Amiamo Cinque Terre

Today I woke up like a kid on Christmas day as we were going to embark on the hike I’d been dreaming about for years. We planned to hike to the other four villages and take in the scenery along the way. Camera fully charged and ready, we filled our backpack with snacks, money, and sunscreen and hit the trail.

Rick Steve’s guide warns that this hike is not easy and to be prepared for a work-out. He wasn’t kidding! From village to village, the trail goes straight up and then levels out above the town below and curves along the coastline. To enter the next village, the trail goes straight down again (usually involving countless steps). With the heat wave still in effect, we would be hiking the trails in 100 degree heat. I don’t exaggerate when I say that we drank a dozen bottles of water throughout the day and were still thirsty!

Despite the rigorousness, the hike was even more incredible than I ever imagined. The views of the towns below were picturesque and magical, and we could see the various shades of blue and green that made the ocean look aquamarine below. We stopped along the way to take pictures and take in the sights.

Vernazza was the next town over from Monterosso. As was we climbed down the stairs and winded around the path into the town, a small band played music for tips, welcoming us into the village. With the various colors of tall buildings, the colorful boats and the music, Kyle accurately summarized it saying, “I feel like I’m on a ride at Disneyland!” We decided we would stop and explore each town before hitting the trail again. We found that Vernazza had been hit particularly hard by the October 2011 floods and much construction was underway. The town was small, but the scenery was unmatched.

Next we hit the trail to Corniglia. Vineyards lined the trail, as Corniligia is known for its wine. We had no idea grapes could grow in this type of climate! It made for an incredible view with the vines and grapes to our left and the water below. Corniligia looked like a magical town off in the distance as fog had settled in and we could see it from afar through the mist. When we arrived in Corniglia, the hills and winding roads made for interesting exploration.

The “easy” trial to Manarola was closed due to flood damage and the only way to hike to Manarola was to take the “advanced” trail up to Volastra and over to Manarola. Determined not to give up on seeing the “quattro” of the “cinque” terres, we braced ourselves for the advanced hike. This trail started with the usual straight uphill, where we came across a nice elderly couple. The man asked Kyle, “How are you doing?” Kyle cheerily responded “Good, thanks!” The old man shook his head and said, “I’ll ask you that again in 30 minutes and see what you say then.” We shrugged our shoulders and kept hiking uphill, soon to find out what he meant by that comment…For no less than 30 minutes, we hiked straight up countless stairs. There was no leveling off, no break. The only reprieve was to stop and catch our breath, all the while, looking up knowing more stairs still needed to be climbed. Once we finally got to the top, dripping in sweat, we had climbed up so high that we were literally at the level of the pine trees! Corniglia below looked like a small speck—this hike is not recommended for someone who is afraid of heights.

We had finally leveled off and now wound our way through the trail that ended in the small town of Volastra. While not one of the Cinque Terre, Volastra had its own beauty with giant hydrangea bushes planted throughout the town. We had a difficult time finding the trail that would take us in to Manarola until we came across some equally sweaty-looking hikers. They led us to a staircase that they said would take us to Manarola. The British hiker warned us, “There’s about a million stairs. I thought I was going to die!” We laughed thinking he was exaggerating…Another 30 minutes and about a million stairs later, we realized he was not. Both our legs were shaking from stabilizing going straight downhill on rocky, uneven steps.

When we finally made it to Manarola, we were famished. We hadn’t eaten since breakfast (and some snacks along the way), and by now our bodies were used to the giant meals and calorie counts we had been consuming so far on the trip. We found a restaurant with a great ocean view and sat down for the first time all day. Our legs were grateful for the break as we filled our stomachs with spaghetti al pomodoro and trofie pesto. We had never heard of trofie pasta before, but it’s a delicate pasta that tastes like a smaller, lighter type of gnocci. Since we had been hiking through vineyards all day, we decided we had to try to the local wine, and ordered a half bottle of chilled white pinot grigio-type wine. The meal was fantastic and the pesto was all it was cracked up to be.

The family sitting at the table next to us must’ve noticed our sweaty clothes or the exhaustion on our faces and asked if we had just hiked from Corniglia. When we told them we had, but that we had actually started our day in Monterosso, they looked stunned and the daughter exclaimed, “Wow! Congratulations!” Only then did we begin to realize that most people hike one town to the next in a day—not all of the trails in one day. The family assured us that the last trail was “a piece of cake” and would be an easy stroll compared to what we had already completed that day.

The last part of the trail was called the Pathway of Love, or “Via dell’Amore.” The trail is famous for lovers placing padlocks on chain-link fences and inscribing their names on a designated wall of the hike, symbolizing their eternal love. While we didn’t bring a lock, we did write our names on the wall and take a picture on the “lover’s bench.” This was a definitely a light stroll, but still beautiful and scenic.

Seven hours later we had reached the end of our hike. We decided that the best way back (and the coolest) would be to take the boat ride that stops in each town. We bought our boat tickets, had a cup of celebratory gelato and dipped our feet in the ocean waiting for our boat ride. The boat ride didn’t disappoint, as it stopped at each port—each more gorgeous than the next.

While this is turning into the longest blog post yet, this was not the end of our magical day. As described on a previous post, Italy beat England in the Euro Cup, and tonight they would take on Germany in the semi-final match. Monterosso was buzzing before the game, with locals running around in Italian flags and blue Italia shirts, and tourists trying to figure out where to watch the game.

We found a bar called Fast that had stadium-style seating set up for the game. We decided to have a quick dinner of focaccia pizza and then go there to grab a seat to watch the game. The man who owned the pizzeria had put up a cardboard sign that said, “Store closes at 8:30” (the game was scheduled to start at 8:40). He was clearly in no mood to make pizza.

We walked in and looked at the menu to which he told us, “NO PIZZAS!” We laughed, thinking he was making a joke, but again he told, “No joke. NO PIZZAS!” I asked if we could order the slices in the case and he nodded. We got two slices—one slice of focaccia pesto and one slice of focaccia al pomodora. We ate our delicious slices in a hurry as we sat on the pizzeria patio watching the chaos as the town prepared for the game. The pizzeria owner yelled at others in Italian who tried to enter his shop, waving his hands and yelling what sounded like Italian cuss words.

After our rushed dinner, we got the last two open seats at Fast and sat down to watch the game. The bar was filled with what appeared to be half locals and half tourists. The tourists watched the crowd of locals more than the game itself as the locals sang the Italian national anthem and cheered “I-T-A-L-I-A” while waving their hands furiously at the TV.

Italy scored a goal pretty early in the game and the crowd erupted. Beer went flying and tables were overturned (the tables were soon removed by the bar owner to avoid damage/injury). The locals were hugging and kissing each other, jumping up and down in joy and singing the Italian national anthem again. It was an incredible moment to witness!

Then later in the first half, Italy scored a second goal. The locals went even crazier at this goal, as if their team had just one the game. One local kid (yes, kids were in the bar watching the game) was waving his arms in excitement and then turned around, looked at Kyle and me, and kicked his chair directly at us. Luckily I jumped out of the way to avoid the chair, and then I captured the insanity on film. The locals were spilling beers, tripping over each other to celebrate. The amount of joy this second goal brought these people was unfathomable.

The remainder of the game went scoreless (until Germany’s last-minute penalty kick), but the celebration at the end of the game was anti-climactic compared to the earlier festivities. The locals again sang the national anthem and somewhere in the streets people fired smoke bombs. Within minutes of the game ending, everyone scattered. It was truly an unbelievable experience to witness the passion these people have for this game. And the most exciting part is that Italy will play Spain in the final game this Sunday when we’ll be in Rome!

And that marks the end of what will forever be one of the most memorable days of our lives!

To Cinque Terre

We woke up early to catch the first train from Siena to Cinque Terre, a remote part of the Italian Riviera. The friendly Canadian couple we’d met at the wine tour yesterday was also on the train. Turns out we would be staying in the same hotel in Cinque Terre—again what a small world! As opposed to other modes of transportation we’d experienced in Italy so far, the trains were efficient—on schedule (for the most part) and affordable. Plus traveling by train was a great way to see the countryside.

When we arrived in Monterosso al Mare (the last village in Cinque Terre), I was blown away by the stunning aquamarine water and the rocky coastline. Pictures don’t do this place justice (but that won’t stop me from taking them!) as it’s absolutely breathtaking.

We checked in to Hotel Pasquale and the friendly receptionist insisted on carrying my bag into the room for us. She opened the curtain and threw back the shutters to reveal a stunning ocean view. This is exactly the kind of place that is going to be very difficult to leave!

Next we found a little restaurant called Il Casello on a hill with a terrace overlooking the beach. We ordered risotto con fruta al mare and were thrilled to receive a giant bowl of rice overflowing with mussels, clams, squid, prawns and shrimp. The fish was so fresh—it had probably been caught earlier that day—and the risotto was so rich and creamy. We stuffed ourselves full of this incredible seafood stew and drank ice cold Moretti beer while enjoying the amazing view below.

Even in this beach town, the terrible heat wave continued, so after lunch we immediately jumped in the water. It was cooler than expected which felt great considering it was nearly 100 degrees outside!

Rick Steve’s travel guide listed a restaurant near our hotel called Via Venti as one not to miss. The restaurant was a small, family-owned place. The dad was the chef and the son was the waiter. We read that the best of the local cuisine was fruta al mare (which we had for lunch), sardines, pesto and focaccia bread, so when we saw a sardine plate on the antipasti menu, we had to try it. Sardines in Italy do not taste like those back home. These were fresh from the salty ocean, so they did not have the salty, preservative taste of canned sardines. The waiter told us, “My dad open fish like book,” which we took to mean he does it very well, and since the seafood had impressed us so far, we decided to stick with that theme. So for primero and secondi courses, we shared crab gnocchi and swordfish al pomodoro with capers and olives. Each bite was better than the last! I asked the water what they had for dessert. As he described the local “Monterosso cake,” he closed his eyes and kissed his fingers as if transported to another world. Even if we come back weighing 15 more pounds, how could we turn that down? The cake tasted more like a custard with pie crust and covered in melty chocolate and powdered sugar. It tasted wonderful!

Throughout the meal, the waiter interacted with locals in the street and nearby shop owners. We truly felt part of the local culture and enjoyed our meal tremendously. Feeling sufficiently stuffed, we deemed our first day in Cinque Terre a culinary success and rested for the next day’s long hike.

Experiencing Siena

Today was my favorite day of the trip so far. I knew it was bound to be a good day when we were served fresh-baked croissants for breakfast. Immediately after breakfast we went in to the center of town to see the Duomo and cathedral. The cathedral looked like a smaller version of the Duomo in Florence, but inside it was even more impressive. The church was filled with ornate statues, paintings, stained glass and incredible architecture.

Next we hiked the stairs to the top of the tower in Piazza del Campo. The tower is the tallest point in the city and we could see for miles around. Siena is a medieval town, surrounded by castle walls. From this vantage point we could see the fortress or castle walls, the Duomo and all of the red rooftops of the city below.

When we climbed down the tower, we decided to send some postcards. The cashier at the souvenir shop told us we’d have to go to the Post Office to buy stamps. For anyone who thinks the US Postal Service is a mess, you need to hear this story… When we walked in the Post Office, we saw that we needed to pull a number based on the type of transaction. Since we only needed postage, the postal worker gave us number P108. When we arrived, they were servicing number P98—10 numbers won’t be so bad, we thought. Were we ever mistaken! After about 15-20 minutes, they had literally taken 2 more people and were on P100. At this rate it would be an hour until our number was called! I told Kyle we should just go and we could figure this out later. So we left and went shopping to find a gift for Gwen. We found a cute children’s clothing store and picked out a dress for her. Then we went and got a few slices of pizza to take with us for lunch on the bus as we were going on a wine tour in about an hour. Once we got our pizza to go, we walked back to the bus stop where the wine tour bus would pick us up. The bus stop was just a few blocks past the Post Office, so I told Kyle we should just stop back in and see if our number had been called yet (at this point it had been almost 45 minutes). Sure enough our number, P108, was up! We walked right up to the counter with our pizza and shopping bags in tow and bought our postcard stamps. This experience has given us newfound appreciation for the automated systems at the USPS!

The second half of our day began with a wine tour to Montalcino. A bus took us through the scenic rolling hills of Tuscany. The green fields were full of giant sunflower patches. We arrived at Brunello di Montalcino winery, where we had our first wine tasting in the gardens. The scenery was stunning and the white wine was light and smooth.

Then the wine maker himself, an 83-year-old Italian man named Mario, came out to welcome us to his vineyard and show us his wine cellar and barrels. Mario spoke only Italian and our tour guide served as translator. Mario shared the family history of the vineyard with us. As we walked from the garden to the cellar, he grabbed my arm and asked me if I spoke Italian. I managed to say “piccola,” or little, and I understood enough to respond when he asked my name and where I was from.

Inside the cellar, we were awed by the giant oak barrels where Mario and his team made and stored the wine. In his personal collection, Mario had bottles of wine dating as far back as 1945!

We moved from the cellar into the wine tasting room, where Mario walked us through a wine tasting experience unlike any we’ve had before. Mario poured us three red wines, explaining the differences in the vintages, the grapes and the soil. Then the 83-year-old man climbed on top of one of the tables and announced that he wanted to take a shot of Grappa with us. He poured us his special Grappa and then led us in a toast, “Uno! Due! Tre! Salute!” and we all drank the liquid that burned on the way down. At this point Mario said “Mangia!” and brought out plates of salami, prusciotto, bread, pecorino cheese and pistachio biscotti.

Once we’d had our fill, Mario went back to pouring more tastings of wine. At one point he announced that we were such a nice group that he wanted to share his 2004 vintage with us, opened two bottles and began pouring tastes of incredible, and undoubtedly expensive, wine. As the tasting went on, everyone became more and more talkative, and soon enough we had bonded with the other travelers at our table from Brazil, Australia and Canada. When the wine tasting came to a close, we took a picture with Mario and climbed back on the bus.

Before going back to Siena, the wine tour bus stopped at a medieval church in Tuscany that was stunning in its simplism. We all took pictures here in the Tuscan countryside. Then the bus stopped in Montalcino, and we had 20 minutes to get out and explore the small town. I, of course, bee lined for the nearest gelato shop and was blown away. This was the cheapest gelato we’d had so far (2 euro for 2 scoops), and it was by far the most original. We had a tasty blend of blood orange and strawberry gelato.

Then it was back on the bus and back to Siena. Kyle had a great idea to get take out from a restaurant in town, catch the last direct bus back (so we wouldn’t have to deal with the bus debacle from the night before), open a bottle of wine that we bought from Brunello and watch the sunset from the terrace of our hotel. What a perfect way to end a memorable day in Tuscany. Bellisima!

Arrivederci Firzenze! Ciao Siena!

Today started off on the wrong foot as we overslept.  Our wake-up call never came and with no clock in our hotel room, we woke in a frenzy and ran around the room packing our things and frantically preparing for our last day in Florence and our transfer to Siena.  Another problem I found when I woke up this morning was some strange looking bug bite on my left leg.  It was so large and itchy that I could not bear the thought of wearing pants.  I threw on shorts, which led to more dismay just a short time later…

We finally got out the door at 11 a.m. (two hours later than we had planned), which put us at the Duomo right at the peak of tourist traffic.  Since this was our last day in Florence, we knew we just had to deal with the lines and wait it out.  The line to get into the church didn’t take very long after all, and we made it inside in less than 15 minutes.  As soon as we got to the front of the line though, the guard shook his head at me that I could not go inside in my shorts.  Vendors on the street were selling scarves to cover women’s exposed shoulders and arms, so I frantically tried to pay a vendor for one of his scarves.  An Italian guard came over to me, and I can understand Italian enough to know that he told me if I bought I would be arrested (or maybe he said banned?) from the church.  He lifted the gate for me to run out to the square and purchase a proper cover up.  What a disaster, considering I had been wearing pants all week, despite the intense heat, and knew this rule about entering churches.  The stupid, itchy bug bite really threw me off!  After scrambling to find a scarf in a place where I wouldn’t be arrested, I finally was able to enter the church.  It was beautiful inside!

Then we got in the line to climb the steps to the top of the Duomo (or dome).  This line did not move nearly as quickly.  We waited in line for at least 40 minutes before we got inside to climb the stairs.  The stairs were narrow and steep, but the climb was well worth it!  At the very top we saw the most incredible views of all of Florence.  The red rooftops and all of the views were just gorgeous!

After the Duomo, our time in Florence had come to an end.  We got one last sandwich and gelato, and immediately headed for the buss to Siena. The bus ride was beautiful, the road surrounded by green rolling hills. 

Our hotel in Siena was exactly as imagined—a rustic bed and breakfast in the middle of the Tuscan countryside.  We took a bus into the square, called Il Centro, and enjoyed watching the nightlife around us.  As Kyle put it, “This is the coolest square in Italy.”  We ate our first spaghetti pomodoro, which as basic as it sounds, was incredibly delicious tasting of basil and rich tomato sauce.

To conclude our somewhat “off” day in Italy, we caught the bus back to our hotel, just as the bed and breakfast manager had described, but our bus driver was busy chatting on the phone and blew past our stop before screeching to a halt over a mile later.  At this point it was pitch dark and we had no idea where we were.  She yelled something at us in Italian while motioning with her hand backward.  We assume that meant we needed to walk back in the other direction to reach our hotel.  After about a mile of walking in the dark with small Italian cars whizzing by, we determined that we had no idea where we were and nothing looked familiar.  Luckily, we came across an elderly man walking his dog, and again our Rosetta Stone Italian lessons came in handy.  “Dove il Palazzo di Valli?” asked Kyle, pointing at the hotel on our cheap map.  The man said “a destra!” and pointed ahead.  He simulated driving a car and told us it was “not far.”  Not far by car, we decided as we walked another half a mile to where we finally reached the gate of our hotel.  At least we ran across this nice man so we knew we were headed in the right direction.  I've never been so relieved to reach the gates of an unfamiliar hotel before!  Moral of the story is: when in doubt, take a taxi!

Viva Azzurri!

We started off our second day in Florence with a tour of the Uffizi Gallery where the largest collection of Italian Renaissance art is housed.  The Uffizi is a huge, impressive museum full of thousands of religious paintings (mostly of Madonna and child).  Our favorite room housed Botticelli paintings, including the birth of Venus and Spring.

After exploring the Uffizi for several hours, we went to a little sandwich shop called I Fratellini that our friend Monica recommended.  This was one of the coolest experiences—you walk up to the shop window, choose from a list of 20 sandwiches, order a drink and pay.  Then they make your sandwich right there in front of you and hand it to you for you to enjoy on a nearby sidewalk.  For $3 euro each, I had a delicious caprese sandwich with fresh mozzarella and delicious basil.  Kyle ate hard salami with goat cheese.  The Florentine bread is unsalted, which takes a little getting used to, but at I Fratellini it tasted wonderful!

After lunch it was time to indulge in more gelato!  This time we tried a place that came highly recommended by friends and travel guides alike—Grom.  Grom had the most delicious gelato we’ve tried yet, with fresh fruit and rich, creamy chocolate.

Then it was time for our visit to the Accademia.  The Accademia is a much smaller museum than the Uffizi, but its history is quite interesting.  The museum was a former art school where artists like Michaelengelo studied painting, sculpture and architecture.  There’s also an area of the museum devoted to the musicians who studied there with a collection of 15 and 16^th century violins, pianos and other instruments on display.  The highlight of the Accademia is the statue of David, carved out of marble by Michelangelo in the early 1500s.  David is a massive masterpiece that we couldn’t take our eyes away from.  The detail in the sculpture is absolutely incredible—from the muscles to the veins in the hands.  How Micehlangelo was able to carve that out of a giant block of marble is unbelievable.

We ended the day with dinner at a local family-owned restaurant that the hotel concierge recommended.  We feasted on fresh toretellini with red sauce, ricotta and basil and mushroom pizza.  The food was delicious and the experience was memorable.  The family (who were the chefs, bartender and waitress) were watching Firenze football—an ancient sport that they now play on occasion that is a mix of American football, rugby and boxing/wrestling.  Kyle was fascinated and plans to look up the rules and story behind it.

Italy played England in the quarter finals of the Euro Cup, so we found a local pub to watch the game.  There were Italian teenagers wrapped in Italian flags yelling and waving their hands at the television—exactly the kind of atmosphere we were looking for!  After over time, the game went to a shoot-out to decide the winner.  The tension in the pub was palpable as Italy missed its second goal and England made its first two.  Italy made its third goal and England hit the cross bar, missing it’s third.  Then by an exciting turn of events, the Italian goalie made an outstanding stop on England’s fourth shot, and suddenly Italy was shooting for the win.  The English goalie dove left and the striker shot right—Italy won the game!!!  The pub erupted and the Italian teens ran around with the flags around their necks, cheering, singing and hugging each other.  We got it all on video, which I’ll post as soon as I can get the images downloaded.

Amiamo Firenze!

After a good night’s rest, we woke up relatively early, ate breakfast at the hotel, and set out to explore the city on foot.

We walked to the Accademia, the Duomo, the Uffizi Gallery and the Ponte Vecchio.  We were awed by the size and architecture of the Duomo.  I stood there with my jaw dropped, unable to believe what I was seeing.  We will hike to the top of the dome on Monday when the other sites are closed and see the 360◦ views of Florence.

We found an incredible little sandwich shop off the beaten path where we had one of those meals that will live in our memories forever.  For just 10 euro each, we had a salami Panini (yes, I have thrown out all of my “rules” about food for this trip and am planning to eanjoy the local fare) and glass of house red wine.  We got to practice our Rosetta Stone Italian, saying “vino rosso per favore!”  Salami rosso looks and tastes more like ham than salami.  It was thinly sliced, salty and delicious.  The bread may have been the best I’ve ever had.   The ciabatta was crunchy on the outside, light, flaky and warm on the inside.  The sandwich had a light pesto spread that put it right over the top.  Looking out the window at the cobblestone streets, I nearly thought I’d died and gone to heaven.

We walked the along the water and across the Ponte Vecchio.  The buildings and roads are exactly what I pictured Italy to be.  Across from the Ponte Vecchio, we ate at a Gelateria.  I had a raspberry gelato and Kyle had a mixed berry gelato.  It was a fresh, satisfying treat to cool us off on what was already turning out to be a very hot day.

In Rick Steve’s guidebook, he wrote that you can go to the Orsanmichele and buy tickets in advance for the major attractions.  Thanks to that tip, we saved hours in line and will go to those sites tomorrow.  In the meantime, we went into some old, beautiful churches, including the Orsanmichele and the Santa Croce.  We ran into our Parisian friends outside the Santa Croce—what a small world!  Inside the Santa Croce, a 14^th century gothic church, we saw Michelangelo and Galileo’s tombs. 

I must admit that I had to take a nap to recharge my batteries, but then we headed out again for an incredible dinner.  Thanks to a recommendation from Joe, we went to a local gem called 4 Leoni.  We had an incredible meal—highlights include our bruschetta pomodoro appetizer, homemade fagottini stuffed with sweet potato in a asparagus cream sauce, eggplant parmigiana and the lightest, creamiest cheesecake we’ve ever tasted.  We sat next to some Japanese tourists who ordered an unbelievable amount of food for just two people, including two giant bowls of mussels and clams, a plate of tripe and a kilo-sized steak—surprisingly though, they ate every bite!

The city was alive at night with people walking everywhere and live bands playing on the streets.  Florence is a breathtaking city both by day and by night!

Change of Plans…  First stop: Pisa

After an unexpected turn of events, Pisa became our first stop in Italy proving that even the best laid plans go astray. 

As I recap this scenario of planes, trains and automobiles, keep in my mind that we left LA at 4 p.m. on Thursday, June 21.  Twenty-six hours later after a 10.5 hour plane ride on Air France’s massive A380, a transfer from Charles De Gaulle to Orly Airport, a connection from Orly to Pisa, and a bus ride from Pisa to Florence, we ultimately arrived by taxi to our final destination in Florence at 2 a.m. local time on Saturday, June 23. 

Our travels were going relatively smoothly until our flight from Orly to Florence was increasingly delayed.  Information as to what was causing the delay was hard to come by, but we met an adorable French couple who translated the airline’s reports for us.  The couple told us that workers at the Florence Airport had gone on strike and no flights would be able to land in Florence today—and worst of all there was no telling when the strike would be resolved.  Seeing the look of uncertainty on our faces, our new Parisian friends told us that we could either: request a standby ticket to Rome and then take a 4-hour train ride from Rome to Florence; take a 7-hour train from Paris to Florence; or stay in Paris and wait out the strike. 
Luckily, Vueling Airlines came up with the best back-up plan for us considering the circumstances.  Vueling arranged for our flight to land in the nearby Pisa airport and then a chartered bus took us the 1 hour distance from Pisa to Florence.   

What started off as the longest flight I’d ever taken, quickly became the longest, most exhausting travel day we have ever endured—and hopefully ever will.  

There are two things I’m looking forward to remedy this situation—a good night’s rest in our lovely hotel in Florence and the promise of gelato for 12-straight days to come!

Italy Bound!

As we make our last minute preparations for our trip today, I can’t get the words of Nicki Minaj’s song “Moment 4 Life” out of my head: “No, I’m not lucky, I’m blessed. Yes.”   

This trip is not only a dream come true, but a reminder of just how blessed we are!  As we embark on this adventure, I will update this blog to share pictures and stories from our travels.   

First stop: Florence.  Stay tuned!

Our European Dream Come True

Europe was somewhere I’d always dreamed of going—a faraway, romantic place that I would love to explore one day.  I didn’t know how or when it would happen, but I always knew I would get there one day…

That’s why when I heard about the contest that a local L.A. radio station (97.1 AMP Radio) was having to win a roundtrip for two to Paris to see Nicki Minaj live in concert, I knew I had to try! The contest was running for five days, and throughout the day whenever the radio station played the Nicki Minaj promo, that was your prompt to call in.  The 20^th caller would win Nicki Minaj’s new CD and be entered into a drawing to win the grand prize trip for two to Paris. I listened to AMP Radio all week, just waiting for my chance.

Driving home on a Thursday night, I heard the promo on the radio and immediately called.  By some sensational stroke of luck, I got through and was thrilled to find out that I was the 20^th caller!  As soon as I got home, I researched the contest online and discovered the drawing would take place the following Monday.  Of the 60 contest winners, just one would win the grand prize.  I waited anxiously all weekend, hoping against hope that I would somehow win that prize. 

On Monday, I got a voicemail from the radio station, saying “We’re calling about the Nicki Minaj Black Friday CD that you won. Please call us back as soon as possible.”  I called back a few hours later, disappointed to hear that they were only calling about the CD.  But when I called, the AMP Radio promotions manager, Tara, told me that she wasn’t calling about the CD at all—she was calling to tell me that I WAS THE GRAND PRIZE WINNER OF THE TRIP FOR TWO TO PARIS! 

At that moment, I had an out-of-body experience where it felt like I was floating outside my body watching the scene unfold below.  I vividly remember yelling into the phone, “You’re kidding me!”  Tara assured me that while this was hard to believe, I won the contest and would be going to Paris this summer.  I yelled, “SHUT THE FRONT DOOR!” and began jumping up and down in the middle of my office. 

And that’s where our European adventure begins!