Greece ~ Living the ‘New Normal’

‘We have a normal. As you move outside of your comfort zone, 

what was once the unknown and frightening, becomes your new normal.’

-- Robin Sharma

Ice cream for lunch - a new normal in Greece.

Today we ate ice cream for lunch. 

With the Mediterranean sun shining and Grecian temperatures climbing, it seemed the thing to do. 

It wasn’t the first time, as we’d done the same thing two days ago. . .and a couple weeks ago. Giving in to the temptation of this frozen delight is really beginning to be a noontime normal. What I find interesting is how ab-normal it would have seemed back in our lives in the U.S.

Normal has become an operative word in our ex pat lives. We seem to have two standards of normal, the old one and the new one. Since last July when we made the decision to move from our Pacific Northwest home to Greece as full-time ex pats, we’ve had days there and here in which nothing seemed normal and other days when things were remarkably normal.

One thing we’ve learned in the last year is that nothing can turn the context of normal upside down faster than moving to a new country and adapting to its lifestyle and culture.

Normal - conforming to a standard; usual, typical, or expected.

Greece - a normal scene

The mere fact I’ve given so much thought to normal and am now writing about it, isn’t normal by my old behaviors. But with more time to think about such things these days, ponderings such as this seems absolutely normal. What I am most surprised about is how quickly we human beings can adapt to new environments.  And that seems to be a key to whether or not ex pat life agrees with you or not. 

I've read any number of articles about why ex pats return to their home countries.  Bottom line seems to be: they wanted the normal they once knew. The challenge of a new language, new culture, new environment was too much for them.  With only nine months of full-time ex pat life under our belts, we are still in the infancy of this adventure; so in our case, bring on the new normal!

Normal is as Normal Does?

On Sunday we went on an outing back into the mountains, an area we'd never explored before. We found four new villages that will require return visits for further exploration. To get to them though, we traveled on roads that once seemed frighteningly narrow and winding. These days those once-unnerving roads seemed quite normal.  A new normal to be sure, but normal all the same.

You wanted to go where?

.

The photo above, taken last week during a ‘normal’ trip to the grocery store, illustrates an entertaining new normal for us.  Old normal for us was frustrating bumper-to-bumper traffic jams on multi-lane roads that brought cars to a standstill. In this world’s  ‘new normal’ it just might be a cow that stops us in our tracks!

Whether traveling roads, shopping or cooking, there is usually something that occurs or is required that gives a moment of pause and we have to think a bit harder and do things a bit differently but that’s why we came here. What amazes us is how quickly so many of these ‘foreign’ things have started feeling routine and normal.

Agios Nikolaos on a June evening

As those of you’ve who’ve been with us awhile know, this will be our first full summer here. We’ve had brief samples of both June and July but never have experienced a full three-month run of summer.

“Is this normal?” asked our recent guests a couple weeks ago, when they made their way around tables that filled the village’s main street. “They tell us that the crowds will get bigger in August,” we replied, but whether they are normal size summer crowds we have no idea.  Ask us again next year.

Stoupa beach on a June morning

We had a storm hit this week that brought high wind and heavy rain for a couple of days to most of Greece, including our area. The road between Athens and Corinth was flooded and closed for a short time, and ‘nornally’ dry river beds were filled with gushing water. 

“Not normal, for this time of year,” long-timers told us. We’ve spent three springtimes here and haven’t seen rain like we had this June, but whether it is normal or not, we couldn’t tell you for sure.

Cloudy skies in June - normal or not

Two weeks ago we woke one morning to find our water tanks bone dry. Not a drop of water to be had out of any tap in the house. (Of course, we had houseguests at the time. So the water truck was summoned and tanks of water delivered to return us back to normal.) 

Our water supply comes to us from ‘the Municipality’ (an entity we have yet to clearly understand) and when we reported our drought they seemed surprised at our situation.  The locals tell us that’s because we ‘normally’ don’t run out of water until in August, when the reservoirs are 'normally' pumped dry or the water diverted to the tourist-filled villages along the sea.

Pantazi Beach - near our home

One new normal for us is the lack of travel plans for summer getaways. Our startled friends say, “But you ‘normally’ go somewhere!”  We’ve never before lived in a place as spectacularly beautiful as we do now, so we’ve decided to join those sun-seeking tourists arriving each week in the villages, and enjoy this place we call home.  Perhaps it will become a new normal for our summers.

Mesimeri spent on our deck

Our staycation here has us completing our chores and errands before the clock strikes 12 each day which allows us to luxuriate in a favorite new normal: similar to the Spanish culture’s siesta, we have in Greece mesimeri which means midday and generally refers to the time between 2 – 5 p.m. but also means ‘quiet time’. 

Scenes of the village where we run our errands

This guilt-free quiet time is ‘normally’ spent resting, napping, reading and catching up on correspondence. Then it is time to think about food and drink; sometimes consumed at home and other times at one of the many tavernas, cafes and restaurants that come to life in the summer. Eating and drinking out with regularity is another new normal that we’ve adapted to quite well.

Dinner at Stathi's is a culinary treat - how many mezes can we eat?

We eat different food at a different time in far different settings than we did before moving here. But as with eating ice cream for lunch, going to the grocery store, watching weather and all things here the new normal is feeling quite normal these days!

We hope that your travels take you – armchair or real time – somewhere that is ab-normally wonderful!  Thanks for being with us again this week as we took a bit of an introspective look at ex pat life.We’ll be back again soon with more tales of our Grecian Summer and do hope you’ll be along to enjoy it with us!  Safe travels to you and yours ~

Linking up this week with:

Through My Lens
Our World Tuesday
Wordless Wednesday
Communal Global
Travel Photo Thursday – 
Best of Weekend

A Summer’s Day ~ And a Greek Island Getaway

The boat was cutting through a liquid sapphire as it sped towards the island of Hydra.

The sky above us, cloudless.

The Mediterranean sun, intense.

It is summer in Greece.

And we were heading to a Greek island.

The Sapphire Sea

We’d dropped our houseguests at the Athens airport and were returning to The Mani, the place we call home these days. With plans for an overnight stay somewhere along our route, The Scout veered us a bit to the south of the main highway that links us to Athens and aimed our trusty Hi Ho Silver towards Hydra, one of the Saronic Islands off the east coast of the Peloponnese.

Leaving Metochi for Hydra

The Saronic islands are some of the closest to Athens; a quick ferry or catamaran trip away from Piraeus,where the Athens port is located. We opted for the ‘road trip’ way of getting there: driving along the coastline of the ‘first finger’ of the Peloponnese to Metochi where we left our car and took a small passenger-only boat to Hydra. It was an even quicker ferry trip: 25 minutes. (Cost was 6.50-euro per person each way and parking 5 euro for each calendar day).

The coastal road to Metochi; guardrails festooned in oleander

These spontaneous, without set destination, outings are the kind during which one of us will  say, “This! . . . This, is why we moved here.”

This is why we sold our home of 30 years put our old life in a storage unit in the far away U.S. Pacific Northwest and moved to a full-time life in Greece.

A road trip that takes you to a Greek island. No bottom-numbing airplane journeys. No huge suitcases.

Simply a whim and and overnight bag.

Ferry from Metochi arrives at Hydra harbor

Hydra (hee-draw) is one of our favorite island destinations. This time of year, there are plenty of  ‘beautiful people’ strutting along and enough mega yachts arriving at its compact crescent-shaped harbor to give it that feel of Santorini or Mykonos. But it has managed to balance tourism with its small island charm that continues to make it warm and inviting.

The last time we stayed here was on a blustery night in late October a few years ago. That time of year, fFew commercial establishments were open. We followed a local man who greeted the ferry with a sign ‘rooms for rent’ to his hotel.  The sheets were thin; the room clean. The island, simply magical. We vowed to return one day.

We were charmed then by the fact that no motorized vehicles (except a tiny garbage truck) are allowed on the island.  You walk or hire a donkey, horse or water taxi to get around. The harbor area is so compact it is easy to get around on foot.

Aperol Spritz break for harbor-watching

This time of year bars, restaurants, coffee shops and ice cream parlors ring the harbor with outside seating. . .perfect places to sit and soak up the ambiance of Greek island life. Mega yachts share the harbor with the village fishing fleet (fishing and sponge gathering were once major industries here but now tourism takes top billing.)  Ferries and water taxis buzz in and out like busy bees.

Name your destination and these fellows will get you there 

Some of you may know of Hydra because Canadian song-writer Leonard Cohen lived there for many years and penned several tunes there. The island is included in Henry Miller’s 1941 impressionist travelogue, The Colossus of Marousi. 

Mega yachts always add a touch of class to a harbor

This trip we arrived without reservations – on a late Thursday afternoon – we wouldn’t recommend arriving without them this time of year on a weekend or anytime in July and August.  We found accommodations at a charming hotel – Hotel Sophia  - on the waterfront. Opened in 1934, it was the first hotel, they say, in Hydra. Our modern, air conditioned room with en suite, was 90 euros a night and included a full breakfast. (The sheets were thick and wonderful).

Hyrdra Harbor at night

As day tourists headed out, Hydra turned up the charm. The harbor quieted for the night and cafes that had been bursting with diners and drinkers hours earlier emptied. The night’s stillness was broken only by the clanking rhythms of riggings on the ships.

Nighttime scenes and sounds are only surpassed by early morning when the pack horses arrive to take loads from supply ships.

Heading to the harbor in Hydra

The work crew paraded past the entry to our hotel so with steaming cups of coffee in hand we followed them around the corner to the harbor to watch the show; rituals of daily Greek island life that has continued through the decades.

Just one more for balance. . .

If you are planning a Greek island getaway, do put the Saronic Islands on your list. We don’t think you will be disappointed! We plan to return to Hydra—then hop through the chain of island by ferry.

Just a bit more . . .

That’s it for this week from The Stone House on the Hill.  We hope you’ll be back next week for another installment of life in  Greece. We thank you for the time you’ve spent with us on this little road trip. Until we are together again, good wishes for healthy and happy travels ~

We are linking up with a fine bunch of bloggers this week at:
Through My Lens
Our World Tuesday
Wordless Wednesday
Communal Global
Travel Photo Thursday – 
Best of Weekend

The Romance of Rome ~ Diamonds, Danger and Desire

Rome.

The name alone of this vibrant, ancient city- up until a few weeks ago – has always brought to mind scenes of exploration and adventure tinged with romance, similar to those from  “Roman Holiday” the 1953 movie starring Audrey Hepburn and Gregory Peck. 

An escapade in Rome 1953

For you who may not have seen the movie: a bored princess escapes her keepers, falls for a journalist and they zip around Rome on a Vespa, falling in love while having a delightful romp in Rome. 

I didn’t think anything could top that, well. . ., until we did. . .in a manner of speaking, that is!

Another escapade in Rome

As I hinted at last week, this post incorporates two tales of Rome – both in which we are the lead characters – however one is real life and one is rather ‘novel’. Without further adieu let’s do Rome. . . with a bit of fact and a bit of fiction:

Two Tales of a City

Riding the Rails through Tuscany

When we left you last week we were boarding a train on a cloudy Sunday morning in Tuscany’s Camuche/Cortona station bound for Rome. We’d have about 24 hours there before catching our flight back to Athens. It had been a whirlwind week of satiating our taste buds and senses with all things Italian but it was time to return to our Stone House on the Hill in the Greek Peloponnese.

     Jackie looked wistful. “Rome,” she whispered. “We are really going to Rome.”

     Joel approached her slowly, sensing in Jackie’s far-away glance that she was lost in a vision of what was to come. . ."

Basilica of Santa Maria Maggiore

We checked into what has become our favorite hotel in this city, The Mecenate Palace, a four-star place located three blocks from Roma Termini; a location that makes it a walkable distance to sites like the Spanish Steps and Trevi Fountain.  We’ve stayed here three times, each time requesting a room with a view of its neighbor, the Basilica of Santa Maria Maggiore – and we’ve never been disappointed. 

This time, like our previous stays, we entered the room, dropped the suitcases and headed to the window to make sure the view was as remembered. Then we headed out to see how much ground we could cover in the few hours we had – unlike the fictional arrival:

Joel approached her from behind and landed a soft kiss on her neck.

“Oooooh, that feels so nice,” Jackie cooed.

(Joel was encouraged by that, let your imaginations soar. They didn’t go exploring outside the room right away.)

Cloudy skies followed us to Rome

The same clouds that had intermittently dumped rain in Tuscany extended over the Eternal City, but that didn’t deter us, nor the thousands of other tourists and locals, from enjoying a Sunday afternoon stroll through Italy’s capital city.  

The Spanish Steps

“Hey lets make it a point to kiss at every monument we visit,” Joel suggested.

“Yeah, and then we can write a travel book, ‘Kiss Your Way Through Rome’.”

Joel quipped, “Then lets get going so we can research our next chapter.”

By the time we reached The Spanish Steps, the sky was getting lighter and the temperature climbing. The Scout and I did hold hands (so I wouldn’t get lost in the crowds) while searching for a place to sip cappuccinos, people-watch and rest our feet. 

From the size of the crowds at the steps, we decided to skip the other ‘tourist sites’ and enjoyed a stroll past everyday scenes back to the hotel. A sunset drink sipped in the rooftop bar at the hotel, followed by dinner in its adjacent restaurant completed our brief stopover.

Night views from the hotel

Rome really is a city that enchants. You can understand why tales of  romance are often set here. Speaking of romance novels, let me tell you the story about the one in which we are featured:

The Tale of The Tale

Back in January, a blogger-buddy, Irene Levine (More Time to Travel) wrote about a couple, J.S. Fletcher and Kathy Newbern, travelers and writers, who some 25 years ago put their travel knowledge and skills together in a money-making venture. They started writing custom romance novels – a ‘labor of love’ you might say. They created  YourNovel.com  

As part of that article, they offered a free book to a person who'd be randomly selected from those who'd left comments. You guessed it. I won!

Roman ruins are always a draw

I went through their list of book titles and picked a location and storyline, a thriller (Joel was cast as a cross between Indiana Jones and Superman in a secret agent role and Jackie was his clueless sidekick).  Then I chose the degree of romance, picking ‘huggy-kissy’ mild over ‘sexy-steamy wild. 

Then filling out a questionnaire, I gave them the information necessary to personalize the novel, things names, nicknames, eye and hair color, cars, work, favorite music, and favorite scents. 

I looked back at my comment on Irene’s post and see that I wrote, ‘laugh out loud’, giggling and smiling’ at the thought of us in such a book.  

As I read the book, I moved on to guffawing and howling with laughter.  

Sometimes it was the plot that brought me to tears and other times it was the fact that as ex pats in Greece we don’t quite ‘fit the mold’.  

Example:  the book has us flying a wide-bodied jet, overnight to arrive in Rome from Athens, which in real life is a two hour flight on smaller aircraft. Had we flown from Seattle as in our old life the plot would have worked as there would have been time for the frolic under the blankets that the two characters had while en route. It did make for good laughs. 

And on that note, I’ll say arrivederci Italy – real and imagined. We are back in Greece and I’ll have  a report for you from The Stone House on the Hill. Until then, safe travels to you and yours!  As always the time you spend with us, commenting and sharing is so very much appreciated. 

Linking this week with:

Through My Lens
Our World Tuesday
Wordless Wednesday
Communal Global
Travel Photo Thursday – 
Best of Weekend

Under the Tuscan Sun ~ Bring on Bramasole!

BRAMASOLE ~ from 'Bramare' to yearn for and 'Sole' the Sun

BRAMASOLE ~ Frances Mayes’ home in Cortona, Under the Tuscan Sun

As our train carried us from Florence, Italy through the dreary, rain-soaked Tuscan countryside, the view through the dirty window had us yearning more for the sun than Bramasole . 

Dirty windows, stormy skies - welcome to Tuscany!

We were en route to Cortona, the next stop on our week-long get-away from our home in the Greek Peloponnese.  As long time readers here know, I’ve often credited Mayes’ book with planting that seed of possibility about ‘living differently’ way back when it was published, more than two decades ago. 

Having now purchased a home and moved to Europe, we can even better relate to her tales of dealing with cultural quirks; those everyday frustrations and wonders of living in a world different from that we've known.

Villa Marsili, Cortona - friends meet, location great, room charming, breakfast incredible

While Cortona has long been on the ‘bucket list’ we’d never made it there during earlier Tuscan travels.  This trip came about when a Pacific Northwest friend, Sharon, and I were discussing Mayes’ books via email and she reminded me that she would be in Cortona that following week as part of a a University of Washington (Seattle, WA) alumni tour group. They’d ‘do’ Tuscany from their Cortona base. 

What a perfect time and place to rendezvous, I thought. And how nice to have short and relatively inexpensive flights between Athens and Rome! Luck was with us, as we were able to book a room at  Villa Marsili where the UW group was staying. 

The hotel, besides having a perfect location (10-minute walk from the center of town and a walking distance to Bramasole), also offered a breakfast buffet included in the room rate that offered so many selections it required two display tables. In the evening complimentary Vin Santo and sweets were served. Everything about this four-star hotel exceeded our expectations.

Cortona, this charming walled city was devoid of huge tourist groups in May

For that matter, Cortona exceeded our expectations.

This city, founded over 25 centuries ago and continuously occupied since then, was pleasantly devoid of the tourist hoards we'd encountered in Florence. It could have been the  temperamental weather that brought rain and wind storms with few sun breaks during our stay or the fact it was still early in the tourist season. We were told that in summer the place can be packed with people. But then it wouldn't take many to pack its streets and shops.

Our footsteps echoed on the cobbled streets at night

There was also little evidence of Frances Mayes's influence, in this town of jumbled narrow cobbled roads (shared by autos and pedestrians), stairways, and piazzas.  We quickly decided she may have gotten us here the first time, but the town is what will be bringing us back.

Copies were scarce of her memoir, Under the Tuscan Sun, which remained for two years on the New York Times Best Seller list after it was published 22 years ago (how can it have been that long ago???). Two copies of her books were for sale in the bookstore. A DVD of the 2003 movie made from the book was available in another. In the wine store off the piazza a peeling poster on a back wall advertised a 2013 tasting and dinner with her. No one had heard of or seen her of late. 

The town was a maze of narrow walkways leading to expansive piazzas

Bring on Bramasole!

“It’s kind of amazing the people will travel because of a book. I admire that.”

                   --Frances Mayes

We spent our first couple of days exploring the town on foot, a rental car wasn’t necessary nor wanted on the narrow winding streets.  As our time in Cortona was growing short, it was time to ask our hotel staff how to find Bramasole. . .after all, the place has been a part of my life for two decades and I wasn’t going to be this close and not see it - no matter how 'tourist' I might sound when asking for directions.

The Strada Bianca - Cortona, Tuscany and under a Tuscan Sun!

Apparently I'm not the only one who's still interested in the place as the hotel staff quickly printed out a set of walking and driving directions to it that they keep on their computer. With directions in hand, The Scout and I set off on foot following the ‘strada bianca’ (white road) that I had envisioned so many times while reading the book. The route, a gradual uphill climb, leads past some beautiful Tuscan homes well worth the walk without Bramasole as a destination. We walked and walked and the road forked and continued to climb. A small directional sign was posted with an arrow to 'Bramasole'. 

Bramasole neighboring homes - Cortona, Italy

“No one had lived there in thirty years and the grounds seemed like an enchanted garden, overgrown and tumbling with blackberries and vines.”

              -- Bramasole, as first described in Under the Tuscan Sun

Then. . .there it was! Whoa!  Far exceeding -- in size and grandeur -- any of my conjured up images, the place is absolutely enormous. The grounds (at least from the road where I was standing) were immaculately groomed. 

Bramasole - Cortona, Italy

How had she done it?  How had she found time to renovate the place – bring it from blackberry brambles to such beauty – AND still find time to write a best selling book about it??  Then to keep it looking spectacular and keep writing even MORE books?? I am finding renovation and upkeep of a much, much smaller home and grounds to be an all encompassing task.  How did she fit in all that research and writing and reading?  

Close up of Bramasole entryway niche

BTW, She wasn’t in residence. I'd never have posed like that had I thought she might be looking out of one of those many windows. (I’d read her blog and knew she was on a US tour promoting her newest novel.)  I could gawk for as long as I wanted. No one else was around. The Scout wasn't as taken with this outing as I was, but he humored me and let me linger until my senses were satiated.

While soaking up the 'spirit of place' I vowed to get out that writing notebook of mine and make time to write about our Stone House on the Hill. I also made mental note to buy more clay pots and fill them with plants on our return. (I’ve bought the pots and filled them, but the notebook is still empty).

Train station is shared by Cortona and Camuccia towns 

The next morning we boarded our train for Rome, where we’d spend our final day and night in Italy.  Next week, I’ll tell you about our time there; actually there are two stories about our time there - one real and one imagined. I can guarantee that one of the two will be filled  with “Diamonds, Danger and Desire”. . . no joke!  They say truth can be stranger than fiction, but in this case, fiction will be stranger than truth! Got you wondering what I am talking about? Well, see you next week and I'll clear all that up!

As always thanks for the time you’ve spent with us in Cortona. Safe travels to you and yours ~

Linking up this week with:

Through My Lens
Our World Tuesday
Wordless Wednesday
Communal Global
Travel Photo Thursday – 
Best of Weekend

Next stop: Florence. . .

“Visiting Florence was like attending a surprise party every day.”

                        -- Jennifer Coburn, We’ll Always Have Paris

I’d like to tell you that we hopped off that train from Rome that we were on when I last wrote and walked straight to our hotel in Florence, our first stop on our week-long Tuscan getaway.

But I can’t. Because sometimes even seasoned travelers like us can get themselves turned around. Or  in other words, lost.

Sina Vill Medici Florence Italy

The Scout, had searched and selected the hotel, in part, because of it being easy walking distance from the train station. The other reason was that the Sina Villa Medici was housed in a magnificent once-upon-a-time family home in Florence; it one of those hotels that virtually ooze history as you walk their hallways.

Santa Maria Novella, Florence, Italy

It IS an easy walking distance if you don’t arrive after dark and take a wrong turn exiting the station as we did. Our rather long, circuitous route added a good 20 minutes to our walk but it also took us through some interesting areas like Santa Maria Novella and its expansive piazza, pictured above.

So with suitcases rattling on the uneven cobblestones we took turns asking for directions at two other hotels along our way. We finally arrived at our hotel with a much needed paper map in hand (given to us by a kind hotel desk clerk of whom we'd asked directions). I should note our cell phones don't work in Italy making Google Maps useless.

Bags in room, glasses of Italian wine in the lobby bar and it was time for the vacation to begin:

First stop:  David

Michelangelo's David at the Accademia, Florence, Italy

We visited Florence once – long ago – and didn’t waste precious sight-seeing time standing in the blocks-long line of people waiting to see David, Michelangelo’s marble creation carved between 1501 and 1504. By the time we made this trip we’d smartened up: from home we'd made reservations and purchased on-line tickets. We simply walked up to the door at the appointed time and entered. In fact, we arrived two hours early to pick up the tickets with a plan to return at the appointed time and instead they allowed us in early.

Another piece that caught our eyes - Accademia, Florence, Itay

It was as amazing as everyone over the centuries has said it would be.  But then we found much of the artwork to be amazing and always ponder why one particular item like David or Mona Lisa get all the press while other amazing pieces don’t.

Aimless Ambles

Street art near our hotel - Florence, Italy

With the one thing on our ‘to do’ list done, we ambled aimlessly through this city sometimes called the ‘Athens of the Middle Ages’, home to Dante Alighieri and the birthplace of gelato. 

Florence street scene

We walked past the city’s popular tourist destinations, the Duomo and Ponte Vecchio among them, but found just everyday street scenes to be more interesting than those tourist attractions which had already drawn thousands of visitors and were overrun with tour groups.

Street art Florence, Italy

Florence, while immensely interesting, isn’t what we’d call charming. We find its streets and architecture rather severe – and that isn’t a bad thing. It lacks the romance of Venice and the allure of Rome.  Serving as the capital of Tuscany, its metropolitan population back in 2013 was nearly 400,000 inhabitants. While rather stark, its many rather drab and mundane streets lead to piazzas, palazzos, and basilicas; many of which can take your breath away. Or as Jennifer Coburn says in the opening quote, a surprise party every day.

The Way to a Tourist’s Heart is via the Stomach

Cheese stuffed ravioli with zucchini blossom sauce, left,  and wild boar ragu on the right.

So much food and so little time, we told ourselves time and time again as we walked past tempting establishments offering some of the 120 varieties of pasta that exist in this world. We found them to be reasonably priced at less than 10 euros a serving. (Of course pasta here is meant to be just one part of the culinary feast, usually eaten between the starters and the main meat or fish course. Dessert follows - oink!). We had plenty with the pasta alone.

Free tidbits with purchase of a drink - an Italian tradition

What we’d forgotten about Italy was that bars often set out a mini-buffet of appetizers in the early evening that are served for free with the price of a drink (in our case an Aperol Spritz for 5 euro and a glass of wine for 4 euro).  This spread pictured included bruschettas, small sandwiches, pasta salad and pizza.

A Trip to the Market

Mercato Centrale, Florence, Italy

No trip for us is complete without a trip to a municipal market; those sprawling marketplaces that sell a bit of everything from food and drink to clothing and household items.  Florence’s Mercato Centrale has gotten a bit on the upscale side since our last visit with far more wine bars and restaurants than farmers and fish mongers hawking their food items. It still can send you to sensor overload within minutes of entering it.

Cooking school Mercato Centrale, Florence

What we hadn’t expected to find was a large, modern cooking school right in the midst of the market. Although when you think about it, it is a perfect fit.  And this school isn’t to train professional chefs, it is run by them to teach people like us how to cook Italian foods!  You can choose to take a class or watch a demonstration and then dine with the chef.  To learn more about this place check it out on their website, http://www.cucinaldm.com

Artwork above doorways was as interesting as in galleries, Florence, Italy

Had we  more time in Florence, I just might have signed up for a class but it will have to wait until ‘next time’ as we were heading to Cortona the next day. Made famous by Frances Mayes in her “Under The Tuscan Sun”  two decades ago, it is continuing to draw visitors like us to it. We hoped it wouldn't be over-run by book or movie fans. And we were hoping to see some of that 'Tuscan Sun' as it had been rather rainy in Florence. . .

But that's a tale for next week!  Thanks for being with us on this stop on our week-long Italian getaway.  As always your time and interest is most appreciated.  Safe and happy travels to you and yours~

Linking this week with:

Through My Lens
Our World Tuesday
Wordless Wednesday
Communal Global
Travel Photo Thursday – 
Best of Weekend