April 14, 2012

So sad.  Left Italy today.  This picture was actually from yesterday afternoon.  We left super early this morning.  Not happy about A) Leaving this beautiful place and B) The very long journey we are about to endure to get home!

April 13, 2012

Today we took a cooking class in Florence.  The class started by taking us to the local market.  We went to the butcher to get the meat, the baker for the bread, etc.  We got to sample a few different olive oils and balsamics as well.  Then we went back to the teaching kitchen. 

We made, pasta (linguine and ravioli) from scratch, two different sauces, bruschetta and tirimisu.  The class was really fun and now I can say I learned how to make pasta in Italy! 

April 12, 2012

Ponte Vecchio in Florence.  Today we just roamed around Florence all day.  At night, we met 2 girls in the lobby of our hotel that turned out to be from LA and Orange County!  We ended up going to dinner with them and having a great time.  They are off to Paris next so we were giving them tips.  We will definitely be meeting up with them in LA to share Europe stories!  We did stay out a little late though.  We have to be up really early tomorrow.  Yikes!

April 11, 2012

Toscana!  We took a day tour into Tuscany today.  We went to Sienna, San Gimignano, a Villa and Pisa.  I absolutely loved San Gimignano.  Sienna too but I think if I had to pick I would choose San Gimignano.  I also really enjoyed the Villa in Tuscany.  They had their own organic farm where they produce wine, olive oil and the most amazing biscotti ever.  We got to enjoy almost a completely organic meal there.  Very cool. 

How amazing is the view from MY villa??

April 10, 2012

Au Revoir Paris, Bongiorno Italia!!!

Just arrived in Florence, Italy.  I remember loving it when I came here on a tour about 10 years ago which is why I wanted to come back.  It's even better than I remember!

This was my first gelato.  Pistashio and Tirimisu.  So amazing.  Yum!

March 1, 2012

Officially planning a Europe trip for April and just booked this hotel in Tuscany!!! Wow. So excited.