The Duomo in Siena was certainly a wow moment - the striped and detailed exterior are breathtaking!
Siena and Pisa: Post-Tour Day 1
On a quiet Sunday morning following the conclusion of our tour, we rented a vehicle in North-Central Rome and drove to Siena. All research before this trip warned us of the difficulty of driving in Rome. We thought that all of our years of playing the video game Mario Kart might have prepared for what would be the worst driving experience yet. Maybe because it was a quiet Sunday morning, traffic was light while this historic city was still sleepy. Again, our advance traffic sign studies and handy guide saved on our Google Drive in offline mode was very helpful.
We had lunch reservations made at Osteria da Divo, which is a sprawling series of underground Etruscan caves, not too far from the Campo. The risotto was served from a giant cheese wheel and the smallest steak you could order was 1 kilogram (2.2 lbs). The steak was brought to the table for inspection prior to preparation and returned for an elaborate table-side carving.
A building in Siena displaying flags from the 17 districts
We arrived in Siena just one day after the first of two Palio races that are held each summer in the Campo. Siena is divided into 17 districts known as contrade. Each is named after an animal or symbol and each has it's own colors and flag. We will certainly return for one of the races some day. The pageantry and Sienese pride are as important if not more important than the actual race.
A few hours later, we made our way into Pisa. There was enough time to walk around the town before dinner where we were able to watch the match of France and Iceland on the many big screen TVs on each restaurant patio.
Two corxetti stamps in use at home. This pasta goes well with pesto.
Varese Ligure and Florence: Post-tour Day 2
From our hotel in Pisa, we asked the front desk to call Pietro Picetti to ensure that he was working in his shop in Varese Ligure before driving out. We learned about him months before our travel and wanted to visit his shop to buy croxetti "stamps". Corxetti are a flat and round pasta that are imprinted with a "stamp," traditionally a family crest. The stamps come in two pieces. The bottom is a round cutter used on thin pieces of pasta. Once the round is cut, it is then placed between the two pieces to imprint the design. The stamps are made from walnut, pear and other similar woods and he has been making them for the past 20 or so years since retiring from the finance business. Pietro was kind enough to provide his cell phone number to us and said to call when we arrived.
Our navigation software didn't exactly lead us to his shop. We were however, lucky to land near Tunittu Moderna Osteria, where we asked for directions. The area where Pietro lives is a very small town and no one spoke English. Thankfully, the owner of this cafe, depicted in the sign, was very friendly towards Americans. His cafe was playing Michael Jackson music and there was a Terminator pinball machine inside. This situation is one where Google Translate came in very handy - we wrote a question in English and translated to Italian and then he wrote back in Italian and translated to English. After a few laughs and exchanges, he knew exactly where we needed to go.
Pietro showed us corxetti stamps in his shop that were at least 1000 years old. He demonstrated the technique for cutting the pasta with thin clay sheets and gave us a recipe in English to make this pasta once we returned home.
Croxetti at home with fresh pesto sauce!
After meeting with Pietro, we returned to the cafe for some snacks and pinball before driving to Florence.
The drive through Tuscany was stunning. We passed through several fields of sunflowers on our way to Florence and had this view of the Duomo from the roof top patio of our hotel once we arrived.
Florence: Post-tour Day 3
For our final full day before the long journey home, we spent the day in the heart of Florence. Shopping on the Ponte Vecchio, walking around the Uffizi, visiting the Galileo Museum, and taking in as many details as possible on the Duomo. We finished our evening with a cooking course at In Tavola, for a final set of skills to bring back home. It was very interesting to learn in the cooking course that eggs in Italy are serialized and the number printed on them indicates how and where it was produced. It turns out that egg marking is a EU standard, but Italy was the first place we saw this practice.
This trip was really amazing - from classic works of art to new cooking techniques and plenty of history. But for now, it's time to return home, wash all of our laundry, and unpack a few great souvenirs. We look forward to our next travels in Europe!