Our European trip part 3 - Rome

We arrived in Rome late morning on Good Friday. It felt like we were walking through downtown L.A. as we made our way by foot (with luggage) to our hotel. Once we checked in, we set out right away on foot to find lunch. Rich had done a bit of research and landed us a fine little place with the BEST pizza. It may rival my favorite Lombardi's in NYC. We asked the waitress if the pizzas were individual sized and she said yes. So we each ordered our own. What arrived for each of us was a pizza as big as a large Domino's! And it was SO good. I think I just ordered cheese or maybe Marguerita, I can't remember - something simple. They also had the greatest antipasti bar, something we saw in several restaurants in Italy. For a fixed price (about $13 at that place) you can fill a plate with as much roasted peppers, eggplant and zucchini, assorted olives, marinated fresh artichoke hearts, sundried tomatoes, and mushrooms, etc. that your heart desires. I loved that.

Emma's pizza. Don't lick the computer.

The antipasti bar. Beautiful.

We were able to take in quite a few sights, despite the crowds and the short amount of time we had. Being Good Friday, they had some big event at the Vatican and a long line snaked around the entire piazza. When we visited the Coliseum later, we found out that the Pope was going to be doing the Stations of the Cross around 9pm on a little knoll there. If we had waited about 4 hours, we would have had a front row seat to the Pope. We decided to pass, but later that evening tuned it in on Italian television in our room. We didn't miss much as the Pope just sat slumped in a chair while others conducted the service in Latin. One highlight of Rome was that we had the BEST gelato (probably the best of our trip). In addition to the Vatican and the Coliseum, we also visited the famous sites of the Pantheon, Trevi fountain, and Spanish Steps. Rome seemed very touristy while Florence was more like living as an Italian. Honestly, neither of those cities were as beautiful as Paris, in my opinion.

The Spanish Steps.

The Trevi Fountain. It's hard to stand in a place where you can get a shot of the entire enormous fountain - it's one of the largest baroque fountains in the world.

Legend dictates that if visitors toss a coin over their shoulder into the fountain, it is supposed to ensure their return to Rome someday. So, I guess either way Rome gets your money (it's estimated that 3000 euros are thrown in each day - about $4300 USD).

The gelato at this place is worth traveling to Rome for. Seriously. I think I had tangerine and dark chocolate together.

This might make a good Christmas card photo if it weren't in front of the Vatican.

Early the next morning, it was time to bid “arrivederci” to Italy. After a tumultuous ride (with the driver going the equivalent of 90 mph - eek) to the airport in a private Mercedes van playing Bryan Adams music (?), we boarded our plane for Tel Aviv. We flew Alitalia, and I have to tell you, they have the BEST airplane food ever! It was so beautiful and might I even say artistic. And very tasty! As you know, it's all about the food to me, and I was already hoping they’d serve the same lunch on the way back. We had about a 4 hour flight to Tel Aviv, Drew's home away from home. Part 4 on Israel next. That one might take me awhile!

Our European trip part 2 - Pisa & Florence

Arriving in Pisa shortly after lunch, we took our luggage to the train station. They have a “left luggage” service and I believe for only 5 euro you can leave your bag for the day. That was really convenient. We then walked through the tiny town of Pisa (it’s mainly shops and a university), until we were suddenly in the large area that encompassed the famous leaning tower and a few other buildings. We had advance tickets to actually climb up the tower – which was a trip! It’s hard not to “lean” as you walk up the spiral steps all the way to the top. It’s a fantastic view from the top, where you can go outside on a balcony and enjoy it.

First stop in Pisa- gelato! This one is nutella flavor, oh mama.

The bridge in Pisa.

Walking to the leaning tower of Pisa through town

Narrow alleyways were off the main street

Rich and Stephanie trying on some of the street vendors' merchandise and doing some akward dance...

Here's the view from the top of the tower -beautiful Tuscany....

There’s not much else to do in Pisa, so we returned to the train station, rounded up our luggage, and hopped a train to Florence (Firenze as they call it there). It was so exciting to pull up to our unique hotel which was located in the well known Piazza della Santissima Annuziata, an ancient religious and charity site. I chose this place, Hotel Loggiato dei Serviti, from our Rick Steves book, and it was actually a former monastery. We just fell in love with the place! Our room was spectacular, with a large first floor and a loft upstairs that had to have been at least 500 sq. ft with lots of pretty furniture and its own bath. The European furnishings were delightful, they reminded me of my Laura Ashley shop days, and I just loved the large living room windows that swung open, affording us a view of the piazza below. Even our key was beautiful with a large maroon tassel hanging from it. Funny thing was, you turned your key in every time you left the hotel – different from what we do here in America with our credit card size hotel keys.

In the piazza of our hotel

The hallway of the hotel

The living room

Drew in the girls' loft bedroom - not sure why he's up there alone?

The upstairs bathroom - bidet included but no shower enclosure or curtain...

The daily breakfast that was included was lovely and quite formal. We dined in a charming room with large windows, at small tables complete with white linen and silver, and there was even a butler-type individual that brought us the most wonderful cappuccinos on earth. I can still taste the unbelievable croissants that they had in a neat little warmer compartment. The breakfast we had in Florence was a typical European morning meal, and consisted of yogurt, fresh fruit, stewed fruit, thin slices of ham and cheese, hardboiled eggs, a roll that is similar to a dinner roll, croissants, and mini packets of nutella which somehow made their way back to the room. :-) I was always quite happy with my cappuccino and croissant each morning. It was simply delightful. I guess it’s just plain nice to be served breakfast – so luxurious.

Our time in Florence was spent mostly on foot, exploring the town, market places, piazzas, and eating lots of gelato. They do not have a subway system and we took a cab only once to see a panoramic view of the city up high. We especially enjoyed the San Lorenzo marketplace (leather goods, scarves, etc) and the Mercato Centrale, a large indoor food market full of vendors where we purchased a beautiful lunch one day. Of course one of the major attractions of Florence is Michaelangelo’s David, which we didn’t actually visit, as you can see an exact replica in front of the Uffizi gallery. And, frankly, we just didn’t want to spend about $20/person to just go see a –well let’s be honest – a large naked man. There are plenty of free examples of that all over the city if that’s your thing. And, plenty of crass souvenirs too. I’ll spare you the details.

The view from Piazzale Michaelangelo above Florence.

San Lorenzo Marketplace - fun place to bargain!

Emma and the leather jacket she bargained for!

The Ponte Vecchio - a bridge over the Arno river that has shops built in.

I love the lone boat in the water. How peaceful.

Each gelateria had their own creative way of displaying their goods.

Best lunch in Italy - culinary delights from the Mercato centrale: prosciutto di Parma, salami, gorgonzola, Parmigiano, freshly baked artisan breads, and antipasti all eaten al fresco.

The outside cafe table settings were so inviting.

And they had so much charm. Just look at the building this one is housed in.

Florence was a really neat place to visit, and I’m glad we chose to spend the majority of our time in Italy concentrated there. We initially had trouble deciding where to spend our 4 days – we considered Venice as well, but after talking to friends decided on a brief visit to Pisa, 3 nights in Florence and 1 night in Rome. I think we made a good choice.

So, after our three wonderful days in Florence, we took the train to Rome, where we would stay one night before flying out to Israel. Part 3 on Rome coming soon!

Finally... our European trip part 1 - Paris

I have finally found the time to blog about our trip to Europe. I know, I’ve only been home for 6 weeks…. When we arrived home, it took me a week to get back in the swing of things and then Drew came home. Oh yeah, and I had Master’s Kids graduation, my niece’s wedding, house guests, Emma’s graduation, and throw in buying a new car. So here I am now.

I thought I’d put in some of my favorite pictures and also recap each country a little. Here goes, starting with France.

Paris is one place I’ve always wanted to go, and it was even better than I could have ever imagined. The place drips with charm! From the architecture down to the endless inviting outdoor cafes, I was thoroughly enchanted.

We decided to stay at an apartment to be able to all stay together and to have plenty of good space. With the five of us, we would have needed two hotel rooms, so I began to explore the option of renting an apartment. I came to discover that it was actually cheaper than two hotel rooms and I liked the idea of having one space for all of us to enjoy, rather than having to go back and forth between two separate rooms.

I found the apartment through our travel guide (I used Rick Steves’ Paris and the Unofficial Guide to Paris). I found a company called Parissimo, that owns and rents apartments around the city. Through their great website, I was able to actually pick out our specific apartment. It had around 1400 sq. ft., was light and airy, included two bedrooms + a loft, a kitchen, living room, dining room, and two bathrooms. It also had two balconies. There were wonderful photos and descriptions which ensured no surprises upon arrival. We were delighted when we entered, and what was also great about it was the fact that it was in a wonderful neighborhood (very upscale and similar to 5th Avenue in New York). It was also conveniently located close to a metro station, too. The building was ultra- charming, with a super cool elevator that fit only two people at a time (or one and a suitcase!) and had a wooden lattice gate for the door. It seemed a bit rickety but it did the job. There was also a spiral staircase that was in the middle of the building if you didn’t want to wait for the 3rd trip up the elevator. The views from the large windows were incredible. It was just the perfect place and I would totally stay there again.

This was the view from our living room window!

And a broader view. I couldn't get over it!

So, backing up to the beginning….the four of us (Rich, Emma, Stephanie, and I) began our journey by flying from LAX to London, with a brief layover in Chicago. The flight to London from Chicago was about 8 hours. It wasn’t bad at all. Rich took his first Ambien (sleep aid) and fell asleep shortly after take off – which was a shame because he missed the wonderful dinner. I love being served a hot meal on an airplane – it’s so throwback and it’s “fun” food! I love all the little compartments and eating on the tray! Plus it gives you something to do and eating is a favorite pastime of mine. Anyways, while Rich snoozed, the girls and I ate our dinner and read for awhile. I got engrossed in the book, Unbroken (highly recommended read –author Laura Hillenbrand) for a few hours and then distributed Benadryl tablets to the girls and myself. That helped us sleep for a few hours, and before we knew it, we were being awakened with sunlight and breakfast and then we landed shortly thereafter. It was a strange little 3- hour night and we were abruptly ushered into the next day with the 8 hour time change. It wasn’t too bad, as we were all pretty excited!

Upon landing, we retrieved our luggage and made our way through 2 quick trains, finally arriving at the Eurotrain station. We had some time, so we ate breakfast there in the beautiful train station. It was lovely. We then took our train from London to Paris. I think we all slept! Upon arriving at Paris, we took the metro to the nearest station of our apartment, and walked the rest of the way, dragging our luggage through town! That was a big luggage dragging day through all the train stations and many steps. Ugh. One of my favorite things about our arrival was walking down a street, looking down and seeing the Eiffel Tower come into view! It was like "look! there it is!!" That was a “wow” moment, to be sure!

We finally made it to the apartment, where it felt good to unpack, shower and relax a bit before hitting some dinner and making our way to the Eiffel Tower to meet Drew. He began his own journey earlier that day, leaving Tel Aviv and flying to Rome, then catching a flight from Rome to Paris. He then took a cab and met us at the tower at around 11:15 pm that evening. Prior to his arrival, we stood there for about an hour watching every cab, and when the one finally arrived with him inside, we all nearly exploded with excitement. I literally burst out in tears, feeling so relieved that he made it and feeling so happy to see him! It was a magical, unforgettable moment. We walked back to the apartment, talked for awhile and ate the gelato we had purchased after dinner and saved for the occasion!

The girls eagerly awaiting Drew's arrival at le Tour Eiffel...

The next morning we wisely planned nothing; we knew everyone would be a bit tired from our big travel day. Rich woke before all of us did (around 10:00 am) and went down to the charming street, rue Cler, where all the merchants vend their goods on the curbs of their shops. There are patisseries (pastry shops), boulangeries (bread shops), fromageries (cheese shops), fresh organic produce stands, and flower stands, mixed in with a lot of cafes. Rich brought us quiche, some wonderful cheese, strawberries, croissants, pain au chocolat, beignets (little filled doughnuts), and orange juice. He even picked up a pretty bouquet for the table. It was the best breakfast and the best time, sharing the table with Drew for once in a long time.

That afternoon, we did have something planned– which was our 4-hour private bike tour with the company Bike About Tours. We made it out into the city for a late lunch, where we found a cute sandwich shop. We then made our way to the location our tour began about 3:00 pm. We met our wonderful, English-speaking guide, Nicole, got fitted for our bikes, and off we went to explore and learn about this wonderful city. It was so fun and so worthwhile! We learned and saw so much, got a lot of insider tips, were introduced to our favorite bakery, Paul, and even got dinner reservations made through Nicole at the end. Everyone loved it, and said it was a great choice for first activity in Paris.

Lunch, beautiful lunch.

Pausing for a couple of photo ops on our bike tour. This one in front of the Louvre.

And this one on the bridge over the River Seine.

That night, we enjoyed dinner at Nicole's recommended restaurant (9:30 pm reservation – we ate so late there!), which was a darling, intimate place with delicious food. We had a leisurely meal, then made it back to the apartment for a much-needed good night’s sleep.

The last two days kind of blend together –we went to the Louvre (which is ginormous), saw the Mona Lisa (snooze…) and some other notable works. The Louvre is SO big, Nicole told us that if you wanted to see everything there you would have to be there from opening to closing every day for 2 months!

This photo cannot possibly capture the enormity of the Louvre. It is 260,000 square feet inside.

This picture is really funny. The Mona Lisa is SO ordinary and small yet everyone crowds to see it...



...yet this painting that faces the Mona Lisa in the same gallery room is spectacular and nobody even cares!

We continued to visit our beloved bakery, Paul, many times, took the Metro everywhere (so easy to use), saw other sights such as la Sainte-Chapelle (once the royal palace - completely spectacular) and the famous Notre Dame, went up in Eiffel Tower at night (climbing 3/4 of the way down!), and also climbed up the Arc de Triomphe in daylight (amazing view). I feel like we walked and walked and walked. It was absolutely delightful! And we had picture perfect weather. These photos below remind me of the good time we had.

In person, the Eiffel Tower just takes your breath away.

Just another meal at a typical cafe.

The River Seine.

la Sainte-Chapelle - all these incredible stained glass windows represent bible stories.

Walking rue Cler -the street vending beautiful food near our apartment.

The breathtaking view from on top of l'arc de triomphe. The street below is the famous boulevard Avenue des Champs-Elysees. Isn't Paris spectacular?

View from the top of the arc. See the Eiffel tower poking through on the left?

I never got tired of seeing these charming and inviting cafe tables.

Oh, and I loved using my (limited) French! I’ve never had a chance to actually use it – so fun! The kids learned some too, and it was fun to hear them greet people, or say please and thank you.

After four wonderful days in Paris, it was time to take a quick flight to Pisa, Italy…
hopefully I will get that up very soon!