Le Belle Chiese di Italia, The Beautiful Churches of Italy

It's impossible to be in Italy and not visit the magnificent churches. I have been in more than I care to count! Some churches are incredibly ornate, such as Siena's large cathedral, and some are pleasantly simple, like a small white marble church I visited in Rome. Below are some of my most memorable images from churches. I took many more photos of course, but I believe this collection represents the beauty of each individual church. The churches are from: Arezzo, Pistoia, Florence, Rome, Siena, Assisi, and the Vatican City.

Ciao,
Sarah

Gelato

Gelato may be my biggest weakness in Italy. It doesn't seem to matter how much I ate for dinner or how cold it is outside, I am always ready for some gelato. Not to mention that the cheapest (and most delicious!) gelato place is down the street from my apartment.

Here are some of the flavors I've tried thus far:

Best Flavor: Cookies
Weirdest Flavor: Cheese and Fig
Least Favorite (but still good!): Rice Pudding
Fondente
Chocolate orange
Tiramisu
Caramel
Caffe
Crema
Vaniglia
Chocolate
Baco
Nutella
Hazelnut
Pane Cotta
Strawberry
Mixed Berry
Pistachio
Mint chocolate chip
Rice pudding
Ferrero

 

Flavors I still need to try:
Peanut butter
Limone
Yoghurt
Santa Trinita (specialty flavor)
Eggnog

Ciao!
Sarah

Cibi! Cibi! Cibi!

I can truthfully say that everything I have eaten in Italy has tasted amazing!  Here are some the most memorable dishes I’ve had thus far. Most were eaten in Siena, Italy, which is a city of about 55,000 in southern Tuscany.

Pizza (of course!) I’ve tried everything from a simple margherita pizza (cheese and tomatoes) to a pizza with fish on it (my least favorite).

Gelato is my favorite dessert thus far.  I’ve had crema, vanilla, tiramisu, panna cotta, and caffe. Yum!

My second favorite dessert is a local Sienese specialità, panforte, which is a delicious version of a fruit cake. I love it! This dessert is usually filled with nuts and other fruits and comes in a  variety of flavors.

The pastries of Siena are also a speciality and are spectacular. I’ve discovered the most delicious bakery called Savini that sells a prosciutto pastry that is to die for.

Some pasta dishes I've enjoyed:

Penne with sausage and tomatoes.

Tortellini panna e prosciutto (tortellini in a cream sauce with ham)

Gnocchi con 4 formaggi (gnocchi with four cheeses)

My favorite dish so far is a local specialty: egg noodles and wild boar. Wow!

Espresso is the most common type of coffee drink here. I also like the “American coffee,” which actually tastes better than real American coffee.

Thank goodness for all these cobblestone hills!

A presto,
Sarah

London at a Glance

At first, London doesn’t seem much different than the U.S., but you soon notice that the cars are smaller, there are more motor-cycles cutting in front of you, and the grass looks too green for winter. Not to mention that the men actually have a style sense.  For fashion, men wear pea coats and leather shoes and women dress like polished Americans…flats, pea coats, leggings, and even (unfortunately) Uggs.

               

 I only had two days in London before I left for Italy. What I visited was:

-Kensington Gardens

-Hyde Park

-A Spanish café

-Harrods

-Natural History Museum

-St. Paul’s Cathedral

-London Bridge

-“Chicago” the musical

-Various British pubs to get fish and chips and hard cider. Yum!

Not bad for one hour of bad sleep and no idea where to go!

Cheers!

Sarah