Sep 12 2016

Italy Day 11: The ferry to, and relaxation in Capraia Isola

Today we were up before the sun so that we could get ready for our trip to Capraia Isola, which is a very small Tuscan island (with a population of ~400) off the coast of Livorno. We drove from our hotel to the port city of Livorno, and parked our car at S.T.P (Servizi Turistici Parcheggi), which we booked ahead of time using ParkVia. I didn’t really see any need to have a car on the island, and the price for parking for a couple days was vastly cheaper than paying to take the care on the ferry with us.

We then walked to Porto Mediceo, which was a little confusing only because I thought that our Torremar ferry departed from Porto Livorno instead. Other than that, it wasn’t that bad of a walk. Last night, we packed all the clothes and things that we would need into one smaller suitcase, which made it even easier to get our luggage onto the ferry. We did that, in part, because of the weight limit of 20kg per for each person, but found out that that rule wasn’t very strictly enforced anyway.

Torremar Ferry at Porto Mediceo in Livorno
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The ferry only took 2h45m to get from Livorno to Capraia, and the journey didn’t seem long at all considering how luxurious it was! There was a full bar, café, children’s play area, and extremely comfortable seating inside.

When we arrived at Capraia, we quickly found out that it is separated into two sections: the Port and the Village. Obviously, the ferry arrives in the Port area. There are many shops and restaurants in the Port, but the Village is the location of the few hotels on the island. Upon our arrival, a staff member from our hotel (Il Saracino) loaded our luggage into a car, and drove us up to the Village.

Capraia Isola - Tuscan island - Port
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After unpacking our bags, and settling in, we basically walked around the Village and Port areas just taking in the beauty of the island. We found that many places close in the afternoon, and reopen later in the evening. One place—La Gelateria di Capraia—stayed open most of the day though. We stopped in for a snack (gelato, of course). This place offered some really interesting flavours, like sweet biscuits (small cookies mixed in), and shaved chocolate. It was really refreshing, and nice, especially seeing as the portions were quite large for only €4! The owner was also really hospitable and friendly (as were most people on the island).

We continued walking around the Port and Village (as 90%+ of the island is undeveloped), and it seemed like every single place was photo-worthy! We saw two of the primary attractions, Forte San Giogio (but only from the outside), and Torre del Porto. We had a beautiful view of the Tower from our hotel room.

Torre del Porto on Capraia Isola
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We found the one small store in the Village, which is Minimarket Cerri Stefano, located just a couple blocks east of San Nicola church on Via Carlo Alberto. We picked up some wine there to take back to the room, and I bought some mini Nutella tarts, because apparently I’m addicted to them. After dropping off our wine and desserts at the hotel room, we just took a quick look around the property before going back down to the Port to find a restaurant for dinner. The Il Saracino hotel property was really stunning, and had some wonderful views of the sea. There were also many beautiful places to sit and just overlook the water.

Seaside courtyard at Il Saracino hotel on Capraia Isola
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We walked back down to the Port to try to decide on a restaurant for dinner. Instead of taking the main road that connects the Port and the Village, we found a small side trail that is only suitable for walking. Not only was it more comfortable to walk on this trail, but it offered some really nice views of the sea and Port.

Capraia Isola trail from the village to port
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Once we got back down to the Port, we had a look at the menus of the various restaurants. Many of them looked good, but we narrowed it down to Cherie, or Al Vecchio Scorfano. We had also considered Nonno Beppe, but it was only open on the weekends during shoulder season.

We ended up eating at Al Vecchio Scorfano because the menu looked great, they opened earlier than Cherie, and the waitstaff was very welcoming. We were both really happy with our restaurant decision! We started off with some grilled vegetables, which were quite flavourful (we had both been missing them on this trip). I then ordered Penne con pesto, and it was some of the best pesto that I’ve had… ever! The pasta was cooked perfectly, with a very nice chew to it, and the pesto was unbelievably flavourful and bold. Deb got a Penne with grilled squid, and enjoyed it as well. It was more fishy than the squid dish that we had at That’s Amore in Rome, but it was very fresh. We also split a bottle of Falanghina at the restaurant. We enjoyed the meal so much that we asked the owner if we could go ahead and make reservations for tomorrow night as well. She seemed delighted, and welcomed us back the following night.

We walked back to the hotel, and had our wine on the edge of the world (near the hotel’s pool) overlooking the sea. It was truly beautiful, and the staff at Il Saracino was more than accommodating by giving us some of their wine glasses to use, even though we didn’t purchase the wine from them. Our first day in Capraia was very nice, and I’m looking forward to the adventures of hiking some of the island’s trails tomorrow.

Cheers,
Zach

Sep 11 2016

Italy Day 10: Pisa, The Leaning Tower, and that’s about it

When we woke up, we packed our things and left from our short stay in Florence for the more coastal city of Pisa. It was only about a 1h15m drive, and was almost completely motorway, so it seemed quite short by comparison to some of the other drives that we’ve made on this trip. We checked in at our hotel—the Residence Antiche Navi Pisane—and dropped off our bags. This hotel was also quite modern, but the accommodations were very nice. I especially liked that there were two separate spaces, one for the living room, and one for the bedroom. There were also exits in the front and the back of the room, so two people could essentially stay there without disturbing one another. The hotel was on the western outskirts of Pisa, but that was fine because we had just planned on walking most places anyway.

Our first stop was the Keith Haring Café, primarily to see the mural (known as Tuttomondo) that he painted on the side of a church as commissioned by the government of Pisa. It was really cool to see it in person, especially because the colours that he chose were really bright and playful.

Tuttomondo mural by Keith Haring in Pisa
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Unfortunately, the café was closed for some reason or another (even though the website indicated that it should be open). So instead of having coffee and tea there, we decided to head back toward the hotel and find a spot along the way. We stopped in at Pasticceria Giordano without really knowing anything about it. I’m glad that we did, though, because the beverages were good, and the pastries were quite nice. I had one in particular that I can only liken to a fluffy doughnut (a la French cruller) with the Italian twist on Chantilly cream. It was delicious, and I somewhat wish I would have gotten two of them. 🙂

We went back to the hotel just to get the car and drive to San Rossore Park. It was only 10 minutes away by car, but would have been quite a long walk. The park was a beautiful area where you could just walk around and take in nature for hours on end. There was such a variety to the landscapes there that you wouldn’t be able to see them all within a day. We ended up just walking on the path toward Gombo beach, but didn’t have time to make it all the way to the shore.

Pisa San Rossore Park - path to Gombo
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After our time in the park, we dropped the car off at the hotel again, and walked to the infamous Piazza dei Miracoli, which is home to the Leaning Tower of Pisa, and the Cathedral. As expected, the plaza was insanely busy with tourists, all trying to stage the photo of themselves holding up the tower. Once you got past the crowds, the area was really neat to see.

Piazza del Miracoli and the Leaning Tower of Pisa
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We had a little time before our scheduled entry into the Leaning Tower, so we walked southeast to the Torre della Muda (Tower of Hunger). This building may not have much significance to many people, but to me, it was special because it is referenced in Inferno: Canto XXXIII by Dante.

Pisa - Torre della Muda from Dante's Inferno Canto XXXIII
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We then went back to the Leaning Tower, and made the ascent. Even with all the other tall buildings we’ve climbed (the Torre del Mangia in Siena, and the Duomo in Florence), this was the first time that I had a sense of vertigo. Climbing up stairs but leaning downward was unusual, and in full disclosure, I didn’t care for it much. To confirm, yes, the Leaning Tower does indeed lean:

The Leaning Tower of Pisa definitely does lean
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After we picked up our bags from the cloak room, we walked to GUStO al 129 for dinner. Unfortunately, though, they were closed for vacation until the following day. It was a bummer to me because I was excited about trying their pizzas, and especially their dessert pizza with Nutella and cream. Click that link to see the photo, and tell me that you don’t want to eat that thing! 🙂

Since they were closed, we went for the second choice, which was Quarto D’ora. It was another pizza place closer to the Leaning Tower, but it didn’t seem as appealing to me from the menu. We split a few pizzas: the veggie, Prosciutto and mushroom, and the Regina. The veggie was not very good since I couldn’t taste the difference between any of the vegetables, and it was runny. The Prosciutto and mushroom was a bit better since the flavours were there, but it was also runny. The Regina was the best of the three since it wasn’t runny, but it was rather basic with just tomato, basil, and Buffalo mozzarella. They also had a Nutella pizza, but theirs didn’t have cream on it. We still got one takeaway, and headed back to the hotel. On the way, we picked up some wine (but of course, right?). We had to make it an early night since we had to wake up around 06:00 to make it to our special journey tomorrow morning.

Overall, I’m glad that we saw Pisa, but I can’t imagine spending more than a day there. There’s just not that much to see or do.

Cheers,
Zach

Sep 10 2016

Italy Day 9: School of Leather and Cooking Class at Cook Eat Italian

We woke up a bit later than normal this morning, which was fine because the itinerary was fairly loose for the day. We started off by just casually strolling around the city, and then made our way to Scuola del Cuoio (the School of Leather making). I purchased a belt from another leather shop yesterday, but I was really in the market for a wallet. I found the leather products at Scuola del Cuoio to be some of the highest quality items in Florence, so I purchased a wallet for myself, and another one as a gift.

We then walked to Piazza della Signoria, which houses many replicas of statues, including the fake David. Overall, it was a neat plaza but didn’t really stand out. It was fun to people watch there, though.

We then stopped off at Dondino for some coffee and tea. It is primarily known for being a great wine bar, but unfortunately, we wouldn’t have the chance to try it since this is our last day in Florence and we already have plans for this evening. After our drinks, we took a quick look at Ponte Vecchio, which is a well-known bridge across the Arno River that is home to many different shops. The shops may have been better at one point in time, but nowadays, they don’t offer much in the way of excitement, quality, or value.

Ponte Vecchio bridge and shops in Florence, Italy
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From there, we took the 20-25 minute walk to Piazzale Michelangelo. It is definitely a hike to the top as the steps are absurdly steep. However, the views from the plaza were absolutely stunning, and may have actually been better than the views from the top of the Duomo.

View of Florence from Piazzale Michelangelo
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After taking it all in from one of the best vantage points in the city, we walked another 25 minutes or so to our cooking class at Cook Eat Italian with Manuela. The class was one of the highlights of Florence for both of us because Manuela was wonderful in both explaining the concepts to us, and letting us actively help with the preparation of our meal. We started off by preparing Tiramisu, which isn’t exactly a “classic” Italian dessert (originating only in the 1960s), but it is a popular one.

Making Tiramisu at Cook Eat Italian cooking class in Florence
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Whilst we were working on the components for the Tiramisu, Manuela informed me that the Caffè Americanos to which I had become so accustomed in Italy were not actually anything other than the standard espresso shot with added hot water. Who knew?!

Once we had the Tiramisu ready and put into the refrigerator so it could chill and set up, we moved on to making our mains of chicken Cacciatore (which was originally done with rabbit, not chicken), and the mushroom sauce for our fresh spaghetti. When we were beginning the sauce for the Cacciatore, Manuela had us sample a bunch of types of tomatoes so that we would better understand the differences between the varieties of such a common ingredient in Italian cooking.

Sampling various tomatoes at Cook Eat Italian cooking class in Florence
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Now, for me, the highlight of the cooking class was getting to make our own pasta. We worked on the mushroom sauce for the pasta a bit earlier, but we then shifted focus to making the pasta itself. As a rule of thumb, Manuela taught us that 100g of flour (a 50/50 split between all-purpose and Semolina) is good for two portions. We then made a crater in the mound of flour and dropped in an egg per 100g mix. After working the dough (which is difficult because it sticks to your fingers), we wrapped it in plastic wrap and let it proof. Then came the fun part! We rolled out the dough, and put it onto the pasta chitarra (“Pasta Guitar”) in order to cut it into Spaghetti.

Making spaghetti on the pasta chitarra guitar at Cook Eat Italian cooking class in Florence
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Lastly, before indulging in our wonderful culinary creations, Manuela made us fried Zucchini blossoms two different ways. I stirred up the beer batter, and she showed us that less batter results in a thicker coating, whereas more beer makes the batter light and crispy (like a Tempura).

Here are the results of our labour:

Fried Zucchini blossoms at Cook Eat Italian cooking class in Florence
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Spaghetti with mushrooms and sausage at Cook Eat Italian cooking class in Florence
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Chicken Cacciatore and spinach and garlic at Cook Eat Italian cooking class in Florence
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Finished Tiramisu at Cook Eat Italian cooking class in Florence
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Overall, the cooking class was an absolute blast, and one of the experiences from the trip that I wouldn’t trade for the world!

We then took a taxi back to the hotel, but I accidentally gave the driver the address to Vivoli because I misread the itinerary. He didn’t seem to mind, and took us the rest of the way back to the hotel. Seeing as 1) I am a glutton, and 2) I wasn’t feeling all that well today, we went down the street to Habiki-an Japanese restaurant so I could get some takeaway pork Katsu. It turns out that I was just having Asian food withdrawal, and this was a great fix for that problem as it was some of the best Katsu that I’ve had outside of Japan. 😉

We then went back to the room, and had the bottles of wine that we had purchased earlier from Incontro di Vino. It was lovely to just sit in the room and enjoy our wines together.

Cheers,
Zach