JournalBLOG

Sharing my musings on photography; equipment; and my love for travel, fun and the sun!

Posts tagged Italian Odyssey
Rome wasn't built in a day

The last stop on our Italian adventure was Rome.

I studied Roman Architecture at University and getting the opportunity to see some of the monuments & structures discussed in theory was really exciting. The Colosseum, The Roman Forum, The Vatican, The Trevi Fountain… I was bursting with excitement at the thought of seeing all of these historic places.

Our accomodation was hidden away amongst a maze of cobbled lane ways in the Trastevere. We stayed in a little studio apartment that opened up to a variety of restaurants and bars. It was a perfect location for dining out and for walking to all the quintessential roman locations.

The first thing we did was find a quaint little restaurant for some food and wine, before exploring the area. We were spoilt for choice and in our final week, we managed to discover some great little gems.

This, the last leg of our trip, was just as jam packed as the rest of our adventure. Apart from visiting the main attractions, we walked along the streets following the river as it meandered its way through the city. Whilst the city was filled with such beauty, homelessness was also prevalent. It was especially noticeable around the river with makeshift shanty tents set up. Other things that stuck in my mind was walking through the Jewish Ghetto and seeing small humble plaques as a reminder to those who lost their lives during Nazi occupation.

For the last part of our trip, we wanted to do something a bit different. So, we took a cooking class. We had the best day with Chef Monica and Elizabetta. Being the off season, we were so fortunate that it was only the two of us in the class. Monica and Elizabetta were both lovely and helpful, they made us feel very welcome and at ease. We got to experience the sights, smells and tastes of Rome as Monica showed us around the Campo De’ Fiori market, sharing with us some of her favourite places and food stores. 

From the market, we walked back to the cooking venue, during the walk Monica explained some of Rome’s customs and history. It made the day even better, as we had not seen some of these areas and local knowledge is always invaluable. 

We were very much looking forward to the cooking class and we were not disappointed. We had so much fun and learnt a lot, with the menu selection being really thought out and delicious. We had the best day. We were completely stuffed when we left - after eating three pasta dishes; a veal dish; tiramisu; crostini; plus, wine and water.  

A thoroughly enjoyable day and it was definitely one of the highlights of our trip!

Unfortunately, this was the beginning of the end and our Italian adventure was almost over… time to say goodbye!








Florence Filagree

We’ve spent three days meandering through a labyrinth of canals, gorging ourselves on cold meats and wine. Now it was time to catch the train  to Florence…  travelling through the Italian countryside, we arrive to a hive of activity. It is so busy and as it turned out, we had arrived the weekend of a large football game so the city was alive with activity. 

Our accomodations in this beautiful city was everything I imagined living in Florence would be like and more. We were staying in a quaint apartment located on a little piazza not far from Ponte Vecchio. Beneath us was restaurants and bars, people walking hand in hand, laughter and the sound of scooters zipping through the cobbled streets.

Whilst the atmosphere was everything i had anticipated and more. It was the ‘more’ part that became a bit too much in the evenings when we wanted to go to sleep. The window pane was very thin and the amount of noise that bounced its way through the piazza was a little much when trying to get some sleep.

We had  six days in this amazing place. We explored the city - its cathedrals, city streets, markets and shopping! Whilst in Florence, I had to buy some Florence Filagree jewellery. It’s something unique to the area and so pretty. 

On our first night, we discovered a fantastic restaurant called Osteria Cinghiale Bianco where I stuffed my face with black truffle pasta whilst washing it down with chianti. Ahhh... food heaven. 

We also used Florence as our base to go on day trips and see other parts of italy. We used the opportunity to visit Cinque Terra.  Sienna, San Gimignano, Pisa and the Tuscan country side. We ate in a rustic wine estate, tasted world famous gelato, saw some amazing coast line and countryside (albeit on some of the days there was a lot of rain). 

On one of the nights, we ordered the Florentine Bistecca - the speciality of the house! The steak was 1.5kg and was seared on the outside, blue in the middle… It was not one of the meals we really enjoyed, given both of us don’t like raw steak. To top it off, the steak cost us EURO90!!! Probably not my favourite dining experience to date (on holiday and in life…).

It was six jam packed days and it went by in a whirlwind of activity. My favourite moments are too many to count but seeing David was one of the real treats for me!