Uncategorized – Page 4 – Travel Breezers

Air Europa from Lima to Madrid. Biz class – from an accumulation of AmEx Platinum miles – which was very nice. Then a connection from Madrid to Rome. Italo train from Rome to Florence. After 24 hours of travel it was a fantastic surprise when Nikki – studying abroad at NYU’s Florence campus – met us at the station.

Also great cuz we needed someone to help us find our Airbnb. If you are thinking about going to Florence and need more than just a hotel room we very highly recommend this place. [https://www.airbnb.com/rooms/661521?check_in=2018-08-06&guests=1&adults=1&check_out=2018-08-11]

Two bedrooms – one with a queen size bed – and one with a twin. Possibly two twins if you ask. One and a half bathrooms. Living/dining room and a serviceable kitchen (no oven, but a microwave). But the best part is the location. Just around the corner from the Palazzo Vecchio. Right in the middle of Florence. Walk out the door to the best shopping, bars and restaurants. Three minute walk to the Uffizi Museum. A great base to do Firenze.

Firenze is such a fun place. Architecture, art, food, and shopping (especially for leather products) are all five star. And the views are just so memorable. Even the Arno River – which really isn’t much of a river – comes alive when the sun hits it just right.

We’d been in Florence a few times before so we opted to try a few different experiences. First up was a tour of a Parmagiano cheese factory. [https://www.airbnb.com/experiences/91363?location=Florence%2C%20Italy&source=p2&currentTab=experience_tab&searchId=dd83d5a2-9b87-40fa-b102-cb98ebdf358f&federatedSearchId=ce43c316-09b1-4fc5-95f6-25cfc884c8e1&sectionId=e0c2624e-2203-4195-be34-d03ed933978c]

Authentic Parmagiano cheese comes solely from Parma Reggiano – about an hour train ride from Florence. The manufacturing process has been highly regulated and maintains its traditional roots. We met Claudio – who’s family has been making cheese for generations – and, after putting on sterile lab coats, he took us on a tour of his factory. Really cool to see the making of the cheese wheels and the “caveau” – where thousands of cheese wheels are maturing. Smells so good!

Claudio and Shawn in the “caveau” with the maturing cheese

Next up was a leather making workshop. [https://www.airbnb.com/experiences/158168] This is what happens when you only have daughters. But it was really fun. Florence is one of the leather capitals of the world. There are hundreds of leather stores with beautiful hand-crafted items. We went to a small leather shop where the super nice proprietor let us pick out our leather and then taught us how to cut it with her patterns and ultimately – over about three hours – craft some very cool items. Shawn and Nikki made purses and I made a sweet leather pouch. Totally recommend this as well.

Also went for an Italian cooking class. [https://www.tripadvisor.com/AttractionProductReview-g187895-d11450563-Cooking_Class_and_Lunch_at_a_Tuscan_Farmhouse_with_Local_Market_Tour_from_Florence.html] Another great experience. First a tour of Market Centrale – which is a must see and where we purchase our ingredients – then a very short bus ride to an beautiful farmhouse in the hills above Florence. Chefs Issak and Carmella are funny and extra-energetic while teaching the group of about 20 to make bruschetta (pronounced properly in Italian, bru-ske-ta), roast pork, ragu, pesto, fresh pasta from scratch and amazing tiramisu. All with generous amounts of Chianti Classico. Great day and one of the best meals ever. And no worries about having 20 in the group. The kitchen and dining rooms (with an incredible view) are super nice and appropriately sized. After one glass of wine, everyone blends just fine. Another excursion that is highly recommended.

And, of course, beyond the “excursion/experiences”, we had time for just walking around. There are so many marvelous things to marvel at.

Eating is also pretty prodigious. There are far too many good restaurants to name. But some of our favorites, suggested by Nikki, were Osteria Santa Spirito for great pasta (know for it’s gnocchi with tuffle cheese sauce) [https://www.google.com/search?q=osteria+santa+spirito&ie=UTF-8&oe=UTF-8&hl=en-us&client=safari#lkt=LocalPoiAbout&trex=m_t:lcl_akp,rc_f:nav,rc_ludocids:8779609045513250019,rc_q:Osteria%2520Santo%2520Spirito,ru_q:Osteria%2520Santo%2520Spirito] and Gustapizza for great pizza. Both are casual, well priced and in the Santo Spirito area.

Other favorites included Ristorante Hostaria il Desco [http://www.hostariaildesco.com/] and Natalino [http://www.ristorantenatalino.com] for dinner and if you’re craving a rooftop for cocktails, the Hotel Continentale Terraza Bar [https://www.lungarnocollection.com/la-terrazza-lounge-bar] at the base of the Ponte Vecchio is great!

Bistecca Florentina at Hostaria il Desco

There are so many other restaurants that you’ll find just by walking around.

And, of course, there is shopping. Every famous (and not so famous) designer has a store in Florence. If you are looking for something unique – like perhaps a pair of red suede drivers – it will be here.

We’re on our way to Biarritz, France for a few days then to Bordeaux to meet up with Kevin and Linda Rosen for a cycling trip through the vineyards.

So happy to be in Europe. And to see Nikki. We feel so fortunate to be on this journey.

I didn’t know where Grand Turk was. Who would? It lies just south of the Bahamas in the Caribbean sea. If you want to go somewhere off the grid and relax on soft white sand, this is the place for you. If you are looking for night life and end up here, you have likely selected incorrectly.

Grand Turk is mainly known as the site that Columbus may have first landed as he searched for the “new world” and as the place Colonel John Glenn splashed down in 1962 after being the first man to orbit the earth in a space craft. It is amazing that someone would agree to hurtle through space and land in the ocean in this tiny sheet metal capsule.

Damage from last year’s hurricanes is still pretty evident, but the island is resilient. The natural beauty, however, trumps all. Dawna, the owner of our AirBnB met us at the airport with her golf cart and two of her dogs, Ducky and Indie. She was a bit shocked that we had so much luggage, but we managed to all pile in (with the dogs) for the short ride in a golf cart to her place.
After a 10 minute drive – on the wrong/left side of the road, cuz its the British West Indies – we arrived at Dawna’s place which is beautiful. It’s very modern, has a great kitchen, nice living room and an air-conditioned bedroom with a comfortable king size bed. There is a fully screened in porch which allows us to keep the ocean-facing doors wide open. Past the screened porch, there is another deck with lounge chairs. Beyond that deck there is a pristine white sand beach. The water is a iridescent light blue and is super clear for about 200 yards out. At that point it turns dark blue. The light blue is a shelf and the dark blue is an underwater wall which drops off about 7,000 feet creating the third largest coral reef in the world.

The deck is west facing and each night the sunsets have been incredible!

The diving here is pretty spectacular. Dawna hooked us up with Blue Water Divers. Henry, Kristen, Lani, Josh and Kendry took us on four awesome dives over two days. We saw big manta rays, sea turtles, huge crabs, and tons of fish. The whales migrate near here and they told us to listen for the whale sounds while underwater. I didn’t hear them but Shawn did. Super cool!

Our dive masters – who were in their late 20’s and 30’s and from Australia, England and Canada – invited us to their “deck” (seen below) for beers at sunset. The “deck” was right on the beach and had a awesome view of the sunset. Was really fun hanging out with them.

We also met some other “travel friends” while diving and the group of us met at a place called the Bohio Resort to watch the Super Bowl. That was pretty fun too.

There are lots of dogs here called “pot cakes”. They are super friendly. The story is that they used to eat the food that was stuck to the bottom of the cooking pots after the families had eaten. Also, we’re told that only the most friendly would survive, so the one’s that are left are pretty lovable.

Our Brompton bikes have been a huge hit here. We’ve ridden them every day. The island is only 7 miles long so we bike everywhere. Everyone wants to know, “Where you get your fine bike, where can I get one and it’s expensive man….?”. They think we are sorcerers when we fold them up. So far they’ve been incredibly fun and worth the carry.

The few restaurants here are not particularly great. Our best meals, by far, have been cooked at the AirBnB. Shawn went to the place where the fisherman bring in their catch at the end of the day – which is about 200 yards up the road – and bought a big fish for $25. There was a very loud and animated 20 minute “discussion” amongst the fishermen when she asked for it to be filleted. But they finally did it and we made great fish tacos.

Our week in Grand Turk went by really fast. Dawna was a great host. She made sure our place was clean, hooked us up with great diving, took us to the super market (which was still having trouble from the hurricanes keeping fully stocked), made us great homemade spaghetti sauce and cheesecake, and just in general made us feel super welcome! We’d recommend this place to anyone visiting Grand Turk.

Next stop for us was Providenciales. Provo is where the action is in Turks & Caicos. We stayed one night at the Villas Del Mar in Grace Bay – which is absolutely gorgeous. Beautiful white sand, Carribean blue ocean and fabulous resorts. Our one day here was great – except for when Shawn beat me at Scrabble 262 to 261.

Now we are off to San Juan via Santa Domingo, and Tortola to catch Sea Dream I for a cruise through the Caribbean!

Category: Uncategorized

Florence, Italy – April 30 to May 7

Turks & Caicos – February 1 to February 8