From Florence, the Birthplace of the Renaissance

From Franco:

After we walked back down from the top of the Neuschwantsein Castle (and the way down was much easier and faster than going up!), we headed for a "beautiful taste of the Alps" called Garmisch-Parktenkirchen.

The Alps. Holy cow, we were driving around mountains! Our window at Garmisch looked at an Alp. Walking down the street looking for dinner, we saw another Alp. It's like you couldn't throw a stone more than a few feet without hitting the Alps!

We had dinner at an Italian restaurant. It's funny to hear Germans say "Buon appetite!" and "Buona sera!" I ordered the margharita pizza, and Laura ordered a four cheese pizza, which had bleu cheese, oddly.

Walking back at night, you couldn't even tell that there were mountains nearby.

And then it was off to Verona to see Romeo and Juliet!

No, wait. We never made it to Verona. After we crossed the border into Italy, which was marked with vineyards in the mountainside and baby apple trees near the road, we stopped in a small town for a quick meal. We almost walked past what seemed like a little alley, but my nose indicated that there was some good food, so I led our little group into this little pizza place. Laura and I had our fill of pizza in Garmisch, so we decided on salads, which were HUGE!

On that note, most of the Europeans I've encountered before this trip led me to believe that American portion sizes are monstrous, but almost every meal I've had on this trip is super-sized by default. Maybe we just happen to eat at places that cater to Americans, but I find it hard to believe.

Anyway, after eating at the small town, we got on the bus and learned we had to pass Verona due to time constraints. We drove straight to Hombre Farm, which is an organic cheese factory founded by Matteo Panini, who is apparently famous for racing cars. We had a short tour of the factory, pet the cows and the company cat, and saw a warehouse full of cheese wheels that extended so far down the aisle that it reminded me of the scene at the end of Raiders of the Lost Ark.

The tour ended in a museum. We expected a museum dedicated to cheese and its production. What we actually entered was a Maserati museum full of racing cars, sports cars, motorcycles, and trophies. It was the surprise of the trip. I walked in and felt like Vin Diesel or James Bond. I even picked out the Maserati I wanted.

The bus ride to Florence included cheese and wine purchased at Hombre's shop.

Florence is not an easy city to enter. First, we had to pay an entrance fee for the bus. Then, driving to the hotel was an exercise in patience. Scooters and cars and even a Lamborghini were weaving around us, and Luggi the driver did a fantastic job finding a way to inch the big green monster of a bus into the narrow streets we needed to drive through.

We had pizza for dinner, but this time it was wood-burning-oven-baked pizza. Laura ordered tortelloni stuffed with spinach and ricotta in a truffle sauce, which was delicious.

The next day, we saw David at the Galleria del Accademia, then had some gelato before heading to the Uffizi to see art.

Lots of art.

We saw paintings and drawings and sketches by Rafael, Bottecelli, Da Vinci, Michaelangelo, and a lot of other names I've only ever read in art history books before! We saw the "Birth of Venus," lots of variations on "Madonna with Child" and "The Annunciation," and many other religious paintings. I should add that many of the portrayals of baby Jesus were quite ugly.

Seriously. They can paint so many adults to look so attractive, but baby Jesus almost always looked like they made a mistake and couldn't figure out how to paint over it.

By the 27th iteration of "Madonna with child", Laura and I were art-ed out. The Uffizi is not an easy place to leave. They put seven gift shops on the way to the exit.

We walked along the river, admiring the view, window shopping, and dodging scooters. Dinner was more pizza after the original restaurant we wanted to attend informed us that they didn't have enough seats for our group. Gusto Pizza was busy, inexpensive, and delicious, and the wine was delicious. Salut!

We found some more gelato before turning in for the night. Tomorrow, we're off to the final leg of our trip in Rome, the eternal city!