Italy in a Nutshell

So I'm already a week out of Italy and I'm way behind. If I don't do some legendary condensing I might never catch up. So without further ado, I'm going to give myself 2-5 minutes to talk about each of the remaining Italian cities:

Milan...

...was terrible. Our first meal was the tourist pit of despair. There was burnt/soggy pizza and raw pasta, and a 6 dollar Diet Coke, no ice. The whole meal was 5 Euros more than the heaven we had just come from.

Also the streets were deserted and the hotel manager yelled at Sarah for being on the computer. I got him to apologize after, but we were just happy to get out of Milan alive.

Cinque Terre

Beautiful little towns tucked into cliffsides. We hiked a path connecting all of them together, stopping for food along the way. There was sand, beaches where you had to pay for an umbrella and a chair (but totally worth it), and a tunnel with music.



Also, we made friends with an Israeli traveler and her Italian friend when I accidentally ruined their photo by having my feet in part of the shot. She didn't think I spoke English, so she was surprised when I apologized, and then the 4 of us hung out and talked for a few hours.

Cinque Terre renewed my faith in travel.

Florence

God, Florence is pretty. We saw the David, which is a gorgeous hunk of marble, the city had good nooks and crannies everywhere, it had happy people everywhere, and to top if off, we actually got to see Dario.

1 hour outside of Florence was the right Panzano, and next to the bus stop stood Dario's butcher shop, with his manic, meaty restaurant on top.

We made the mistake of ordering both things on the menu. So. Much. Meat.

Hamburger coated in breadcrumbs and grilled.
Meatloaf with sweet chili sauce.
Steak made to look like sushi.
Pork made to look like tuna.
Roasted herbed pork.

A local chianti
Fresh Tuscan bread.
Vegetables dipped in an oil and vinegar mixture with salt and herbs.

Everything was beautiful, rustic, and massive. The food destroyed us.

Also, Dario was totally nice and posed for a picture that I took with my meat-logged hands.



A few hours later, I digested the food, and we left for Copenhagen. More on that soon.

Comments

Annie Fox said…
I loved the music tunnel... thank you for capturing that walk-through. So lovely and opening up to that view! OMG! OK, I always knew I wanted to go to Italy and now I know I was right. As long as I avoid Milan I'll have a splendiferous time.

And bravo to you for your persistence in reaching the right Panzano. We meat suits are real proud of you guys!
4:42 PM
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