We only had a week in Ireland so were determined to pack a lot in. We cruised over on the car ferry, which was a rather nice… Read more “Beautiful beautiful Ireland”
Tag: Travel
Goodbye Italy, hello UK
Bit of a shock coming from the balmy skies of Italy (although it was raining as we took off) to the grey and cooler welcome of Heathrow.… Read more “Goodbye Italy, hello UK”
Two days in Venice is not enough (part two)
We packed a lot into our second day in Venice. Starting with breakfast on the terrace of our hotel, looking out onto the Grand Canal, I thought… Read more “Two days in Venice is not enough (part two)”
Two days in Venice is not enough (part one)
We came across from Rapello through Verona. I liked Verona very much although passed on the option to eat horse or donkey ragu, instead enjoying an excellent seafood… Read more “Two days in Venice is not enough (part one)”
Galileo said it perfectly
A low-key but lovely morning was spent getting our sleeves rolled up and cooking our own lunch. We did this in the midst of the most breathtakingly beautiful landscape – it was almost impossible to tear our eyes and cameras away from the scenery stretching out in front of us to go inside.
A simple menu of bread salad, pasta with vegetable ragu and tiramisu kept us concentrating for the morning. We got to keep the recipes as well, so once I am home I’ll probably make some of the menu again and post the recipes if they still taste this yummy!
It’s easy to forget how easy it is to throw together perfect silky smooth pasta, even without the help of a pasta rolling machine. We were a mixed group cooking skills-wise, so the cooking school did well to keep everyone happy and also make sure we served ourselves edible food.
The meal was matched perfectly with accompanying wines as the cooking school was (surprise surprise) attached to a vineyard. We treated ourselves to a beautiful red and I also bought myself a tee-shirt with this beautiful quote from Galileo Galilei.
Wine is sunlight, held together by water
Perfect!
A vineyard with serious history
The beautiful villa where Machiavelli was under house arrest, spending his time writing , fuming and plotting – now a wonderful vineyard. The house still has much still intact from Machiavelli’s time including some magnificent furniture. For us it was a chance to absorb yet more history, check out some local wine, sample some local food, and relax in the perfect afternoon sun. Not quite sure how I am going to go back to my ordinary existence!
(A very random aside. Those of you who are Black Books fans will appreciate my photo of the cheap and dusty wine! )
From Pompeii to Capri
A sensory overload already and we have only been here a few days. Early start onto the coach that will become very familiar over the next little… Read more “From Pompeii to Capri”
A taste of Rome
And finally we get to Italy. I’m a bit behind in my chronicles as our days are so packed! Lots of photos to help remember and tell… Read more “A taste of Rome”
Catching our breath in London
Who would have thought that we would use the bustling metropolis of London for some downtime! But that’s how we spent the three days between NYC and… Read more “Catching our breath in London”
New York – a photographic state of mind
We arrived at Newark airport after a very nice flight up the front of the plane ( what a treat!). Emerging out of the terminal we were immediately assaulted by a cacophony of people, taxis, buses, heat, noise – and we were barely put of the airport. Clearly not in San Franscisco anymore!
We managed to get an Uber and headed to the Refinery Hotel. Glass of wine while checking in set the tone for our week.
We fell in love with this city. We knew it would be fast paced, sophisticated and iconic, but we weren’t prepared for its beauty and sheer energy.
Just too much to describe in our week there, so a few highlights and a lot of photos!
Cycling Central Park and the Brooklyn and Manhattan Bridges – these were both guided tours giving great insights of the city. Never thought I would be a fan of guided tours but you get such great stories and information from the guides.
Refinery Hotel rooftop bar – the Empire State Building so close you could almost reach out and touch it.
Street food and tiny bagel shops (shades of the Seinfeld ‘Soup Nazi’ episode at one of them).
Blues-influenced Jazz at the Rum House and then a sublime jazz quartet in our hotel lobby bar.
The indescribable wonder of seeing iconic paintings by Van Gogh, Picasso, Dali and so many others at MoMA.
Book of Mormon on Broadway. A whole new level of professionalism and passion from the performers. Watching this knowing that all around us countless other shows were simultaneously playing.
Times Square at night – so cliched but so exciting.
Empire State Building during the day and Rockefeller Centre at night. Facing my vertigo head-on and winning!
Ground Zero and the somber and profoundly moving 9/11 museum.
We decided that it would be very hard to live in New York but we will definitely try to return. The song says ‘I left my heart in San Fransciso’ – I think I left a part of mine in New York
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This Much I Know 