Y I RULE

Days 5 6 and 7: No convenient Wifi but plenty of pictures

2010-05-14T09:32:00.003-04:00

Days 3 and 4 Sonoma Valley the days we had enough wine

2010-05-11T10:45:00.011-04:00

I've been trying to think about how to write about wine tastings and keep it interesting for the readers, I don't think it's possible. So maybe I'll tell you where we went and a little bit about the atmosphere and if we liked it, loved it, or were indifferent..

On day one of Sonoma we had a really great ride from San Francisco, and got to drive over the GGB which was pretty amazing. That is a marvel. Humans, although pretty disgusting and destructive, a la Gulf coast, have accomplished so much in a short span. That bridge

is proof that we can get a crazy idea, run with it and some how make it happen. It's massive and humbling and makes me want to leave a mark some how. Naw... screw that, I'll have a glass of wine, soak in the sun and appreciate other accomplishments. Allison took some great pictures on the ride to Sonoma, you can really tell how the environment changes in such a short drive. I'm really going to miss all the different trees, plants, and flowers that grow naturally that our landscapers have to work really hard to map out back home.

We arrived in Sonoma and decided to start with some

sparkling wine at Gloria Ferrer to toast to our trip. Great stuff you can get everywhere for a good price, who doesn't like bubbles?? Check out our views!

After that we decided to get in some lunch and a tasting before we check in to The Windhaven Farm cottage. We ate at A taste of Himalaya, we had lamb momo (dumplings), a chicken curry dish and lamb tandori, all really amazing. www.Yelp.com is the best travel guide for food anyone can use, I suggest if you don't use it, you start.

We found a tasting room called Highway 12 winery. We really love all their wines, and the tasting room is right off the Sonoma Plaza. Christina was the server and after all the wines she poured us, she grabbed a travel guide and basically mapped out our entire trip for tasting in sonoma and napa.. go here go here, screw that place the dude is a cuss, go here, this place has a great feel but the wine is ok....etc. She gave us her card and told us to check out St Francis, and talk to Mike and he'll set us up with a great tasting and treat us really well.. We loved Christina!

After that we went to Gundlach Bundschu pronounced gun-lock-bun-shoe. OMG<-- I know 15 year old girl talk. This place had it all, great wine, great tasting room, excellent service and I thought this would be hard to ever compete with, try their Pinot Noir, Chardonnay... Well everything try everything each wine better than the last.. We became club members.. I had it shipped to work, don't get any funny ideas Jen!!

It was time to go check into our cottage, we pick up steak, shrimp, fresh veggies and a bottle of Merlot from highway 12 which we really liked, and decided we would hang in and enjoy the cottage, grill some food, drink some wine and sparkling wine, then enjoy the hot tub which over looks miles of vineyards and farmland. So that's exactly what we did.

The following day we hit:

Ridge vineyards - Amazing zins, loved the facility, server, views

Seghesio - Great Italian varietals, great facility, server, landscaping was stunning, very Italian feel

Simi - Good wine. A few really good ones were Pinot Gris and Zin. A little corporate and owned by a conglomerate, but worth the stop. We bought the late harvest Riesling. The service was great and they had amazing landscaping.

Stryker - We loved Stryker!! Amazing boutique winery. They had the best views and tasting room so far. The wine is very good and they've been winning some awards in the area. Definitely an up and coming winery we'll be seeing in the future. Great zin, merlot, malbec, and cab. Overall a great place!

St. Francis - My personal favorite Zin of the trip.. We really got the hookup here. Free tasting of anything we wanted, 20% off all purchases, and a really knowledgeable star server, thanks to Christina and Mike. Great atmosphere, like an old Italian monastery.

Enkidu- Small boutique 2 or 3 good wines, The pinot was really unique and special so I bought a bottle.

For dinner we had oysters at Meritage Oyster Bar and then ate at The Girl And The Fig, which was another A+++++ meal. We then headed back to the cottage to hang out in the hot tub, star gaze and unwind.

That's all the time I have for now, heading to Napa.. I feel pickled! I'll write more tomorrow, in the mean time check out the new photos.

Day 2: San Francisco super tourists

2010-05-09T11:28:00.005-04:00

Yesterday Allison and I were super tourists, we did everything tourist, with a few additions. Although, I don't think we typically enjoy the tourist traps, yesterday was an exception.

We woke up and ate our dessert from the previous night dinner, packed our bags, and started walking. We walked about 2 miles to Golden Gate park it's 3 miles long and leads to the ocean.

We walked down haight street to get there, which was a lot of hippies and odd balls, but great people watching. The street was lined with head shops and smelled of incense. Once we reached the park, there were groups of people sitting around enjoying the day and some weed. A little surreal to see it so open and accepted. It didn't seem like problem to me, but I'll skip the politics. We walked on through the most beautiful plants and trees I've ever seen. Oh I didn't tell you where we were heading inside the park. We were on our way to The conservatory of flowers, they were having a exhibit on carnivorous plants. What a great place, it was like walking into a rainforest, skip the bugs and snakes. Really beautiful....

After that we decided to make our way to the Golden Gate bridge and grab some lunch at the Burma superstar, We had never had Burmese food, and were looking forward to a new food experience. We ate Rainbow salad, which was 4 types of noodles, and a whole bunch of ingredients, chilies, peanuts, cilantro, carrots, tamarind sauce, and more, it's been featured on the food network. Really a great dish! We also had pork belly over mustard greens.. Wow! one of the best meals of our lives.

We had to go check out the Golden Gate bridge, and were both glad we did, the setting was really great, and we got to take some good pictures. The two other tourist things we did were, Ghiradelli square and fisherman's wharf, those were both really bad tourist traps and didn't have anything to offer us. We went to wattle creek wine tasting in the square and it was putrid and over priced a bad first tasting experience here. Luckily we've had some great ones since then, but you will have to wait.

Next we wanted to go to the Rogue brewpub and have some of there beers, on the way we stopped for sushi, best sushi I've ever had, hands down. we had a spicy tuna roll, halibut, snow crab, and yellow tail belly sashimi. We arrived at The Rogue bar and had a taster, Shakespeare stout from the nitrous tap, hazelnut brown, Mocha porter, and a ipa/regular pale ale hybrid they call triple jump ale. Allison had a bloodymary, made with bacon infused vodka, the bottle was filled with bacon, it was actually amazing!

After Rogue we found a great wine bar called Dell'uva, we really loved it there, the owner was a really great guy with lots of wine knowledge and a passion for everything wine and sharing what he knows, without being snobby or pretentious, great place, the rest of the night is a blur, Allison will have to tell the rest : )..

I've uploaded the pictures from our first day of Sonoma, and will write about it at my next convenience. We're off to do some tasting in heldsberg today and Lady and the fig restaurant tonight. We miss you all and hope you all had a great mother's day.

Day one: Rough start great ending!

2010-05-08T10:16:00.002-04:00

There is a trend starting with my travel, I'm going to call it the a slight air travel curse. I'm not alone in the this, and although I find that comforting, its a bit of a travel buzz kill.

I'm going to speed through this, because once again, I don't want to harp about the negatives. We arrived at the airport at 530 am for our 645 flight. Got a bite to eat, and chatted about how stoked we were for this trip. We boarded the flight and taxied down the run way, were prepared to take off, and stopped, weather in Chicago was a problem and we needed to wait. So long story short, by the time we got to Chicago, we missed our connection. We got rerouted to Denver and should still make it to San Francisco by 230. No problem. Oh wait. Problem. we boarded our second flight and it needed maintenance on a dinged wing.. About a 20 minute delay, and we miss our connection from den. We got off the plane in Denver and the front desk was waiting for us, They were very sorry and gave us each travel vouchers, and a flight leaving den at 230. The rest of the trip was smooth for the most part. We were exhausted when we landed in San Francisco, but the excitement was back, after 14 hours (double the est) we were here and back in vacation mode. Now to see if our luggage is here, we were scared after our experience in italy. But, all for not, they beat us here and even caught the second flight we missed...Somehow??? At any rate, we were here! (I know my grammar and spelling is atrocious, and I slip into past and present tense a lot, get over it : ) )

San Francisco is gorgeous, but I'm sure most reading know this already. Green rolling hills, and so many beautiful trees, plants, and flowers. The place we are staying is really great. It a little 3 room flat, This first picture from my first post is just below a big picture window, so we have a huge panoramic view similar. We are really happy with our pick of this rental. I haven't taken any pictures yet, but we're doing tourist stuff all day today, so I'm sure we will have plenty.

We arrived at the flat at about 7 and had a 9pm resv. we really needed to hustle, which is the last thing we wanted to do, but we sucked it up and did it, and were ready to leave by 8.. On a side note, women, well and Men, need to take a lesson from Allison. We had that rough day of travel, and she still manage to rush, get ready, and look gorgeous, all without a complaint or poor attitude, very impressive! we ordered a cab online, it even texted me with the driver information and distance he was from us, that's a great system, quick, easy, and cheap.

We arrived at Chapeau at 805 or so and had an hour to kill, so we found a wine bar near by for our first sip. It was called Q, the hostess was awesome, She welcomed us, found us a place by the bar to stand, and brought us a wine menu. This place was very cool, laid back and very busy, but that didn't stop everyone working there from having a smile on there face, and making quick conversation on their way by, nothing like New England at all. I got a glass of Flying fish Merlot and Allison a glass of Amador Zinfandel.. Allison won that one, really great Zin, mine was ok, but fine. After our drink we headed back to Chapeau for our 9 o'clock had to wait at the bar for about 10 minutes or so, no big deal. Chapeau was very nice, dim lit and very warm feeling, we saw a few plates pass by and I new we were in for a great meal. They sat us down and we had a really nice and attentive waiter. They do a lot of fixed menus and/or set price course meals, we went with the four course. Allison had, oysters on the half shell, a scallop in a dark lobster sauce, a duck dish, and a dessert which we took home. I had a multi salmon app, the scallop, a lamb dish and a dessert, we had the waiter recommend a half bottle of white and a half bottle of red for the later courses. I'm obviously not a good reviewer, but it was late and remember it all and the description is impossible. I do know, we loved every second of it, and it made the whole day of travel well worth it.

Sorry for this weak post and lack of pictures, I'll make it up later... Travel...seriously...Travel even with the poor flights, I'm still very excited to be here and hope time slows down for the next 9 days...

It's time once again for another adventure!

2010-05-05T09:59:00.008-04:00

It's been 8 months since my last full scale vacation, and time for another adventure. This time around, Allison and I will be visiting California. This trip may be more familiar for you, and less educational than the last, but I will do my best to keep it light and entertaining, except I have a slight homework assignment for those of you who follow along. If you have visited California before, please feel free to comment, and pass along recommendations for, places to eat, things to see, etc.

We leave Fri. May 7, 2010, from Manchester, NH to San Francisco ,CA. We'll be staying there for 2 nights. This is the view from the roof of the apartment we've rented. We don't have any set plans for San Francisco, except for dinner reservations at chapeau, I recommend you take a quick peak at the menu. Besides that, I think we'll be soaking in the vacation and doing some touristy stuff. I would also like to visit with my friends Mike and Dave Lagueux who live in the area.

From San Francisco we head to Sonoma for 3 night. I think you know what we will be doing there.. You got it. Winos for life.. We are going to attempt to stick with the boutique wines, but we also want to check out Ferrari Carano, and Hess. Nothing set in stone though, we both want to wing it and keep it low stress.

Next stop is our 3 Beach/ocean front stay at the Monterey bay inn, in Monterey. There is Allison and I enjoying the rooftop ocean front hot tub.. I really would like to do some surfing while we are there, I'm sure there are plenty of places to rent boards, not sure if I'll get Al in the water though.

That leads us to Lodi, Ca for http://www.zinfest.com/. Basically when Allison and I started hang out again, we quickly realized we both really liked Red Zin. Big bold fruity reds.. We started buying up anything by http://www.lodivineyards.com/. After doing some research we found out about zinfest, and decided to plan a trip around it.... Oh yeah and it just so happens to fall on Allison's birthday, how perfect.. So we're doing the private dinner on Fri at Zinfest and Sat at the regular session.. Our friends Doug and Tris Brown, live out in Reno, and have also decided to join us.. This is going to be a great time, we're all very excited.

So that's my quick write up on our California itinerary.. I hope you follow us on this trip and look forward to some great advice and input.. Don't be jealous, just get out there and start planning your trip!

Last days of our greatest adventure!

2009-09-23T23:36:00.004-04:00

Sorry I dropped the ball on the blog for the last few days in Italy. I was really trying to just soak it all in, and enjoy what time I had left. First off, I really want to thank all of you for following along, even the critics have been thoroughly entertaining, and have helped me with their amazing and in depth grasp of the English language. But honestly, thanks for all the kind words and encouragement. I was obviously never a great student, so I'm glad the majority of you were able to read through my poor grammar and spelling. On to the story!

On Friday, September 18th. we planned on sleeping in and then taking a bus down the Amalfi coast to Positano, another Cliff side village with a nice beach at the base. Shortly after my last post, Allison and I received a call from Lynda telling us, there are no buses, because a cruise ship in port took them all hostage for the day... bummer! There's the culprit, to the right! Lynda and Steve decided to hop a boat to the island of Capri, and invited us along. We decided to have a lazy day and bum around the pool, which is Oceanside, and drink Pina Coladas like the silly American travelers we are.. What's one day? ha ha.

After sitting around the pool and having drinks, we decided to get lunch next to the hotel. It was more like a dinner. Once again we had octopus, Mussels, clams, and risotto. (B.T.W., I didn't gain any weight on the trip, we all look pretty great after all that eating. Oops, there's that pesky ego again) Once again we had the house wine, but we tried white this time. I think it was 8 Euro for a liter, and better than anything you get, for around $30 at a restaurant in the U.S. After lunch we strolled around the town, looking for souvenirs and gifts to bring back, which was silly, because we didn't have room. Sorry everyone : (.. Later we ran into The Capri crew, who had a nice time but really didn't get what they were looking for. They can tell you more about it, in the comments, if they choose. Later we had another great meal and ended the night at a bar ran by Louie Depalma, from Taxi. He made great drinks, sold awful Grappa, and sold posters off the wall, what a character. May be hungover tomorrow..

The following day, we woke up and hit the bus station in hopes to catch a bus down to Positano... Success!! We had a half hour to spare, so we went to the local market to get stuff for a picnic lunch. here's the list: 2 blocks of cheese, a Salami, 2 bottles of wine, 2 bottles of water, a bunch of grapes and 2 loafs of focaccia bread.. How much do you suppose that would cost in the U.S.? Good wine, don't forget! 25 Euro...Yeah 25 Euro total! And everything was high quality! We boarded the bus, and set off for a crazy ride! Cliff side roads which would be small for a compact car, and buses flew on this thing. I'm not afraid of heights, but at times I would look out the window and straight down 100's of feet. It was a lot of fun, very pretty, and very scary all at once. At one point a lady screamed and Allison laughed at her.. Poor thing. Real nice Allison. We soon arrive in Positano, and like every place else, completely stunning. Another coastal town built into a cliff, with tons of multicolor homes, churches and a really nice little beach. We get off the bus and begin a 1000 step staircase to the bottom of the cliff to grab a spot on the beach. We finally make it down to the beach and find a few beach chairs with umbrellas, then run into the water, we were all really hot after the long walk down. When you get to the water edge it was a small rocks hill, which made the water dip from 2 feet to 15 feet in a few steps. The water was warm but refreshing, I could have easily stayed in it all day. With further inspection we realized the rocks were speckled with sea glass, tons of it. So after our perfect lunch, we all sat on the shore looking for sea glass, sound pretty lame right? It really was relaxing and fun. Don't forget, we were in the Mediterranean sea, we were surrounded by the most amazing beauty, and the water was so comfortable. After a great day at the beach, we were ready to head back and have some wine our balcony's.

There was an amazing lightning storm in the distance, across the bay over Naples that night. It was quite a sight, and great way to end the day/trip. We all knew this was the end of our trip, since the following day would be a drive into Naples, dinner and then an early flight home. And that's exactly what it was.. I near flawless trip! I can't think of a better way to end this trip, it almost seemed scripted for us. I had an amazing time, and couldn't have asked for a better group to go with. I originally made this blog to keep the memories written down, and to share the experience with everyone who cared to do so. I think it's become much more than that to me. With all the great feed back and input, whether through email, word of mouth, and comments on here, I really feel inspired to continue travelling and continue blogging about it. Obviously I don't mean career, although who wouldn't love that? I think I've picked up a hobby I really enjoy, and hope to continue for years to come.

Check back occasionally, I hope to post about concerts, restaurants, and the little adventures in between. Allison and I have already talked about taking a trip to Napa, Sonoma, and Lodi California in the very near future.

A special thanks to Steve, Lynda and Allison, for allowing me to join them on their adventure. You were all so great, and made me feel so welcome. I hope to have more adventures with you.

I would also like to thank My Dad for driving us to and from the Airport in Boston, you're the best! Next time maybe you'll join me on the trip instead of reading it on your computer! Let's get that boat..

And once again, thanks to My mom, Jen, Lori, Rich, Pete, Mimi, Joe, Marcel, Erin and Judd, Althea, KO, Doug, Nick, Mel, Jacki, Ted, Jessica, and Friends of PF, for all your great or uncalled for comments.. Also thanks to the rest of you who quietly followed or mentioned it in person.. Ciao

Check www.flickr.com/photos/bovs00 I'm going to make a set of my favorite photos, and I hope to have all the Nigro's photos up there soon..

Day 11 or Day 3 in Sorrento, Volcanos and ancient ruins

2009-09-18T04:36:00.002-04:00

As I said, we're into the relaxation part of the trip. Today we slept in, and plan on heading to the beach, that's our only plan. The weather is looking great so far, it should be about 82 and clear sky's. We'll be taking a bus down the Amalfi coast to a beach that sounds really nice.

The trip from Rome to Sorrento was fun, I drove about 3/4 of the way. Most of which was highway, but there doesn't seem to be a maximum speed. The signs are posted with Minimums for each lane. The high was are wide with nice straight aways for the most part, and truck tend to stay in the right lane. We passed through Naples on our way to Sorrento, and and was very dirty and congested looking. In the pictures from our trip to Mont Vesuvius, you can see some shots of it. After we passed through Naples we got dumped onto some very narrow busy streets, you need to drive aggressive, and you quickly realize there aren't many rules. I actually had a real lot of fun. We eventually reach our hotel, which sits on the water in a tiny section of fishing village.

Sorrento is about the size of Portsmouth NH. Lots of shops and restaurants which leads to a few small marinas, where fisherman head just off shore to net Sardines and the catches of the day. A few menus just say "1 fish" which changes daily depending on the catch, you can't get fresher than that. It's a very nice little town, seems to be a lot more locals and less tourists, so it's been a nice change.

Yesterday we took a day trip to Mont Vesuvius and Pompeii. It was a 30 minute train ride to Pompeii and an hour bus trip to Mont Vesuvius. The ride up Vesuvius was really beautiful, the views were spectacular. Naples actually looked really nice, nestled against some mountains and lead to the Mediterranean Sea. The bus driver pointed out the Canyon created by the Eruption lava which spilled down the side. We eventually arrived at a staging area where you start the walk to the top. The walk up was mostly soil surrounded by volcanic rock. It was a very steep but quick hike to the top, less than a half hour. At the top you can look into the top, The crater was gigantic. You could make out the different layers of rock and see steam seeping out. It was a very cool sight and also scary to think it's natural.

After that, we hopped the bus back to Pompeii, so we could stroll around the ruins a bit before heading back to the hotel. Pompeii is dated pre-Christ, so I really wasn't sure what to expect, history is very interesting to me, but I really have a hard time with dating civilization. At any rate, the ruins were spectacular, and in surprisingly great condition. They have been doing a lot of work preserving and restoring some of the areas. The streets were truly impressive, cobbles stones streets with curbs and sidewalks. A lot of the side walks still had tiles and marble on them. Some of the stores still had oven like structures and artwork painted on the walls. Really amazing stuff. There were a few theaters and a Colosseum. I couldn't believe the shape these were in, what a great place. They say it takes a week to see everything there is to see, we saw about 2 hours worth and were wiped out. Time to head back to the hotel enjoy some happy hour, then get dinner. Big day of sun and sea ahead of us.

I hope all is well with everyone! You're all missed. The Nigros say the same. We're on our last few days and going to make the most of them. Thanks for following, I thing the rest of my updates may be filled with "we relaxed here" "we ate this" and "we drank that" Talk to you soon.

Day 8 Holy Rome Batman

2009-09-17T01:12:00.002-04:00

Today we're on our way to Sorrento, and very excited to have 4 days of sun and relaxation... Hopefully the sun part for sure, cross your fingers. It's overcast and the forecast today is looking grim. But we have hope, we've had near flawless weather, except for one or two quick thunderstorms.

We had a day and half and 2 nights in Rome. The whirlwind tour was filled with sights, from the Colosseum to the Vatican. All very inspiring and grand. I can't do the sights justice with words or photographs, but it was all very overwhelming. We're staying in a courtyard Marriott which was more Marriott, less Courtyard for sure. A nice balcony overlooking the city, St. Peters Cathedral in the distance. Really nice tiled bathroom with a large tub/shower. All the hotels have been nice, but the others were more quaint, and built in old homes. We were definitely a little spoiled in this one.

The first day we did the Colosseum and then met up with Allison's college friend Alessandra, she has dual citizenship and works in Rome. Really nice girl, she was very helpful in pointing us to a few great locations and restaurants. I know Allison and her family were so glad to see her, and I was pleased to have met her. She lead us to dinner then she had to hop a train out of the city, she has a very long train trip home every morning and night. She told us to see the Trevi fountain and the Spanish steps at night.

The Trevi fountain was really impressive, hundreds of people hang out around it at night and eat Gelato, sit and talk, or take pictures, we really enjoyed that.

After the Trevi fountain we walked a short walk over to the Spanish steps, basically a similar hangout where people sit on the steps and enjoy the locations. At the top of the steps there is a gorgeous view of Rome. You can see the Vatican and Saint Peter's Cathedral. After that we headed back to the hotel for a much needed sleep. That was a very quick run through of a really full and great day. The age and history of the city is so overwhelming.

Day two of Rome, we decided to sleep in a bit and get room service, which for some reason is cheaper than dining in the restaurant. We had a giant basket of pastries, blood orange juice and 2 Cappuccinos for about 12Euro, not bad. We ate that on the balcony while I uploaded the pictures and checked emails.

After breakfast and showers, we hopped a cab to Saint Peter's Cathedral. The cab titled "Taxi Jazz" was a great ride, straight out of a Woody Allen movie, except Rome, not NY. Imagine driving though an old city, passing fountains, beautiful people, and grand statues, all while listing to really peppy up tempo jazz. Great moment, that will stick with me forever.

We get out of the cab and start heading towards the Cathedral, which is littered with huge fountains and statues lining a roundish courtyard. There are also large screen monitors surrounding the area,. I assume the Pope gives speeches over this courtyard, but I'm really not sure. First we visit the sub level of the Cathedral where all the Popes Tombs are. The oldest one I saw was dated 999 AD... Seriously 900's? Scary old. We also saw Pope John Paul the 2nd. I don't consider myself religious, but it still had some impact on me, he's just a man, but still achieved the highest level in the largest organization in the world. After the tombs we went up to the cathedral, once again I can't explain the grandness and beauty of this place. Marble statues, walls, floors, doors and alters. It was massive and all I could think about is the amount of work and money put into this place. Truly breathtaking and unbelievable.

After Saint Peter's we visited the Vatican, I really was a little bit religioned (yeah I get it, made up word, get over it!) out by this point, it was basically a museum filled to the brim with art, statues, vases, tables and anything else having to do with the religion. All very beautiful and amazing, but I grew desensitized to it all after awhile, it all looked the same. The Sistine Chapel was very amazing. It's buried into the Vatican through hallways and stairways.

Sorry for the delay, but I found wifi and can get back to updating. Today we're off to Pompeii and Mont Vesuvius. Talk to you all again soon.. I hope all is well, thanks again for following :)

No wifi

2009-09-16T09:48:00.001-04:00

Not sure when i will be Able to update again, I'm writing this with my phone. Check back, but I have yet to find wifi in Sorrento. Very cool here, our hotel over looks the sea, harbor and Mont Vesuvius. Very cool. Talk to u all soon!

Day 7 Bottle of red, another bottle of red!

2009-09-15T05:14:00.002-04:00

1030 a.m.in route to Rome. We're on a very comfortable highway with views of vineyards and hills on both sides. Road trips in the U.S. would be a lot better with some views on the highway. I think I'll write a letter.. ha ha.. We have been told the trip into Rome is quite intense and that Florence was a breeze. If you are reading this, the trip was a success, because I type these up in route and post them as soon as I get Internet service.

Let talk about Siena shall we? I loved Siena, we all did. Siena is a population of about 60k, all in a reasonably small city. The first day, the ladies did some shopping after lunch in an area of town called Il Campo. Don't listen to my history facts, they are probably inaccurate. But, if you look at the picture to the right you can see a rounded sitting area in the middle of buildings. Twice a year they haul in sand to surround the sitting area for a horse race. The pictures of the races look very exciting and intense. We ate down in this area twice, it just feels really historic and special. I saw a few paintings that showed battles in this area, I guess Florence really did a number on Siena. The first day was really relaxing and we did a lot of walking and people watching.

This was part of a wedding, the father drove the bride around the track of Il Campo as people waved, cheared and took pictures. He was really proud and you could see the joy on his face. By the looks of it, he could afford the wedding, no problem.

Day 2 of Siena, was the Wine tour mentioned in my previous post. We slept in until about 9 and had breakfast, then I updated photos and typed, while sitting on the balcony over the football stadium, but no need for repeats. Around 2 pm we boarded a bus to a vineyard in Montalcino called, Abbadia Ardenga - Il Poggio. The ride was beautiful, pretty much what I pictured, but much more massive. Hillsides covered with green grape vines. The Vineyard building was very old but well kept. The owner, Mario, was a little old man wearing a nice nice suit and hat. He didn't speak a lick of English, but he definitely loved the young ladies, taking any excuse to take them a side and put them on display. Allison, was no exception and was roped in with his charm, only to be put on display, while he showed the difference between the way women dress today compared to the 1800's. She was a good sport, but was also embarrassed. I being a nice guy, took pictures, as seen to the right.. : ) That little pervert Mario..

We tasted 5 types of Sangiovese's all varied by year and soil the grapes grew in, one better than the next, 3 of which were award winning Brunellos. The last was one of the best wines I've ever tasted or seen! Dark ruby red and I could smell it across the table, while it was being poured. Very dry but you could still taste all types of fruit, great, great stuff. After that we sampled some Grappa made from Brunello grape skin and stored in oak barrels. Not the best grappa I've had on this trip, I'm definitely partial to the ones we had in Cinque Terre. (Message for mom, dad, and Jen: You're going to need to give grappa a second shot, I'll bring a small one home from the right grapes for our taste, the one Jen had was brutal, some taste almost like Bucca but less syrupy, we've found a few greats) (Rich, thanks for the recommendation! and please pass along this blog address to the office if you haven't already)

After the wine tour, we visited Montalcino city, which was very small and beautiful. We stopped at a wine shop and sampled 3 Brunellos for 9 Euro, these were all reserves of great vintages, ranging from 30-100 Euro. I suggest you run to a liquor store and find a Brunello, the older the better, but nothing older than a 2004, unless you plan on keeping it for years. I bought a 2004 Brunello for 34 Euro, which is around 50 u.s. After I bought the bottle, I was told it is sold in the U.S. for 100 or 150 U.S. I was told I should hold it for at least 2 years if I could wait, and anywhere up to 2016 if I am extremely patient. We'll see, I really would like to wait for a special occasion, I have little faith in myself though.. :)

My battery is about to die, and we're about an hour from Rome.

Thanks for the great messages, I'm glad you can all share this with us. I'm hoping it doesn't come off braggy, that isn't my intent. If you haven't been to Italy, you should start planning, even if it's 5 years down the line, and you put away a little every month. I'm so glad I came.

Message from the Nigro's:

Aunt Jr., Steve would like to tell you , he doesn't remember any mishaps of his early driving and it must be your advanced age that's causing you to remember falsehoods.. (from me, thanks for your supportive words, they have been very encouraging)

Erin, thanks for following and for your comments. Love and miss you lots and wish you and Judd were here!

Ken, we met a couple from Canada on the vineyard tour who claim to work for the Canadian government. They said they had a six month vacation and get to travel around Europe, but we know that they're not really on vacation and they wouldn't admit it but we know that they work for the same people you do and that they're really on the job. Say hi to Jackie.

and hello to everyone else following, you're all missed.

Messages from me:

Hi Golder, I can't say I wish I was there, sorry suckers! Actually thanks for following, and Please pass this link on to anyone who wishes to follow. I hope all is well there. Rich, thanks for the Grappa recommendation Cinque Terre has been the best by far.. really great stuff!

Auntie Lori, this is your postcard, goofball. It's very time consuming you little brat! I miss you a bunch, I know you would love it here... So much yummy food and it never stops.. Yesterday we ordered a glass of beer and they served us homemade chips and a bowl of snacks, that's the standard when ordering just a drink: )..

Buddies, start planning a trip to Europe if you haven't been. I know you may not think it's your type of thing, but it will change your life.

Mom, Dad and Jen, I'm glad to hear you have been so entertained by these posts, I miss you guys a ton and wish you were here. Of all people I think Dad would enjoy it the most, I doubt you would hear " Oh that place sucks" ha ha Go Pat's Jen! How did you do with my team?

Sun. Day 6 My quest for great Pizza is over!

2009-09-13T06:34:00.004-04:00

Today we're in Siena, It's about 11:30. I have wifi at the hotel, so I'm going to update before a big day, Vineyard tour in Tuscany! We're really looking forward to this. It's going to be a few high marking Brunello vineyards of the tour guides choice. Brunello is a big deal in this area. They make a lot of Chianti also, but Brunello is a relatively big red which they are very proud of.. There is a soccer/football stadium outside of our hotel, so I'm typing on a patio overlooking the "pitch". Siena A.C. and another rival team have a match today, the crowd is starting to show up, and they are singing team chants and waving flags, you can really feel the excitement.

I'm going to jump around a bit here, because there's a lot to update and remember. I'll rewind to Florence and try to stay on track.

We left for Florence from Vernezza Cinque Terre. We had a very easy time out of the tiny village and to the highway. Steve was really good at getting accustomed to the way the highway works, I would have struggled a bit. We arrive in Florence and WOW, mayhem.. Bumper to bumper traffic, with no rules... I mean besides stoplights and stop signs.... NO! rules! Mopeds by the thousands zip between cars and trucks zig zagging and weaving.. We were at a dead stop at one point and a moped snuck between us and a bus at 40 mph with no room in between. They are crazy, but the skill is amazing. It's not human, the reflexes they have. I wish I got video, but I was not going to be able to hold the camera still, it was very tense in the car. After some close calls and wrong turns we made it to the hotel, we parked and all took a deep breath.. I had to laugh a little. At that point we all wished we skipped Florence, but that passed quickly. We got settled in and went for a walk to lunch.

The architecture was amazing, All the doors are 10 feet tall minimum and wide enough to fit a small car through. The people seemed a lot more friendly than some of our other stops, and as we strolled I realized Florence aside from the drive was very great. Once again beautiful shops, with pastries, pizza and gelato. High end fashion shops and bars all in these amazing old buildings, but it really seems like they were meant that way when they were built.. The Italians are truly artists with architecture and streets, most things, even when rundown, just seem right. For lunch we found pizza, and I mean we found the best pizza I've ever had.. ham, artichoke, and mushroom on one, and Gorgonzola and eggplant on the other. The sauce was light but flavorful, the cheese was far to good to be on a pizza and the crust was very thin and crispy, it was so amazing. Just to side track a bit. I've had pizza for lunch everyday and each day is better than the last. I think the cheese is really what makes it, these pizzas would cost $30 in the US, just for the cost of cheese.

After lunch we went and saw Michelangelo's David, It's pretty much everything people say. I didn't have a religious experience or anything, but the pure height and detail is overwhelming, I couldn't imagine creating something so amazing with Marble and a chisel, I assumed it took a life time, nope, 4 years! Once again, doesn't seem human to accomplish such a thing. I'm glad we went to see him.. I suggest they put a fig leaf over him though, quite offensive! ha ha! After that we strolled through the streets and shops, had a beer or two, then prepared for dinner. Dinner only gets better and better, and I'm sure it's not too interesting to hear about. I will say the wine was spectacular, we didn't do the house for a change, and we had the waitress recommend it. The names escape me, but I took pictures with my phone that I will upload at some point. Leaving Florence was not nearly as tough since, it was Sat morning and the streets were empty, easy escape! Florence overall was a great place, there are some rough edges, but I really like the people there the best so far, extremely helpful and pleasant. Looking back, I could spend some time there, but not for a relaxing vacation, more for the sites and people!

Thanks for following. All of the comments have made it very easy to keep up with this blog, and it will really help me to keep this whole experience fresh! I miss you all, and the Nigro family wishes to tell you all the same.

I can't do these places justice with words so hopefully the pictures help, at some point I will group them together by locations, but you can follow them in order, each place looks extremely different.

Day 4 and day 5

2009-09-12T06:37:00.001-04:00

Florence was madness, into greatness! But this internet thing has been a bit of a problem, I would love to update more than just pictures, but it may be late today, or early tomorrow. Lots to tell stay tuned! Check the more photos button to the right.. Thanks for the great comments, except you JOE Connoly! FACE! The rest of Nigro family messages will be passed along, thanks for following! I hope everything is great back home.

Day 3 cont. Luggage? Definately tonight!

2009-09-12T06:33:00.002-04:00

I'm in to day 4, in route to Florence, Tuscany, But I should finish my last post about Cinque Terre.

I Have yet to have good pizza, but I'm sure it's just around the corner. The dinners we've had have been the best in my life. Vernazza is known for Pesto, I have never really liked pesto, but I guess, I just never had a real one. I can't explain the difference, but it really is great with the right pasta. The fish has been really good, but a lot more work. bones in the fish are a given, and you have to pick through the whole fish. Last night we had sea bass, It was great. Mussels and shrimp are also real good and prepared in almost every plate we've had. I really have a hard time explaining why the food is so good, it's not different flavors than I am used to, as much as it's quality fresh food that work well together.

We spent the majority of the day hanging out in Vernazza again waiting for luggage, which I really enjoyed. Allison and I sat on some rocks in the sea, soaking up sun, drinking a few beers and people watching. We were surrounded by German kids at one point, well more like late teenagers, they were extremely entertaining, playing in the water and goofing off. They reminded me of my buddies and I, acting way younger than we are. Goofballs! I really can't imagine what it must be like, when you are 17 or 18 and you can just take a day trip by train to a different country. Looked pretty great to me.

Around 3 o'clock we talked to our host, and she and the cleaning guy said they would call the airport and get our luggage delivered right a way. Without the language barrier, they could get answers! They said go enjoy yourself, and we'll deal with the luggage, we decided they were right.

So I'm not sure if I explained, but Cinque Terre is 5 villages, they are all along the sea, and about a mile or 2 apart from one to the next. There is a regional train that brings you from one to the next if you are too lazy to walk.. We really wanted to take the day hike and check out all the villages, but since we only had a few hours left we decided the train was the only way to go. That luggage situation messed us up, but I have no regrets or complaints with the Vernazza visit.

Each village has it's own personality: (North to South)
Montorosso is a beach village, very touristy, but lively and fun.
Vernazza where we stayed, is more like an old fort like city. With shops and a harbor. Little more lazy and relaxing.

Corniglia is a up on a cliff, we had to walk up about 380+ switch backing stairs to get there. On the top are little alley ways filled with shops and art.

Manarola was allison and my favorite. It's one giant hill with shops and restaurants lining both sides of the street, all colorful yellow and red homes above the shops "Little boxes on the hillside", you can tell this place was redone and very well kept. At the bottom of the hill is the ocean with a real nice swimming area, huge rock structures to jump off and swim around, and real nice restaurants.

RioMaggiore was a real quick stop, we really didn't see what it's all about, but it didn't seem very lively. But I can't judge it.

We headed back to the hotel to see if our luggage arrived, it was a little scary opening the door, but awesomeness!! They were all there waiting for us... Clean clothing rules!

We're arriving in Florence so I'm done typing, I'll upload pictures and add this when I can. Life's good! Hope all is well back home.

Day 3... Your luggage is on the way?

2009-09-10T05:43:00.002-04:00

It's Thursday, day 3 11:30am in Vernazza, I'm sitting on a stairway on a narrow cobble stone street across from a little pizza place."Pizza Altaglio Focacceria" it smells and looks amazing. A train just arrived and a new batch of people are strolling through the town, smiling and so happy to be here. I have to agree with them, this place is great! Even the locals still seem to appreciate it here. It's about 75 degrees with a cool breeze off the ocean. Perfecto!

We're still waiting for our luggage to arrive. Although it's frustrating and I have a few moments of anger and aggravation, you really can't stay mad here. In the big picture, it's a simpler life here, they do things differently and I have to respect that, it's just the way it is. People are very relaxed with very little if any conflict.

Yesterday we planned on taking a hike to the next village over, but we hung out in Vernazza, at the beach, and took a small hike up the mountain sides you see in the background. At the top there is a cemetery, sounds creepy, but it was really a neat concept, I'll explain later.. Enjoy the new pictures to the left where it says more pictures, click that.. Off to eat that tempting pizza!!

Day 1 and 2 Flight, drive, Cinque Terre, Italy (The road was hard, but once we arrived in Cinque Terre, I realized the journey made it that much more special)

2009-09-09T07:43:00.006-04:00

I can skip 90% of the trip from Boston to Genoa, Italy. The flight was near flawless, beside comfort and awful food, but that's a given and it wasn't unbearable. In fact, it went by quite fast.

Quick interruption please.. I refuse to harp on anything negative, because it's travel and there will be bumps in the road, but I will make mention, just to paint the picture now and again.

8am we arrive in Rome, Italy. The sun was coming up over some mountains in the distance and a beautiful red sky. No electronics on the plane, so no pictures. It wouldn't do the scene justice anyhow. We hopped off the plane and boarded another to Genoa, which was about an hour flight. Steve and Lynda, Allison's parents. Oh wait... I haven't mentioned them yet. This is as good of a chance as any.

Steve and Lynda are our travel companions, well I guess I'm their travel companion, since Allison and her folks planned this amazing trip, and I'm a stowaway. They have made me feel very welcome and are great company. Consistent conversation and laughs.

Where was I? Trip to Genoa.. right. Steve and Lynda were on the Western side of the plane facing the ocean, unfortunately. But Allison and I drew a lucky hand with the Airline gods, and were on the coastal side of the plane.... In such a short flight the coast went from gorgeous tropical looking ocean with some fields and farm land, to a dark greenish ocean with mountains and cliff side villages every few Km. It was a sight I had never seen, and it felt like I had suddenly realized where I was. Gorgeous! I have no other way to explain it. The plane suddenly banks a hard right turn in wind and turbulence, caused by the sea winds, I'm sure. And we're heading down for a landing, we land on a seaside strip of runway, with water on both sides. It was a little bit sketchy, but exciting. We're done with our air adventure, now to get our luggage. Awesome there's one of bags, I can't believe the flight went off without a hitch. I'm optimistic in life, but not with airports... No more bags follow, ouch we spoke to soon. Steve's bag was the only one that made it, the rest are lost... We are told we will have our luggage delivered to the hotel the following day. Obviously a bummer, but we can skip that. We get the rental car, Ford Focus wagon diesel.. We start heading for Cinque Terre, Steve is a smart guy, and he brought along 2 GPS units with Italy installed, we would have never found Vernazza, Cinque Terre otherwise. Most of the trip was highway that consisted of quarter mile daylight, quarter mile tunnel through mountainous hills. All the hillsides have homes and vineyards on them, It doesn't seem possible to drive to these places, you don't see roads, just walkways. About 80 km later we're off the highway and onto 1 lane back roads. These roads are like snowmobile trails with pavement. you can't see around the corners and it's all very loose and sketchy rock slopes sides jetting off into the roads.. Golder could make some cash here! The lovely sounding Australian GPS lady, leads us down "shortcuts" She likes taking stairs with the car, and driving through peoples vineyards. We had to make a few detours to get around her obstacle course.. There might have been some stress in the car, but I was giddy and had a blast. I think deep down we all did. It was an amazing journey and we eventually found Vernazza. That was the quick explanation, and not nearly detailed enough.

Next we park the car and hop a short bus trip into the village. I can't describe how amazing Vernazza is, and pictures may show the beauty, but not the feeling. It's like you step back in time. Cobble stone streets and walls, with colorful building like homes stacked into them. Village stores, bars, pharmacies and deli's fill the tiny Oceanside town. This village is surrounded by green mountain/hills with vineyards on them. The western side is cliffs which lead to the sea. There's also a small beach were kids play all day, jumping off rocks and playing a form of water polo. There's also bars and al fresco style restaurants around the beach and harbor.

We bring the few bags we have to the hotel we're staying at, flights upon flights of little odd shaped cobble stone stairs, not an easy trip with bags, but well worth it. The place we are staying in is ocean side. I mean really ocean side, we're on the edge of a cliff, when you look out the window, you see water.. really nothing but water, and an occasional boat. Allison was not expecting such a great place, we are all very thrilled and love it here. There's a spiral staircase, which leads to a roof deck, 360 degree view of our surroundings. Vineyards, the village, a church, a castle at the edge of the village, and in the distance, Monterosso, which is the one true beach village in Cinque Terre. The plan is to hike there today, once our luggage arrives, which we hear should be any minute ( It's noon Sept 9th).

Last night, the four of us had wine on the roof before dinner. It was warm but with a cold breeze. The lights on the hillsides and in the village made for a truly great atmosphere. You could hear people in different restaurants along with music, and the sound of the ocean.

After wine we found a nice little restaurant a few doors down. We had multiple plates and split them all, I'm not going to describe them all in too much detail, but we all agree, possibly one of the best meals of our lives. here's what we got: Seafood plate (anchovies salted and lemon, octopus, squid, mussels and white fish) we loved all of that. Anchovies included! Marrinated mussels, octopus salad, gnocci with pesto, a side spinach, and I think all our favorite risotto with seafood - this was a bunch of seafood in risotto, with a nice spicy red sauce.. We had a red house wine in a caraffe with our meal.. And by house wine I mean, amazing wine for 10 euro. they gave us each lemoncello as dessert, since they were all out of Tiramisu. After that we had a grappa nightcap (yum) and crashed out around midnight, which was well over 24 hours without much sleep, if any!!!

Stay tuned!

check more pictures to the right of the page!

No wifi so this post will be short n to the point

2009-09-08T11:36:00.001-04:00

So i haven't found wifi, but this expensive lil message is to let everyone know Italy is amazing. We had quite the Adventure getting to vernazza Cinque Terre, but we're here safe and sound, and taking in the beauty. Talk to you all soon and I'll be posting pictures as soon as I find some internet.

Today it dawned on me that 17 days away from work, is beyond comprehension!

2009-09-04T14:58:00.002-04:00

I've had at least a part time job for as long as I can remember, starting on a horse ranch in Candia, NH called winged spur ranch http://www.wingedspurfarm.com/ in around 1992. I've work for the past 10 years at Golder Associates, Inc. http://www.golder.com/ . It's a Civil Engineering company, and I work as a draftsman. At any rate, Today starts 17 days away from work. I like my job, but wow, 17 days seems like a real long time. I'm stoked.

Itinerary

2009-09-02T10:07:00.002-04:00

Sept 7th - Flight from Boston to Genoa

Sept 8th-10th - Vernazza, Cinque Terre (just south below Genoa, on the coast- Hotel Elisabetta: http://www.elisabettacarro.it/
Cinque Terre is made up of five villages. There's a hike that we plan on doing where you hike through all five villages in about four hours.
Vernazza is supposed to be the best one to stay in.

Sept 11th - Florence, Tuscany - Hotel Cardinal of Florence : Florence so far is to go to the Academia Museum to see David

Sept 12th -13th - Sienna, Tuscany - Hotel Chiusarelli: for two nights Sienna is supposed to be a good central location to visit the Tuscan hill towns and vineyards.
http://www.chiusarelli.com/

Sept 14th - 15th - Rome - Rome Central Park Hotel: You know what there is to see in Rome

Sept 16th - 19th - Sorrento - Hotel Admiral: Possibilities here include visiting Pompeii, hiking Mt. Vesuvius, day trip to Capri, visit the Amalfi coast towns of Positano or Amalfi town.

Sept 20th - Naples, Renaissance Naples Hotel Mediterraneo:
Sept 21st - Fly home

Intro

2009-09-01T16:45:00.005-04:00

So, I guess this is my first post. The reason I started this blog, is because I'm the last living person without one. Well the real reason is, I'm taking a trip to Italy, Sept 7, 2009 - Sept. 21, 2009. It will be a good way to communicate with friends and family, since to use a phone is $.99 a minute and texting is even worse. I plan on updating at least once a day, hopefully more, if wifi is available.

I suppose I should start at the beginning. How did this trip come to fruition? As most of you know, I've been wanting to travel for the past few years, and finding people willing to travel is not easy, for a few reasons. The first being money, the economy obviously isn't fit for travel. I've been very lucky in this department, and believe me, I know it. The other being finidng people interested in visiting the same places. Rewind....... In about late April or early May I was reaquanted with a girl I dated in High school, Allison. I don't want to get into her business, so I'll just say she had a trip planned to Italy, with her family, and a spot suddenly opened up. In passing, she said, "It's too bad you aren't coming with me". I'm impulsive and don't allow myself to think things like this over, which I think is a blessing and Y I RULE. I reply, "If you are serious and I can get the time off, I'm in". Needless to say, she didn't believe me. We have 6 days left before we leave, and I'm still not sure if she does. And that in a quick and dirty post is how I ended up going on this trip. More pre trip to follow.