July 7th - Day 14

Blog 12

Day 14

Saturday, July 7th, 2012

Travel Day - Cortona to Venezia (Venice)

We awoke today packed and ready to leave. We drove down to La Tuscher for breakfast, said our goodbyes to the Mertens, and began the long drive to Venezia. When we finally arrived we parked our car and took a waterbus to find our apartment. It was a fairly nice place, even with limited air conditioning and a broken washer. We all went down to the market before settling down for a nice long nap. When we awoke, Brogan and I did our best to get us completely lost. Eventually, we found our selves at a little family owned restaurant. The food was very good and I even had a glass of wine, as is the culture in parts of Europe. End of Day.

July 5th and 6th - Cortona

Blog 10

Day 12

Thursday, July 5th, 2012

Today was lazy day + shopping. We slept late had stayed in the house until lunch, when we strolled down and plopped ourselves at a WiFi cafe on Via de Nazunale. The rest of the day was a continuous cycle of shopping then munching then buying then eating then purchasing then snacking... but I digress. That night we kids had a wonderful pizza dinner at home, or at least the others did. Instead, I ate the fridge! Yeah... Meanwhile the parents were eating some fancy dinner at some fancy place that I never learned the name of. *Sigh*

Day 13

Friday, July 6th, 2012

Seeing as I ate virtually nothing substantial the night before, I was starving by the time I rolled out of my fancy curtained bed. We continued our streak of about 4 out of 6 lazy mornings and the sun was high in the sky by the time we hiked up to the church of Santa Margarita. Once again, it was closed. We toured Fortezza Ghirafalco, above the church, and took a few pictures for the Blazers “Wear in the World”. We walked the Stations of the Cross back to the town for some good refreshing lunch and gelato. We crashed for Pronzo (Siesta) and just hung around the house until dinner, when we walked down to the Piazza. We ate at a place overlooking Piazza Republica. The food was excellent, particularly the chocolate cake. 

Day 11 - July 4th - Florence

Wednesday, July 4th


Today my family and I got up early to take a train to Florence, one of the most major cities in Italy, which allegedly contains about 1/6 of the world’s art. We arrived two hours later and immediately began searching for tickets for the “Terrace Tour” of the Duomo. They were located in the Duomo Museum, which was empty and had no line for anything. We got the tickets at about 10:40 for a 10:45 tour. We entirely skipped the line, entering through the exit, and had a couple minutes to take a peek at the ground level. When the tour started, the tour guide talked a bit about the construction and history of the Duomo, which is a huge church. Then, we started to climb. As we ascended the steps we took periodic breaks where we would get to look from the terraces outside the Duomo, closed to everyone else. The tour guide would tell us about the things that we could see along with giving us information about the Duomo. The tour ended when we were about 1/3 of the way up the church, from there, we could either climb or turn around and make our way back down. Naturally, we simply had to climb the few hundred steps remaining on our way to the top. Exhausting. Along the way, we got to take a close look at the fresco painted on the inside of the dome that gives the Duomo its name. It was somewhat gruesome and disturbing, but it was cool to get an opportunity to see it in person and in such detail. After descending the stairway, tired and thirsty, we found a fruit smoothie stand and decided to get some smoothies. These weren’t just any fruit smoothies, as they were literally made fresh after you order them, which also made them take forever. So, my mom waited in line and ordered us each a smoothie. First came Brogan’s, which she handed to him. Then was hers, which she set aside to save and savor. As she she swung her hand forward after peeling off a sticker that I had stuck on her back, her smoothie went plummeting to the ground. The eyes of others in line dared her to order another one. Needless to say, she didn’t. She wasn’t a very nice person for awhile. Then, we decided to go the a virtually empty Leonardo Da Vinci Museum. Brogan thought that it was just about the coolest thing ever. They took Da Vinci’s plans and constructed them. There was information on them and around half of them, if not more, were interactive. From there, we got some pizza for lunch before going to the Borgello Art Museum, because Mom would have had a breakdown if we hadn’t gotten a art museum in. I enjoy art museums myself and therefore had no issue with this. Brogan also had fun because there were a few statues from Ancient Mythology. We then took a stroll through Vecchia Palazza to Signoria Piazza where we saw both the “Fake David” and the statue of Perseus holding the head of Medusa, among others. We crossed the mandatory Ponte Vecchia, a bridge before backtracking to Piazza Republica, which was unassuming enough that we no longer remember why it was important. We proceeded to a cathedral by the train station that mixes gothic, Roman, and a couple other styles of architecture. We did a quick look around before hooping aboard a train back to Cortona. We ate a nice chicken and leftover- carbonara dinner.

Happy Birthday Grandma!!!

Cortona

Cortona


1st Full Day

On our first day in Cortona, we began with a simple breakfast at home and lazed the morning away until lunch time when we went down to the same square that we had visited before for some pizza. After eating, we took a short hike around a piece of Cortona. This hike was in the guide book that Ombreta gave us, so we assumed it would capture Cortona well. It was blistering outside, so we returned to Casa de Ombreta as soon as possible. We wasted yet more time with card games and books until it was time for dinner. We ate at the square again, at a restaurant that had been recommended. The food wasn't amazing, but it wasn't bad either. After eating out, we tried to find a place to watch the EuroCup finals, Italy vs. Spain, with some gelato, but the viewing was bad enough and the square crowded enough that some of us gave up about half time, when the score was two to zero, Spain. Spain went on to win 4-0, but I was so tired by that point I was literally asleep.

2nd Day

Our second day was much more busy. After eating another breakfast at home, all eight of us jammed ourselves into our rental seven-seater car. Poor Sara was in the back, and was being slept on by both of her kids all the way to Montalcino, another scenic hill town in tuscany. We were all starving by the time that we arrived, so we quickly found a place to eat a small lunch. There was an awesome waiter who, when we walked in, was clearing a table. He promptly handed the stacks of cups to Henry, before pretending to balance a vase on Henry's head. He then had Brogan place the cups at our table, clean ones, not the ones Henry had been holding, and helped him fix them when he put them on the wrong side. After lunch, the parents found a recommended wine-tasting place, which we originally thought was closed, but turned out to be open. From there, we drove to Montepulciano. In Montepulciano, we gathered dinner stuff as we made our way up to the fort. Well, the parents did, at least. Meanwhile, we ate gelato and ran around in silly circles. When we reached the fort, the parents did another wine tasting. Us kids climbed the fort wall and ran around some more. Previously, Henry had pointed out that, in mid-evil times, though people in these high towns could see great distances, they could also be seen from great distances. Then Henry saw the view. End of Story. After a long, scenic drive past fields of sunflowers, we reached Casa de Ombreta. The pasta we bought took a LOT more time than we anticipated to cook, and we didn't wind up eating until 11 o'clock at night.

3rd Day

Today was a "home" day, meaning we didn't leave Cortona. Something that I continuously forget to mention: we have a very large backyard with 4 tortoises, and 2 kittens that live close by. Sometimes, it is nearly impossible to drag Elizabeth away. In any case, after breakfast in our backyard we took the long walk up to the pool. Alas, it was not to be, for this pool, too, was utterly devoid of cooling, thirst--quenching water. Sigh. Soon, a short stroll turned into a five mile walk in the greuling heat. We walked past the house featured in the novel "Under the Tuscan Sun", until we reached a small place where the adults could get a glass of wine and we could all get some water. We finally reached the Santa Margarita Church, close to our house, but the cathedral had mass and we couldn't look around. When we got home, the parents walked down to the square for food supplies while the rest of us stayed at the house and recovered from our journey. To top the day off, we had a wonderful steak dinner at home.

Day 7 - June 30th - Travel day

We started off today with breakfast in the hotel again, but it is good and convenient, so why go somewhere else? With our extra time before a train to La Spezia left we took a stroll down Via Roma, one of the main streets in the old part of Monterosso, where we stayed. Then, we returned to Hotel La Coloninna and checked out. After taking a train to  La Spezia we went to the car rental place (Hertz). We had a car reserved and were supposed to pick it up at noon, but when we arrived about fifteen minutes early no one was there. Eventually, someone turned up, but not before Mom started to freak out a bit, as she is prone to do. Once we finally got our car we began the drive to Cortona, where we would stay for a week. Cortona is a small hill town in Tuscany. We were lost practically the moment we started driving, but Dad made a u-turn and suddenly we were right on track! About a half an hour away from Cortona, we stopped at an auto grill for lunch and Brogan found a Burger King. Geez, Bonabo. When we reached Cortona, we met up with the Mertens and got a tour of Casa Ombretta from Ombretta, who owns the house. After we got moved in, we took a walk down a steep hill to Piazza Della Republica, where we went grocery shopping. Then, we ate dinner at home, a lasagna, provided by the travel agency, and slept. 

Monterosso, Italy - June 29th - Day 6

A little bit of background knowledge: Monterosso is the first in a series of five seaside towns collectively known as the “Cinque Terra”. For a long time, there could be no communication between the cities, due to a lack of trails between them. All of the towns are very small and perched on the hillside. Now, they are connected by a series of trails and trains. Today, after starting of with breakfast in the hotel, we hiked the Cinque Terra. First, we hiked from Monterosso to Vernazza, a distance of 3 kilometers. It is the most difficult hike out of the four, though not the longest, due to an overly large amount of stairs. Once we arrived in Vernazza, Brogan and Dad took a quick dip in the ocean before we all went and got gelato. Then, we left for Corniglia (pronounced “Cornelia”). The trail was 4 kilometers, but it was supposed to take a half an hour less than the first hike. It did, probably because there were slightly less stairs. When we got to Corniglia, we found a pizzeria and had some salad and pesto pizza, which was actually pizza with tomato sauce with pesto on top. From there to Manarola, the trail had been destroyed by a recent landslide, so we had to take the train. The road to the train station went down 400 stairs. Literally. Once we got to Manarola, we started on the trail d’ amore, or the trail of love. It was named such due to the fact that it was the first trail to be constructed between the towns, so it was the first time people could marry outside of their town. Couples would put locks along the trail, signifying their love. It was a fun, easy walk that ended in Riamaggiore, the last town. We never actually entered the town, instead staying by the train station. We went to a little cafe overlooking the Mediterranean Sea that sat right at the end of the trail. When my brother and I succeeded in irritating my parents half to death, we went to the train station and took a train back to Monterosso, where we slept until dinner, which we ate at a place called Via Venta. My mom and I both got amazing gniochi with crab sauce, and my parents talked with a couple from Australia who were sitting next to us. We went hat shopping, got nothing, and ate some gelato before heading back to the hotel and sleeping.

Thursday, June 28th - Day 5 - Montorosso, Italy

Well, we arrived in Genova, Italy at about 7:00, though we got off of the ship at about 8:00. From there, we ate ate a quick breakfast at the train station before boarding a one and a half hour train to Montorosso. When we arrived, we checked in to Hotel La Coloninna and headed to the beach. The beaches were gravelly, rather than white sand, and the ground was scorching hot, but the Mediterranean Sea was cool and refreshing. We took a short nap and went to dinner at La Cantina de Miky. At dinner, we took the last unreserved table to watch the Italy vs. Germany soccer match in the Euro Cup semifinals. Then Brogan and I headed back to the hotel to sleep in the nice, air conditioned room, though my parents stayed up a bit longer.

Wednesday, June 27 - Day 4 - Travel Day

Today was simple and easy. In the morning, my dad went to pick up our luggage while the rest of us packed up our stuff. Then, Mom, Brogan and I ate breakfast at the gelato place around the corner. Brogan and I had chocolate smothered waffles while my mom had a chocolate pastry so rich she couldn’t finish it. From there, we met Dad at the ferry terminal and boarded a ferry with a drained pool and a fitness center that had been turned into a Mosque for workers from Tangers. We ate dinner at the restaurant that was open for about two and a half hours in the evening then got a good nights sleep in the bunk room we got.

Tuesday, June 27th - Day 3 - Barcelona Museums

Our last day in Barcelona was a day of museums. We ate breakfast at a marketplace called La Bocaria, which had an abundance of fruit and fresh sea food for sale, along with a huge variety of cheeses and other meats. The food was very good, though Brogan ate little more than a bit of mango while the rest of us ate these interesting potato and vegetable patty/pie things. After breakfast, we walked over to the Picasso Museum, which had a long line. Since this was something that my mom, who had done all the research, had anticipated and the museum was just opening for the day, we waited. Inside, there was many paintings from different parts of Pablo Picasso’s life, such as the “Blue Era”, though there were few true works of cubism. He spent a part of his childhood in Barcelona, along with a few of his adult years, so we thought that the museum was worth a visit. Upon departure fro the museum, which had ended with a display of the childish works of Picasso’s later years, we stumbled upon a chocolate museum. Who wouldn’t check it out? Inside was a stunning display of chocolate sculptures, along with a history of chocolate in Barcelona. We discovered that Barcelona was actually the place where cocoa first entered Spain. Interesting, right? Another thing: The tickets were made out of chocolate. Real, honest to goodness, chocolate. Completely awesome. At this point the temperature outside was sweltering and Brogan and I wanted nothing more than to go back to the apartment and sleep. However, we had one more stop before that could happen. So my family and I headed to La Historia de Barcelona Museum, which turned out to be completely awesome. First, we got to take a brief look at the history of Barcelona. Then, we promptly plunged down into it. Literally. We took an elevator down beneath the museum into the Roman ruins. The audio guide was simple and to the point, but very enlightening as to the different buildings and architecture. My mom still can’t find any large difference between the place where they salted fish and the place where they made wine, as they actually look extremely similar, when all that you can see is the basic stone structure. We emerged from the underground to find a whole other section about a more modern history of Barcelona, where my dad made an observation of how development starts to parallel with other places, like the US in the industrial revolution. We only glanced at this section, however, as we were all tiered and someone would have had a breakdown if we hadn’t got some sleep in soon. So, we headed back to the apartment, had our lunch at a place just outside of it, took our siesta, and awoke again well rested, though it was late in the day. After our long nap, we found the ferry terminal, which we would be leaving from the next day, and ate dinner at Taller Tapas, another restaurant just outside of the apartment. That was how our day ended.

Barcelona - Mon June 25th

Today, we all woke up at various times. We left for breakfast together at about 9:00, though Brogan and Dad had gone previously to get some coffee. We each got a croissant with ham and cheese along with some coffee or freshly-squeezed orange juice. Then we strolled over to The Block of Discord, where four or five mansions compete for attention. My family and I visited the Casa Batllo, which was designed by Antoni Gaudi. He makes full use of the natural light and is obviously inspired by patterns of water. There are very few straight lines in the house. From there, we went shopping. I got a cute shirt an skirt along with a couple of camis. Brogan got a couple of pairs of shorts and a few collard shirts, along with a t-shirt depicting a cityscape. After that, we began to search for the Sagrada Familia, a very large and beautiful church. On the way, we stopped at De Tapas Madre for lunch, enjoying a piglet, vegetable tempura, a ham, egg and greasy french fry dish, and some amazing octopus. Upon leaving our lunch table, we walked for about ten to fifteen blocks before arriving at the Sagrada Familia. The line for entry stretched around the corner, but was fairly fast moving. While inside, we learned that the church had been started by Gaudi over 100 years ago and has been heavily influenced by nature, to the point where the large pillars on the interior branch out like trees. Currently, only four of a total of about 18 pillars have been built along with the two side entrances. When completed, the walls will be a beautiful mosaic of stained glass windows and thought inspiring stone. We then went home for siesta, using the subway as opposed to walking. Brogan, Mom and I slept hard until around eight o’clock, as dad searched for our missing baggage. 

We left the apartment at nine, and I got a pair of shorts on our way to dinner. We ate at a place called Tantarantana, which had been recommended to us by Barney, the guy who owned the place where we  are staying. The food was amazing, and the route took us to a part of the city we had not visited. While we ate our tapas, the most common form of lunch and dinner dish in Barcelona, Brogan’s napkin caught fire. Naturally, he started blowing on it, trying to put it out, but only succeeded in spreading the flames more and almost catching the guy sitting at the table next to us on fire. The waiter rushed over to us and stamped it out, taking the candle off of our table. We all laughed, as there was no harm done, especially since the restaurant was made of stone. As we left, the waiter told us a story using his limited english and hand gestures about how earlier that week a woman talking on the phone caught her hair on fire and was so focused on her conversation she didn’t notice, though luckily no one was hurt. During dinner, Dad had received a phone call where the insurance company told him that our bag had been found in Honolulu, and would arrive the day after next at about nine o’clock AM. On that note, we returned to the apartment, stopping briefly for some gelato, before falling asleep late that night.

Barcelona

Sunday, June 24th: Day 1

Pues, chicos and chicas, my mom, my dad, my idiot brother and I landed in Barcelona, Spain today after about 18 hours of travel, 26 hours later than we set off. Upon arrival, we discovered that Brogan and I's bag did not arrive in Barcelona, and had likely wound up in LA instead. We received the wrong baggage tag, which had the name Flint Austin on it. It really wouldn't have been hard to mix them up, as there were literally four or five other groups at the kiosk we were at. In any case, we reported the baggage loss and visited the place we are staying at to drop off our baggage. Of course, it was the middle of the night at home, but we couldn't stay at the room because the previous resident had just left at Barney was cleaning it. So, we rambled about Las Ramblas and the Gotic, getting endlessly lost and finding ourselves again, eating breakfast at a small place with amazing fresh-squeezed orange juice, and wearing ourselves down until we had no energy left. When our room was finally ready at about 2:00, we returned, but not until we found some gellato. This turned out to be difficult. Everyone says that gellato places are four feet apart and more numerous than people. Naturally, we picked the day after a festival where everyone stays up all night to arrive and next to nothing was open. Eventually, we found one just in time to head back to our apartment on the third floor and crash for a five hour nap. My parents  had a room, I had a bedroom that was a side room to theirs, and Brogan willingly slept on a couch that was shorter than him. When we awoke from our siesta, we wandered a bit before encountering the Bar Lobo, a place that had been recommended to us by Mike Adler and Molly Newcomer. The food was delicious, particularly the seafood paella and the rocket salad. Something to note: At nearly every restaurant we had been to by the end of our first week we were served bread with tomatoes, though you can specifically order them without. After we finished our meal, we met up with Deb Grant, though it took a few communication errors, and watched Italy beat England in penalty kicks. By the time we left it was one o'clock and we were still basically wide awake.