Next stop...
Orvieto, Italy
Kim: Orvieto was a lot of fun. It’s a town about 1.5 hours outside of Rome. It sits majestically a thousand feet above the valley floor on a big chunk of tuff (volcanic rock). We stayed at a cute B&B called Casa Selita on the edge of town. It's a cute old country house right in the middle of an orchard. Selita keeps the gardens looking so beautiful. Roses, trees and shrubs everywhere. It's nestled at the bottom of the town’s cliff which overlooks the green, rolling hills across the valley. All the rooms have their own little terrace with table and chairs overlooking the garden. So quaint! The bedroom was so comfortable. Gotta love down comforters :) Orvieto was a nice break after crazy Rome. We spent the two days wandering through the quaint, cobblestone streets window shopping and eating good food. We spent a couple of hours one day hiking the Rupe. It is a paved path that completely circles the town at the base of the cliff upon which it sits. Hiking around offered amazing views of the Umbrian countryside. After a couple of detours (due to lack of signs) and steep upward climbs, we made it all around the 3 mile loop. We spent another afternoon walking through the Duomo and various museums. The Duomo has four marble pillars carved with biblical scenes that tell the story of the world: Genesis, Old Testament, New Testament and Revelation and each pillar is topped by a bronze symbol of one of the Evangelists. Angel (Matthew), lion (Mark), eagle (John) and ox (Luke). All the Duomo's we have seen have been amazing. It’s crazy how much detail goes into each and every part. Our favorite part was the chapel on the right side, the chapel of San Brizio. It has frescoes done by Luca Signorelli. The frescoes depict scenes of the Apocalypse. Scenes include the following: Antichrist, end of the world, Resurrection, hell, Judgment Day, and heaven. The scenes were awesome. They really tell a great story. In the Antichrist picture it shows a man posing as Jesus preaching from a pedestal. The Devil is standing behind him whispering in his ear what to say next. On an another wall it shows trumpeting angels calling out to the world, and the dead climbing out of the earth to be clothed in new bodies. So interesting! We really enjoyed the chapel. Darren even helped the worker set up chairs for evening mass. He's had lots of practice :) So...conclusion, we loved Orvieto. So beautiful and so relaxing. Only thing we didn't get to do is take the bus to Civita. Supposed to be a really pretty little town. Next time :)
Darren: We really did love it here. Selita was sooo accommodating. We asked if there was access to laundry and she said for 5 Euros they’d do it for us. For anyone who’s had to do a load of laundry in a sink and hang it out to dry, you know what a bargain that is. J We found our clothes neatly stacked in our room that night all fresh and clean. AWESOME!!
One night there we tried a new plate called Nidi. Kim didn’t like it too much but I thought it was pretty good. It was like cheesy lasagna with a touch of honey. Yum.
My favorite fresco in the chapel Kim mentioned was the one of the Resurrection. It showed skeletons climbing from their graves, lifting their legs out after them and returning into perfect bodies. In the background there were people greeting each other and hugging after being apart for so long. FYI the depictions of heaven and hell were pretty convincing that you definitely want to be in heaven and not hell. J The one of hell had blue demon people with horns tugging and kicking and pulling on people. Not where you want to end up.
We watched the season finale of Lost that night. Pretty cool. My favorite of the place was just sitting out in the garden with Kim that afternoon on some lounge chairs and loving life.
Assisi, Italy
Kim: Assisi was another relaxing stop for us. We stayed at the Hotel San Rufino which is in the old town on top of the hill. The main thing we did here was tour the Basilica of St. Francis. This is the man who made Assisi famous. His remains are above the altar in a stone box and the remains of his four closest friends are around the altar in the corner of the room. The Basilica has relics from St. Francis's life and the chapels are frescoed to depict scenes from his life. We had a guide book with us and were able to read what each picture portrayed as we walked from panel to panel. It was interesting. Our last night in Assisi we ate at Ristorante Metastasio. What an amazing view! We sat outside on the terrace which overlooked the beautiful Umbrian valley below. The day we left we met a couple at the bus stop from Australia. We talked to them for a while about their travels and Darren asked how much time they had gotten off from work. Their reply? “Um...we quit our jobs so we could travel.” Awesome! This is the second couple we have met that has done the exact same thing we did. The other couple was from Boston. We compared packing and moving stories J Fun to meet fellow travelers.
Darren: The only things I could add to our time at Assisi would be that we got Kim a really cool backpack which fit well into our plan to ditch a few suitcases at the next stop and slim our luggage down a bit. The dinner with a view was spectacular. It was also the first time I’d had chicken since the states. Tasted like chicken ;) We both kicked ourselves that night for not having the camera. A storm rolling in from far away with the green valley turning dark below, beautiful! Just started to sprinkle as we left. J
Siena, Italy
Kim: We stayed in a quiet villa outside of Siena. The view was absolutely breathtaking. We kept seeing postcards with pictures of stone villas in the middle of green rolling hills and one of us would comment, "Hey! That's where we're staying. Awesome!!" The house itself was a little ancient, not gonna lie, but it was quaint. There were too many creeping, crawling things for me to enjoy it completely inside, but outside it was heaven. We enjoyed more than one evening outside in the garden, watching the sunset over the green hills in the distance. I just can't describe how beautiful it was. Absolutely stunning!
Our first day there, Darren and I both did something incredible daring. He let me cut his hair. His clippers wouldn't adapt to Italy's power conversion (without blowing up) and his hair had been getting pretty long and unruly, so we cut it :) I actually think he was more nervous than I was even though I have never cut hair in my life. I just kept thinking, "what's the worst that could happen? It turns out terrible and we go get it buzzed at the barber". Turned out pretty good if I do say so myself. We had fun and made some memories. Always the best part :)
On Sunday we went to church at the local branch. There were a lot of BYU students there doing a study-abroad program. Without all of them there the branch consisted of about 10-15 members. Crazy how small it is. Something you forget when you live in Gilbert, Arizona. It's awesome though that despite the size and location, the church is still true and is still progressing. I love that thought. After church we walked into town and spent some time around Il Campo. This is the city square where everyone hangs out. It's funny to see people lying around on the ground (bricks, dirty bricks I might add) as if they were having a picnic in the park on a nice green lawn. They lie down, take naps, have picnics, sun bathe, etc. Fascinating.
Il Campo is also the place for the famous Palio horse races done every year on July 2 and Aug 16. We learned a little bit from our landlady Miriam. Apparently there are 17 contrade (or neighborhoods) in Siena. Each contrada has a parish church, well or fountain, and sometimes even a museum. Each is represented by a mascot (porcupine, unicorn, wolf, etc) and unique colors worn proudly by the residents. Miriam and her family belong to the eagles with the dragons and something else as their allies. We witnessed some young boys from one of the contradas parading through the city streets banging on drums and twirling flags, showing their pride for their contrada. For the Palio di Siena, 10 of the 17 neighborhoods compete in several days of trial races and traditional revelry. Jockeys are paid, bets are placed on which contrada will win and which will lose. On the big day the horses are taken into their contrada's church to be blessed. It's considered a sign of good luck if a horse leaves droppings in the church. The race lasts just over a minute. And after all of this work and preparation, what does the winner get? A banner (and bragging rights I suppose). Fun traditions.
Big plus for Siena...we found a restaurant serving burritos. YES!!! The one thing I have been craving like mad. I even bought some chili sauce at the grocery store to see if I could fulfill it. It definitely helped :)
Darren: For the record, I was NOT nervous for Kim to cut my hair. I did tell her the story of when mom took a chunk out of the back of dad’s hair long ago. We had fun and it turned out great. Thanks babe!
Finding the Mexican place was a tender mercy. J It had just opened that very day. Miracles I tell you. ;) We sat in a park that afternoon to get an internet signal and we started getting wild ideas of taking a side trip to France.
The views were the best part of Siena for me. So great to wake up and look outside and see green hills and an old castle in the distance. One night we made egg, bean, cheese, chili sauce, prosciutto burritos..sounds kindof busy but it was great. We played cards that night (Shawna I think you gave it to us for a Christmas gift, “Pictureka” Thanks!! J)
Volterra, Italy
Kim: Today we awoke to a crazy rainstorm to take a bus to Volterra (after visiting the Wed morning market and buying a cute scarf) :) Volterra was super fun and soon became one of our favorite hill towns (if not THE favorite). It was one of the most random, fun filled stays of our trip. First we got to see an artist form a clump of alabaster into a beautiful, translucent chalice. Alabaster souvenirs are sold everywhere in Volterra. Some of them are so beautiful. Second, we got to witness part of the event celebrating the contradas in Volterra. We watched an elf-like medieval character dance around and sing songs to medieval instruments, ladies throwing flowers to the crowds, men and women carrying crossbows over their shoulders and contrada members competing in a game of tug-o-war. It was so fun to watch. We are so glad we were able to be there during that time. So fun!! Third, we tried Ossi di Morta cookies ("bones of the dead"), and lastly, we stayed the night in a catholic seminario. Seminario Vescovile Sant'Andrea has been training priests for 500 years, and now the 8 remaining priests rent their 16 rooms to travelers. We decided to do it 1. because it was cheap and 2. because we thought it would be fun. All I can say is, it was interesting. And definitely a little creepy. Neither Darren or I slept very well that night. Mostly because of the bed (big lump right in the middle) but party because of the long, dimly lit, echoing hallways. Just look at the pictures. There were even frescoes of popes above every door. Gotta love it. Definitely an adventure! We loved Volterra. Hope to return someday :)
Darren: Funny story. So when trying to get on one of the buses to Volterra I was trying to load our luggage in one of the undercarriage doors. I tried two of them but they were full so I walked back further towards the back tires of the bus. I opened the last one and a huge chain fell out clanking to the street. Ooops. The bus driver pokes his head out from the front and all I could say was “perdone” and look sorry. He wasn’t happy but went back and took care of it. J Kim was laughing at me about that later. Oh well.
My favorite things from the festival were the sword fighting (pretty real with guys in armor) and the flag people. I know what you’re thinking, Darren likes the flag twirlers?? But these guys were professionals. They would juggle, throw and catch 5 flags at a time using their legs and feet to juggle them around. Awesome. Check out the video!!
On our way to Pisa, Italy and Nice, France
Kim: This morning we rolled our luggage from the Volterra seminario to the bus station at about 6 am to catch a bus and train to Pisa. We stored our luggage at the train station in Pisa and took a bus downtown to see the Leaning Tower, Duomo, etc. The Tower was really cool and we were able to take some fun pics. After walking around for a while, we went back to the train station to catch a train to Nice, France. While in Siena we decided we were spending a little too much time there (we originally had reservations for a week). So we started brainstorming on a good place to side trip for a few days, and the decision? Nice, France. Why not spend a few days in the French Riviera before going to the Italian Riviera. Sounds perfect to me. On the train we met some people from Alabama. They are the ones who introduced us to Ringos. They are like Oreo’s but smaller and come in a tube. Yum!! They have some amazing cookies here. I’ve told Darren we’re gonna have to send a box of them home or find a company that ships to the U.S. I really love how how fresh all of the food is. Even the stuff in boxes aren't bad. All the crackers and breads are made with olive oil. No hydrogenated oils! Yay!! Hard to find that in the States. Another reason to love Italy (at least for someone nutritionally minded) :)
Darren: Leaning tower was really cool to see in person. After we left there we had one of the longest and sweatiest train rides ever. It took about 7.5 hours total. There were 3 changes we had to make and each train stopped at about a million stops along the way. Crazy but sooo worth the destination.
Nice, France
Kim: We absolutely LOVED Nice (sounds like “niece”). I am so glad we decided to take a side trip here. We stayed at the NH Nice (a booking we got for pretty cheap from Priceline). The first night we got here we showered and then went out to find some dinner. Since it was about 10:30 we weren’t sure we’d find anything open. As we were walking around, we rounded the corner and BAM! A ton of people eating in a piazza at 11:00 at night! What in the world!? As we would soon find out, that’s about the prime time for dinner. Most restaurants are pretty bare around 9 and then sometime around 10:00, they get full. It was not uncommon to see families with kids out meandering through the streets at midnight. We loved it!! Really fun night life with lots of people and little shops. We spent some time walking along the beach on the Promenade de Anglais. We tried some tasty gelato from Finacchios Gelateria. They are famous for their 96 different flavors (some of them crazy). The first night Darren tried rhubarb and cactus (which tasted like soap to me) and I tried watermelon (safe bet) and avocado (which was actually really good). Some of their flavors included: rose, violet, lavender, tomato basil, and chewing gum. We also tried a fresh juice slush. It was reddish in color so when I tasted it I expected some mixed berry flavor but it tasted like fresh squeezed orange juice. So good!! For dinner one night Darren went out to get us burgers and fries. As much as we love pizza and pasta, it’s been nice to have a taste of home from time to time.
Darren: Thanks to Priceline and Kim’s bid we got a 4-star place for cheap and got to sleep for real and feel really clean for the entire time in France. Loved it. Hotel was right next to the tram as well so easy access to the beach, nightlife and everything.
Kim: Our second day in Nice we spent at the beach. We rented two lounge chairs and an umbrella and spent the day looking at the ocean and getting some sun. A large part of the day was spent NOT trying to stare at the naked bodies. I had to warn Darren not to look up at certain times. Interesting how the people are so comfortable around complete strangers. I mean, as a woman, how do you just take off your top and walk down to the beach for a leisurely swim. Just different cultures I guess.
Darren: Just a quick comment on all that. Topless is not always best (older ladies). Yikes. Then again, the Speedos that some of the overweight older men were wearing were quite stylish. Perhaps I’ll invest in one. J Just wait babe!!
Kim: That night for dinner we ate at L’Ovale Ristorante. We had steak and potatoes. Both of ours were a little too rare. As we had asked for medium well were a little confused. As we found out later, there is basically medium and well done. No in-between. So a little rarer than we like, but it was really good. Funny story about dinner: they had a sign for daiquiris so I decided to see if they could make one without alcohol. You would have thought I had asked them to eat on the moon . The look on their faces was priceless. The bartender said “Um...I suppose I could but it wouldn’t be good.” So I guess that means “no.” J
Darren: Kim asking for the non-alcoholic drink was hilarious. The bartender was pretty confused...like asking for a bowl of cereal without milk or something. Good times. I was proud of Kim for diving into her steak and eating it up even though they were a bit rare. I don’t really mind them that way but knew she wasn’t pleased. I offered to ask them to cook it longer but she said she’d suck it up and give it a whirl. Good for you babe, trying all sorts of new things!
Kim: Our last day in Nice we went to church (listened to testimony meeting in French), took a nap then ate dinner on the beach at a place called Castel. Darren tried Penne with Octopus. The taste was really good but the look was not great. You could still see the suction cups on the tentacles. Gross! But the ambience was great! Candle lit tables and music right on the beach. Absolutely perfect! Thanks babe for an early birthday dinner. The morning we were leaving France, a staff member brought up a piece of chocolate cake to our room. Darren had apparently called the night before and asked them to bring it up the next morning before we left. He even brought back flowers that he had picked from a bush, since the flower market was still closed when he went out for an early mornign walk. It was so sweet of him to make such an effort for my birthday. Thanks babe. You’re the best!!
Darren: Kim failed to mention the story of how we got to church. I had gotten the directions online the night before and it looked easy enough from the last stop on the tram. It had the street names and said things like “take a right. Go 500 ft. Go to such-and-such street and then .2 miles this way and that.” My point is, it didn’t sound too bad. Um,...death march. My bad. It turned out to be alot of walking,...up hill walking,...up switchback roads walking. We did get to church but I knew Kim wasn’t too happy. Can’t blame her. Sweaty and gross is not how you want to arrive at church. I probably wasn’t too sensitive either as I’m sure I just made some comment about the pioneers and how they had it really bad ;) But we were both happy that we made it to the meeting and got to take the sacrament and feel the spirit of the meeting. We listened and understood as much as we could of the sweet testimonies we heard in French.
Our trip has been amazing so far. Stayed tuned for the Cinque Terre updates. Wow!!
Orvieto, Italy
Kim: Orvieto was a lot of fun. It’s a town about 1.5 hours outside of Rome. It sits majestically a thousand feet above the valley floor on a big chunk of tuff (volcanic rock). We stayed at a cute B&B called Casa Selita on the edge of town. It's a cute old country house right in the middle of an orchard. Selita keeps the gardens looking so beautiful. Roses, trees and shrubs everywhere. It's nestled at the bottom of the town’s cliff which overlooks the green, rolling hills across the valley. All the rooms have their own little terrace with table and chairs overlooking the garden. So quaint! The bedroom was so comfortable. Gotta love down comforters :) Orvieto was a nice break after crazy Rome. We spent the two days wandering through the quaint, cobblestone streets window shopping and eating good food. We spent a couple of hours one day hiking the Rupe. It is a paved path that completely circles the town at the base of the cliff upon which it sits. Hiking around offered amazing views of the Umbrian countryside. After a couple of detours (due to lack of signs) and steep upward climbs, we made it all around the 3 mile loop. We spent another afternoon walking through the Duomo and various museums. The Duomo has four marble pillars carved with biblical scenes that tell the story of the world: Genesis, Old Testament, New Testament and Revelation and each pillar is topped by a bronze symbol of one of the Evangelists. Angel (Matthew), lion (Mark), eagle (John) and ox (Luke). All the Duomo's we have seen have been amazing. It’s crazy how much detail goes into each and every part. Our favorite part was the chapel on the right side, the chapel of San Brizio. It has frescoes done by Luca Signorelli. The frescoes depict scenes of the Apocalypse. Scenes include the following: Antichrist, end of the world, Resurrection, hell, Judgment Day, and heaven. The scenes were awesome. They really tell a great story. In the Antichrist picture it shows a man posing as Jesus preaching from a pedestal. The Devil is standing behind him whispering in his ear what to say next. On an another wall it shows trumpeting angels calling out to the world, and the dead climbing out of the earth to be clothed in new bodies. So interesting! We really enjoyed the chapel. Darren even helped the worker set up chairs for evening mass. He's had lots of practice :) So...conclusion, we loved Orvieto. So beautiful and so relaxing. Only thing we didn't get to do is take the bus to Civita. Supposed to be a really pretty little town. Next time :)
Darren: We really did love it here. Selita was sooo accommodating. We asked if there was access to laundry and she said for 5 Euros they’d do it for us. For anyone who’s had to do a load of laundry in a sink and hang it out to dry, you know what a bargain that is. J We found our clothes neatly stacked in our room that night all fresh and clean. AWESOME!!
One night there we tried a new plate called Nidi. Kim didn’t like it too much but I thought it was pretty good. It was like cheesy lasagna with a touch of honey. Yum.
My favorite fresco in the chapel Kim mentioned was the one of the Resurrection. It showed skeletons climbing from their graves, lifting their legs out after them and returning into perfect bodies. In the background there were people greeting each other and hugging after being apart for so long. FYI the depictions of heaven and hell were pretty convincing that you definitely want to be in heaven and not hell. J The one of hell had blue demon people with horns tugging and kicking and pulling on people. Not where you want to end up.
We watched the season finale of Lost that night. Pretty cool. My favorite of the place was just sitting out in the garden with Kim that afternoon on some lounge chairs and loving life.
Assisi, Italy
Kim: Assisi was another relaxing stop for us. We stayed at the Hotel San Rufino which is in the old town on top of the hill. The main thing we did here was tour the Basilica of St. Francis. This is the man who made Assisi famous. His remains are above the altar in a stone box and the remains of his four closest friends are around the altar in the corner of the room. The Basilica has relics from St. Francis's life and the chapels are frescoed to depict scenes from his life. We had a guide book with us and were able to read what each picture portrayed as we walked from panel to panel. It was interesting. Our last night in Assisi we ate at Ristorante Metastasio. What an amazing view! We sat outside on the terrace which overlooked the beautiful Umbrian valley below. The day we left we met a couple at the bus stop from Australia. We talked to them for a while about their travels and Darren asked how much time they had gotten off from work. Their reply? “Um...we quit our jobs so we could travel.” Awesome! This is the second couple we have met that has done the exact same thing we did. The other couple was from Boston. We compared packing and moving stories J Fun to meet fellow travelers.
Darren: The only things I could add to our time at Assisi would be that we got Kim a really cool backpack which fit well into our plan to ditch a few suitcases at the next stop and slim our luggage down a bit. The dinner with a view was spectacular. It was also the first time I’d had chicken since the states. Tasted like chicken ;) We both kicked ourselves that night for not having the camera. A storm rolling in from far away with the green valley turning dark below, beautiful! Just started to sprinkle as we left. J
Siena, Italy
Kim: We stayed in a quiet villa outside of Siena. The view was absolutely breathtaking. We kept seeing postcards with pictures of stone villas in the middle of green rolling hills and one of us would comment, "Hey! That's where we're staying. Awesome!!" The house itself was a little ancient, not gonna lie, but it was quaint. There were too many creeping, crawling things for me to enjoy it completely inside, but outside it was heaven. We enjoyed more than one evening outside in the garden, watching the sunset over the green hills in the distance. I just can't describe how beautiful it was. Absolutely stunning!
Our first day there, Darren and I both did something incredible daring. He let me cut his hair. His clippers wouldn't adapt to Italy's power conversion (without blowing up) and his hair had been getting pretty long and unruly, so we cut it :) I actually think he was more nervous than I was even though I have never cut hair in my life. I just kept thinking, "what's the worst that could happen? It turns out terrible and we go get it buzzed at the barber". Turned out pretty good if I do say so myself. We had fun and made some memories. Always the best part :)
On Sunday we went to church at the local branch. There were a lot of BYU students there doing a study-abroad program. Without all of them there the branch consisted of about 10-15 members. Crazy how small it is. Something you forget when you live in Gilbert, Arizona. It's awesome though that despite the size and location, the church is still true and is still progressing. I love that thought. After church we walked into town and spent some time around Il Campo. This is the city square where everyone hangs out. It's funny to see people lying around on the ground (bricks, dirty bricks I might add) as if they were having a picnic in the park on a nice green lawn. They lie down, take naps, have picnics, sun bathe, etc. Fascinating.
Il Campo is also the place for the famous Palio horse races done every year on July 2 and Aug 16. We learned a little bit from our landlady Miriam. Apparently there are 17 contrade (or neighborhoods) in Siena. Each contrada has a parish church, well or fountain, and sometimes even a museum. Each is represented by a mascot (porcupine, unicorn, wolf, etc) and unique colors worn proudly by the residents. Miriam and her family belong to the eagles with the dragons and something else as their allies. We witnessed some young boys from one of the contradas parading through the city streets banging on drums and twirling flags, showing their pride for their contrada. For the Palio di Siena, 10 of the 17 neighborhoods compete in several days of trial races and traditional revelry. Jockeys are paid, bets are placed on which contrada will win and which will lose. On the big day the horses are taken into their contrada's church to be blessed. It's considered a sign of good luck if a horse leaves droppings in the church. The race lasts just over a minute. And after all of this work and preparation, what does the winner get? A banner (and bragging rights I suppose). Fun traditions.
Big plus for Siena...we found a restaurant serving burritos. YES!!! The one thing I have been craving like mad. I even bought some chili sauce at the grocery store to see if I could fulfill it. It definitely helped :)
Darren: For the record, I was NOT nervous for Kim to cut my hair. I did tell her the story of when mom took a chunk out of the back of dad’s hair long ago. We had fun and it turned out great. Thanks babe!
Finding the Mexican place was a tender mercy. J It had just opened that very day. Miracles I tell you. ;) We sat in a park that afternoon to get an internet signal and we started getting wild ideas of taking a side trip to France.
The views were the best part of Siena for me. So great to wake up and look outside and see green hills and an old castle in the distance. One night we made egg, bean, cheese, chili sauce, prosciutto burritos..sounds kindof busy but it was great. We played cards that night (Shawna I think you gave it to us for a Christmas gift, “Pictureka” Thanks!! J)
Volterra, Italy
Kim: Today we awoke to a crazy rainstorm to take a bus to Volterra (after visiting the Wed morning market and buying a cute scarf) :) Volterra was super fun and soon became one of our favorite hill towns (if not THE favorite). It was one of the most random, fun filled stays of our trip. First we got to see an artist form a clump of alabaster into a beautiful, translucent chalice. Alabaster souvenirs are sold everywhere in Volterra. Some of them are so beautiful. Second, we got to witness part of the event celebrating the contradas in Volterra. We watched an elf-like medieval character dance around and sing songs to medieval instruments, ladies throwing flowers to the crowds, men and women carrying crossbows over their shoulders and contrada members competing in a game of tug-o-war. It was so fun to watch. We are so glad we were able to be there during that time. So fun!! Third, we tried Ossi di Morta cookies ("bones of the dead"), and lastly, we stayed the night in a catholic seminario. Seminario Vescovile Sant'Andrea has been training priests for 500 years, and now the 8 remaining priests rent their 16 rooms to travelers. We decided to do it 1. because it was cheap and 2. because we thought it would be fun. All I can say is, it was interesting. And definitely a little creepy. Neither Darren or I slept very well that night. Mostly because of the bed (big lump right in the middle) but party because of the long, dimly lit, echoing hallways. Just look at the pictures. There were even frescoes of popes above every door. Gotta love it. Definitely an adventure! We loved Volterra. Hope to return someday :)
Darren: Funny story. So when trying to get on one of the buses to Volterra I was trying to load our luggage in one of the undercarriage doors. I tried two of them but they were full so I walked back further towards the back tires of the bus. I opened the last one and a huge chain fell out clanking to the street. Ooops. The bus driver pokes his head out from the front and all I could say was “perdone” and look sorry. He wasn’t happy but went back and took care of it. J Kim was laughing at me about that later. Oh well.
My favorite things from the festival were the sword fighting (pretty real with guys in armor) and the flag people. I know what you’re thinking, Darren likes the flag twirlers?? But these guys were professionals. They would juggle, throw and catch 5 flags at a time using their legs and feet to juggle them around. Awesome. Check out the video!!
On our way to Pisa, Italy and Nice, France
Kim: This morning we rolled our luggage from the Volterra seminario to the bus station at about 6 am to catch a bus and train to Pisa. We stored our luggage at the train station in Pisa and took a bus downtown to see the Leaning Tower, Duomo, etc. The Tower was really cool and we were able to take some fun pics. After walking around for a while, we went back to the train station to catch a train to Nice, France. While in Siena we decided we were spending a little too much time there (we originally had reservations for a week). So we started brainstorming on a good place to side trip for a few days, and the decision? Nice, France. Why not spend a few days in the French Riviera before going to the Italian Riviera. Sounds perfect to me. On the train we met some people from Alabama. They are the ones who introduced us to Ringos. They are like Oreo’s but smaller and come in a tube. Yum!! They have some amazing cookies here. I’ve told Darren we’re gonna have to send a box of them home or find a company that ships to the U.S. I really love how how fresh all of the food is. Even the stuff in boxes aren't bad. All the crackers and breads are made with olive oil. No hydrogenated oils! Yay!! Hard to find that in the States. Another reason to love Italy (at least for someone nutritionally minded) :)
Darren: Leaning tower was really cool to see in person. After we left there we had one of the longest and sweatiest train rides ever. It took about 7.5 hours total. There were 3 changes we had to make and each train stopped at about a million stops along the way. Crazy but sooo worth the destination.
Nice, France
Kim: We absolutely LOVED Nice (sounds like “niece”). I am so glad we decided to take a side trip here. We stayed at the NH Nice (a booking we got for pretty cheap from Priceline). The first night we got here we showered and then went out to find some dinner. Since it was about 10:30 we weren’t sure we’d find anything open. As we were walking around, we rounded the corner and BAM! A ton of people eating in a piazza at 11:00 at night! What in the world!? As we would soon find out, that’s about the prime time for dinner. Most restaurants are pretty bare around 9 and then sometime around 10:00, they get full. It was not uncommon to see families with kids out meandering through the streets at midnight. We loved it!! Really fun night life with lots of people and little shops. We spent some time walking along the beach on the Promenade de Anglais. We tried some tasty gelato from Finacchios Gelateria. They are famous for their 96 different flavors (some of them crazy). The first night Darren tried rhubarb and cactus (which tasted like soap to me) and I tried watermelon (safe bet) and avocado (which was actually really good). Some of their flavors included: rose, violet, lavender, tomato basil, and chewing gum. We also tried a fresh juice slush. It was reddish in color so when I tasted it I expected some mixed berry flavor but it tasted like fresh squeezed orange juice. So good!! For dinner one night Darren went out to get us burgers and fries. As much as we love pizza and pasta, it’s been nice to have a taste of home from time to time.
Darren: Thanks to Priceline and Kim’s bid we got a 4-star place for cheap and got to sleep for real and feel really clean for the entire time in France. Loved it. Hotel was right next to the tram as well so easy access to the beach, nightlife and everything.
Kim: Our second day in Nice we spent at the beach. We rented two lounge chairs and an umbrella and spent the day looking at the ocean and getting some sun. A large part of the day was spent NOT trying to stare at the naked bodies. I had to warn Darren not to look up at certain times. Interesting how the people are so comfortable around complete strangers. I mean, as a woman, how do you just take off your top and walk down to the beach for a leisurely swim. Just different cultures I guess.
Darren: Just a quick comment on all that. Topless is not always best (older ladies). Yikes. Then again, the Speedos that some of the overweight older men were wearing were quite stylish. Perhaps I’ll invest in one. J Just wait babe!!
Kim: That night for dinner we ate at L’Ovale Ristorante. We had steak and potatoes. Both of ours were a little too rare. As we had asked for medium well were a little confused. As we found out later, there is basically medium and well done. No in-between. So a little rarer than we like, but it was really good. Funny story about dinner: they had a sign for daiquiris so I decided to see if they could make one without alcohol. You would have thought I had asked them to eat on the moon . The look on their faces was priceless. The bartender said “Um...I suppose I could but it wouldn’t be good.” So I guess that means “no.” J
Darren: Kim asking for the non-alcoholic drink was hilarious. The bartender was pretty confused...like asking for a bowl of cereal without milk or something. Good times. I was proud of Kim for diving into her steak and eating it up even though they were a bit rare. I don’t really mind them that way but knew she wasn’t pleased. I offered to ask them to cook it longer but she said she’d suck it up and give it a whirl. Good for you babe, trying all sorts of new things!
Kim: Our last day in Nice we went to church (listened to testimony meeting in French), took a nap then ate dinner on the beach at a place called Castel. Darren tried Penne with Octopus. The taste was really good but the look was not great. You could still see the suction cups on the tentacles. Gross! But the ambience was great! Candle lit tables and music right on the beach. Absolutely perfect! Thanks babe for an early birthday dinner. The morning we were leaving France, a staff member brought up a piece of chocolate cake to our room. Darren had apparently called the night before and asked them to bring it up the next morning before we left. He even brought back flowers that he had picked from a bush, since the flower market was still closed when he went out for an early mornign walk. It was so sweet of him to make such an effort for my birthday. Thanks babe. You’re the best!!
Darren: Kim failed to mention the story of how we got to church. I had gotten the directions online the night before and it looked easy enough from the last stop on the tram. It had the street names and said things like “take a right. Go 500 ft. Go to such-and-such street and then .2 miles this way and that.” My point is, it didn’t sound too bad. Um,...death march. My bad. It turned out to be alot of walking,...up hill walking,...up switchback roads walking. We did get to church but I knew Kim wasn’t too happy. Can’t blame her. Sweaty and gross is not how you want to arrive at church. I probably wasn’t too sensitive either as I’m sure I just made some comment about the pioneers and how they had it really bad ;) But we were both happy that we made it to the meeting and got to take the sacrament and feel the spirit of the meeting. We listened and understood as much as we could of the sweet testimonies we heard in French.
Our trip has been amazing so far. Stayed tuned for the Cinque Terre updates. Wow!!