Castello Di Volpaia Radda in Chianti

... ambiance. The Duomo wasn’t actually as great as I remembered, but it was one of the first churches I went to and, since I’ve seen so many other, I’ve realized that it isn’t as cool as I thought back then. But I still enjoyed it.

After walking around and doing as much as we could (it was Katy’s last day in Florence, well, traveling in general really), we went to pick up Ali and Kelsa, got refreshed back at the hostel ...

Happy Thanksgiving!

I spent the morning taking an Italian exam!!! The afternoon was a little more fun, touring Palazzo Pitti with my Art History class.

It was a little strange spending it without everyone but my school put together a little gathering for us. A group of us dined on a typical American Thanksgiving at a local restaurant. We were served Butternut Squash soup with bread, Turkey ...

... life time on this trip already!
Climbed the tower in the main piazza, saw an enormously large pizza and had wild boar sausages for lunch which were a bit gamey but nice.
Went for drinks at Lochness bar and ended up drinking long islands as there wasn't much in the way of wine or beer there.

... village, which consisted of several little cobbled streets and so we were done very soon and ready for our sundowner. Spotted the local café/bar where I tried my first Chianti Classico and Kim enjoyed a Prosecco or two! The café/bar had free wifi so we settled in for the evening. 18th Up early today. We did a little fitness circuit (that 4 days later Kim is still sore from!!!) in the morning sun before venturing off on our hike. The hike took us through some ...

Hi Everyone!

After an exhausting weekend in Brussels, I was in for yet another treat with cooking classes in Florence. Organized by my school, a group of us met with a chef for some lessons.

We were taught how to prepare typical Tuscan cuisine including Ribollita and Stuffed zucchini-flowers.

Everything was delicious & I look forward to trying these recipes at home!

I'll update you soon,

Siara

Today we decided to take it easy and spend the day at Le Miccine. We read books by the pool (it was too cold to get in the water the temp was about 72 degrees) I did sit with one leg hanging in the water for a while but that was as far as I was willing to go. We grilled out dinner again we had chicken, fried potatoes and caprese salad. We have decided that they suck at bread. It all tastes like Amish ...

... Then we went to the cathedral, which had lots of marble pictures in the floor, some of which were covered over, but some which were pretty impressive. The artwork in the cathedral was very cool, too, and the roof was very ornate. It also had a library, in which the books were the least interesting things. We then went to the Piazza del Campo, which is the sink-shaped main square that they race horses around twice a year, and found a little ...

... with the O'Calahans, Orrs, Harpers and Ina. We had a competition where some riders told a story explaining the empty farm houses in the valleys that we rode pass. The evening concluded after dinner when we retired to our rooms.

Italy Day 14

We rose this morning and had breakfast with the Orrs. Today was planned off day with everyone taking a bus into Siena for a day of touring. Kathie and I had a head start from the day before but joined in for the tour also ...

... of David (after a 1 hour and 45 minute line up), the Uffizi Museum (a 2 and a half hour line up) and the Cathedral of Santa Maria (20 minute wait). The statue of David was actually really impressive and totally worth the wait but the Uffizi Museum was a huge disappointment and we spent less time in the museum than in the line up itself. Very overrated. On a brighter note we had lunch at this place the Lonely ...

... of it is very ornate, but different from most of the Duomo's I've seen. The outside uses a lot of color... White, Pink, and Green. Almost like a pale version of the Italian flag. I was most impressed with the inside. Again, it's very different than the other cathedrals I've been inside. This one is not afraid to use negative space... There wasn't art/statues /decoration on every square inch of the walls. Instead there is endless Ivory/cream walls, with basic architectural trim in ...