Planning Italy

We’ve been planning our trip to Italy for a couple of months or so now and will be visiting Rome and Florence in the fall, with day trips to Naples/Pompei (from Rome) and Siena/San Gimignano/Chianti/Monteriggioni (from Florence).

We’ll be in Italy for 11 days, which is the sweet spot for Chris and I – we start getting antsy for home at around the ten-day mark – don’t ask me why.

Below is our itinerary and as most Europe flights from North America, we’ll be taking an overnight flight which has us landing in Rome midday local time. I’m unable to sleep on a plane but try to stay awake until night-time (local time) to adjust to local time as quickly as possible.

We’ve booked our hotels, as well as the tours linked below. We’ll be buying the Roma Pass (unlimited public transportation and free entry to 2 museums) and the Firenze card (free entry to museums).

• Day 1: Arrive in Rome: Walk/Explore, Pantheon, Piazza Navona, Trevi Fountain, Spanish Steps.
• Day 2:
  • AM: Vatican tour (skip the line)  for Vatican museums, St. Peter’s and Sistine Chapel
  • PM: Castel Sant’Angelo
  • 5:30pm: Roman Food Tour – progressive tour that stops in various spots in Rome for food and wine tastings.
• Day 3: Day trip to Naples and Pompei – tour
• Day 4:
  • AM: Ancient Rome and Colosseum tour (skip the line/beat the crowds)
  • PM: Domus Romane di Palazzo Valentini (with all the “old” stuff planned, this looked like a cool option for something different – it combines ruins with virtual recreation to show what a roman villa would have looked like, as well as a basilica and WW2 bunker).
• Day 5:
  • Rome to Florence by train
  • AM: Accademia museum
  • PM: Santa Maria Novella church and museum
• Day 6:
  • AM: Duomo, Baptistery, Campanile (Bell Tower)
  • PM: Pitti Palace and Boboli Gardens (probably have lunch in the gardens)
• Day 7: Day trip to Siena, San Gimignano, Chianti (lunch at Tuscan winery), Monteriggioni midieval fortress
• Day 8:
  • AM: UIffizi Gallery
  • PM: Palazzo Vecchio, Mercato del Vecchio, Ponte Vecchio, Santa Trinita, Loggia del Lanzi, Santa Croce
• Day 9: Free time in Florence for shopping, exploring, and visiting anything we ran out of time (or energy) to visit previously.
• Day 10: Free time in Florence
• Day 11: Depart

So excited to see the art and ruins, eat amazing food, drink fabulous wine and get lost in the side streets of Roma and Firenze. Ciao!! 🙂

 

 

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Life List Update: Afternoon Tea at the King Edward

I’d had this on my Life List for a while now and after a false start last year we finally managed to go this afternoon for an early Valentine’s Day outing. It was worth the wait. 🙂

We arrived at the Omni King Edward hotel – took the train to downtown Toronto and walked a few blocks up to the hotel in the snow. We were greeted, shown to the coat check (complimentary), waited just a few minutes for the setup/room to be ready and were seated at a lovely table.

We were offered menus and tea boxes to sniff the various teas available. I selected the Rouge Provence (rooibos) and Chris took the Taj Spiced Chai Tea. We were each brought an amuse bouche – a yummy mushroom tartlet with tarragon creme fraiche, quickly followed by our respective teapots. Both the tartlet and the tea were delicious.

We each chose the Winter Tea which included sandwiches, scones and pastries. The sandwiches were brought first and everything was fresh and tasty:

We each had our own plate with 5 finger sandwiches:

• Peppered Beef with Watercress and Horseradish Cream
• Free Range Egg Salad with Fresh Lemon and Dill
• Smoked Salmon & Mango with Pickled Vegetables
• Toasted Sesame & Wasabi Mayonnaise Chickpea Hummus with Lightly Curried Carrot, Raisins & Almonds
• Chicken Waldorf with Crisp Apple & Celery

Delicious.

Next came the scones and pastries. It looked so good – I forgot to take a pic before we ate the scones! The scones came on the bottom plate (we each had 2 kinds):

• Currant & Cinnamon Scone
• Classic Cream Scone
• Served with Devonshire Cream, House Made Ontario Strawberry Jam and Apple Brandy Butter

Again, everything was fresh and tasted amazing. But there was more!

The pastries were next:

• Blood Orange Posset with Cranberry Oat Biscotti
• Chocolate Mint Macaron
• Vanilla Bean & Berry Cream Tartlet
• Layered Chocolate Chestnut Slice

It was just the right amount of food and each item was carefully prepared. Our server was polite and friendly and we were well taken care of throughout. It was a beautiful room and a very relaxed atmosphere.

It was a very enjoyable experience, one we would do again.

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2017: A Look Ahead

I’ve updated my Life List and now that we’ve decided what our trip will be for 2017 (Italia, here we come!), that helped identify which Life List items I’ll be crossing off the list this year – see below:

• Travel to Italy
• See the Sistine Chapel (Rome, Italy)
• See the Colosseum (Rome, Italy)
• Tour Tuscany (planning on San Gimignano, Siena)
• Train ride in Europe (we’re planning on taking a train between Rome and Florence)
• Have gelato in Italy
• Enjoy pasta and wine in Italy
• Eat pizza in Naples (planning a day trip from Rome to Pompeii, Naples, Mt Vesuvius)

And the non-travel related items to tackle in 2017 are:

• Grow a fruit tree
• Picnic in a vineyard
• Have a proper English tea
• Make a craft for every season/holiday for 1 year
• Cook a whole fish
• Have a home emergency kit
• Learn 5 homestead skills (in progress – will continue)
• Read 30 books
• Cook 30 new recipes
• Watch 50 movies

Not too shabby 🙂 I better get moving!

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2016 – Our Year in Photos

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Life List Recap 2016

Another year has come and gone and it’s time to take a look back to see what I was able to accomplish on my Life List.

Below are the Life List Items I crossed off which brought my total to 290 completed of 441 items. The bulk of these got crossed off during our trip to the Maritimes (which was amazing btw):

• Travel to New Brunswick (I had already been to Nova Scotia and PEI when I was younger so they got crossed off a long time ago)
• Stay at a Bed and Breakfast (in Cape Breton)
• Take a road trip (we drove from Nova Scotia, to New Brunswick, to PEI and back to Nova Scotia (Cape Breton loop) in about 12 days.
• Eat lobster on the east coast (because how can you not??)
• Go kayaking (see New Brunswick link above)
• Visit 2 pioneer villages – we went to the Westfield Heritage village this summer so I was able to cross this one off.
• Make a traditional yule log (it’s in my fridge as we speak!)
• Continued this: Learn 5 Homestead Skills. Last year I wanted to get back to basics and learn some basic homesteading skills. I did well last year and continued this year mostly focused on expanding the self-sustained food situation:
  • I expended my square foot garden from one 4’ x 4’ box last year to the same 4’ x 4’ box PLUS a 2’ x 8’. I grew tons of cherry tomatoes (6 plants) and the largest basil bushes I’ve ever seen (see pics below). Also grew parsley, onions, lettuce, green beans, swiss chard, green peppers (but it was too hot this summer for much success – only got a couple of peppers). My strawberries fed the critters and we got zero. The marigolds kept the bugs out.
  • I turned the huge bushes of basil (genovese basil and lemon basil) into ten pesto containers for the freezer and we’re still enjoying them even though we’re well into winter.
  • I also decided to grow a cold winter garden and enjoyed more veggies through October and November: radishes, turnips, kale and swiss chard did great. The carrots, beets, spinach and lettuce didn’t take. I may have to start the seeds indoors, or start from seedlings next year. We shall see!

The last fall harvest below before closing the garden until next spring:

It was a great year! I’m looking forward to what’s in store for 2017 (see a future post for those plans). 🙂

With regards to my annual book, movie and cooking challenges, I did pretty good:

• Watch 50 movies in 2016: I’m currently at 50 as of a couple of hours ago. Done!
• Read 40 books in 2016: I’m currently reading #23 so better than last year but not quite close enough. I think I need to be more realistic next year. J
• Cook 40 new recipes in 2015: I’m currently at 26 with a week to go – so it’s unlikely but I did better than last year. Plus, Ina’s new book was released and has inspired me.

That sums up 2016! Not too shabby!

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Life List Update

Following our recent trip to the Maritimes, I was able to cross off a few life list items:

• Travel to New Brunswick (I had already been to Nova Scotia and PEI when I was younger)
• Stay at a Bed and Breakfast
• Take a road trip
• Eat lobster on the east coast
• Go kayaking

Not too shabby for 12 days!

 

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2016: A Look Ahead

It’s that time of year again – already! I’ve reviewed my Life List, removed some things I’m no longer interested in pursuing, added in some new items and put some thought into what I hope to cross off the list next year.

Removed:

• Learn to juggle: It just ain’t happening.
• Make falafel
• Make a souffle
• Own a telescope: This was more for my husband than for me. So – he can start his own list. 🙂
• Learn to whistle: Again, not happening.
• Try eyebrow waxing

Added:

• Make a candle
• See the Redwoods
• Visit Lake Louise in Alberta
• Visit Le Scandinave Spa
• Cook a whole fish
• Make a traditional yule log
• Own a green vehicle
• Visit Diagon Alley at Universal in Florida
• Make a craft for every season/holiday for 1 year

And here’s the list of things I hope to tackle in 2016:

• Make fresh pasta
• Cook a whole fish
• Visit Lake Louise, AB
• Visit Le Scandinave spa
• Visit the Maritimes
• Get a facial
• Participate in the Great Escape
• Have a proper English tea
• Go kayaking
• Continue this: Have a home emergency kit
• Continue this: Learn 5 homestead skills (including canning/preserving, making cheese, make jam/jelly)
• Exercise at least 2 times a week for a year
• Books: Read 30 books (lowered it from 40 to 30)
• Movies: Watch 50 movies
• Cooking: Cook 40 new recipes

I’m excited just thinking about it. 🙂

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