Sicily and Tuscany!!!

For our annual summer 2 week trip we headed to the land of pasta, red wine, and beautiful countryside. Our first stop, Sicily, then Tuscany! Joining us this time - our good friends Eric and Becky and Kirk's cousin Savannah! Our first flight was a quick 2.5hrs to Sicily, the largest island in the Mediterranean. We landed and stayed in the city of Palermo which is located in the northwest region of the island and is ranked at the fifth most populated city in Italy. Arriving late in the evening, it was still very warm and humid - a welcome change from the rain and cold, jackets and gloves, we had in Amsterdam! After checking into our apartment, we quickly hit the streets for pizza and drinks.

The next day we hopped on the train to Cefalu, a really quaint and quiet beach town located about an hour away. While there we strolled around the cobblestone roads and did some window shopping - since many of the stores weren't open (Sunday) - and tried out the local gelato burger (gelato in the middle of brioche)! We moved pretty swiftly through the local Duomo and meandered our way down to the beach.

After all that walking around, we rested our feet while eating more Sicilian pizza for lunch at a restaurant on the waterfront. Then we dipped our toes in the Mediterranean (Teia's first foray into the sea) for a bit before heading back to Palermo. The day ended with a home cooked dinner - thanks Kirk and Eric!!!

The next day we skipped around the city of Palermo exploring the popular markets La Vucciria and Balloro (both open markets located on narrow alleys). Along the way we managed to buy some art for Teia's room!!!  (no, it's not this Godfather t-shirt)

For our next adventure we bussed to Castellemare di Golfo to get in some sun, beach and swimming.  The water was incredibly warm, the sand soft and white, the sea a mixture of bright blues. Teia enjoyed putting her toes into the water here - much calmer and warmer than Cefalu! Dinner was on a beautiful terrace (cafe near our apartment) - it was lovely sitting outside as we devoured our Italian eats!

The next day was our last in Sicily. We walked around the city, shopped, and had a delicious long lunch at Antica Foccaceria di San Francesco - one of Palermo's oldest restaurants (1834) and favorite haunt of notorious Mafia boss Lucky Luciano. While there we had somewhat unwelcome entertainment by local street performers. Like most of our meals in Palermo, we nibbled on eggplant, swordfish, pizza, and arancini (rice, ragoo, peas and cheese). Yum! We absolutely enjoyed our time in Sicily - the climate, views of the mountains and sandy white beaches - breathtaking!

Our flight out of Palermo was a bit chaotic thanks to good ol' RyanAir - there is a reason why the tickets are so cheap! My favorite was the random Italian guy smoking on the plane - unbelievable. But having a little baby did get us some perks on the flight - thanks Teia!  Our flight was late in the evening and arrived around midnight in Pisa. At first we couldn't find our rental car since the van was missing from its spot and the front desk happened to close up and leave (we literally saw her driving off) so we almost didn't have a car or anywhere to go. Luckily Kirk and Eric spotted our vehicle after a little searching. We jumped right in and held on for the winding 2 hour drive. Just as we arrived to villa Montefiorile (located in Montibuoni - Chianti region) the key wouldn't open our front door - and it's now 3am. Ugh! Somehow we managed to get in after some more effort! All worth it since we had a lovely place with beautiful views of the vineyards, once we could see them in the morning. The whole area smelled of jasmine, rosemary and lavender - welcome to Tuscany! (this was the view from the patio of our villa)

The Chianti region is surrounded by beautiful neighboring villages and we quickly got to know the local shops and delis. I absolutely loved shopping around for fresh figs and Tuscan cheeses and salami.  It's so nice to be out of the city - you can enjoy all the sounds of nature, birds chirping, wind blowing.  We constantly found ourselves staring at the sky's scattered clouds and layers of vineyards below. That first day we sat by the pool for a bit basking in the hot Tuscan sun before cooking up a homemade dinner!

The next day we headed to San Gimignano; known for its fortress layout, multiple towers and for holding the World's Best Gilato. The S.G. area is also famous for its white wine - Vernaccia di San Gimignano. For some reason there were an obnoxious number of Torture Museums in S.G. - one around every corner like Starbuck's in Seattle. The gelato was a serious matter - delicious! They even had a local flavor - safron, honey and pine nuts - very sweet and unique. Before that we had an amazing lunch - with such pretty views and classic Tuscan boar meats and stews. On our way back to the villa we swung through Livernano for our first wine tasting - splendid!

Early the next day we hit up the markets in nearby Castellina - we picked out the best mozzarella, prosciutto and other ingredients for our evening feast!  For lunch we ate Tuscany stew at a lovely restaurant between Castellina and San Donato - divine!!!

For most days if we weren't driving to a neighboring town and market we were sitting around the villa reading, playing gin rummy, and hanging by the pool! Life is good! Teia even did her share of swimming and enjoying the sun!

For our next day trip we drove about an hour to Siena. Siena is known for its cuisine, art, architecture, and for their famous semi-annual horse race - The Palio. The Palio di Siena involves ten riders (each assigned a random horse) and they dress up in colors representing their district and ride bareback around the Piazza del Campo. Ten districts are able to participate out of the seventeen in Siena. You can tell which district you are in by its lampposts, door knobs, and statues of their mascot - mascots include the swine, unicorn, wolf, giraffe and more. What a beautiful day to enjoy the race - sun setting, the duomo sitting in the background, the crowd restless with anticipation, faces peering from many windows, balconies and narrow alleys. The rules, or lack thereof, seem a bit ridiculous but it works - it's no hold barred. Teia was such a trooper as she sat in the infield with us. What an experience!

The next day we took our last day trip - this one to Florence. Here we walked around the cobble-stoned streets, did some window shopping and exploring. Unfortunately the David was closed - yes, closed during the summer when many tourists come to the city. But we saw the replica, so I guess that will do for now. We also visited the Ponte Vecchio bridge, the Duomo, etc. For lunch we dined at Girato De Guelfo - I ordered Crepes Florentine - figured we were in Florence so why not!

For our last dinner out in Tuscany we visited nearby Rada - another quaint little village in Chianti. We went out in true Tuscan style - dining on delicious bruschette, wild boar, pasta and Tuscan sausage; we even topped it off with gelato - naturally.

On our final afternoon and evening walked thru the vineyards next to our villa with a group and ended in a beautiful garden at Casa Nuova Di Ama for some small bites and many glasses of wine!

What a wonderful trip - I will always remember our late night rummy battles, admiring the Tuscan sky from our balcony, the winding roads making us taking turns in the front seat, and our final nights in Amsterdam: boating, eating ribs, and wishing that we all lived closer!