Back by popular demand – more accounts of my trip to Italy. Believe me, I don’t need an excuse to blab about the exquisite trip that has left me longing for the mediterranean lifestyle.
See that picture of all the amazing gelatos – this is what is so great: I had yogurt and chocolate gelato and they tasted just like tart yogurt and 70% dark chocolate. No wonder a 1/2 cup (at 2.50 Euro, or $4) satisfied. The flavors were amazing.
Italy reminded me of one of my life’s dreams: to lose about 20 lbs, and then travel the world eating the BEST food and gaining it all back. Gelato would certainly contribute, though the fat content was much lower than ice cream and they really weren’t all that sweet (these two flavors anyway) all the time.
This is a photo from the walls inside the vatican museum. the art was amazing…and all that oogling made us hungry, so immediately after our 3 hr visit, mom headed to the pastry shop across the street, and bought this:
It was also coupled with a cannoli, but she devoured that so fast, I couldn’t get my camera out in time!
Funny thing about this picture. When Matt first moved into his home in Davis, his landlord (and art guy) had this EXACT same photo in the bathroom. I recall contemplating it and wondering what it was. When I visited Matt post Italy, I lit up, because I knew what it was: The Pantheon – a domed temple that continues to be the model of all models for creating Rotundas (Even our own Washington DC dome was modeled after this). PS: there is now a McDonalds 100 feet away from the Pantheon. Do you think the ancients foresaw that modern wonder standing along side their creation??
Who wouldn’t want to eat apples and pears from this adorable street-side store? Shops like this were sprinkled all over Italy. Mom and I enjoyed trying to communicate with the ‘limited English’ stern-faced old ladies who ran the show. They may not have spoken to us much, but they certainly knew how to slice and wrap fresh deli meats. It was heavenly to stop in daily to such a shop, buy some snacks and just listen to them chat on about the day. The grocery seemed like an Italian version of a knitting circle.
This is a town in the Cinque terre. The hike yielded amazing views but was not for the feign at heart. One town alone boasted a 382 stair climb (after over 1 hour of hiking) to get to the top of the town. i don’t even remember what I ate here, but I’m pretty sure that I devoured it and had some gelato to accompany whatever lunchtime treat I discovered.
Until next time, I’ll bid you ‘bona sera’ (Good night), and we’ll hop on the Italian memory train again soon! Next time, I’ll share some of my videos (they just take a long time to upload)
ciao
Off White Living 