Day 41: Madrid and Goodbye

We only had a few hours in Madrid and we didn’t do too much. Allyson needed a nap after our late night yesterday so we really only made it out for dinner. Tomorrow morning we head back to the airport so Andrew can fly back to San Francisco and Allyson can meet up with her group for Granada.

We have had the most amazing trip and cannot believe that 6 weeks have flown past. We had been so many places, done so many things, and made so many memories. Thank you to everyone who made this trip possible for us- we will remember it for the rest of our lives!

Gourmet Moment: We wanted to make sure the last meal of our trip was a good one so we asked at our hotel for suggestions. The concierge told us about a famous restaurant nearby that is supposedly the oldest restaurant in the world! It is called Botin and was founded in 1725- we couldn’t resist. Andrew wanted to take Allyson out for an early birthday dinner so we decided to go for it. The dining room was in the cellar and it was all very romantic. We ordered some sangria, started with gazpacho, and then had breaded veal (Allyson) and sirloin steak (Andrew). Besides the amazing meal at the restaurant near Florence, this was the best food of the trip!

Day 37-40: Rome (just a bit overdue…)

Rome kept us super busy and we had spotty internet connection so here is our belated post.

We arrived in Rome Monday afternoon and set out to explore right away. Family friend Sam Foster gave us a list of tips with restaurants and city advice for all of Italy and he had a lot to say about Rome. We followed his directions to a hole-in-the-wall deli that turned out to be closed. When we decided to head to the city center instead we realized that we were so far out of the way that we weren’t even on our map! After asking several semi-helpful Romans we found our way back to civilization. We eventually settled for pizza and a Coke in a little square that turned out to be delicious. That afternoon we stopped by the Trevi Fountain and visited the Spanish Steps that night.

On day two we decided the only way to really do Rome would be to take a walking tour. We found one with a student discount that took us to the Piazza Navona, Trevi Fountain, the Pantheon, the Roman Forum, and the Coliseum. Talk about history! Unfortunately our guide was awkward and pretentious so we didn’t get as much out of the tour as we had hoped. Still, it was a great way to visit many of Rome’s historical sites.

That evening we decided to do a pub crawl, hoping to meet more people to hang out with while in Rome. We met some girls from Argentina who helped us practice our Spanish, and Andrew saved a Finnish girl’s birthday (ask him for details!). Overall, a good night- would have been a great night but see “Moment of Misery” below.

Wednesday was a lazy day. We left the hotel without a plan and eventually found some ruins that we had heard a lot about. Hundreds of years ago there was a rat infestation in Rome so the emperor ordered 1,000 cats to be brought into the city as pest control. Now there are colonies of stray cats who live in many of the ancient ruins. The most populated one is the Area Sacra di Largo Argentina where about 100 cats have settled. They are all fixed, vaccinated, and fed by volunteer organizations in Rome. Allyson was in cat heaven! When we’d had enough of the cats we walked over to the Vatican City and made reservations for the following day to go to the Vatican Museum. The man in the tourism office told us that if we made reservations for 8am the next morning we would get to enjoy the museum with very little company. That night we made our way back to what had become our favorite hang out, Piazza Navona, where we had dinner and watched the street performers.

Thursday was our last full day and we dedicated it to the Vatican. Allyson started reading Angels and Demons and was loving being in the places she was reading about. The tourism had been right about the 8am reservations- the regular ticket office doesn’t open until 9am so we had an hour to wander the empty halls of the Vatican museum. We headed straight for the Sistine Chapel where we sat and admired it with just 5 other people. It was magical! One of our best decisions this trip. We rented audio guides and spent the next three hours looking at the rest of the Vatican’s enormous collection. The audio guide tour took us back to the Sistine Chapel, which at that point was packed shoulder to shoulder with sweaty tourists. We ended in St. Peter’s Basilica and after admiring the amazing architecture we say down on one of the few pews and read our Kindles for a bit. So fun!

We had hoped for an early bedtime because we had to get up at 6:45 the next morning to get to the airport to fly to Madrid. No such luck. When we were packing, Andrew discovered that his iPhone was missing so we tore apart our bags and the room looking for it. When we were satisfied that it was not in the room we realized that it must have been stolen out of our backpack while on our walking tour a few days before. Andrew called our travel insurance company to ask about coverage and found out that we would have to get the serial number for the phone from Apple and then file a police report with the Rome Police. At midnight, after many frantic phone calls and emails we set out for the police station. Allyson was less than enthusiastic. The first police station we found informed us that they were busy dealing with some prostitutes they had arrested and could not file our report. They directed us to another station, 10 blocks away. In the end we were able to file the report and walk away with a signed and stamp document, but didn’t get back to the hotel until 2am. Let’s just hope things work out with the insurance company!

Travel Blunder: On our first day in Rome we had the option of buying a 3-day metro pass for 11 euros. Andrew was convinced it would be a good investment because Rome looks huge on a map. Our feet can attest: we never used the pass again.

Moment of Misery: While we were on the pub crawl we were hanging out with different groups. As the night wound to a end, Andrew wandered out of the basement bar to look for Allyson on the street outside. Right when he stepped onto the top step he was met with a open palm to the face. He had be forcefully slapped by an angry man. The bouncer held the man back because it seemed as if he wanted to fight some more. Meanwhile, Andrew was standing dumbfounded with a hurt cheek on the top step. As Andrew inched by the bouncer the man was let down into the bar. Everyone outside had seen the entire situation go down. The tourists were shocked and angry while the bouncer and some of the locals seemed unaffected. Due to the fact that this was the first time Andrew had ever been truly hit before in public he decided to ask the bouncer why the man was still let into the club. The bouncer simply responded, “He’s a VIP.” After some further inquiries, Andrew and discovered the he had been slapped by the Roman Chief of Police. That wouldn’t fly in the US. We are still a little unclear on the situation.

Small World #1: In Sorrento we met a nice German couple staying at our campground bit didn’t get to talk much with them. At the Vatican Museum on Thursday amidst the midday crowds we found the Germans again!

Small World #2: When we were looking online at a bar crawl to do in Rome we found a program that looked fun. It had pictures of each night so we looked at the album from the previous week. All of a sudden Allyson was speechless as she pointed to a girl in one of the pictures… it was one of her Kappa sisters from Davis!

Quick Hi From Rome

We've been in Rome for the past 3 days and are loving it. The internet is down in our hotel and we are paying too much at the internet cafe to write a full post. We'll try later tonight, if not we will do our last one from Madrid tomorrow.

Rome Pictures

Here are a few pictures, we will update tomorrow.

Day 34-36: Sorrento

This is our last night in Sorrento and we finally managed to find Wifi at a bar in town.

We took the train from Florence to Naples on Friday and had the best pizza of our trip in a little Neapolitan bar by the train station. Naples as a city isn’t our favorite, but the food definitely made up for it. We took a metro from Naples to Sorrento, and then a bus to the place we’re staying. It was described to us by a friend as a hostel/campground-type establishment with tents, a swimming pool, coastal access, and lots of young travelers. That description turned out to be close to accurate, but the young travelers are replaced by older, loud, Italian families in RV’s, many of whom have been at the campground for months. Basically, they are the Italian version of rednecks.

Luckily on our first afternoon at the campground we met some young English-speakers. It turned out that there was a tour group of 40 Australians and Canadians staying at the campground for two of our three nights. Their tour guide (an awesome Aussie named Dax) was taking them to a restaurant in town so we decided to tag along. Dinner was great and afterwards we followed the group to a bar for drinks. No one minded us joining in the festivities and we talked to a lot of fun people.

On Saturday we were determined to find a good beach to swim and tan. Allyson consulted her guide book and found a good recommendation within walking distance from our campground. It was a rock beach (as in giant slabs of rock, no pebbles or stones) and ended up being a bit of a hike. We each bought an inflatable raft on the way, which ended up being very useful as pillows. We both fell asleep in the sun for a bit too long and have pink backs to prove it. Luckily we are quickly fading to tan!

We went into Sorrento for dinner that night and ran into one of the Canadian couples from the tour group we met- Brad and Stacy. We got drinks by the coast, did some shopping, and then found a fun place for dinner. Midway through our meal we were ambushed by Sorrento’s marching band. They were crazy and dressed in traditional garb. So fun!

Sunday we woke up early to get on a boat tour to Capri. We lathered on the sunscreen and set off for the beautiful island. The boat dropped us off on the island and we had six hours to explore on our own. We took the scenic walk from the marina town up to Capri. It was gorgeous the whole way up! We walked around Capri, looking in all of the ritzy shops and soon decided to keep exploring the island. The highest point on the island is in another city, Annacapri, and involves a 15 minutes chair lift to reach the top. At the top of the lift was an amazing look-out deck with a 360 degree view of the island. There used to be a mansion at the peak, but it has been converted to a bar and restaurant. Andrew was especially jealous of the view from the swimming pool. We ordered a liter of water at the bar and sat with our Kindles and read for an hour. We arrived back at the marina to meet our boat with just enough time to got for a quick swim in the ocean. The water is so warm and clear!

We leave for Rome tomorrow morning- the last stop in our European adventure!

Travel Blunder: While looking for a good beach spot on Saturday we stumbled into a men’s only (possibly homosexual) beach. Andrew was oblivious, but Allyson was very conscious of the thirty men in Speedos giving her strange looks. As we were quickly leaving the area we noticed penises spray-painted onto the rocks. Wish we’d seen those on the way in!

Culture Shock: It's not unusual to see dogs with diapers around here. There is just something not right about that.

Gourmet Moment: At the top of the walk up to Capri there was a stand selling real lemon slushees with fresh orange juice. We shared a large one and immediately regretted it. It was the most delicious and refreshing drink we’ve ever tasted! We got two more on the way down in the afternoon and we could have gone for more. Yum!

Day 32-33: Florence

On Wednesday we got up early to go to the Uffizi Gallery. It opens at 8:15am so we figured we could show up a few minutes before then and walk right in. Wrong. There were already about 300 people in line ahead of us and because the museum regulates the number of guests inside at any one time, it took us an hour and a half to get in! Once inside, it was all worth it. There were more paintings than we could handle but we made our way to all of the notable ones. Overall, it was awesome!

After the museum we grabbed some pizza and then walked around the Ponte Vecchio. Andrew enjoyed picking out the gaudiest jewelry and offering to buy it for Allyson if she promised to wear it every day for the rest of her life. She was not tempted to take him up on his offer.

That night when dinnertime rolled around we decided that it might be time for some variety. Italian food just wasn’t going to cut it so in the end we chose a Chinese restaurant that we had heard about from someone at the hostel. It was a bit of a gamble but we went for it and the food was delicious!

Thursday morning we decided to give our early museum strategy another shot. We showed up 40 minutes before the Academia Gallery opened and were very pleased with our spots as numbers 6 and 7 in line! When we got in we headed straight for the David statue and were able to admire him in a quiet, empty room. Definitely worth the early wake-up!

Our STA travel agent, Kara, from Davis happened to be in Florence today, staying

in our same hostel so we met up with her and a friend she is traveling with. Kara is no stranger to Italy so we let her lead the way as the four of us looked for a place for lunch. She found us a cute little restaurant tucked away on a side street and it was delicious! Plenty of homemade pastas and tasty pizzas.

We spent the afternoon in the leather markets (again) and Allyson enjoyed shopping with other girls. We didn’t do a whole lot today, but it was relaxing and enjoyable- like a vacation should be!

We hung out at the terrace bar at our hostel for happy hour and were excited to find that tonight’s drink special was sangria. Nothing compared to what Allyson can expect in Spain, but still great. The four of us found a restaurant close by for dinner and got some great meat. Kara’s dinner won- seared steak with a white truffle sauce!

Packing all of our new treasured into our packs tonight was a little tricky, but Andrew’s knack for packing made it happen. It’s just one of those Tight skills. Off to Sorrento in the morning!

More Pictures...

Us enjoying our Florentine steak!

Gosh Andrew is sexy in his new jacket!

This window used to be open until a man jumped out of it and killed a member of the Di Medici Family. They family immediately stoned up the window. It has been covered for over 500 years. Andrew is reenacting the fateful jump.

Our bike tour through Florence.

Us enjoying a beautiful view of Florence. You can see the famous Duomo in the background.

Day 30-31: Siena and Florence

We have now been traveling for an entire month. It is amazing how time flies when you’re having fun! We woke up at 8:30 because we wanted to get our touristy shopping done before we left for Siena. Our hostel offers an all you can eat breakfast for 5 euros each, but none of the food sounded too good and the straight black coffee didn’t sound too appealing. We opted for a more delicious breakfast. We found a bakery that has a deal where you get any freshly made pastry, a bowl of fruit, fresh juice, and any kind of coffee you want all for 3.80 euros per person. So much better!

After breakfast we browsed the leather market yet again. We walked away with some great gifts for ourselves and family. One such gift for ourselves were authentic Italian leather jackets. We had each tried a few on the day before just for fun and started to get an idea of what looked good. We each tried on many different styles and each eventually fell in love. Andrew refused to buy a jacket until he felt like he was getting a good deal. Through his amazing bargaining skill (thanks papa Tight) and Allyson’s cute lovable begging we managed to negotiate a price we were both happy with. Andrew’s jacket was marked for 400 euros but got it for 120, and Allyson’s was marked for 389 and got hers for 100 euros. And we look damn sexy.

We got back to the hostel just in time to catch our bus to Siena to see the famous Palio horse race. The bus from Florence to Siena was only an hour long, but it went by quickly. When we arrived in Siena the city was bustling. There were so many people, all sporting scarves for the horse that they were rooting for.

The race takes place in Piazza del Campo, where the 10 horses selected race around the perimeter of the square. Each horse represents a contrada (neighborhood) of Siena so the locals take the race very seriously. The jockeys have to ride bare back, so this sometimes results in horses finishing the race riderless. We were lucky enough to see such an incident. The racetrack goes around the square, so this forces the 20 thousand viewers to squeeze into the center. It was only standing room making it a very claustrophobic 4 hours. When we first entered the square, long before the race was due to begin, we found a spot to stand. Thanks to Andrew’s expert maneuvering we found our way to the edge of the racetrack where we had prime viewing when the festivities began. The race is only three laps of the square taking only about 90 seconds, but there is a long medieval themed parade before the race.

This was one of the most exciting events either of us have ever seen first hand. It was amazing to see how emotional people became over the result of the race. Ironically the team Tortuca (the turtle) won the race, but we were happy because this was the team we were cheering for. If you know nothing about this event, google and youtube this race. So cool!

After the race we had all you can eat bruschetta and all you could drink wine with our tour group at a local wine shop. It wasn’t very good wine and only ok bruschetta, but nothing could bring down the mood of the evening. Everyone was so pumped from the race! We got back to the hostel and went straight to bed. We were exhausted, it was a long day.

On Tuesday we signed up for a 3-hour bike tour and wine tasting through our hostel. There were about 10 other people on the tour and it was led by our favorite hostel tour guide, Dario. It was our first time really going around Florence so it was a good way to orient ourselves within the city and start thinking about what museums and monuments we actually wanted to pay to go in later. The tour ended at a little specialty food shop where we tasted olive oil, pecorino cheese, a few spreads, balsamic vinegar, and wine. It was all locally produced and delicious!

We explored Florence a bit more on our own, mostly just sticking our head into churches. We knew that while in Florence we would have to splurge one night for a real Florentine steak, and last night seemed as good a night as any to go for it. We asked at the hostel for the best (reasonably priced) steak place and were sent to a restaurant on the other side of town. It was a half-hour walk but we took it as an opportunity to sport our new jackets. We were starving by the time we got there, only to find that the whole restaurant it closed all August! We decided to check out another restaurant that had been recommended to us as well but were never able to find it. In the end, we went to the restaurant that we loved so much for our first lunch in Florence and were not disappointed by their steak. We just don’t get meat like that back home!

Culture Shock: For the Palio excursion with the hostel, we all were given bright orange shirts to wear that say “I Survived the Palio of Siena”. We didn’t think anything of it, and it ended up being a nice way to find everyone else in the group. Unfortunately some people from Siena found the shirt incredibly offensive, claiming that there is nothing dangerous to “survive” at the Palio. Some even tried to start fights with a few boys from our group, so we all turned our shirts inside out for safety!

Star Sighting: We were told that only extremely rich people and celebrities watch the Palio from seats and the apartments surrounding the square. While everyone else was watching the festivities, Allyson was scanning the windows above us for anyone she recognized. It didn’t take her long to find a face that any girl would know- Mr. Darcy!! That’s right- Colin Firth was in the window right above us! Allyson was very excited and soon people around us started to take notice as well. Colin Firth was a good sport about it and even waved at Andrew.

Day 28 and 29: Florance and Panzano

We got on the train in Venice and arrived in a very rainy Florence. Even in the rain we could tell that we liked the city, so we took that as a good sign about the days to come. We found our hostel (which is huge!) and dropped off our bags. The guy at the front desk gave us a restaurant recommendation for lunch… and we are forever indebted to him. The food was amazing! Andrew got a Tuscan style goulash with hunks of beef that were so tender that he didn’t need a knife. The whole restaurant was decorated to look like an old Tuscan villa with candles, paintings, and statues all over. That afternoon we explored Florence’s famous leather market and were overwhelmed by all of the purses and jackets. We might have to go back one of these days when it stops raining.

Back at the hotel we learned that the famous Siena Palio is on Monday, and our hostel has organized a tour. We’ve heard so much about the Palio (but didn’t realize it was this week!) so we just had to sign up for the excursion. Our hostel is basically a huge hotel for college students- it has two bars, a restaurant, workout room, sauna, swimming pool… and more we haven’t explored yet. We unpacked in our room, finally did a load of laundry, and hung around the hostel all night. We met some Australian girls at dinner and made plans to meet up with them the following night.

Panzano
An earlier post refers to an almost disastrous trip to Panzano near Bologna. On Sunday we made our way to Panzano in Chianti to pick up a special salt for the Fosters- and we are very glad we did! Panzano is an hour bus ride from Florence with beautiful views along the way (which Allyson didn’t get to enjoy because of her extreme carsickness). Panzano is a tiny village, best known for its famous butcher Dario Ceccini. Look him up- he’s awesome. We found his little shop and bought the seasoned salt for the Fosters. Dario came over to meet us and was very excited to tell Andrew about the time he taught a class in San Francisco. He is one of the most enthusiastic people we’ve ever met! The Fosters told us that if we made it to Panzano and went to Dario’s shop they would pay for us to eat at his restaurant across the street. We made reservations for Sunday lunch at 1pm and walked out three hours later very satisfied!

There was a little outdoor market in town that we decided to check out. Andrew was drawn to a wine-lottery game that involved paying 1 euro to draw a slip of paper from a bowl. If your slip had a number on it you would win a bottle of wine for a display that corresponds to your number. 4 euros later, Andrew was the proud winner of a locally produced bottle of wine.

When it was time to get back to Florence we made our way back to the bus stop. When we finally made it back to Florence we were still too full to think about dinner so we decided to check our the rooftop terrace bar at the hostel. We ran into our Australian friends and had a few drinks with them. They had heard about a cool bar in town so we set off on a mission to find it. We never made it to the bar, but we had some good sandwiches and gelato that made the walk worth it. We all went to bed pretty early because we had the horse races the next day and the girls had to catch an early bus to Cinque Terre.

Travel Blunder: The bus ride to Panzano was simple- we looked at our bus schedule and got on the bus we wanted in Florence. Coming back was a bit more frustrating, as it was on a Sunday as well as a local holiday. The bus schedule was clearly different- we came to this conclusion around 5:15 when our 4:50 bus back didn’t show. We hoped that if we sat at the bus stop, eventually a bus would show up. Luckily, we were on our way home at 5:47.

Gourmet Moment: Dario Ceccini’s restaurant, Solociccia, is family-style seating with a set menu. We arrived and were escorted down several flights of stairs to what was once a wine cellar. There was a big table set for 12 people with fresh bread and vegetables waiting for us. As the rest of the table filled up we realized that everyone else was Italian. Luckily, one man spoke very good English and acted as our translator with the rest of the table. Lunch consisted of: Dario’s wine, amazing home-made focaccia, vegetables from his garden, beef ragu bruschetta, an assortment of batter fried meat and vegetables, white beans in olive oil (the one dish that Allyson didn’t wolf down), sautéed marinated beef meatballs, a roast beef dish, boiled beef and vegetable salad, and finally a succulent braised pork with caramelized onions. For dessert they brought out coffee, an assortment of Italian liquors, and olive oil cake. Everything was absolutely incredible! It was the best meal either of us have ever eaten in our lives! If you are ever in the area you need to eat here. Thank you so much Foster family!

Day 27: More Venice

Today was our only full day in Venice, so Allyson planned a scenic walking tour to go the long way to Piazza San Marcos. About a third of the way through our walk, it began to rain. And when we say rain, we mean dump. We were in a residential part of town at the time so there was nothing to do but run from doorway to doorway in an attempt to stay dry. Andrew would run ahead as the scout and call to Allyson to follow when he had found a good spot. It didn’t work. We were soaked through by the time we found a restaurant to duck into for a cup of coffee. We booked it to San Marcos as soon as the rain let up. Andrew was an expert navigator today, though he made most of it up as we went along.

It was 2pm by the time we found civilization again and we were ready for some lunch. It started to rain again so we slipped into the first indoor restaurant that we came to. Worst. Lunch. Ever. (see below)

We decided to make our way back to the hostel and did some touristy shopping along the way. We had dinner at our hostel and spent the evening dry and warm talking with a guy from Sonora County and a group of Brazilians.

Moment of Misery: Lunch today was a bit of a disaster. We ran into a restaurant to escape the rain and were greeted by the scowl of a waitress. We considered leaving but Allyson didn’t want to face the rain so we sat down. Pizza was the only affordable thing on the menu so we each picked one. After awhile our food came out and it looked less than appetizing. Andrew took the first bite and declared that it was a partially reheated frozen pizza. Allyson tentatively looked at what was supposed to be her pepperoni pizza but after a bit of poking realized that it was an anchovy paste pizza. Eww! We sent back Allyson’s pizza and told them not to bring a replacement. Andrew was so hungry that he ate his whole pizza as Allyson looked on with disgust. When the bill came we had been charged for both pizzas, a 6 euro cover charge, and a 3 euro service charge… our total was 24 euro for the worst food of our trip. We refused to pay for the pizza we sent back, but still paid 17 euros. Andrew felt sick for the next few hours, and we couldn’t help but dwell on what a waste of money our “lunch” was.

Day 26: Venice

We left from Bologna this morning and found ourselves in Venice two hours later. It was an easy walk to our hostel, where we dropped off our bags and went off to explore. We had met some Australians in Bologna who were in Venice today so we met up with them at San Marcos Square. Kat, Nicholas, Gerard, and the two of us spent the afternoon aimlessly wandering the tiny streets and canals. We had a pizza lunch, enjoyed some gelato to cool down, and eventually settled down at a bar on the main canal to sit and chat. Basically, we love them!

Our hostel is incredible! There are about 15 people staying here, and for 4 euros the owner made us a delicious dinner. After dinner a few of us found a bar around the corner where we had amaretto sours and played memory with a Kiwi, a German, a Britt, and another American.


Moment of Misery: When we called the Australians from the train station, they told us to hop on a water-bus and meet them at San Marcos Square. That sounded easy enough so we went and got in line to buy tickets. A few things went wrong with our journey: tickets were 6.50 euro each for one direction, a mob of Asian tourists cut us in line, the boat was crowded with sweaty, smelly tourists, and we could have walked there faster than the boat. As we exited the boat, we vowed never to set foot in Venice transportation again. Looks like we’ve got some walking ahead of us tomorrow!

Day 25: Last Day in Bologna

Today was a pretty relaxing day. We started our morning by stuffing ourselves at the hotel breakfast… Andrew has become a coffee machine master. We took the bus into town and checked out the Archeological Museum. The Egyptian exhibit was really cool… and air-conditioned. We went upstairs to the Roman exhibit where we quickly lost interest due to the lack of AC. I guess that shows our dedication to the arts…

On our map we saw a big green area that we decided to check out. It turned out to be a large park complete with a pond, turtles, and many sun-bathers. We joined in the fun with our Kindles and relaxed for a few hours.

We spent the afternoon shopping (trying on weird clothes and playing with mannequins). We had an early dinner and brought the ingredients for panaches back to the hotel (beer and lemon soda). It was the perfect end to a pretty peaceful day.

Gourmet Moment: Since our hotel is out of the city center, we have been wanting to eat early dinners so that we can get back here before dark. Unfortunately, very few restaurants open their kitchens before 7:30 so we haven’t had a lot of variety. Il Calice has had the pleasure of serving us for three of our four nights in Bologna. Between the two of us we’ve tried six things on the menu. They’ve all been delicious! (Andrew’s favorite: homemade cheese tortellini in a cream sauce with asparagus and prosciutto)

Day 24: Modena

With our great love of balsamic vinegar (Allyson) and fast cars (Andrew) we took a day trip to Modena. It was an easy half hour train ride, and we knew we loved Modena the second we arrived. The city reminds us of Davis- plus a few hundred years of history. People ride bikes all over town, people are friendly and happy, and the whole town was clean and inviting. We walked around for a bit checking out the little shops and piazzas along the way.

Andrew wanted to check out the Ferrari factory, which turned out to be just outside of Modena, so we caught a bus and looked at some fast cars. Even though neither of us know very much (ie nothing) about cars, it was all still very impressive. Andrew even got to sit in a few zoomy models, pretending to be someone important.

We got back to Modena hoping to find a place for an early dinner, preferably one containing some locally produced balsamic vinegar. Turns out no restaurant kitchens open before 7:30, and we had to get on our train back to Bologna before then. We settled for a glass of the local wine, Lambrusco, a sparkling red. To our delight, the glass of wine we shared came with tortilla chips and salsa, cheesy foccacia, potato chips, and olives. Definitely enough to tide us over until dinner in Bologna!

Back in Bologna we found a nice outdoor restaurant and enjoyed some nice, fresh salads. It felt good to eat something green, and we weren’t even craving gelato by the end!

Travel Blunder: We had some troubles with public transportation today. #1: We forgot to validate our train tickets on the way to Modena and enjoyed a short lecture from the ticked checker halfway through our journey. Luckily we didn’t get fined. #2: We thought we could buy tickets on the bus to the Ferrari factory, but it turns out we needed to get them at the station. Luckily we didn’t get caught. #3: We got on a bullet train to Bologna instead of the slow train we had tickets for. By the time we realized it, it was too late so we just hoped for the best. As the train was pulling into the Bologna station the ticket checker found us. Unfortunately, we were caught and fined. Not our proudest travel day.

Culture Shock: Italians really care about looks. Even mannequins in shop windows have wigs that seem to be professionally styled. A little creepy…

Gourmet Moment: Allyson was a little bummed to leave Modena without any balsamic vinegar, but was very excited to find that the balsamic that came with her salad back in Bologna was an authentic Modena product. Yum!