Ok, I finally decided to dress up. The expat gang settled on a Neverland theme for our Halloween party, as we are all living in what at times seems to be a bit of a fantasy. Though I couldn't come up with a Peter Pan themed costume (not sure I have actually ever seen that movie!), I did end up finding a Wonderland themed costume ... close enough!!
Another great night with the crew, and some very creative costumes. The ladies were gorgeous and the boys full of fun as always.
I definitely crossed off all the sporting events I need to participate in for the foreseeable future throughout October, having the chance to see both types of football - American and the type the rest of the world plays.
While Jonas was still in town we randomly checked online for tickets to see the Arsenal football (soccer) club, whom is local to my neighborhood and I have declared my loyalty.
They are quite popular and tickets are usually hard to come by, but on this day they were playing a lesser known team and we were able to get some seats! It was a great chance to see a soccer game in England, for us both. They won and we could walk home!
Also, as luck would have it the Chicago Bears played Tampa Bay in an International Series NFL game at Wembley Stadium. A good portion of the expat group secured tickets one way or another. We hosted a proper tailgate party with a massive amount of barbecued meat before heading off to the game. Look at that group!
I was fortunate enough to be joined by one of my great friends from Chicago and his two children, for what turned out to be another great game. I will admit, there was a special feeling in the air ... a familiar feeling, and I was literally startled by hearing a Chicago accent from someone sitting behind me. Cried during the Star Spangled Banner.
The final leg of the Italy dream trip was to Piedmont. Five days driving through the wine country of Barolo, Barbaresco, Roero - the Langhe hills. This place in particular holds a special spot in my heart, as throughout the years of hanging with my crew at Buona Terra (if ever in Chicago check it out!) we spent countless nights hashing out all of life's ins and outs while reviewing in detail the varietals of this region.
Barolo is considered the king of wines, only to be rivalled by France's Burgundy as the finest in the world. The geographical region is actually quite small, and when on top of one of the many hilltops you can see it all in one breathtaking view.
We started out this leg of the trip taking the train from Cinque Terra to Genoa airport to pick up our little car and took our time driving along the coast before heading north. The landscape quickly changed to lush, green mountains with highways either suspended between them or purging through them via long black tunnels.
After a lovely two hour drive we were in wine country. Piedmont stands for "foot of the mountain" and is green planes resting at the foot of the Alps. I had picked out our room at a converted castle, Castello di Sinio, and no doubt I felt like a princess the entire time! What a room! Three directional views of the vineyards from the top of a stone castle! From the sunset views, the comfy bed, the decadent breakfast buffet to the Michelin rated birthday dinner, it was ridiculous!
That Saturday was the opening day of the Alba Truffle Market, and we were just a 15 minute drive from Alba, one of the larger towns in the region. I have met only one person who said they didn't like truffles (and I'm talking about the fungus, not chocolate), but I am still convinced they clearly were delusional. The truffle, for whatever reason, holds an intoxicating aroma and nearly all who encounter its glory are hooked.
So much so that a truffle now sells at more per ounce than gold, and this was the time of year when they are harvested in the place in the world where they are found naturally and those with hundreds of extra dollars for mushrooms come to buy up their crop. It was pretty cool to be there ... we smelt quite a few of them, bought up truffle oil, truffle cheese, truffle salami, and even had a bowl of fresh pasta with truffle grated on top. Never got tired of it.
The remainder of the time we spent driving to the little villages each with their own castle, seeing the views and visiting their enotecas, picnicking, and of course eating at some great restaurants. There was a little pizzeria within walking distance of our room that did heart-shaped pizzas that were delicious, and we took a risk at a place that did not come highly recommended to have what turned out to be the best meal of the trip (though best one course still goes to the risotto in Santa Margherita!).
We walked in and food just started showing up at our table ... no menu, just a decadent six course meal of tartare with porcini, truffle/parmigiana soup with quail egg, artichoke cannelloni, sausage pasta, panna cotta with poached pears ... whew. All run by what appeared to be a two person show, along with their dog and a story of a pet pig that was stolen long ago.
We did make it inside one winery via a much appreciated hook up from my Chicago crew (most do not allow walk-ins), and it was cool to see how it all came together ... a seemingly impossible small operation, run mostly by family, but distributed throughout the world at a premium price. Though I could have sent home cases, I carefully selected four bottles along the trip to be my souvenirs ... we'll see how long those last!!
Cinque Terra is a region along the Northwest coast of Italy that consists of five small towns preserved in time, all hanging in the steep cliffs along the ocean. Until not so long ago they were only accessible by foot or boat, and it is common for visitors to plan a hike between all five.
In this leg of our journey we took the train from Santa Margherita to Monterosso, the northern-most and largest of the five. That is where we had our lovely room with a balcony for two nights. The turquoise beach that greatest us as soon as we stepped off the train was incredibly difficult to pass by.
But off to hiking we were! The plan for day one was to take the train (which in itself is a fine example of human perseverance - those tunnels through the mountainside were impressive!) down to Manarolo and walk the 'Via dell 'Amore' to Riomaggiore. This leg of the path was comfy - paved, railing, etc. Known for lovers, couples had secured locks along the way as a symbol of their unending love. Jonas and I got engaged. Joke!!!!
However, we did settle down for quite a nice sit on these old stairs down the side of the mountain for a perfect sunset view (flashbacks of the Portugal trail experience had me a bit nervous). Certainly a highlight of the trip for me. Thanks babe! Riomaggiore is exactly as I imagined ... bright homes, boats, and a wonderful dinner where we had another plate of anchovies and smoked tuna. Yum.
The agenda for day two was to hike from our town over to Vernazza and then Corniglia. This was an intense walk, as the first 30 minutes were straight up rocky 'stairs' to the top of this mountain. The heart was sure pumping! I was so impressed by the people I saw on this trip. Average age was probably 60, and these people, with their walking sticks and hiking boots were smoking Jonas and I. Very inspirational.
The entire walk took us an hour and a half. This region is also known for its own wines, and the terraces that have been constructed forming ledges on the mountains for growing grapes and olives add to the scenery. We cruised around town, had a piece of pizza and ultimately decided we didn't have it in us to proceed until the next hour hike to Corniglia, so we just went back to the beach and ended the perfect day with a picnic on our balcony and wine in a little enoteca.
I shall forever say that I only set foot in four of the cinque terra, but man it was awesome.
<< Slide show!! >>
The first planned destination of the Italian birthday adventure was Portofino - rumoured to be one of the most timelessly beautiful scenes in all of Italy. Because it was near the other planned destinations, I slipped this in for one quick visit ... why not?
We stayed two nights in the nearby town Santa Margherita - a bit more financially reasonable than Porto, known for regular visits from the rich, famous, and lavishly large-boated.
After our unplanned visit in Pisa we arrived via train in Santa Margherita our first evening. We strolled a bit through town and couldn't resist a larger than life pizza we eye-balled along the way.
This region, known as the Liguria coast, is the source of several local products - anchovies are one Jonas was a bit more thrilled about than I. We stopped later that evening at an adorable restaurant near our hotel for a nightcap and had a plate of anchovies that were quite fresh and delicious. I am a convert!
The next AM we were up to catch the boat to take us along the coast and into Portofino. The weather ended up being quite a bit warmer than anticipated and I was thrilled the boat trips were still running in October. What better way to ride into lovely Portofino than on the crystal turquoise water to see the sun shining onto the golden buildings?
We spent the day exploring town, hiking up to the top of the opposite hill to check out the views, and then a lunch on the water consisting of a typical dish of pasta with pesto sauce and filet milanese. Molto buono!
On our return to Santa Margherita, the restaurant with the anchovies looked so good we decided to head back there and had arguably the best meal of the trip (only one other competes - to be mentioned in the Piedmonte chapter).
The antipasti was an octupus / potato salad that was so simple, but so well-prepared and tender ... yum. However, it was the seafood risotto - so rich, fresh, creamy, and seafoody - that won best prize for best single dish. The taste alone had me convinced they it undoubtedly took hours of simmering shells and vegetables to make the stock alone. Amazing ... Jonas and I had to roll out of there to our room!
The trip was off to a perfect start! << slide show on this one! >>
Thus starts a series of blogs accounting my recent 'dream trip' to northern Italy ... ten days planned (and planned, and planned) to be shared between the coast and wine country to see first hand all that I have discussed for so long regarding the pleasures this region has to offer. There will be four to this series - if I tried to cover the trip all in one blog it would be impossible - 600+ photos!!
The trip started off on a concerning note when a series of public transportation set backs in London caused us to miss our flight to Genova by minutes ... (argh!!!) Jonas said he could see me turning red from the neck up. I was simply trying to fight back the tears and think rationally.
Genova is a small city, and it is not like you just jump on the next flight in an hour or two ... the next flight was tomorrow, and it was full. Fortunately our scurry with a helpful BA counter agent with an atlas landed us with a flight to the not so far away Pisa, leaving in an hour ... Yes! Oh, and that will cost you just ... Ugh. Oh well, you take what you get. Nothing was going to ruin this trip!
So, though an hour behind, things from here went perfectly and I got to see the Tower of Pisa!! Unexpected bonus - another major global monument checked off the list! Of course, the cheesy tourist thing to do at the tower is attempt to get some sort of clever shot of you supporting the tower ... ours were just not so successful, but you get the point!
The tower itself was stunning, almost seemed to be carved of ivory, and definitely leaning at an eerie angle.
Now ... I just need to figure out how to get from Pisa to our original destination, Santa Margherita. Thank goodness I knew the Tren Italia site fairly well from doing previous research, and it was just an hour and a half train ride. After just a short pit stop we're off ...
Ok, I finally decided to dress up. The expat gang settled on a Neverland theme for our Halloween party, as we are all living in what at times seems to be a bit of a fantasy. Though I couldn't come up with a Peter Pan themed costume (not sure I have actually ever seen that movie!), I did end up finding a Wonderland themed costume ... close enough!!
I definitely crossed off all the sporting events I need to participate in for the foreseeable future throughout October, having the chance to see both types of football - American and the type the rest of the world plays.
While Jonas was still in town we randomly checked online for tickets to see the Arsenal football (soccer) club, whom is local to my neighborhood and I have declared my loyalty. 
The final leg of the Italy dream trip was to Piedmont. Five days driving through the wine country of Barolo, Barbaresco, Roero - the Langhe hills. This place in particular holds a special spot in my heart, as throughout the years of hanging with my crew at Buona Terra (if ever in Chicago check it out!) we spent countless nights hashing out all of life's ins and outs while reviewing in detail the varietals of this region.
We started out this leg of the trip taking the train from Cinque Terra to Genoa airport to pick up our little car and took our time driving along the coast before heading north. The landscape quickly changed to lush, green mountains with highways either suspended between them or purging through them via long black tunnels.
That Saturday was the opening day of the Alba Truffle Market, and we were just a 15 minute drive from Alba, one of the larger towns in the region. I have met only one person who said they didn't like truffles (and I'm talking about the fungus, not chocolate), but I am still convinced they clearly were delusional. The truffle, for whatever reason, holds an intoxicating aroma and nearly all who encounter its glory are hooked.
The remainder of the time we spent driving to the little villages each with their own castle, seeing the views and visiting their enotecas, picnicking, and of course eating at some great restaurants. There was a little pizzeria within walking distance of our room that did heart-shaped pizzas that were delicious, and we took a risk at a place that did not come highly recommended to have what turned out to be the best meal of the trip (though best one course still goes to the risotto in Santa Margherita!). 
Cinque Terra is a region along the Northwest coast of Italy that consists of five small towns preserved in time, all hanging in the steep cliffs along the ocean. Until not so long ago they were only accessible by foot or boat, and it is common for visitors to plan a hike between all five.
But off to hiking we were! The plan for day one was to take the train (which in itself is a fine example of human perseverance - those tunnels through the mountainside were impressive!) down to Manarolo and walk the 'Via dell 'Amore' to Riomaggiore. This leg of the path was comfy - paved, railing, etc. Known for lovers, couples had secured locks along the way as a symbol of their unending love. Jonas and I got engaged. Joke!!!!
The agenda for day two was to hike from our town over to Vernazza and then Corniglia. This was an intense walk, as the first 30 minutes were straight up rocky 'stairs' to the top of this mountain. The heart was sure pumping! I was so impressed by the people I saw on this trip. Average age was probably 60, and these people, with their walking sticks and hiking boots were smoking Jonas and I. Very inspirational.
We spent the day exploring town, hiking up to the top of the opposite hill to check out the views, and then a lunch on the water consisting of a typical dish of pasta with pesto sauce and filet milanese. Molto buono!
Thus starts a series of blogs accounting my recent 'dream trip' to northern Italy ... ten days planned (and planned, and planned) to be shared between the coast and wine country to see first hand all that I have discussed for so long regarding the pleasures this region has to offer. There will be four to this series - if I tried to cover the trip all in one blog it would be impossible - 600+ photos!!
Genova is a small city, and it is not like you just jump on the next flight in an hour or two ... the next flight was tomorrow, and it was full. Fortunately our scurry with a helpful BA counter agent with an atlas landed us with a flight to the not so far away Pisa, leaving in an hour ... Yes! Oh, and that will cost you just ... Ugh. Oh well, you take what you get. Nothing was going to ruin this trip!