Avere Coraggio!!

Have Courage!!

I don’t know what it is about the local hot spots around Italy, even those little carts with the Trippa and Lampredotto always seem so intimidating to me. I have actually never been to them by myself and all of the hole in the wall places we frequent I only go when I have Maurizio in tow to do all the talking.

Tomorrow Maurizio and I are going to Livorno Ferraris to visit his family and to celebrate the birthday of his father. Maurizio’s father Bruno absolutely loves Trippa so to do something special I thought we would take him some of the Florentine Trippa from the stand frequented by so many locals and located a stones throw from our apartment. In thought, I figured after suggesting this that Maurizio will be able to find the time to run over and buy the Trippa. Unfortunately things didn’t work that way and he had to go to Palazzo Tornabuoni for a banquet and I had to step up to the plate to get the goods.

So after making two stops at local grocery stores hoping they might have some Trippa I had no luck and had to go to the stand. Its hot outside today and I was sweating, I am not sure it was really the heat or just my nerves. I thought since I waited until after 2pm that the lines would have died down quite a bit. Even though there were definitely less people, there was still a crowd of about 15 students stuffed in at the front of the bar.

The customary thing to do is just scream out your order but since I lack confidence with my Italian language this is always difficult for me. I so need to get over this confidence thing. I mean I can speak Italian, I can be understood and I can understand about 90% of the language when being spoken to, even some of the Florentine dialect but I am just so afraid of making mistakes. I know I should get over it and speak but I am still a little nervous and timid when it comes to speaking.

So, I stood at the back of crowd for a bit watching what they did and not really knowing what I should do. Finally the younger man behind the bar said, I am making the Lampredotto and Babbo (Florentine for Dad) is making the Trippa. I quickly shuffled over to Babbo and waited for him to notice me. He gave me a look to order and I quickly spit out “Una vaschetta di Trippa”. Obviously he knew right away I wasn’t Florentine and not even Italian for that matter. He gave me a big smile and said “Arrivo subito bella” (coming right away beautiful). Afterwards we went through a series of questions about how much I wanted, if I wanted it spicy, if I wanted cheese, if I wanted to eat it there or take it away etc. At first he went through the motions of showing me things and pointing to things to make sure I understood but as I responded with more than 1 word and actually spoke to him he started treating me like I was one of those Florentine’s in the crowd. It was such a good feeling! What did I have to be afraid of? The old man was so nice and that big smile wiped away my fear and built up my confidence. I walked away with due porzioni di Trippa (two portions of Trippa) and a skip in my step. I love those days when the people around me make me feel like one of the locals.

Chianti

After living in Italy for over 3 years Maurizio and I finally decided to make the trip to Chianti. It’s actually quite sad that we haven’t been already considering the center of the region is literally only 1 hour away! I guess we just didn’t know quite where we wanted to visit and where to stay and all that good stuff. I always wanted to rent a scooter and tour the whole of Chianti but Maurizio is the more grounded one, the always wanting to be safe one in this family of two, so he was very hesitant of driving from Florence to the region.


Finally, a couple weeks ago I bought a nice book of Chianti with maps and we made a compromise to stay over night in the region and rent the scooter when we were actually there. So, we decided to stay in Greve. Greve is almost the center of Chianti and it’s a pretty descent size city with a good bus stop that takes you directly to and from Florence. Since we don’t have a car we couldn’t stay in the agriturismo’s located throughout the area. If you travel to Chianti I totally recommend staying at one of the many castles and agriturismo’s in the area rather than a typical hotel. This way, you can truly experience the “Italian way”.

We ended up finding a hotel right in the center, after a lot of hard work. We had a hard time finding a place because of the volcano; there were a lot of tourists stuck in their hotels. After first finding one hotel and booking they called us to tell us they no longer had rooms because people weren’t checking out so at the last minute we had to find another hotel which ended up being great anyhow. My only complaint was the mattress was completely uncomfortable and I woke up with a backache and Maurizio woke up with a crick in his neck, which he still has to this day. But, otherwise, we had a great trip.

Day 1:
We left Florence on the bus at 8:30am and arrived in Piazza Trento in Greve at around 9:45. After we checked in at the hotel Casa al Sole we headed down to Ramuzzi’s scooter shop. It was only a 5-minute walk from the hotel. We rented a 125cc scooter and headed off on our first day in Chianti. We broke our itinerary up into North Chianti and South Chianti and decided to spend the whole day visiting only the south because there was more land to cover. We left Greve and headed south towards Siena. The weather was sadly cloudy and absolutely FREEZING but we didn’t let that get us down.


The first part of the day we covered: Lamole, Panzano, San Donato in Poggio, Cortine, Pietrafitta, and Castellina. When we arrived in Castellina we decided to have lunch and we stopped in the town center where we ate baked pecorino drizzled with honey and I had ravioli stuffed with meat sauce from Maremma (a region in Tuscany) and Maurizio had Pici (a pasta shaped like spaghetti but it has a hole in the middle) with pepper and pecorino. It was delicious; obviously we washed that down with some Chianti wine.


After touring the city we left for the second half of the day in which we covered the cities of: Tregole, Fonterutoli, S. Leolino, Quergrossa, Petroio, Vagliagli, Radda in Chianti, Gaiole in Chianti, Castelvecchi, Volpaia, and back up to Greve in Chianti.


By the time we got back to Greve in Chianti it was 7:30pm. We had a super long day on the scooter and we were exhausted. We went back to the hotel relaxed on our balcony a little bit and headed out for a stroll and ended up at dinner. For dinner we went to a restaurant that specialized in grilled meats and fish. They had a wood fire grill and it smelled heavenly. We shared a bottle of the Castello Verrazzano Wine (a local castle of Greve in Chianti) and shared appetizers of cured meats and crostini. For dinner we shared a mixed grill made for 2 people that contained pork chops, sausage, steak, and short ribs. It was delicious. For dessert we had simple biscotti with Vin Santo a typical dessert wine from Chianti (and a very standard dessert in general in Italy). After dinner we corked the leftover wine and went back to the hotel to relax and finish it off. I have to admit even though the bed wasn’t comfortable, we passed out immediately.


The next morning we woke up and had breakfast at the hotel. We checked out and asked them to hold our bag for day 2 of exploring and headed back to the scooter rental shop. We decided since we had already explored the largest part of Chianti the day before that we would only rent the scooter for 4 hours and then go wine tasting in Greve at Le Cantine before heading back to Firenze. This way Maurizio didn’t have to worry about drinking and driving.

We left Greve in Chianti at 11am and our first stop was the Castello di Verazzano. It was absolutely beautiful. Thankfully day 2 was a gorgeous day and sun was out and it was definitely less cold. We toured the castle then setoff for the Castello di Gabbiano. After the 2nd castle we covered the following cities: Le Quatro Strade, Mercatale, S. Casciano in Val di Pesa, Cerbaia, Chiesanuova, Tavernuzza, Montebuoni, Grassina, Imprunetta, Strada in Chianti, Passo dei Pecorai, and finished at the Castello di Vicchiomaggio before returning back to Greve in Chianti at 3pm. During our ride it was such a gorgeous day and the scenery was beautiful all the flowers were in bloom. On a side note because of this, there were a ton of bugs out. Which meant, ever so often we would get smacked in the face by an insect as we were riding on the scooter. Poor Maurizio hit a bee and it stung him in the ear. It was kind of funny, not for him though.




Anyhow, once we returned to Greve in Chianti we went to Le Cantine where they have a TON of wines and you purchase a wine card then you can drink the amount on the card. Whatever you don’t use, they will give back to you. It was an awesome concept. We were able to taste a lot of the wines from the cities we visited and we snacked on some local salami’s and bread in olive oil in the process.

We spent a few hours in the Cantine and then headed on a tour of the city in search of somewhere to have a late lunch. We went to one of the famous Antica Macelleria Falorni and afterwards had a quick lunch. I had pasta with truffle sauce and Maurizio had bruscetta with mozzarella and sundried tomatoes. At 6pm we caught the bus back to Florence and by 7:15 we were happily relaxing in our home. It was a long two days and absolutely worth every second.
See below a video of the area.

Cinque Terre

Monday Maurizio and I decided to finally visit Cinque Terre. We have both wanted to go for a long time and although we had been to the Liguria area and actually lived in Northern Liguria and traveled to Portofino we have never actually been to the famous Cinque Terre (literally 5 lands)

Cinque Terre is composed of 5 cities all located on the Italian coast. The cities are: Monterosso, Vernazza, Corniglia, Manarola, and Riomaggiore. Each city is connected by train stations, boat taxis, and (the most adventurous) hiking trails. If you choose to do the trails, the total hike is 9km (5.59miles) and takes about 5 hours depending how fast or slow you go. There are actually two trails the easiest being the coastal trails Sentiero 2 the other is Sentiero 1 which is 24,6km. The second trails go from Porto Venere to Levanto and is much harder. We only went for the day so we chose the more eye friendly views and easier paths. When I say easy, it’s not a walk in the park, its very narrow in parts and at times completely uphill for 30 mins or more at a time. You must be able to easily climb LOTS of steps. It wasn’t very difficult and you can take as much time as you want but even I got a little out of breath in certain areas.

Just Arrived



Maurizio and I took the train from Florence, which left at 10:27am and headed out to Monterosso. We arrived to the city at about 1pm. As soon as we arrived we decided to immediately have lunch before everything closed. I had searched out a couple good places recommended by other travelers on the internet and decided on lunch at Ristorante Via Venti (http://www.ristoranteviaventi.it/). The prices in the area are definitely not economic but thankfully the food made up for that. We weren’t very surprised by the prices, they were actually a little less than when we went to Portofino with my mom and there a plate of Pasta was around 20E. We shared some local white wine and I had Gnochetti with Crab and Maurizio had Spaghetti with Anchovies. The area is very famous for its wines and seafood, especially anchovies. I don’t like anchovies normally but here, I tried them and they didn’t taste as fishy as they normally do. I actually liked them; I recommend that you try them if you are ever in the area.

Lunch time

Gnochetti

Pasta with Anchovies



After lunch we started on the path to the beginning of the trails. At the entrance of the trails there is a ticket booth and they charge 5euro per person to use the trails. You can also buy a Cinque Terre card and choose different days for different prices, which also allow you to have full access to trains etc. We were only there for the day so we just got the normal trail pass.

at the beginning

Lots of stairs

this tree was growing out of the side of the trail


The first part of the trail (we chose to travel from Monterosso to Riomaggiore but you can start anywhere) was from Monterosso to Vernazza. This part of the trail typically takes 2 hours and is 3km long. It’s not very long at all and the reason it takes the longest is because it was basically UPHILL the WHOLE way. Nonetheless, we still finished the first part of the trail in about 1hr and 30-45mins and we stopped a lot along the way to take pictures. The trail, even though it was pretty brutal on my legs after running that half marathon the day before, was absolutely beautiful! You passed through wine vineyards and acres of olive groves. I am glad we started from this point because after this part of the path, the rest was easy money.

Vineyards

View of Monterosso on our way to Vernazza

another one of Monterosso


When we arrived in Vernazza we found a little table at a bar close to the sea and we had a beer. Ironically while sitting at the table we overheard some Americans trying to communicate to the waiter in Spanish (even though he spoke English) and later I spoke with them after finding out they were from Destin, FL! Although I wanted to remind them that we were not in Spain and actually in Italy, I couldn’t get over how small the world is? The beer was much needed after the workout we had. The weather was beautiful. It wasn’t too hot and there was a nice breeze. During the hike it was hot and I wore a tank top but when you stopped and started to cool down it got a little chilly and had to put on a light long sleeve shirt.

Coming up on Vernazza

Vernazza

boats in Vernazza

church


Beer!!!



After we visited the town for a little bit and saw one of the old churches we continued on our way down the path to Corniglia. The path from Vernazza to Corniglia takes about 1hr and 30 mins and is 4km. The path was definitely easier than the first and was a more even mix of uphill and downhill. The majority of the scenery was olive groves. We managed to finish this part of the trail in about 1hr and 9mins. Corniglia is the only town that is not directly on the sea; you can’t reach this city by boat taxi. The only options are by car, bus, train, or hike. When we arrived to Corniglia, we found a little bar in the center and decided to have a glass of white wine and try out the Focaccia. Liguria is also famous for their Focaccias. So we tried two flavors, one was stuffed like a sandwich with tomatoes and anchovies and the other was covered in pesto and topped with fresh mozzarella. Pesto is also famous from Liguria. They were both delicious.

on the way to Corniglia

view of Vernazza as we left



more stairs

olive trees

Corniglia in the distance

arriving to Corniglia



more wine

Focaccia with pesto


After some time in the city and refilling our camelback we headed out for the 4th city Manarola. This part of the trail can be a bit confusing because to find your way back to the trail you have to follow the street (for cars) a bit before finding the walking path. It wasn’t too difficult to find and once we found it, it was a super easy trail. The trail between Corniglia and Manarola is only 1km and about 1hr and 10mins. We finished pretty quickly in about 30mins. The trail curved back towards the sea and it was beautiful. The sun was starting to set and we were getting pretty late to get our train back to Florence so we were moving a bit quicker by this point.

on the street to Manarola

following the signs to get back to the trail

on the path


arriving to Manarola

sun setting


We didn’t stop much in Manarola, it is definitely a smaller town and instead we looked around the small little port a little and continued right away through the town to the final part of the path to Riomaggiore.

at the small port in Manarola. The man was making fish nets

fisherman coming in from sea



The most famous part of the path is on Via dell’Amore. The path from Manarola to Riomaggiore along the Via dell’Amore is only 1km and about 20mins. Anyone can do this part of the path. The path is completely paved and definitely the easiest. There were NO extreme uphill or downhill points. Along the path there are many places to take beautiful pictures. You will also see many locks signed by couples. The locks are a symbol of love. When we go back we will have to join in all the cheesiness and bring one too.

the entrance to via dell'amore


beautiful scenery


on the kissing bench and all the locks


at the end of the trail in Riomaggiore

artwork


When we finally arrived at Riomaggiore is was about 7:30pm and we had already missed our train back. Luckily we spoke with one of the agents and found some connections back to the city. Unfortunately, however, it took us forever to get back. We left Riomaggiore at 7:39 and didn’t arrive to Florence until almost midnight. It didn’t matter much because we were excited and surprisingly on the way back home we got a really interesting phone call from the Four Seasons about a possible transfer back to the United States so we had a lot to discuss those long hours back home.

It was an absolutely beautiful trip and I fully recommend that everyone find some time to visit these cities!
Have a look at some video footage below: