Being American in Rome

Rome is my favorite big European city. I had been waiting almost 3 months to get to Rome, show Ryan Rome and soak in as much Roman as possible. Within hours of dropping our bags at an Airbnb in Trastevere we found ourselves getting haircuts from a native Californian, tracking down authentic chips and guacamole and when the chips and guacamole weren't enough, ordering a giant plate of nachos. Don't worry, we washed it all down with a few cold ones. On our first day, I absolutely failed as a tour guide to Ryan. However, I was reminded how good it feels to have a normal, flowing english conversation and eat guacamole that does not resemble green goo.

Meet Rick. He is the handsome and eccentric owner of Noi Salon and proudly gave Ryan his first buzz cut. He is from Laguna, California and my favorite two things about Rick are (and trust me, this guy is a character and there are many) 1) He played a Swedish swinger in an Italian soap opera and 2) he used to be the style and beauty instructor for Pan Am. He, and I quote, "made the skies a more beautiful place to fly" 

Meet an excerpt from the menu at The Perfect Bun. It should be called The Perfect Nacho. Please note we ordered item #1 and item #5. It might have been the best day of my life.

Meet the nachos. This is an actual photo and not a dramatization. I consider myself a bit of a nacho connoisseur. If nachos were a food group, they would be my favorite. This place nailed it. Nailed it. Each topping was evenly distributed amongst the layers, they baked the dish and the cheese was perfectly melted. If it were socially acceptable, I would have ordered another helping.  

Fun Fact: It is REALLY hard to get a decent avocado in Rome. I mean, really really hard. So hard, in fact, that the owner of The Perfect Bun has some sort of crazy connection in Israel and imports Hass avocados from there.

Cinque Terre: Italian on Italian on Italian

I have always been curious as to where locals of a particular country go on vacation.  Is there a time of the year that is most popular?  Do they go abroad or stay domestic?  I have been pleasantly surprised during this trip that many western Europeans choose to stay domestic for their vacations, something that isn't consistent for other countries around the world.  I'm looking at you Australia.  

In Italy, that place is Cinque Terre.  Unless you have traveled extensively, like to skim thru Rick Steves books in your spare time, or are substantially cooler than I, you have likely not heard of this place. However, once you arrive you understand why this place is such a gem.  And during each August you witness how it becomes Italy on top of Italy with a topping of Italy.  Yes, all of August. Yes, we are doing something wrong back home with this two weeks of vacation crap.  

So grab your fedora, ladies ditch your top, pour yourself a spritz and enjoy the trip thru "The Five Lands".

Monterosso.  Our home (and one of the five towns) during our stay.

What's that?  What do you do in Cinque Terre?  Great question, I'd be happy to tell you.  

You start by staying a Manuel's Guesthouse.  It's in Monterosso at the top of town, exactly 134 steps up to their place.  I know, a real shocker to all that I counted.  Owned by Manuel, who of course is an artist who spends his afternoon painting in the square below, run by his brother Giovanni and nephew Lorenzo.  They have a massive bar consisting of three options: red wine, white wine or beer.  All on tap.  Jamie and I agreed that Giovanni is one of our favorite people yet.  With the purchase of a 3 euro wine on tap this jovial, 70 something Italian proceeds to prepare an entire plate of fresh fruit, bread and olive oil.  Interested in some prosciutto?  Yep, he'll include an entire plate as well.  I had mentioned to him during check in that Jamie's birthday was coming up, in hopes that he would wish her best wishes on that morning, he proceeded to chill and deliver a bottle of Prosecco for us to enjoy that evening.  Certainly not fancy but one of our best stays yet.  

Here's the shot from their terrace.  

Best 3 euro wine in town.

(You can all thank the weird servers in Turkey for the fact that we can't get a picture uploaded.  Stupid ISIS)

(Update: We loaded picture, thanks Tunnelbear VPN.  Suck it ISIS)

Next on your agenda is to make the picturesque hike between the five towns. For most, this would not cause any trepidation but as many of you know we had a slightly uncomfortable hiking experience a few weeks ago.  As has been the consistent theme throughout our trip, we threw caution to the wind and set off on the trail.  

Later Monterosso

Nice head tilt weirdo.

The hike is spectacular.  Yes, there are a few spots that set off Jamie's vertigo but nothing even remotely close to the insanity of Switzerland. The trail for us started in Monterosso, where you have an immediate 30 minute climb straight-up a seemingly endless set of mountain steps.  As we were walking south the Ligurian Sea was our constant landmark to our right, one that seemed to stretch out forever into the distance.  It feels very different from anywhere I have been.  I have been to beaches, I have been to the mountains but none mashes up the two in the same Girl Talk way as Cinque Terre. We finished the hike in Corniglia as the last portion was closed (yes, we have learned our lesson).  If you come the hike is an absolute must.  Plus, it will help you feel better when you eat your weight in pasta and risotto later that night.  

  

View from the trail as you enter Vernazza.  

 The next item on your agenda is to vacation the Italian way and hit the beach.  Don't worry about getting up early and putting books and towels down to claim your spot as the Italian's aren't interested in moving too much until about noon.  The beach doesn't really hit its stride until about 3pm.  The people watching as you can imagine is amazing, it seems there has been a collective agreement to conserve the use of clothing for both genders while on the beach. Think of the most ridiculous beach outfit you could wear and yep, I'm sure you'd see it.  As long as it requires little to no clothes.

The last item on the agenda may be the most important.  Eat and drink.  Seafood is king in Cinque Terre and our favorite was the seafood risotto.  Thanks to a recommendation from our Australian friends at Manuel's house we had possibly our best meal yet, the seafood risotto was insane.  So much so that we went back the following night (for Jamie's Birthday) for the exact same meal.  We also met Kiko.  Ahhh, Kiko.  Now one of Jamie's proud facebook friends, Kiko's family owns the restaurant and was our waiter for both meals.  He was as much a reason as to why we loved the restaurant as the food.  He was about our age (yes Julie, about 54), so full of life and happiness.  After our meal he brought over some after dinner drinks, we drank together and shut the restaurant down.  We talked about family, dogs, dog training, people of the world and of course food.  A great conversation, a great meal and a great night.  We'll be back again some day for that seafood risotto.

In the case of Cinque Terre the Italian's have gotten it correct, there is no need to leave the country when looking for one of the coolest vacation spots in the world.  Well worth the terrain and the steps, all 134 of them.

Kevin, foosball rematch? Of course the table is in the middle of Vernazza's harbor, duh.

Fun Fact: The only way to reach Cinque Terre is by train.  More fun fact, if you're a tourist they assume you have a ticket.  Ryan/Jamie 1, Cinque Terre 0

Il Cocco, Rococo, Hot Coco

This post is only about Il Cocco, however I got really excited about using as many "o's" and "c's" as possible in the title...

Podere Il Cocco in Montalcino is a must stop when visiting Tuscany. I have been there twice, once in 2010 and again during our stay at Cretaiole. The winemaker, Giacomo, has been working to enhance the guest experience and added an agriturismo since my last visit. We always planned on making a stop to taste his wine, and were pleasantly surprised when we learned we could each lunch on site as well.

Greeted by three friendly dogs and two friendly women, we were escorted into a charming, old farm room where we privately dined on delicious concoctions from the garden. We washed each dish down with a few glasses of Giacomo's Rose and with full stomachs walked the few feet to start our wine tour and tasting. We spent the next hour with Giacomo (DJ turned wine maker) learning all about his land, winemaking process, Italian rules and regulations surrounding wine making and he even allowed us to label a few bottles. Giacomo's wine is impressive, we all purchased a few cases, however maybe even more impressive is his passion and dedication to his business. I would guess he is in his mid thirties and could easily be spinning the night away at local disco techs, hypnotizing the masses and bringing in a decent pay check. However, he single handedly runs his small winery with annual help during harvest season and occasional help from his father. It is a true labor of love and as cheesy as it sounds, you can taste it in his wine. I am a total sucker for passion, hard work and good people. If you are too, go visit Giacomo and his two dogs Baloo and Cookie. You won't be disappointed.

Tuscan Tradition

After a couple days in Florence (side note: so sorry to disappoint our wide reaching fan base, however there will not be a post about Florence. It was great, we can send you pictures upon request for a small fee. As we are currently in Croatia, payment can only be made in Kunas. Thank you for your consideration), we picked up our Alfa Romeo (why are rental cars so much cooler in Europe?) and headed to meet up with Julie, Richard, Jon and Lauren at an Agriturismo (an agriculturally based operation that hosts visitors and tourists) named Cretaiole just outside of Pienza in the Tuscany region of Italy.  We rolled up to this site and immediately fell in love with the ambiance and scenery. 

 

Cretaiole in all her glory, another "cute on cute" situation

Little did we know between large meals, copious amounts of wine and meeting new friends we would also gain firsthand knowledge and respect for the history and people of Tuscany. Which, perhaps, makes this place the most special of all.

Our first night on the farm the patriarch of the family (Luciano Moricciani) came knocking on our doors around 10pm. He doesn’t speak a word of English, but he was holding a bottle of homemade Grappa in one hand and a bottle of his Vin Santo (dessert wine) in the other. This, we have found, is a universal language. He wanted to share the fruits of his labor (literally) and we were mesmerized by his generosity and passion. We spent the next 4-5 hours using Google translate to try and learn about Luciano, join him in a few awkward slow dances and finish off his welcome gifts… as we did not want to insult him… We woke up the next morning groggy and severely dehydrated (as an FYI, do not combine the sugars from vin santo dessert wine and the high alcohol content from grappa. Hangover probability equals 100%). I'm not sure if Luciano is half human or there is something in the Italian water, however he was up at dawn working his farm and preparing for our visit later in the day. A true testament to the Tuscan work ethic and ability to consume alcohol. 

The charming Luciano

Luciano making his own feed for his farm animals

Luciano’s daughter-in-law (Isa) is from Milan and is very impressive. When the family decided to turn the farm into an agriturismo she, understanding the desires of travelers and market competition, pushed very hard to put a pool on the property.  Our new pal Luciano, who was born into a family of sharecroppers, argued that pools are not natural to the land and that he would plant a beautiful vegetable garden for the guests to use during their stay instead. From where I stand, pool does not equal vegetable garden. However, for Luciano it is more important to respect the land and provide gifts through the land than to give the people what they want.

When the scenery looks like this, who needs a pool?

When the veggies look like this, who needs a pool?

We indulged in a ton of activities during our week stay at Cretaiole. We went wine tasting more than once, we ate and cooked amazing dinners, we soaked in natural sulfur baths, we hung on Carlotta's every word during educational tours and we even stumbled across a Banjo look a-like during a truffle hunting excursion. However, my favorite activity was when all of the Cretaiole guests joined the Moricciani clan in a Pici making class followed by a communal dinner under the stars.

Isa dishing out piles of Pici (photo cred: Cretaiole webiste. I was too busy stuffing my face to take pictures

In this moment, I felt we experienced Tuscany in its purest form. We came together to make simple dishes by hand, filling the room with laughter and sharing stories from our packed week. Each guest brought a salad or dessert to share, which strengthened the sense of community. We made new friendships and added more memories to current ones. And this time, we knew to gracefully pass on the grappa and vin santo.


Fun Facts (because 2 is sometimes better than 1):

1) Here is a picture of our crew. Jon and Lauren are long time friends of Richard and Julie and we were lucky to have them join us for this amazing week!

Our Cretaiole Crew! Jon hates fun.

2) There are a ton of natural hot springs in the Tuscany region. Some are completely natural and can be found in the woods, others have been transformed into hotel pools with public access. We checked out both and will always have a soft spot for the bathing cap requirement at Bagno Vignoni. 

Such a good look on us...

Venice: Epcot or Real Life?

Venice is sinking.  Estimates vary as to how long it will take before much of the city will be uninhabitable but unless an engineering miracle takes place, there is an unavoidable expiration date. We will all have to hope this occurs as it would be a shame to lose such a place.

Let's first clear the air on Venice.  Yes, it's overrun by tourists.  Yes, it sometimes feels like you are strolling through Epcot Center.  Yes, there are a bunch of crappy restaurants that take advantage of dumb tourists who desperately want to eat dinner on the Grand Canal.  But, just around the bend from all of that is a city that can take you to a very distant place.  Every guidebook advises the same thing, get lost in Venice, we did and it was absolutely worth it.

Just away from the tourist trap area, the real Venice suspended in time.

While wandering thru Venice you get the sensation that all of a sudden, the clock in Venice, decided to stand still.  Some may perceive this to be a negative, a testament to a town of trade that once thrived is now fading and sinking (figuratively and literally).  I take the other side of that argument as I view the suspension of time as a rare opportunity to feel a city as it was hundreds of years ago.  Sure, much of the canal activity is for tourist benefit but if you peel back the onion a bit you realize that an entire city ran on, and was supported by water.  It's mind blowing to really think of how much needed to happen for the island city of Venice to come together.

Grand Canal.  The expressway of Venice.

Oh, hey.  You were interested in a post card shot?  Yep, got it.

A few recommendations if you plan to go.  First, the Rick Steeve's Grand Canal tour is a must, it's brilliant as they have timed the tour so that you can sit on the Vaporetto Line 1 as they teach you about Venice on the 45 minute commute thru town.  Second, make sure to hit the Peggy Guggenheim museum.  I'm not a big art guy but to see the personal collection of such an iconic figure as Peggy Guggenheim is pretty damn cool.  It's very approachable and most definitely worth a visit.

Outside on the veranda of the Peggy Guggenheim museum.  We're so cultured.   

 Lastly, if you're looking for a place to eat you must hit up La Feluca. We ate there two nights in a row.  The food was delicious, the wine was perfectly paired.  However, the real reason we returned was the service as we were absolutely charmed by Adrian, the head waiter.  "I am at your disposition" was his go to english line.  I am a sucker for service and when combined with delicious food I am all yours.  The second dinner was even better than the first.

Oh, sorry its just me and this adorable canal.

I loved it, we loved it.  Venice didn't disappoint.  #dontletvenicesink

Oh, I almost forgot.  This also happened.

Swisslandia

Contrary to popular belief and much to our parents satisfaction, we did not spend our entire stay in Switzerland tempting fate. We rented a quintessential mountain condo in the valley of the Swiss alps, also known as Lauterbrunnen. Despite the winteresque (new word?) weather, we made the very most of our 4 days in this picturesque town. 

Lauterbrunnen in all its glory

We spent two days hiking and although the first day was less death defying than the second (see Zu), we still managed to get lost, take the road less traveled, almost lose daylight and end up soaked and chilled to the bone. Thank goodness home is always a train and gondola ride away. Day 3 greeted us with a torrential downpour, so we made the best of the weather by taking small walks around Lauterbrunnen, over caffeinating at the adorable coffee shops that sprinkle the town, and signing up for paragliding (???). 

Hike up to Murren, pre torrential downpour

Are you sensing a theme here? Ryan loves to hydrate via mountain spring water

 Day 4 found us meeting up (at total random) with Julie and Richard for a raft down the Lutschine river. I love river rafting. As a child, we took annual rafting trips in Washington, Oregon and Idaho. In fact, river rafting was a planned activity at our recent wedding. When I grew up, I wanted to be a raft guide. We all know how this story ends, however every time I get a paddle in my hand and wedge my foot into a nook of the raft I am reminded of my childhood dream and immediately feel the need to share this with our guide. Sorry, Sven. River rafting is work, however due to the low river volume (this has been the coldest summer the Swiss have seen in 35 years. The snow is not melting, therefore the river is not swelling) this is the hardest I have ever worked getting a raft down a river. We high sided and bounced off more rocks than J Lo has in her jewelry collection. I can still hear Sven yelling "get down", "all left","all right" SH_T!". It was an awesome adventure and ended with a group swim in the magnificent Lake Thun.

Our final morning, as we had a 12:33pm train departure to Venice, found us waking up far too early for an 8am paraglide. I was determined to leave Switzerland with a memory other than our terrifying hike. The gregarious Julian (my tandem) and stoically Swiss Hans (Ryan's tandem) led us up two gondolas past the town of Murren to the launch point. It was a blue bird morning. I nervously recounted our horrendous hiking experience and casually mentioned my aversion to heights. Julian was less than sympathetic as he replied, "what did heights ever do to you?" Ryan was already in the air as Julian said, "Ok Jamie, I need you to run now". Before I could back out, we were soaring through the air. Vertigo is a funny thing. Walking along the edge of a cliff will send me into a frightening spin. However, soaring through the air makes me happy. I am not afraid of heights, I just hate being dizzy. Wouldn't you? I loved paragliding! You see the world from an entirely new perspective and you feel free as a bird, for what it's worth. I didn't want it to end. Ever. I landed in a small field, adrenaline pumping through my veins, hoping I had charmed Julian enough for him to offer me another flight. I didn't, but he charmed us into purchasing the photos he and Hans took during our flight. 

Ryan and Hans, soaring above Murren

Flying like an eagle with Julian!

While Switzerland is best experienced during good weather, I absolutely encourage any traveler to make a stop in the Berner Oberland region. It is a sight to be seen and the ultimate adrenaline junky destination. If I can do it, you can too. 

Fun Fact: The local language is Swiss German, which is considered a slang language as you can't actually write it and it has no applied grammar.

A Few of My Favorite Things

You probably just read Ryan's blog post about Provence. He isn't lying, the place is absolutely magical. If someone gave me a euro each time I muttered the phrase, "What if we stayed! What if we bought a vineyard and became wine makers and just stayed!" I could probably hire the real estate agent needed to look for said vineyard. But hey, it's a start and a girl can dream. There were many highlights during our long week of Provençal living, however I must apologize to the cream colored ponies and crisp apple strudels, as the floating market at L'Isle-sur-la-Sorgue and a Provençal cooking class officially rank higher on my list of favorite things.

When I close my eyes and picture a French market I imagine stalls overflowing with perfectly ripened produce, men in aprons slicing hunks of cheese from wheels the size of my head, spices nestled into burlap sacks, dried fruit, nuts, the aroma of fresh baguettes wafting through the air, proteins that are both recognizable and frightening (brain or heart anyone?), soaps, flowers, linens, beautiful antiques that put the replicas at Anthropologie to shame and the constant banter, barter and exchange of coins between customer and vendor. When I open my eyes at L'Isle-sur-la-Sorgue I see my fantasy become a reality. 

We sampled every cheese, so good!!

"cute on cute"

If this isn't enough charm to last a lifetime, throw in the fact that we happened to visit the market on the first Sunday in August. Why does this matter you ask? Whelp, for more than 20 years, on the first Sunday in August, the market invites local producers to sell their wares from flat bottomed boats along the Sorgue river. The boats criss cross from bank to bank, flanked in flowers and filled to the brim with local goods (flowers, produce, lavender, honey, soaps, etc). The entire scene (as if it isn't charming enough) is set to local music, each vendor is wearing traditional costume and they add in a few market "clowns" (two men pretending to sink, fall out of their boat, etc) for good measure. It is exhilarating and delightful. Not ones to miss out on tradition, Julie and I purchased a bouquet of flowers from one of the boats. This included us pointing at the bouquet, the vendor throwing it at me, me testing my hand-eye coordination (success), and then tossing a coin back at the merchant. Transaction complete. We later discovered the floating market tradition dates back to when the towns fisherman came down on Sundays from their upstream villages to sell their goods directly from their boats. All in all, the market was a success and we left with lighter pockets and arms full of market delights. 

Floating market, ridiculously adorable

Flower purchase success!

Il est 5 heures quelque part (look it up)

 Since our Paella cooking class was such a success, we decided to try our hand at Provençal style cooking. With Richard back in the fold (he had traveled to the US of A for a good friends wedding), we drove 1.5 hours along country road to Barbara's house in Vaison la Romaine. Upon arrival, we were greeted by Barbara who is originally from Germany but officially living my dream as she and her husband have retired to Provence. She gave us our cooking aprons and a tour of her amazing property. They have a pool. They have a lovely lawn. They have olive trees and annually collect 11 lbs of olives to make one bottle of oil. They have fresh herbs. They have fig trees. They have it all. They better watch out because I might just move in. 

I am eating a fig. I am holding fresh Rosemary. I am hanging out with a butterfly. I am in heaven.

We spent the first portion of the class learning about olive oil production and collecting various herbs from her garden. She then put us to work chopping, weighing, stirring, mixing and preparing our 6 course lunch, all the while making sure our glasses were filled with Rose´(I must mention the class started at 9:30am and day drinking is totally normal in Provence). We spent the next few hours chatting with the delightful Barbara and watching all the pieces of our menu puzzle come together to create a meal. While we dipped our feet in her pool, Barbara set her patio table and then we all sat down to dine. 

Richard, looking like a French Froggie, drinking his Rose´ by the pool

The meal included: mousseline, tapenade, sable´s, petites quiches, tian de legumes and clafoutis aux abricots

The lunch was amazing and I've officially decided to purchase, at the very least, a "return to Provence" piggy bank. I am positive the winters will bring snowflakes that stay on my nose and eyelashes and the silver white winters will melt into springs. Because, Provence, you are my favorite thing.

Fun Fact: We debunked the french are rude myth! Between a handful of strangers helping us try and find housing and a rental car after a delayed train from Barcelona to Marseilles (we were a day late to Provence) and the hospitality of Patrick and Michele we are officially fans!