MY PARENTS FINALLY ARRIVED IN ITALY! Tuesday I met my mom at
the hotel and was so happy to see her! She lugged all of my precious belongings
from home and even managed to bake banana bread from my roommates and I. After settling into the hotel we then went to
a casual dinner at ZaZa’s (Great restaurant with an open aired atmosphere). The
next morning I enjoyed the free hotel breakfast and attended my Italian
class. After I met my mom back at the
hotel and we went to see the David. We
walked over the museum and found a HUGE line wrapping around the building. Little did I know that my museum pass would
allow us to cut the entire line and walk right in. I felt pretty cool cutting everyone else off J After seeing the David
and boring ourselves in the museum we headed over to Gusta Pizza (my favorite
pizza place in Italy). Later we walked the Ponte Vecchio, picked out our
jewelry requests for my dad and went to the Gucci Museum. Later we dined at
Gusta Osteria (a local restaurant known for good pasta). That night we indulged in gelato and slept in
our comfy hotel beds. The next day we surprised my dad at the airport. Unfortunately his luggage got lost even
though he flew directly from Munich to Florence and the bag was marked Priority
with a business class ticket. All of
those factors don’t add up to me but Munich managed to misplace his bag for 2
days straight. After we got back to the hotel my mom, dad, and I went to my
apartment. I gave them the grand tour of my place and then we grabbed the best
panini’s in town at Salumeria Verdi. After we went to Piazza Michaelangelo (a
look out point that over looks the entire city). That night we dined at La
Giostra…a family favorite where we feasted on pear ravioli and apple glazed
chicken. Later we splurged with gelato.
The next morning we traveled to Venice by train and checked into our
hotel. We then explored the Jewish
ghetto and toured 3 different Jewish synagogues. Later we went for a dinner
recommended by our hotel and had one of the best pasta dishes so far in Italy.
(Which says a lot considering all I eat is pasta). The next day we took a ferry to Murano and
saw glass blowing and beautiful glass pieces made by the factory. We then
visited San Marco Square (main square) and took a quick tour of The Basilica of
San Marco (San Marco Church). We shopped around and then finished the night
with dinner and dessert. The following day we took a gondola ride, did some
last minute shopping and made our way back to Florence. Later that night we ate
at il Latini. The restaurant was really unique in that it is a fixed menu, in
which TONS of food is brought to you all at the same time as everyone else
eating at the restaurant. The food was
unreal and nonstop! The next day I skipped class and we took a day trip to
Siena and San Gimignano. My dad rented a car and to my surprise drove like a
pro with stick shift. We shopped around, taste-tested numerous gelatos and then
made our way to a private wine tasting near the town. We sampled 9 different wines, cheeses, meats,
and ended with lasagna. The wine tasting
was pretty cool because we learned the proper way to taste wine and a lot of
history about how the wine is produced. The next morning we toured the Jewish
synagogue and area in Florence. The
temple was gorgeous and massive. Later we shopped around and ate at Acqua 2
where we indulged in a pasta sampler and steak sampler. On Wednesday I had to day goodbye to my
parents. I sent a huge suitcase back with them with all of my Italian
purchases. It was hard to do but knowing that I was traveling to Prague the
following day helped. I was sad to seem
them go but extremely happy and lucky they were able to visit me! Next destination is Prague!
Ciao!
No comments:
Post a Comment