5 lands in 5 day - Monterosso

Monterosso was the biggest and most resort like of all the towns. Beaches stretch all along the main road, filled with umbrellas and lounging chairs. The towns itself was packed with restaurants and art shops, you were also able to take little pathways within the town. One of the paths lead to a beautiful convent and cemetery atop a hill overlooking the entire town. Our last day was spent here with all our bags laying in the sun taking breaks to wade in the sea.

5 lands in 5 day - Vernazza

Vernazza was probably the most upscale of all the towns, with the main street lined with boutiques and specialty shops. The street would then bring you to the main piazza, which was filled with brightly colored cafes and restaurants. We first arrived in Vernazza via a coastal hiking trail from Monterosso, it was quite difficult at first but very rewarding towards the end. Being tired from our hike we decided to eat lunch on the small beach off the main piazza, resting our legs and soaking up the sun.

5 lands in 5 day - Corniglia

Corniglia was the smallest of the 5 villages. Before heading to the town center that was perched atop a very large hill, we decided to go to the Guvano beach that the NY Times had talked about. The Times had describe the beach as phenomenal, however is was a little less so. We did get the whole beach to ourselves for most of the time, which was nice. After the beach we made our way up the 365 steps to the town. It was cute and small, we didn't stay long before heading to another hiking trail. This trail would take us the Vernazza, The trail was a little shorter and easier then the trail connecting Vernazza to Monetross, but just as beautiful.

5 lands in 5 day - Manarola

Manarola is where we spent most of our first day in Cinque Terre, getting a feel for the hundreds of hiking trails around the five towns. We walked through vineyards placed on sides of cliffs and cemetery's of top of mountains, the weather was perfect and the scenery took the breath away. We also decided to celebrate Elliots 25th birthday here by having dinner at Trattoria da Billy a three story restaurant housed on a cliff over looking the Ligurian Sea. We had our first taste of Cinque Terre's famous fresh seafood here simply grilled with local olive oil and lemon washed down with local white wine - perfect.

5 lands in 5 day - Riomaggiore

Cinque Terre is comprised of 5 coastal villages. We will go through each town one by one, starting with Riomaggiore. This town is where we stayed, it is the farthest of the 5 towns and has the best view of Cinque Terre. Riomaggiore had a little bit of everything. Good restaurants and markets, a quiet rocky beach, and hiking trails that lead you to a peaceful nature preserve. It also had the famous Via Della Amore, which is the coastal pathway that connects Riomaggiore to the next town over, Manarola.

ROME TRIP

Here are some pictures from our highly anticipated trip to Rome. It was comforting to know we could skip the long lines to Vatican city, since we'd both seen it before. We had a fantasic time in Rome, can't imagine how it wouldn't be possible. It felt like we checked out almost all neighborhoods and aspects of the city. We averaged around 7 miles walking each day, due to the city having only two metro lines. It was also nice to get some good Chinese and Korean food for a change.

Day One: We woke up at five a.m. to catch a seven a.m. flight to Rome, about a 45 min flight. We checked into our bed and breakfest, which was a few blocks off termini train station, we then walked around our neighborhood, which was filled with asian markets. Since it was overcast we dicided it would be a good day to be tourist. We walked down to the Colossium and Roman Forum, cutting through parks along the way. We had lunch at Greek Cafe called "Cafe Cafe" just behind the Colossium. We ate some hummus and salad, keeping it light knowing we'd be eating some of the best pizza in Rome later on. After lunch we went into the Colosium, we then walked to Trevi Fountain and checked out shops along the way. Threw a Euro into the Fountain and headed to the Spanish Steps, a short walk from the fountain. We walked to the top of the steps and continued up hill along the public park, which over looked the entire city. We then headed back down and walked along the Tiber river, stopping to grab a cappiccino. We had read about a pizzeria called Remo, which was just south of the city. We had two magarita pizzas and a Rigatoni alla Amatriciana, after dinner we walked back to the Colossium to grab the metro. At this time the 5 a.m. wake up was really htting us, so we called it night.

Day Two: Had some great Chinese food for lunch, we then walked to the Trastevere neighborhood just across the river, probably a three mile walk. Checked out Trastevere walking along cobbled streets lined with ivy-draped shops. The neighborhood was filled with excellent shops from coffee to clothes. We then headed back down to the river, walking along its banks onto a island housing a church. With the sun setting we headed to the restaurant Le Mani in Pasta. We fested on excellent octopus salad, carbonara, once again amatriciana, and chocolate cake, truley a great meal. We then begain our walk back to the B&B seeing Circo Massimo and the Colosium at night.

Day 3: We decided to check out the famous campo de fiori market which was small but very good. For lunch we had some Roman style sheet pizza, which we ate on some church steps. After lunch we then checked out the clothing shops in the ghetto. For dinner we ate at Gustos, a huge but cute speciality shop and four section restaurant. We dinned on steak tartar, linguini with clams, and yes amatriciana. After we went to relax on the spanish steps that night. Again we had to walk all the way back to our hotel. The metro closes at 12 a.m. every night, and we always missed it, but gave a chance to see a lot more and take photos along the way.

Day 4: Headed down to San Giovanni market early in the morning, we heard it was a great place to get cheap clothes. The market was huge over 150 stalls pilled with new and vintage clothing. The market was so big we decided to leave and grab some lunch at a really nice japanese restaurant, and then headed back again. After the market closed down we headed to a couple churches, housing religious relics. We then headed to the pantheon and ate at the near by restaurant Trattoria.

Day 5: Ate Korean food for lunch and then headed to the train station to go back to Milan.

music round up

Some music pics from our time here in Milan. Blonde de Role, The Black Lips, Steve Aoki w MSTRKFT, Does it Offend You, Yeah?, Yacht, and Yellow Submarine a club a block away from the apt.

Milano Cemetery

The Monumentale Cemetery, a place you could spend hours walking around. With over 250,000 sq meters of tombs. Its feels like walking through a museum filled with sculptures some as big as two storey houses. Compared to the Venice cemetery that we gushed about before, this one is twice the size and much more beautiful. It also houses some of the most amazing landscaping. Rose bushes filled tombs and the old trees shaded them.

Salone del Mobile

Last week we headed to the most prominent furniture show in the world. Salone del Mobile a.k.a Milan's furniture fair. I had never been to a furniture fair before and going to the world's largest for the first time was a bit overwhelming. There were about 20 large building centers, housing every kind of furniture, for ever room imaginable. This is not your ma and pa ol' wooden rocking chair kinda fair either. Some of the most innovative furniture, industrial and interior designers show cased their newest work. Also It wasn't just a bunch of tables and chairs everywhere, each designer created a whole little world you could walk into and experience. Only a few hours went by and by the end we were both exhausted. Not only was it a furniture show case, but being able to check out the famous Rho-Pero fairgrounds designed by Gio Ponti was also a sight to be seen.

Venice

A few days before heading to Madrid we decided to hop a train to Venice for two nights. Venice a city known to have far too many tourist along with mediocre food to feed them. Having both been to Venice we wanted to experience more than the beauty of the canals. The weather was dreary but that didn't stop us from searching out the good of the city, which we happened to find with the help from some locals. The place was called San Michele, a little island about a 5 minute boat ride from the main port. San Michele is skipped over by most tourist who usually head to the islands of Murano and Burano. This might be because San Michele is a floating graveyard. In the 1800's the Venetians turned the island into a cemetery and is consider one of the worlds most beautiful. So after a few days of searching we got a little closer to the real Venice, a place unaltered by tourist.

Madrid

For Easter break we headed off to Madrid. After traveling to Barcelona, it was hard to imagine any place that could beat it. Barcelona had the food, the architecture, the coast and the design. However, after just spending one night in Madrid, I knew that there was something about this city that Barcelona couldn't touch. Madrid has a distinct authenticity that run deep in it's veins, it has character and spirit. While Barcelona has it's alluring charm, it sometimes feels like it tries to hard.

Not only was this a trip to a new exciting city, but also a trip to meet up with good friends. I was fortunate enough to have my Easter break the same times my friends from Minneapolis were traveling around Spain. We were able to spend 3 days together eating, drinking and being merry. Our last night consisted of eating delicious Arabic food in dimly lit adobe like restaurant. It was sad to say goodbye to my friends and the city, but will see them again soon enough.

weiners

Having frequented Hot Dougs (best hot dogs in the country) while living in Chicago we were looking forward to German encased meats. The weiners were paired with everything from mustard, sauerkraut to beer and pretzels. All in all the food was a thick and rich and the beer was fresh and summery, which was a nice contrast.

beer beer beer

The crazy lederhosen-packed banquet hall.  A beer haiku for you.

Beer flows like water 

Big men fall over like trees

It is only 5 

munich

So we finally hit up good ol' Germany, thanks to our friend Keegan. Our first night consisted of a lot of good beer drinking in a crazy lederhosen-packed banquet hall. The next day we took full advantage of the warm sunny weather (despite our hangovers) and rented bikes. We rode all around the English Gardens, Munich's largest park. We discovered many wonderful things that day. For example, we found out Germans like to surf on rivers. Germans also like to start there morning with a pitcher full of dark beer, I think I kinda already knew that. Also they have some of the most beautiful churches I've ever seen. Munich was a nice change of pace from the quite little towns of Italy. With it's loud talking men, big pushy women, and oh! that accent. I loved every minute.

Siena e Firenze

Last weekend we met up with our friends, Liz and Malcolm in Siena. Liz and Malcolm have been traveling for about a year all around Europe and are ending their travels where they began, in Italy. We were fortunate enough to meet with them the first week we arrived in Milan. We had a great time eating delicious food, accompanied with good conversation. This time was no different.

We met in the main piazza of Siena and grabbed a slice of pizza and ate it basking in the warm sun. It was a calm evening of walking around the narrow streets and mostly just catching up with what we've all been up to. The next day we headed to Firenze (Florence) and walked around most of the center, being that it's not very big. Liz and Malcolm were able to show us around to all the nice areas, since they work only 20 minutes away from the center. The trip was a short and sweet tour of a couple Tuscan towns, with the inmost enjoyment from the time spent with good friends.

snow fun

So after hearing about all the snow and winter extravaganza's taking place in the Midwest, we decided to go on our own winter adventure. We headed up to Lecco with a few friends for a one day ski and snowboard trip. Waking up bright and early to catch a train at 8 am, we arrived in Lecco 45 min later. We then took a bus, shuttle, and gondola ride up to the mountain. After messing around with everyone getting rentals, we finally got on the slopes around noon. The weather couldn't have been better and the scenery was absolutely beautiful. We were completely surrounded by vast mountains, stretching as far as the eye can see. The runs themselves were decent, nothing special, but a good place for beginners and rusty folk like myself. I'm hoping sometime in the next month we will be able to head to the big mountains North of Torino for a few days. However, with this sunny 50 degree weather we're having, the snow might not be around much longer. (oh I'm so bad)

Torino

A few weekends ago we headed to Torino for a short day trip. We started the day with a quick bit to eat and then proceeded to get lost for the rest of the day, but saw a lot.

The End.

our travel tid bits

Just like any good city- the streets of Barcelona had a lot to offer. From the chain smoking prostitutes talking of tourist tainting its city's image. To I'll never soon forget the words " Oh my god its a angry mob!" and it was just that, with torches and all. Or how about the dining experience of a tanning bed as a back drop, couldn't really walk out it was Christmas day and the only restaurant that was open. Or how about have you ever traveled by gondola to the top of a mountain during a wind storm, you'd be surprised by how much they swing. We were like rubber balls, just kinda bouncing off the plexiglass.

Barcelona has to be one of the most beautifully designed cities I've ever seen. Every kind of design from graphic, interior, exterior, environmental, industrial, architectural, traditional and contemporary, has been strategically and organically placed throughout the city. The blinding white MACBA (Museu d'Art Contemporani de Barcelona) with it's pristine wall of glass and open stone slab piazza was an impressive sight. Especially after wandering around dimly lit narrow streets. However, the MACBA is just one of many monumental staples within the city. There is all of Gaudi's works, from the famous Casa Mila, Casa Batilo and Parco Guell. To the famous Torre Agbar and Torre Montjuic, the list goes on and on. Even with seeing all these major sites, the everyday stores and restaurants were just as awe-inspiring. To me Barcelona is truly a city where no detail goes without artistic thought.

On top of Park Guell

On our last full day in Barcelona we walked a very long way (up hill) to the famous Park Guell. We didn't really walk to much around the park itself, but instead got sidetracked by a giant hill just off a main path. It didn't really seem like you were suppose to walk up it, since there were no paths anywhere, but there were no signs saying it was off limits either. So we trekked our way to the top, which was more difficult then expected. However, It was well worth it because at the top was the most amazing 360 view of Barcelona. You could tell it was one of those special secret places that most the tourist down at the park never see.

Barcelona Eats

We steered clear of any El Bulli alumni and tourist traps while in Barcelona and focused on the traditional. It's easy to fall for the Spanish style of cooking and eating - straight forward simple no fuss. Perhaps the perfect city with its cheap beer, cheap plates and no closing time. The good restaurants were always packed and worth the wait.

Some of the high lights had to be:

whole fried sardines in escabeche
of course seafood paella
dates, cheese and bacon(on these little crisp ladyfinger baguettes)
foie gras pate and Roquefort
duck confit with orange and pine nuts
Quarter sized rare mini burgers with sweet onions
fried hot peppers
chorizo and cheese sandwiches
eating al fresco

We even spotted several dunkin donut shops, which you have to be a little soft for after living in Chicago.

On top of Mont Juic

On are second day in Barcelona we headed up to the top of Montjuic via gondolas. Not having any idea of what was awaiting us at the top. The view was amazing as we sat on the hill sipping hot chocolate waiting for the city lights to come on under a full moon.

La Boqueria Market

This is the Mecca for food in Europe, the La Boqueria Market is the biggest and best. The outer rim of the market is full of small bars and restaurants. Once inside the market it's easy to get lost, the array of food is simply overwhelming. Tables of seafood so fresh they move, we made stops everyday to pickup fresh fruit. Basically if you can't find what you are looking for here it doesn't exist.

Up up and away- glimpses out the window on our trip to Barcelona. Enjoy

pretty lights

These pictures were suppose to be posted before the Holidays. However, like most people during this time, procrastination took over. Again.