Fun fact: Kaycee and I did not know this cooking class was for couples until after we arrived.
I loved how hands on this cooking class was. We first learned how to make the tiramisu. It was a lot more simple than I expected. After mixing mascarpone with the whipped egg whites, you simply dip lady fingers in coffee and assemble your tiramisu. After layering the lady fingers and mascarpone mixture, you top it off with cocoa power and let it sit in the fridge until it is ready. As for the pasta, it was very challenging not letting the dough stick to every crevice on your hand. I learned you must keep adding flour to keep it not as sticky until you get a nice round ball. Another thing I learned was how important the right ingredients are. The flour Italians use is a higher grade and than that in America which is most likely why their pasta is the BEST in the world. Rolling out the dough was equally tricky because it had to be a perfect length and thickness. But in the end, we were able to eat the pasta we made and I am so happy with the way it turned out. Everyone in our group ate on one long table and we were able to talk story with people from Austria, Spain, and the U.S.
0 Comments
Our final spot to visit in Italy was Rome. I was particularly excited to play tourist and visit every popular sight there was to see in Rome. Kaycee and I woke up early to start our days before the crowd got heavy. At the Trevi Fountain we made our wishes with the Euros we had and threw them over our shoulder into the water. We then strolled to the Vatican Museum, Pantheon, St. Peter's Basilica, and colosseum (not all in one day). Unfortunately we were not able to get into the colosseum because they ran out of tickets for the day but for the Vatican Museum we got lucky with the line and got in with a student discounted price. The Vatican museum was so big, it would take days to get through the whole thing, but I was happy we were able to see the famous Scuola Di Atene painting and the Sistine Chapel. (In order to not miss the Scuola Di Atene painting, know that it is in Raphaels art room right BEFORE the Sistine Chapel entrance.)
My favorite foods we ate in Rome was the pasta at Osteria Da Fortunata, the gelato, and these HUGE sandwiches the size of my face that we got near the Pantheon. It was massive and so filling but it was the best sandwich I ever had with rich flavors and fresh meats. Varenna was by far my favorite stop in lake Como. When we first arrived on the ferry, immediately to our right was a cove with parked boats at the edge of the water. The path followed the bend of the curve and led us around the town on a path by the edge of the water. As you keep walking, there is a red structure called "the walk of lovers" that is so beautiful. Varenna is the perfect place to explore with your spouse or lover and I love how romanticized the town felt. In addition to the walk, we ate at a highly rated place called Bar II Molo. There was a long line so we knew it must be good. I ordered rosemary risotto which was rich but the flavors were so good. Right next to the restaurant was a railing that looked out onto the lake and the view of houses behind it was the perfect instagramable spot (haha!). The final activity we did in Varenna was walk through the botanical garden. Every view and area in the garden was filled with green trees and cute vines. We briefly strolled through since we could not miss our ferry going back to Como, but one day I would love to take my time to stroll through the rest of the town.
Bellagio was everything I imagined when I was researching places to visit in Lake Como. The most popular staircase/street (Salita Serbelloni) was beautiful. There were a lot of stairs to climb but it was worth the view the top. Although it was overcast the whole day, we were able to go through the botanical garden for 9 euro and see all of the surrounding trees turning their autumn colors. Walking through the garden and and taking film pictures was especially satisfying. At the end of our day we returned to Como and found the cutest restaurant to eat at. It was called Figli Dei Fiori. It was hard to find even using city mapper but once we got there, the ambience felt welcoming and the food was delicious. I ordered their specialty pasta with burrata cheese on top (I LOVE burrata cheese) and I would highly recommend trying it.
Our next stop was Lake Como. We took a train to lake Como and transferred in Milan at Milano Centrale station. Upon arriving in Como we were not sure how to get to our airbnb since it was a 27 minute walk away and there are no Ubers in Como. But we realized there are taxis that line up outside of the train station and the first taxi in line is the one you must approach first (as courtesy) since they were waiting there first. [The number we were given for the taxi was: +39 031 26 15 15. However the line mainly speaks Italian so I had no idea what they were saying. Luckily the lady who answered the phone spoke some English and was able to order our taxi correctly for us when we had to head back to the station.]
We ended up staying in Como and chose to take ferries each day to the other towns around Lake Como. We also decided to walk to and from the port from our airbnb each time we wanted to catch a ferry which was around a 20 minute walk. We took the fast ferry each time we went to different towns and Tremezzo was around 45 minutes from Como. We also had to be wary that the last fast ferry leaves town around 5-6pm so we had to be timely in order to NOT miss our ride home. Tremezzo was beautiful and the sun was out the whole day which made the day even more pleasurable. We walked around a peace garden with a 12 euro entrance fee. The garden had many picturesque spots and a museum we explored (mainly to look out of the balcony). Burano was my favorite island we visited. It was full of colors and life. Every house was painted a different vibrant color and the whole island is around 0.124 miles long which is TINY. We were able to see the whole island within a few hours but it was so fun exploring the streets. We even saw this cat sitting on a chair like a human which I thought was so cute. For lunch, we stumbled upon this pizza place that looked delicious. A fun fact about Italian pizza is that they do not bring it to you in slices so you have to cut your own pieces with a knife and it is normal for one person to order their own whole "pie". I ordered mine with extra ricola (arugula) and it was the best pizza I ever had.
In order to get to the island of Murano, it is a 15 ish minute water taxi ride from the main Venice island. The ticket costs around 19 euro round trip. Murano is known for their glass making and glass blowing. Every store sold small glass trinkets of EVERY animal, food, or object you can think of. It was so cute seeing the tiny animals as glass and the small food items through the window. Kaycee and I bought dangly glass earrings for ourselves to remember our trip to Murano. One thing that surprised me was how small the islands around Venice were. Murano is around 1,134 acres and we were able to walk around the entire island in half a day! Through our day we stopped for coffee and for dinner we had Aperol spritz's which is a very popular drink in Europe and Venetian Cicchetti which is bread with meat and cheese.
During reading week (London's "Fall Break"), Kaycee and I planned a week long trip to Italy. We made an extensive itinerary in order to do everything we both wanted to do and see while in the country. Our first stop was Venice! My first Italian meal was a green salad with fresh mozzarella and tomatoes. It was so fresh and although there was not much dressing, it was perfect since I was not too hungry. After lunch we checked into our airbnb which had these large glass windows that looked out into the Mogliano town we stayed at. There is a train station nearby (around a 7 minute walk from the airbnb) that took us to the main Venice island on a timed schedule. It took us a few tries to learn how to validate our ticket and understand which train to hop on and off of. We got lost a few times and since the trains come every hour or so later at night it was very humbling to say the least. I would recommend using the trainline app to track which train to get on and when to get off at the correct stop. It also tracks the train beforehand to tell you which stop it is at and the time it is estimated to get to you.
Apart from the public transportation, our first time seeing VENICE island was breathtaking. After exiting the train station you just see large vintage buildings and stairs leading to the water with a constant flow of boats transporting people to and from their destination around the islands. Using water taxis as the main mode of transportation was very new to me but it was fun and easy to navigate. One of my favorite things we did in Venice was ride the gondola around the streets and through the town. It was amazing navigating past other gondolas and getting the experience of riding a gondola in Venice. It was 70 euro but Kaycee and I split the cost making it 35 euro each. |