No Vampires in Volterra

Leafing through our guide book, Tom found a section on the Tuscany town of Volterra, and decided that we would use our last day with our rental car to make a trip out into the country to see the scenic hill-top town. The town has a beautiful view, as well as some Roman ruins that we thought would be an interesting sight.

Conveniently enough, Tom's friends, Ben and Rupinder, were also moving through Italy on a holiday (although on a different timeline and moving in the opposite direction as us). However, our paths overlapped in Florence for two days, and they agreed that they would come on the day trip with us.

As we piled into the car after paying what surely amounts to the most expensive overnight parking bill. EVER. (over $60), we declared that we were heading to Volterra. Rupinder replied-- "the TWILIGHT Volterra?" Yes. For those of you who know how I hate-read all of the Twilight books, it all came rushing back to me. Bella hopping on a plane to Italy, driving recklessly through the Italian countryside in a quest to stop Edward from publicly revealing himself as a sparkly vampire in the sunlit main square in Volterra... Yes, you read correctly. I said SPARKLY VAMPIRE. I told you I hate-read these books, right? They were terrible.

Unfortunately (or fortunately?), the author of the Twlight series has never been to Volterra. There really is no main square with a fountain as she describes in the books.

Anyway, no more talk of Twilight. There are no vampires in Volterra.

The road to Volterra was long and winding, and everyone (except Ben) were feeling car sick when we pulled into a parking garage in the town. We got out, shook it off and took in the sights of the town.

Hilltop town of Volterra.

We ambled through the side streets for a few hours, passing a massive penitentiary plastered with NO PHOTOS signs.

Osage orange.

We saw some very bizarre fruits on the ground. I later googled, "green tree fruit brain", which immediately brought up similar pictures of the fruit. They are commonly referred to as Osage orange. They are not edible, and are actually full of a latex-like substance. They are a little bit bigger than a tennis ball, and they look like little green brains.

From here we continued through the town until we found the ruins of a Roman amphitheatre. Apparently at one point this amphitheatre was used as the town dump. It was later excavated and reclaimed when it was identified as an archeological site. As with many things in the off season, the amphitheatre was closed to visitors, so we took pictures from around the perimeter.

Ruins of a Roman Amphitheatre.

Tom, Ben, Rupinder and I checking out the ruins.

We finished our day trip off with a visit to the local patisserie. My favorite was a flaky pastry filled with a mixture of ricotta cheese. Yum!

Next up, our two days in Florence!

Portovenere and Pisa

On our last morning in La Spezia, we headed out early so we could revisit Portovenere in the daylight. Portovenere is a quiet little fishing village, complete with the ruins of a castle at its summit. Like Cinque Terre, there are rows of brightly coloured houses pressed tightly together, backing into the hills. 

Seafront houses in Portovenere.

We followed the path around the shore and up to some of the ruined buildings. The church is still well-maintained, looking sharp with its multi-coloured marble facade.

Portovenere castle ruins and church.

We attempted to visit the main building of the castle, only to discover that it wasn't open-- possibly only open on Saturday and Sunday (if we were deciphering the Italian signs correctly).

After exploring for over an hour, we hopped back in our car, and headed towards Florence, via Pisa. 

Tom and I had not done much background reading on Pisa, and I was really only expecting to see the Leaning Tower. I did not realize that Pisa is also home of a large and impressively adorned cathedral.

Cathedral, Baptistry and Leaning Tower.

Inside the Pisa Cathedral.

Having visited England and Paris in 2011, Tom and I have now seen quite a few cathedrals and churchs. There was St. Paul's Cathedral in London-- magnificent and pristine. The Notre Dame Cathedral in Paris-- aged and dirty, with the surrounding grounds smelling distinctly like urine... But we were very impressed with the inside of the Pisa Cathedral. It was beautiful!

Tom and I did not take the obligatory "Leaning" photo of the tower. Just a selfie shot of us near it!

The Leaning Tower of Pisa.

It is also worth noting that we ate one of our worst meals here... Or, at least I did! Tom had a pizza that was fairly good, I had spaghetti bolognese, that tasted a lot like Alphagetti. Not exactly gourmet cuisine. 

Our next stop was Florence, but we spent our first day on day-trip to Volterra. More on that to follow!

Scenic Cinque Terre

Tom and I on the Cinque Terre trail.

The five famous fishing villages know as Cinque Terre (CHINK-qwe Tay-reh) are also in the off tourist season,  as of November 1. As a result,  Tom and I were not able to stay directly in one of the villages, and instead opted to stay in the nearby town of La Spezia (literal translation,  "The Spice"). Looking to save a little money,  we selected a B & B, which has turned out to be quite comfortable.  I think this would probably be considered more of a boutique hotel in Canada,  as the owners don't actually appear to live on site. They come in in the morning to spread out breakfast and clean rooms,  and are gone by mid afternoon. Our room is spacious and modern,  but the entrance and stairwell in the building are extremely dark. Both Tom and I have tripped down the stairs several times due to the dim lighting.

For our first evening in town, the B & B proprietor suggested we check out the scenic town of Portovenere, and suggested a restaurant for dinner. Portovenere was beautiful, and housed an old Italian castle that is a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Unfortunately the sun was going down, so we will try to go back another time (stay tuned for a future post on Portovenere and Pisa). The restaurant had by far the cheapest and BEST food we have had on the trip so far. We are going there again tonight.

Monterosso al Mare.

We began our Cinque Terre hike by hopping on a train in La Spezia. We rode the train through to the last village, Monterosso. From here, we planned to work our way backwards. Unfortunately, we were only able to visit three of the five villages, because two of the trails were closed due to landslides. However, we were lucky in that the two remaining open trails are touted as the most scenic of the five.

A view of Monterosso through local grape vines.

Along the way, there were multiple terraces built into the cliffside, growing neat rows of grapes. Of course, there are no grapes on the vine at this time of year, but we did seem some oranges and limes that had fallen from various trees.

Warped trees along the trail.

There was a variety of plant life along the trail, including warped trees (pictured above), bamboo, fruit trees and cacti. After about an hour of hiking, we caught our first views of the next village of Vernazza. Vernazza is said to be the most scenic of the five villages, and has only recently recovered from intense flooding. On October 25, 2011, a particular intense rainstorm produced flash-flooding that brought mud, rocks and debris down into the streets of Vernazza and Monterosso-- in some places, up to 12 feet deep. Residents grieved for the three people who drowned in Vernazza, and one in Monterosso. Today you would never guess at the extent of damage and destruction. The residents have rebuilt, re-engineered and renovated.

A view of Vernazza.

If Venice is dog friendly, then Cinque Terra can be considered a cat haven. We must have seen over a dozen cats roaming through villages, sunning themselves, and generally enjoying the lazy life of a cat.

Cats sunning themselves.

A large cave off the coast.

The last town on our agenda was Corniglia. It took us about sixty minutes of hiking to make the trip from Vernazza to Corniglia. We were greeted by the sight of late-November flowers and more brightly coloured houses leaning against each other in the hills.

The village of Corniglia.

Brightly coloured seaside houses.

Tom and I managed to JUST miss the train, which arrives approximately every hour and a half. So we enjoyed the view, and strolled through the steep streets looking for photo-worthy scenes. Tom is generally in charge of the camera when we travel. This is because he takes pictures OF EVERYTHING. And when I say everything, I mean EVERYTHING. 

Afternoon sunshine down a narrow street.

But I certainly can not complain about the pictures from this trip!

Up next... Portovenere and Pisa.

Venezia

A Venice canal.

Tom and I have embarked on our 2013 adventure to Italy! We left home on November 8th, and flew through the night to arrive in Venice via Frankfurt at approximately 12:15pm. One can't help but be awed by the dream-like waterworld that is Venice. No cars, no scooters, no bicycles. Just pedestrians strolling through narrow maze-like passages, crosscut by canals crowded with boats and gondolas. 

November is the off-season for tourism in Italy, and I can hardly fathom what the full-fledged peak tourism season must be like. Even now, the main waterfront is packed with people, and Piazza San Marco (St. Mark's Square) is overflowing with sightseers, panhandlers and semi-suspicious looking sellers who I suspect will try to pick my pockets.

The weather has been cool, hovering between 13-15 degrees, with light rain, but I actually prefer it that way. Tom and I can walk around all day without feeling overheated, and can alternate between wearing a light jacket or not.

On our first morning, we took a stroll to a park that we had viewed from our water taxi on the way in from the airport the previous evening.

Public dog park.

Up close, we realized that the park was an off-leash area for locals with dogs. There were dozens of dogs of all shapes, breeds and sizes frolicking in the grass. We have noted that Italy is a very dog-friendly place. There are dogs everywhere! On the waterfront, in parks, travelling on water buses with their owners, in stores... My favourite dog so far was a little lap dog-- maybe a Shih Tzu or Maltese mix, who was running around in circles in Piazza San Marco chasing pigeons. It didn't catch any, but it looked like it was having a marvelous good time.

View from the Rialto Bridge.

As we wound our way through the city, we found our way to the Rialto Bridge. We didn't capture a good picture of this bridge, but if you've been to Vegas, there is a replica of the Rialto Bridge in front of the Venetian Hotel. The bridge crosses the Grand Canal, and was a major tourist traps-- there were shops and snack bars built into the bridge.

Tom and I on the Rialto Bridge.

Our next mission was to find that church that was used as a library in Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade. That did not prove to be too difficult. We located Biblioteca di San Barnaba with little-to-no-difficulty. I have to admit, I was a little disappointed by the now-converted church. For some reason, I thought it looked a lot older and ancient in the movie. It looked surprisingly clean and well taken care of in person. Not that that's a bad thing!

Biblioteca di San Barnaba.

We finished off our day back in Piazza San Marco, and paid the fee to ride an elevator to the top of Campanile di San Marco, aka the St. Mark's bell tower. This is a tall (if not the tallest) structure in Venice, and gave us an excellent view of the city.  

View from St. Mark's Bell Tower.

Below the bell tower is San Marco Basilica-- which we were not able to get a good picture of from the ground due to extensive scaffolding for repairs and restoration work. Interesting fact-- it had rained a bit on Sunday, and we had to enter the Basilica on raised platforms that were put in place so tourists didn't have to walk through the water that had pooled at the cathedral entrance!

I thoroughly enjoyed our stay in Venice, but thanks to friends' advice, we only stayed for two days. This was the perfect amount of time to enjoy the unique surroundings, without getting bored.

We are moving on to La Spezia, for a hike through the famously scenic fishing villages of Cinque Terre!

Eat Beef, Not Chicks!

The first time I saw the Dixie Chicks in concert was in 2003 on their Top of the World Tour. At the time, the United States had closed their border to Canadian beef, due to a BSE (mad cow disease) scare. I distinctly remember a fan in the audience enthusiastically waving a sign that read, "Eat Beef, Not Chicks!" During the concert, Natalie Maines, the Dixie Chick's lead singer, read the sign aloud-- and the crowd erupted in cheers.

Dixie Chicks: Cowboy Take Me Away

The last time I saw them was in 2006 on their Accidents & Accusations tour, after their infamous "...We're ashamed that the President of the United States is from Texas" quote. What followed was a barrage of intense criticism, a boycott of the Dixie Chick's music, controversy and death threats. I even remember a period when the Dixie Chicks engaged in a feud with country singer Toby Keith (an outspoken supporter of President Bush). Natalie Maines wore a t-shirt through one of her concerts that said, "F.U.T.K." 

Natalie Maines (Photo Credit)

And now, ten years have passed since my first concert with the Dixie Chicks, and I found myself once again in the Saddledome stands, eagerly anticipating their music. This time there were no political statements or controversy. In the passing years, the Dixie Chicks have taken a break from music and raised families-- nine children between the three of them. On Thursday night, they played a steady stream of Dixie Chicks hits-- sung chronologically from 1998 to their last release in 2006.

Those ladies sure can sing! And play the banjo! And the violin! These three women are amazing musicians with indomitable spirits. I'm so glad that went on tour one last time.

Yay, Dixie Chicks!

Dixie Chicks: Good-Bye, Earl.

Italy Bound!

Tom and I are leaving for Italy in less than two weeks! We'll be flying into Venice on November 9th, before hitting up La Spezia (Cinque Terre), Florence, Rome and Sorrento. Our hotels are booked, and our route is set. We'll be returning home on November 25th. I'm looking forward to another travelling adventure

We will be crossing paths with two of Tom's friends on November 13th while we are in Florence.

As always, I will be blogging as we go, so stay tuned!

Chocolate Peanut Butter Cup Ice Cream

Back in June I "borrowed" an ice cream maker from Jill... Borrowing usually implies you'll give something back... And now that it is October, and I am still in possession of said icecream maker,  I feel it is necessary to use the term "borrowed" loosely. (I swear,  I am going to give it back!)

I have recently become addicted to the Brown Eyed Baker website. I dare you to look at her recipe index without swooning over the never ending supply of amazingly delicious sounding recipes. So when I had nearly a dozen egg yolks left over from baking Ashley and Andrew's wedding cake and cupcakes, I went on an ice creaming making rampage. 

This rampage included Mint Chocolate Chip Ice Cream, Cookies 'N Cream Ice Cream, and my personal favourite, Chocolate Peanut Butter Cup Ice Cream 

Heavy cream and cocoa powder.

Here's what you do-- you start with heavy cream, and you whisk in some cocoa powder. The base for your chocolatey goodness. And please-- don't try to make this recipe healthier. If it says to use heavy cream, use heavy cream. If you try to cheat and use half and half or milk, something with a lower milk-fat base, your ice cream will not turn out. I can state this from experience! You'll just have to embrace the decadence of this dessert...

Chopped semi-sweet chocolate.

Once you've brought your whipped cream and cocoa powder to a boil, you dump in some chopped chocolate, and stir until it's smooth and cream. Then you set aside the chocolate mixture.

Next, you heat up sugar, salt and milk on a medium heat. You will whisk your egg yolks in a separate bowl, and then pour your warm milk and sugar mixture into them. This process is called tempering your eggs. It is an important step in the ice cream making process. Then you pour your milk, sugar and egg yolk mixture back into a pot, and heat until it begins to thicken. Unfortunately, sometimes during this process you end up cooking some of your eggs. So when the mixture has thickened enough to coat the back of a spoon, you pour it through a strainer, into your chocolate base.

Strained egg, an unwanted side effect of tempering your eggs.

If you've cooked any of your egg and capture it in your strainer (like I did), you can discard it! Blegh!

Peanut butter swirl.

Now you can make your peanut butter swirl. A delicious combination of peanut butter, brown sugar, and heavy cream.

Peanut butter swirl.

Now comes the tough part. WAITING OVER NIGHT. You can put your ice cream base and peanut butter swirl into separate air-tight containers, then leave them in the fridge overnight.

Ice cream base in the ice cream maker.

Bright and early, you add your ice cream base to the ice cream maker. Follow the directions on your maker. For me, this meant turning it on for 20 minutes of churning.

Chopped peanut butter cups.

While the machine was churning, I chopped up peanut butter cups into little bite-sized tenths. And when there was about two minutes left in the churning process, I dumped half of the peanut butter cups in. I was supposed to put in all the peanut butter cups, but the ice cream vessel was too full, and would have overflowed.

Soft-serve style ice cream.

When the 20 minutes of churning is done, your ice cream will look like it is soft-serve. So that means you will have to scoop it out into containers and freeze it some more.

Peanut butter swirl and peanut butter cups.

As you are scooping your ice cream into your containers, you will pause as you fill each third of the container, add a dollop of peanut butter swirl, and some extra peanut butter cups. Mix the peanut butter swirl into the ice cream so you have an even mix.

Seal your container!

Finally, you can seal up your container and let it freeze for a few more hours. The results will be amazing-- restaurant or store-bought quality chocolate ice cream with loads of peanut butter goodness.

 

Chocolate Peanut Butter Cup Ice Cream

And there you have it. Ice cream you will hoard, and refuse to share with others. It's THAT good.