OK - so I glossed over a bunch of stuff in my last blog cause I wasn't sure when I'd get a chance to blog again. Well here I am so I'll back track for a bit.
Back to Venice. It was cool, no doubt about it but I think the space, or lack there off kinda whipped our ass a bit. Still beautiful and the dueling orchestra's on San Marco Plaza are still the things movies are made of - we certainly enjoyed ourselves. But the claustrophobia of it all kinda took its toll, especially after the open space of Lake Como. But hey, it was Venice and we loved it. We had a great dinner of tapas style foods our 1st night since we had a really late lunch. It was very cool, much like Spain, and allowed us to drink 1 euro glasses of house wine at about 5 different bars and sample their food, including calamari (1.50 euro for a plate you would pay 12 for in Texas), lobster claws (splurge at 3 Euros) and little sandwiches. So, after five bars (and as many glasses of wine) we decided to have dinner, which is what we were telling each other we were doing for the last 2 hours. We got a great, canal side table but had to share it with another couple since we didn't have reservations - and that's when the wheels very nearly came off the bus. The couple was French. Luckily, they were not asshole French, but the much more rare, nice and generous French. They ordered too much wine (something I thought impossible, especially for the French) and gave us about half a bottle....just what we needed. I have no idea how we found our hotel that night. Even sober, those of you that have been to Venice know what a maze the place is. Now try doing it blind and partly deaf (don't ask me but Erin doesn't hear so well when she's been drinking...) Still couldn't figure out what that damn smell was in our hotel.
Back to Sienna. We've realized that each place we've visited on our Honeymoon has outdone the last place in terms of our favorite meal. Sienna, our third stop, held that trend. We had dinner in an old converted wine cellar that looked more like a catacomb. We got a great table in the back and the wait staff was great. We started out with a complement from the chef - white lentil soup with olive oil...I know, it doesn't sound like much but both Erin and I were searching the menu for it since it came in a "bowl" the size of an espresso cup. For anti pasta, Erin had ribolita - which is just soup with breadcrumbs in it so theirs no broth...but that taste like something you'd slap your mother to eat. I had the meats and cheeses, which was all local and amazing. The fat in their salami melts like butter. LIKE BUTTER! For the prima pasta, Erin had a boar pasta dish. It tasted like hamburger helper if God came home after a long day at work a wanted to get dinner out for the archangels and all he has was hamburger helper...freaking amazing. I don't ever remember what I had, it was that good. We had a bottle of wine, that came highly recommended (our second of the night since the hotel we were staying at gave us a bottle upon checking it...which we promptly drank!) and the tiramisu, which was, by far and away, the best I've ever had in my life. Erin, who doesn't even like tiramisu that much, saw me take the last spoonful and I think she questioned her decision to marry me. We wobbled out, in the rain, and crashed. We picked up our car the next day and Erin got to experience me driving in Europe. Matt and Paul, you know what I'm talking about. I'm good, but you gota trust it first. It's scary enough driving in Italian traffic, but even scarier when you're new husband is doing his best to best them. Fun stuff. Erin threw up twice that day but only once the next day, which I feel is great progress. The Cooking Class, which Erin says is now "our thing", was really a highlight of the trip. The guy dug up a truffle the day we were set to meet him so he amended the menu accordingly. For those of you who haven't bought a black truffle in the market these days, they go for about $2,500/lb. That's not a misprint. At first, we thought he was translating for his wife but we soon realized he was just talking over her - which I thought was hilarious. However, as soon as the cooking started, she locked that shit down. At one point (when he really was translating for us) he started translating before she finished speaking and she grabbed his arm and in Italian, said: "hold your shit up and let me finish a goddamn sentence you conceited bastard". Now I don't speak Italian but I swear to you that's what she said. His chided look confirmed that as well. Plus, she was doing alright for her self (you know what I’m talking about fellas) and I think when push came to shove, he traded up. However, once the food was cooked, we (the guy, Erin and I) sat and she rarely did, spending most of her time bringing food to the table. I pointed this out to Erin but don't think she caught on...We'll see.
Back to Florence. We did our first day here on Monday, which is when some shops take off. They also take off from 1pm to 4pm or 4:30pm which really leaves Erin and I wondering when exactly the do work. It's worse than Spain or Mexico by far. And half the time they're late opening up again in the afternoon. One lady said she didn't know when she'd open cause she had to go by the post office....WFT?!?! We decided to do the countryside yesterday and spent most of the day in Greve (my old stomping grounds last time I was here) where we found the boots Erin wanted...thank god. We bought food again and I made another bang up meal before we both crashed early. I had the forethought to get pancetta yesterday at the butcher's and had pancetta and eggs this morning...un-freaking-believable. Bacon tastes like bologna compared to this.
We're headed to the coast tomorrow - the Italian Riviera. Erin will see the leaning tower of Pisa (any taker of the fact that when she sees it she says "huh, it really does lean"?) before we cruise down the road Princes Grace died on, the Movie Quantum of Solace lost 2 stunt drivers and where mopeds routinely take a very short drive off a tall cliff. Don't worry, I'll be good. We'll be staying in Santa Margerita Ligere, about 10 mins from Portofino. We'll do the Chinque Terre on Friday before heading back to Milan on Saturday so we can fly out Sunday. Oh, and we had the best gelato of our trip in Florence today. I had dark chocolate and Coffee while Erin had Apple and Lemon. Both were awesome. Oh, and we went by H&M so I'm sufficiently stocked on eurotrash cloths. Good times.
On a personal note, my family should note that my 19-year-old self would definitely not count my 29-year-old self as friend when it came to meals. There have been at least three dinners I couldn't finish and I've eaten a healthy amount of bread sticks. I'm going to trying and find the exact point on the Chinque Terre that I melted town 10 years ago because we weren't stopping for lunch. That should be fun.
