomach, which was to die for! So so tasty. That's all I can really say about it. Between Jeannie and I, I think we ate four of them during our trip!

Now this I don't get at all... but for some reason, amongst all the fine tasting european beers, Duff Beer was sold all over the place in Florence!

Maybe the freshest basil and tomato bruschetta I've ever had!

Jeannie checking up on the latest news at one of the hidden wifi spots we were able to find.

Kids playing soccer up against a church wall we passed

Scarves and pashminas were huge sellers in Florence. With all the colors to choose from and at 5 euro a piece, it was hard to resist not picking up at least of few of these for back home!

Bellisima!

Nice to meet you too Mr. Piggy!

...yet another wifi finding!

What the?!... more locks!!!

Europe 2010: Italy and France - Part 2, Venice!

Our next stop on our European vacation was Venice! The pictures really don't do justice to how beautiful of a city this was. Unfortunately for me and Jeannie, we both ended up catching colds during this leg of our journey so didn't spend as much time exploring as we would have liked...plus it was raining as well. Although some people actually told us that this was a blessing in disguise as we couldn't smell any of the fabulous odors that would creep up from the canals! I was also told that roughly 1000 residents a year move away from the city due to a variety of reasons so its slowly becoming more of a amusement attraction over any actual place where people live. So if you ever get the chance soon, Venice is definitely a "must visit"!

Check out Jeannie trekking through Europe with her backpack! This girl knew how to pack light too... I think it was no more than 15 lbs when all was said and done. Here we are navigating through the alleys trying to find the B&B we stayed at.



Pigeons were EVERYWHERE in Venice, especially in St. Mark's Square. These brave souls brought bread to feed the birds and I think every pigeon in the square eventually hoarded around them for a bite.


Venetian gondolas... as iconic as the "It's a Small World" ride at Disneyland! Each day, a line up of gondolas would take willing tourists around on a 40 min loop of the canals.


I'm pretty sure Pinocchio is Italy's national mascot as trinkets with his image were all over the place.



Venice is known for their masquerade masks as well as glass work from the nearby island of Murano. Just a few shots of some of the wonderful detail of both of them.




Each morning, the fish stands would take over one of the squares to sell their daily catches. Here you can see a wonderful octopus salad prepared at a local fish market, Pesce Pronto.


I still haven't figured this one out yet. But on quite of few of the bridges and gates in both Venice and Florence, we'd see tons of locks with little messages left of them shackled to the railings. Anyone know?





Ah Venice in the evenings... despite the rainy weather, the reflections on the wet ground helped create a wonderful glow each night that would light up the city and create a warm sense of feel.

Europe 2010: Italy and France - Part 1, Rome!

Yay! After two weeks on vacation with my wife, Jeannie, we're finally back home. As much as traveling to Europe really is a delight, there really is something irresistible about sleeping in your own bed. Don't get me wrong though, Europe was fantastic! In two weeks, we were able to backpack through Rome, Venice, Florence, and Paris. Here's the set of highlights from our first stop, Rome! We did all of the touristy stuff of course and had the pleasant surprise of attending mass at St. Peter's Basilica where the Pope himself made an unexpected appearance!

Jeannie lounging around at Heathrow waiting for our connection

Lining up for the Sistine chapel. Wall to wall tourists all shuffling along...

Surprise visit by the Pope at a mass we attended in St. Peter's Basilica. We were so surprised to be even allowed in the mass at all as it as a funeral for a cardinal that had recently passed, but we were lucky and got to be 60 ft from the alter with about 100 other tourists who they let in.

...probably the most diverse selection for chocolate gelato I've seen in one place! The dark chocolate was HEAVEN!

... and Jeannie enjoying her two scoops! Clearly, the kids are checking our which flavors she decided on.

Obligatory Coliseum shot...

One of the many fine meals we enjoyed during our trip. Each dish was a guess to us as all we told the waiter was that we liked surprises! In this case, it was a mixed antipasto of cured meats and smoked seafood!

Waiting around with the thousands of other visitors for the Pope to give his weekly address and blessing

This clown was giving away "free hugs" in one of the piazzas we visited... he had a sign translated in English as well so the tourists wouldn't be freaked out.