As usual, we started the day at the hotel breakfast buffet. Today is family day at Anatolia College Thessaloniki (ACT) where Lily attends (via Northeastern University). We left hotel at 8:15am and walked along the boardwalk to the Queen Olga hotel where Lily and many other students are staying and where the shuttle picked us up to take us to ACT. Belinda signed up in advance and didn’t need to include Lily in the count since “your student is accounted for.” Apparently that meant “not with you” since she had class and exams all day.
Walking along the boardwalk in the morning
Walking past the White Tower
We all started with a welcome speech and some general information about the program. We learned that the campus actually houses students in Pre-K through college with the upper campus buildings almost exclusively for Pre-K thru 12 and the lower campus’ three buildings for the college.
Anatolia College
Welcome speeches
After the speeches, we had a tour of the campus including the soccer field, gym, a few buildings, and bunkers which the Nazis built when they occupied the campus during World War II. Nobody cares about that hilly land in the outskirts of the city until ya need a fortified military location!
In the lower campus, we started with a tour of the library, but ditched the tour group and found Lily studying with her friends instead. We walked her to class and regrouped with the tour — which was really just coffee/pastries, the cafeteria, and the building we had just walked to with Lily.
Heading into the bunker
In the bunker
Finding Lily in the library
When we officially completed the tour, there was a couple of hours for lunch. The campus is in a pretty “industrial/car repair” part of town and away from the city center, so there aren’t really any notable areas to go for a walk. We bought some salad and sandwiches from the cafe and hung out until the next item on the agenda — a city tour.
Lunch spot on campus
Found Lily between her classes
We got the first coach bus and were started back towards the city. We started at an old fort where some of the northern walls were still standing. You could look south and view the city towards the water.
Starting the tour
Highest part of the city walls of the old Upper town
Looking out from the Upper Town
Greek Orthodox Church
Next stop on the tour was a Greek Orthodox Church called the Holy Church of Saint Demetrius, who is the patron saint of Thessaloniki. We spent some time inside as our guide explained the history and architecture.
Holy Church of Saint Demetrius
Inside the church
The “Yo, Listen up, God’s talking” Thessaloniki team
By this point, it was getting late in the afternoon and traffic was picking up. We spent some time driving a short distance to the White Tower. Another structure with historical significance from the 12th century. It’s located back on the waterfront and was the end of the tour.
Statue of Alexander the Great
We walked back to hotel from white tower for a quick break before going out to meet Lily at Aristotle Square for gelato and dinner. Not surprisingly, it took her longer than originally expected due to traffic. We wandered the square as we waited.
When Lily arrived, she joined us at our table for our new tradition of dessert before dinner. Cordwood and Belinda got gelato, Lily got a chocolate shake, and Matt and Jo split a stack of Oreo Cereal pancakes.
Cordwood and Lily
The server said, “good luck.”
We didn’t need luck.
From there, we went to dinner at Ikigai, an Asian restaurant with the tagline “the dumpling experience.” We got an order of dumplings featuring one of each flavor they offer, as well as Tom Yum soup. Quite tasty and actually the right amount of food.
Lily “One Piece” anime pose
Dumpling sampler plate
By the time dinner was done, we were pretty tired (except Lily who was going out with her friends later) and went back to the hotel to sleep.
Tomorrow we have an early morning start to visit the Monestaries at Meteora. It started raining today and is expected to continue tomorrow, so we will see if we get a good view. It should still be a memorable experience.
Today is a hiking day! We woke up early to eat a good breakfast before leaving at 8:00 for Enipeas Gorge on Mt. Olympus. We opted to guide ourselves and rented a car just for the day. The hotel arranged for the rental to be dropped off and picked up right at the front door. A few quick checks and paperwork and we were off.
Getting the rental ready
While the city of Thessaloniki is full and active, according to Cordwood, the tollway was giving Mexico and Wisconsin vibes. It wasn’t the most exciting drive, but it only gets better from here. We started at the Mt. Olympus visitor center in the town of Litochoro.
On the road to Mt. Olympus
We knew we didn’t want to hike the entire trail from the visitor center up to the town of Prionia, but we definitely did want to do the best portions of it. The person as the front desk showed us a map and gave some pointers as to where to start the hike. The visitor center also has a museum with the history, flora, and fauna of the area. We spent some time walking around the museum before driving up the mountain to our starting point.
Olympus National Park Visitor Center
3d scale model of Mt. Olympus and Enipeas gorge
Map
We decided to start at the Dionysios Monastery. We started hiking away from Prionia towards caves of the gods, then back up until Prionia. It was a really nice hike that was certainly uphill, but not to challenging yet. It was also perfect hiking weather (about 50 degrees and sunny), and there were no other people on the trails, which also helps.
Group shot
Bridge
Scraggly tree
Crossing the bridge over the river!
Crossing the river under the bridge
Once we reached Prionia, we were immediately greeted by a very friendly dog with a bell on his collar. We named him Zeus and gave him some attention before deciding to continue hiking up the mountain for about another hour. You could hike to the top in a couple of days, but not in the winter. This section of the trail was significantly harder than what we had just completed. It was steeper and had more stairs. We eventually made it to the point we had picked on the map, took some pictures, and headed back down.
Zues and his favorite toy shirt
Came from that way, going up that way
Made it to Pigadouli
View from Pigadouli
We hiked that way
When we got back to Prionia, Zeus said hi again and we continued back on the trail to the monastery parking lot. Soon, we heard Zeus’ bell and realized he started following us down the trail. He then started leading us. He would walk ahead and then stop to wait for us to catch up. He led us all the way back to the car then carried on his way. We felt bad that we couldn’t tip him. He was an excellent guide. The hike was about six miles in four and a half hours, and 2000 ft elevation gain.
Heading back down
Zeus leads the way
Zeus likes waterfalls, too
Back at the Dionysios Monestary
Hike Stats!
We wanted to make sure we were off the mountain and well on the road before dark. When we finished the hike, we drove back to hotel. There really wasn’t any traffic until getting into the city. But the last 2.5km took a whopping 30 minutes! As per instructions, we left car at the hotel and the keys with the receptionist. We took much needed showers and got ready for the rest of the night.
Other than breakfast, we didn’t really eat much today. So, first on the agenda was getting gelato. Lily recommended Freggio, a place nearby (and always nearby — there is one on every other block) that was indeed delicious. We walked to Aristotle Square to meet up with Lily and two of her friends, Coco and Sanchita. The plan was to all go out to dinner with another friend, Evia, and her parents.
We met at a Greek restaurant where Evia’s mom Tina (who is Greek) helped us order. We shared appetizers and lots of wine along with our own meals. Everyone was chatting and having a good time, but then live music started. There were two men playing guitar and mandolin and singing. It was great, but it kept getting louder and louder and we eventually had to yell to barely hear each other. It was a small restaurant and could have really been an acoustic set. Unless we were mistaken for trying to have dinner at a concert.
Dinner at Restaurant Kazaviti
Live music was great before they cranked it up to 11
Dog parking. Zeus returned to Mt. Olympus after the hike, of course.
The restaurant definitely followed Greek Time and dinner was done at about 10:30pm. We were tired from the day and walked back to the hotel. Tomorrow is family day at the school (but without the students for some reason?) so we are signed up for some tours.
The main objective of the day was to get to Thessaloniki, Greece. Our flight was out of Rome at 4:15pm, so we did not need to rush out of the door. After packing up and getting ready, Matt and Jo ventured back out into the town for cappuccinos and to buy our traditional fridge magnets (including a wild hog on a scooter, obviously). We ate as much of the leftovers in the fridge as we could, took some as car snacks and got rid of the rest.
Morning view from Cortona house front window
Step up your espresso game, Rick
Last night, Kiara recommended stopping in Orvieto on the way to Rome. We took the advice and parked at the bottom of the hill town. From there, we hopped on the funicular to get up to the actual town where there are more shops and a duomo from around the year 1300. Opting to walk the half mile instead of take the bus, we followed a residential path up to the church.
Fun with Funiculars
Welcome to Orvieto
Views from the top of Orvieto
More views from the top of Orvieto
We took some time to view the facade of the church from the outside. It’s quite detailed and there was a lot to see.
Side view of the Orvieto Duomo facade
Duomo di Orvieto
Since we had the time, we decided to pay the five euro to enter the church to see the statues and frescoes that were still pretty well preserved. We took our time to walk around and admire the art, but almost all descriptions were in Italian, so we didn’t always know exactly what we were looking at.
Inside the Duomo
Tile floor with eastern Byzantine influences
Quicksand zombie frescoes
Laser-beams-shooting-from-faces frescoes
When we had our fill of church art, it was about time to meander our way back to the funicular. We took the more central route and window shopped on our way. We finally passed a gelato shop that met two criteria… (1) It was open, and (2) It had gelato available (harder to find than you’d think in late November). Since it was basically our last chance, we all got our own.
Finally found gelato
Worth the wait
We made it back to the funicular for the ride back down and back to the car. From there, we went straight to the airport (well, with a stop to fill the rental back up with gas and to drop the car off). Security was quick and easy. When we made it through, we checked the departure board to find our gate. The gate number was not available yet, but it did tell us to ‘relax.’ So that’s exactly what we did.
Thanks, trusty rental car
Fiumicino Terminal 1 in Rome
Priority Pass actually came through this time and we found a lounge for lunch (dinner?), dessert, and of course more cappuccinos. When our gate number was available, we discovered it was pretty close by, so we continued to do as we were told and relax until a few minutes before boarding. We got to the gate, got in the boarding line, and settled in as best we could on a pretty small plane.
Successful lounging
The flight was pretty short at an hour and a half and went smoothly. Once we landed, we took the tarmac bus to baggage claim. Cordwood and Belinda’s bag came out really early and we were off to meet our hotel shuttle.
Welcome to Thessaloniki
The shuttle turned out to be a taxi, so a but squished for the four of us, but nice and easy. The hotel was only 30 minutes away and when we arrived, Lily was there! We checked in and settled quickly before meeting up again to go to dinner.
At the hotel
Lily led us to the main town square with tons of restaurants. For a Tuesday at 8:30pm, it was pretty crowded and lively. We found a place that turned out to be a little more touristy than intended. The menu was in English and the gyros were in a tortilla (surprising good).
We hung out for a while, catching up with Lily. She has been here for two months studying abroad at a university nearby (as part of her first semester at Northeastern in Boston). When we were done, Lily went back to her hotel/dorm and we walked back to our hotel.
Special Christmas tree lighting for this Thessaloniki VIP!
Tomorrow’s plan is to drive to Mt. Olympus National Park and go for a hike!
Last night, we couldn’t quite finish all of the food. So this morning’s breakfast was leftovers. Who says you can’t have gnocchi and tiramisu for breakfast? It’s basically hash browns and coffee with cream.
Crosswords and Crostinis
We drove about an hour to the hills north of Arezzo to the Antares Horse Club. We met our guide, Olga, who took us on a two-hour ride through Monte Della Verna. We first had to match up with our horses and get a mini lesson. When we were all comfortable and ready, Olga led the way up the mountain.
Olga is ready to ride
We are also ready to ride
Riding into the forest
Matt and Stella doing fine
Jo’s horse, Zumba, was hungry and tried as often as she could to grab some grass. By the end of the ride, she seemed tired and went straight into her stall instead of following the group (or the reins) to the area to dismount. Honestly, I respect it.
The sun makes an appearance
Breaking thru the clouds
End of the ride
With plenty of time before our cooking class, we were looking for things to do in the area. Olga suggested a place in nearby Talla for lunch. It was called Note de Guido, named after the monk who invented the musical staff (among other musical innovations) and was born and lived in Arezzo around the year 1000.
The restaurant was definitely authentic. The menu was hand written, the manager/server did not speak any English, and the Italian chef appeared to be a semi-famous contestant from some Italian TV cooking shows. Once we translated everything on the menu, we placed our order including cappuccinos, only to receive a strange look and “now?” Apparently milk isn’t really consumed after noon and coffee comes at the end of the meal — not before. Knowing we were making pasta later, Belinda and Cordwood were smart and ordered chicken (which ended up being wrapped in bacon) with potatoes and sausage with peppers. Matt and I ordered pastas.
Restaurant named in honor of Guido d’Arezzo
From there, we drove to the old walled town of Arezzo. We went to see the Christmas market in the main square, do some shopping, and see the fort. Unfortunately, a tourist town on a Tuesday in November isn’t exactly a hopping place. The Christmas market and the fort were closed as were most of the shops. We did walk around the park, saw some tacky statues, and got cappuccinos. What else do you need?
Basilica d’San Francesco
Where is the Christmas fun?
Found it!
Bibliotecca Citta’ di Arezzo (Arezzo Library)
Palazzo dei Priori
Still with a little time to kill, we drove to an old bridge on the way to the cooking class. On the way, we almost ran into a wild hog that tried to cross the road in front of the car. We have been seeing hogs on magnets and other souvenirs — apparently they are over-populated in the area of Tuscany. They are allowed to be hunted and eaten. We almost had one to bring to dinner.
We arrived at the Ponte Burano right at sunset making for a pretty good view. The bridge was built starting in 1240-something and finished in 1277. Some historians believe that it is the bridge in the lower-right quadrant of the Mona Lisa… but thats debatable.
Very old bridge
Sunset on the Arno River
The next stop was the cooking class, which was at Dina’s (the chef) house. We drove just a few minutes and were lucky to find an easy parking spot on the street. Dina met us outside and introduced us to her husband and her sister, Kiara. While Dina really runs the show, they all support the experience. Kiara was vital as she spoke the best English and acted as translator.
Dina showed us how to make three pastas: a ravioli with spinach and ricotta, a tortellini with beets in the dough making it naturally red and cheese with lemon inside, and tagalitelle — the traditional pasta of Tuscany. We mixed eggs into the flour and kneaded the dough until it was ready to be rolled out. For the first two, we used a pasta maker to flatten the dough. The tagalitelle was rolled out with a really long rolling pin.
Making pastas!
Master Chef: Arezzo
Local Italian approves
We cut, filled, and folded the ravioli and tortellini, then finally rolled and cut the tagalitelle noodles. Dina demonstrated everything with such ease, but it was all harder than it looked. Once the three pastas were made, we celebrated with Prosecco.
Beet tortelloni (mostly for the red color)
Kiara led us into the living room to enjoy our drinks and start the antipasta course while Dina did the actual cooking of the pasta. They served cheese, local crackers, spicy jam, olives, and fried polenta. When that was done, we moved to the table for red wine and to the crostini course including tomato from their garden, chicken liver, olive oil, plain bread and prosciutto.
We all love crostini, but knew there were still THREE pasta servings coming up so tried to not eat too much. Starting was the ravioli, which we got high praise for since none of them fell apart when cooking. Next was tortellini (also somehow all stayed together). Finally, the tagalitelle was served with ragu. As the tagalitelle was being served, we asked if there was any more food coming out next and was told no. They lied. When we finished as much of the pasta as we could, Dina brought out cantucci (what we might call biscotti), a sugar twist pastry, and a traditional almlond flour fuitcake type thing. And of course, you can’t have dessert without dessert wine and homemade limoncello.
The team after dinner
It was a very fun experience and we left full enough to last a few days. With no more stops for the day, we drove back to the house to pack up and go to sleep (dinner was done around 9:30pm). We leave tomorrow to drive to Rome to catch a flight to Part 2: Greece.
After yesterday’s action-packed day, we knew we would take it easy today. The first item on the agenda was a winery tour with lunch. We didn’t need to leave until 10am so we were able to relax and enjoy the morning. Matt and Jo went out to the closest pastry shop to pick up a few things for breakfast. We got four flavors of cream filled little croissants: lemon, pistachio, cream, and eggnog. We also got a marmalade tart that ended up being fig (delicious).
I’ll take all of these
These too
After taking our time with treats and coffee, we got ready and left for the vineyard in the town of Montalcino — located maybe a hour or so southwest of Cortona. The winery is very small in comparison to other wineries in the area and family-owned. It is located in an old castle. We enjoyed the nice weather and views as the other members of the tour arrived.
Castle Tricerchi Winery
Contemplating vineyards
View from Tricerchi vineyards
Vineyard selfie
When everyone was there, Alessio took us on a tour of the grounds and shared a history of the winery. The name of the company is Tricerchi and their logo includes three circles to represent coins. The top half of the logo is a bull to represent strength.
Touring the castle
Castle courtyard
We overlooked the vineyard, which had already been harvested for the year. From there, we toured the fermentation room and where the wine is kept in barrels. Alesso told us that when the building was a functional castle, the barrel room was the dungeon with the prison below. We weren’t sure if he was joking, but seems plausible.
Big Barrel room
When the tour was done, we sat down for lunch and the wine tasting. All of the wines produced ant this winery are brunellos, which is made entirely with Sangiovese grapes and Italy’s highest wine classification. We started with an antipasto course of bruschetta, salami, prosciutto, cheese, and bread to pair with the first wine. We then had the second wine with stronger fruit notes and easy to drink that paired with our next course of pasta. Finally, we had the third wine with dessert.
Lunch — this is just the first course
Tricerchi selections
Selfie with Alessio
We drove back to the house in Cortona and hung out for a little while. We didn’t have any plans until dinner where a private chef was coming to the house. After regaining some energy, we went shopping in Cortona. Belinda had a pair of boots she was eyeing, so buying those was the first mission. We leisurely shopped and walked around as we made our way back to the house.
Heading back to Cortona
Tuscany sunset
Shopping
Back in Cortona
The chef, Christina, arrived at 6:15pm and gave us wine that we enjoyed as she prepared our dinner. The first course was toast with honey that we ate in the living room. We then moved to the table for the always present bruschetta course. There was sausage with melted cheese (basically pizza toast), blue cheese with pears and jam, and tomatoes. The main course was gnocchi in ragu (Italian for meat sauce — not the American brand name). Finally, Christina busted out a tray of tiramisu. Everything was delicious and we went to bed full and happy.
Waiting for dinner
We finished almost one of these
Home-cooked Italian treats
Tomorrow is another relatively chill day starting with horseback riding and ending with a cooking class for — you guessed it — pasta!
Should you go to Florence the same day they are hosting their 40th Marathon? Heck yeah!!! And should you run it? Of course not! BUT… if they are also running a 10k on the same course, crossing the same finish line as the marathon, and you can sign up to run that… then definitely YES!
We woke up at 5am this morning to get ready and drive to Florence. We secured a reserved parking spot last night so we didn’t have to worry about finding a spot upon our arrival, but we still needed to make sure we got to the garage before they started closing the roads. We wanted to give ourselves enough time to walk to the gear check and the starting line. We arrived right on time at 7am and started our Florence day adventure.
The Allegory of Parking in Florence
First stop was walking north across the Arno, and making our way to the gear check stations located in the Piazza Santa Maria Novella. We got ourselves situated with the right layers and pinned on our bibs. We checked our bags at the correct stand and walked to the starting line on Via Tornabuoni (aka. Florence Rodeo Drive).
Ponte Vecchio in the early morning
Basilica of Santa Maria Novella — AKA gear check
The gate for the 10K was in a different location than the marathon, but the finish line was the same. With only about 1200 people in the 10K, there were no corrals. We all started at the same time.
Getting ready to run
Cordwood ran off ahead while Matt and I stayed together for about the first half. Belinda was always planning on taking it slow and leaving the course when she felt like it. She went about 6K, then took a shortcut to meet us at the finish line. It was a good vibe and we all had a good time.
After the race, we retrieved our bags, changed into clean clothes, and made a pit stop back at the car to drop off the things we didn’t need for the rest of the day. Then we set off for the rest of our Florence Day, starting with a return to the Pizza del Duomo — which is where the marathon finish line was still rocking.
Belinda pre-purchased Giotto Pass tickets that included access to the Bell Tower (scheduled for noon), the Baptistry, and the museum. We still had a couple of hours before noon, so we started with a cappuccino, then on to the baptistry. With the marathon, we had to be a little crafty about how to cross streets to get around, but we figured it out.
Piazza della Repubblica — site of old Roman Forum
The facade of the Duomo
Once in the baptistry, we discovered that the mosiac ceiling was being repaired, so we didn’t get to see that, but we did see the other mosiac pieces as well as the in-laid marble floor in different patterns. From above, the various marble patterns makes the floor look like it is covered in carpets. It was almost time for the bell tower stairs, so we made our way over. We attempted to check our bags, but the check-in area was across the marathon route, and it didn’t look like we were going to be able to cross. We strapped our bags in under our coats and hoped for the best. We had to wait until exactly noon until they let us in, and fortunately, they did — bags and all.
The replica Gates of Paradise
Marathon finish in Pizza San Giovanni
We climbed the 414 steps to the top of the bell tower for 360-degree views of Florence. It was slightly vertigo-inducing, but cool to see the places we had ran past.
View of the finish from the Bell Tower
Brunelleschi’s Dome at the Florence Cathedral
At the top of the Giotto Bell Tower
We loved you in Elf
With our second workout under our belts, we were ready for lunch. We found a cafe/deli/bar for cappuccino round two (a very fancy one) and some tasty food including lasagna, pasta, sandwich, salad, and a milkshake. After filling up and relaxing, we went to the Duomo museum. Inside, they had the original Gates of Paradise doors (we had seen a replica outside the baptistry earlier). They also explained how the dome was built — including the fun fact the Florence Opera didn’t actually know how to build a dome for the size of a Cathedral they starting building.
Views of the Duomo from the street
Excellent wine cork architecture
The real Gates of Paradise by Lorenzo Ghiberti
The “Yo, Listen up, God’s talking” Florence team
By now it was about 3pm and we were ready for the next part of the adventure — a bike tour! We arrived about 10 minutes early and got fitted with our bikes. When we were ready it was 2:59pm. We waited exactly a minute to see if anyone else showed up (they didn’t) and off we went! We were unsure if anyone else actually signed up or if this is just the most punctual tour ever. Our guide Julia led us through the city and gave some history on the area and buildings that we saw. The tour took two hours.
Revisiting the Piazza Santa Novella Maria on the bike tour
Over the Arno River with Ponte Vecchio behind
In front of the copy of The David in Pizza della Signoria
Pretty much everyone had finished the marathon when we started the bike tour and the streets/pedestrian paths were getting pretty crowded. By the time we were done, the race was cleaned up and there were people everywhere. We were tired and ready to get the car to head back to Cortona.
View of Ponte Vecchio at night
Party with the gold shops on crowded Ponte Vecchio at night
As easy as it was to park this morning, it was just as hard to leave. By parking in the garage, we had permission to enter the restricted zone. Only a few cars are allowed, and the streets are open to pedestrians. Since it was so crowded, it was difficult to navigate around the people and onto the streets we needed to leave. We eventually made our way out and onto the main road towards the Piazza Michelangelo, which overlooks the city. The sun was well set by this point, so the view with the city lights was great.
Thanks Florence!
From there we drove all the way back to Cortona. Fortunately, there was no 45-minute traffic delay this time and we arrived at about 7:30pm. We dropped our things off at the house and went out for dinner. We found a restaurant in town called Panne e Vino which matched our craving for pasta and wine. Everything was delicious and we left full and satisfied.
Dinner in Cortona
We decompressed at the house for a few minutes before going to sleep. Tomorrow will be much more relaxed than today. The only plan is a winery tour with lunch in the afternoon, and then a private chef comes to the house to make us dinner at night. Probably won’t get 30,000 steps again tomorrow.
Falling asleep was easy after yesterday’s long day of travel. Staying asleep for a normal amount of time was more difficult. Eventually, we all managed to sleep enough to wake up and get ready for the day. Jo figured out the most important part of the house — the coffee maker. Once everyone was up, we ventured back out to the grocery market for some essentials like fruit, bread, and eggs.
Grocery shopping. Just don’t touch anything.
Cortona Clock Tower in the morning
Local architecture
We then realized we should shop in the street market. We bypassed plenty of clothes and shoes (which were very reasonably priced) and looked at the meat and cheeses. Since we weren’t exactly sure what each meat and cheese name meant, we copied the order of the Americans in front of us and ended up with prosciutto and a sharp pecorino of some sort.
Local cheesemonger
Happily ordering meats and cheeses
We walked back to the house to eat our spoils. Belinda cooked up the eggs, prosciutto and cheese sandwiches were made, and the apple (with a surprisingly pink inside) was sliced. Next on the plan for the day was to drive to Perugia to go to the world famous chocolate festival, Eurochocolate. We followed the website’s instructions to get to a parking lot, which we realized was about a mile and half away from the actual festival (but near a Kung-Fu competition!).
We figured there must be some sort of shuttle or something to bridge the gap. Then we figured out that the long line of people at the ticket counter were getting tickets for the Mini Metro — a rail car about half the size of an L car that comes every few minutes. Since the ticket line was long, and the line to get on the Mini Metro was even longer, we decided to walk. We pretty much followed the Mini Metro rail to the center of town. The walk was gradually uphill with a few steep sections.
Fall vibes on the walk to Perugia
Cordwood says always follow the escalators
It was a more complicated route than expected, but we made it! And then were rewarded with chocolate. There were many booths of different chocolate vendors. We started in the official Eurochocolate store for their famous Baci chocolates. We made a variety bag of flavors that we snacked on throughout the day. Fun fact: the wrappers include a fortune-cookie sayings, but sometimes more ominous sounding.
Made it to the Chocolate Festival!
Eurochocolate!
Views from Perugia
Walking around Perugia
We perused the festival for a while and shared a plate of fried dough (similar to a funnel cake) with chocolate sauce on it. Having satisfied all our chocolate cravings and purchasing needs, we explored the Rocco Paolina, a Papal fortress built in 1540 when the Pope decided it was high time the locals stop complaining about paying a Salt Tax.
Exploring the fort under the streets
Underground city vibes
Use this 3d model to plan your attack
Before the Pope fortressed the place, the Baglioni family was pulling off red weddings here
Porta Marzia (Mars Gate) features part of an Etruscan Arch from 3rd century BC
The walk back to the car seemed faster as we were more confident with the directions. We also found more escalators to make our way down the hill, so that helped as well.
Before driving all the way back to the house in Cortona, we made a brief stop at Lago Trasimeno just in time for sunset. The city also has a Rocco (or fort) which we explored a bit, but sections were already closed for the night.
Sunset on the lake! Hurry!
Sunset selfie
Exploring the narrow alleys
Don’t see many garage ports in these old towns
Trasimeno also has a clock tower
Overlooking Lake Trasimeno
Once we got back to Cortona, we stopped at a bodega type store for a few items, and walked around the town a little. We showed Matt a few of the shops he missed last night. Tonight’s dinner was sandwiches from the walk-up window. We brought them back to the house to enjoy with a bottle of wine only to discover there seems to be no wine opener in the house. We made do with Fanta.
Sandwiches!
Finally, we figured out the transportation/parking situation (we think?) for tomorrow’s 10K in Florence and headed to bed early to catch as much sleep as we can before leaving around 5am tomorrow.
This year’s Thanksgiving week plans are unique! Rather than spend time in Chicago or Minnesota, Belinda and Cordwood invited us to join them at a house in Cortona, Italy! Obviously, we said, “heck yeah!!!!” Seems like just a moment ago, it was September with school and football season getting underway. Now it’s the last week in November and it’s time to go!
As usual, Matt and Jo hopped the Blue Line to O’Hare to start the trip. At the airport, TSA was a breeze and we had plenty of time to relax in the lounge… lol, just kidding, the Priority Pass lounge at O’Hare is not actually for Priority Pass members anymore. We are now 0-for-2 trying to get into that Terminal 5 lounge because they reserve it out for business class travelers on other airlines. No matter, we don’t need a lounge. We have comfortable seats at the gate next to a friendly and chatty lady named Cindy.
Leaving snowy Chicago
Poe on his way to camp
That’s our train!
The first leg of our journey is Chicago to Zurich. The flight boarded on time and we got to our seats. Not too bad so far, Swiss Air. The plane had to be de-iced thanks to the snow (which certainly melted a few hours later). By the time we were ready to push back, we were at the end of the line. We eventually took off an hour late and pretty hungry.
Getting de-iced before leaving Chicago
Next stop, Zurich
After dinner was served, Jo fell asleep quickly while Matt stayed up to get some work done. There was some turbulence and general economy-class comfort issues, but hey — travel isn’t supposed to be comfortable! We originally had a two-plus hour layover, but since we were late, that time was cut to about an hour. We didn’t bother with a lounge and headed straight to the gate. The Zurich airport is pretty big. We had to leave the gate area, find the tram, go to the next terminal, go through a customs/passport check (got a stamp!), and go through the shopping area. We finally got to the gate with plenty of time to spare, and the flight was delayed by about 15 minutes anyways.
Landing in snowy Zurich
The flight from Zurich to Florence was a much smaller plane (no-frills flying school bus!) and not a very full flight. We loaded up in buses to get to the plane waiting on the tarmac. Once again, thanks to the snow, our plane was de-iced. Shortly thereafter we were on our way. At least I think so. I passed out immediately. Fortunately Matt collected my Swiss Air chocolate for me.
Navigating the Zurich airport
Getting de-iced again before leaving Zurich
Italian Alps and Lake Como
When we landed in Florence (finally in Italy, woo!), we met up with Cordwood and Belinda. Originally, they were going to get in about two hours before us, but they had some weather delays, and after some finagling booked a different set of flights that got them in at the same time as us. We met Cordwood at baggage claim while Belinda went to get the rental car. Soon after, we all took the shuttle to the rental car area and we were on the way!
We found Belinda and the rental car!
Before going to the house, we made a stop at the Florence Marathon Expo for packet pick-up. While we had the good foresight to not run a marathon, we did sign up for the special 10K Florence is hosting this year as part of the marathon’s 40th anniversary. The expo is a crowded event in the city, and parking was a challenge. Matt and Jo jumped out to see if we could pick up everyone’s packets. Spoiler alert, we did! Eventually Cordwood met us inside for a few minutes before we went back to the car with Belinda waiting patiently in definitely a legal parking spot.
Packet pickup here
Excited to be at the Firenze Marathon expo
Ok, so now we are on the way to the house. Google says it will take an hour and 40 minutes, getting us there just in time for the official check-in cut-off time. We made it out of the city and got on the A1 headed south… and then… just stopped. Traffic was insane and we remained at a near standstill for quite a while — it is Friday afternoon/evening after all. We contacted the host of the house and got instructions to check ourselves in, so no more worries there. We also took the extra time to give Lily a call and see how she is doing over in Greece. We will see her next week. Stay tuned.
Eventually we were out of the traffic zone. We never saw an accident and hypothesized the backup was from when the highway went from four lanes to three. We made it to the house at 7:10pm — 40 minutes after the original google prediction. At this point, Matt wasn’t feeling too great. He was feeling sick since leaving the expo and was doing his best to close his eyes, sit still, & breathe very slowly in the back seat for the last few hours (dizziness? jet lag? sleep deprivation? bad peanuts? all of the above?). Upon arriving at Cortona, he went to lay down asap.
Entering Cortona’s old city
Jo, Cordwood, and Belinda went out in search of food. The plan was to pick up some bread and olive oil as well as other essentials, but all of the grocery shops in town were closed. We weren’t in the mood for a sit down restaurant meal either. Luckily, we came across a walk-up pizza place. We did some quick translating and ordered a sausage pizza. We walked around the town window shopping and getting a lay of the land while we waited for the pizza to be ready. Once it was, we took it back to the house to eat. We all were exhausted from the travel and turned in for an early night.
Cortona Clock Tower at night
Official Italian pizza acquired!
Tomorrow we’ll try those grocery shops again before heading to Perugia for a Chocolate Festival.
Today is our last wake up call in Tanzania. The higher elevation and the shady vegetation at Tortilis Camp kept temperatures a bit lower this morning. But when we awoke, the hot showers were ready to go at 5:45am sharp, exactly when the staff said they’d be ready. Hakuna Matata!
Early morning at Tortilis Camp
Loading up the luggage one last time
With our bags packed and portered, we gathered in the main tent for the breakfast buffet, settled our bar tabs, and tipped the staff for their generous service. Juma and Aidano finished re-puzzling our luggage into the back of the Land Crusiers and we were ready to hit the road at about 7am. Which one of our guides made closing the back door and spare tire rack of their vehicle look more dramatic? I’ll let you guess…
Today’s drive takes us back up past the rim of the Ngorongoro Crater, through the misty exit of the Ngorongoro Conservation Area, and back down past Lake Manyara National Park. From there, we turn south and make a stop in Tarangire National Park before turning around and continuing east through Arusha to our final destination… the Kilimanjaro airport (good ol’ JRO).
Safari Day 6 drive (detail)
Volcanic soil makes for colorful landscape photos
Our first pit stop was the Ngorongoro Conservation Area Gate where we need to submit our permits in order to exit (so many permits!). But more importantly, this is where we saw those elephant pants earlier. We found our signature colors, attempted some negotiating, and secured the goods. Go team elephant pants!!! (Jo/Moody/Lily/Melanie/Emily) Very soon we were back in the car… AND back on a paved road for the first time in five days, which was quite a nice change.
Leaving Ngorongoro Conservation Area
Checking out the Crater during check out
Our route took us by the entrance to Lake Manyara National Park and Aidano was gracious enough to stop the vehicle when Matt said he needed to take a very important photo he missed earlier this week.
Rwar Rwar! First down, Fightin’ Tree-Climbing Lions!
Next stop, a bathroom break/gift shop! This is our last chance to get any other Tanzania souvenirs we’d like to take home. Our magnet and ornament quota has already been filled, so we focused on consumables, including some Kilimanjaro coffee beans and Konyagi, a popular local gin. We also bought a water buffalo stamp to “send” a post card that was purchased on day one and will be hand-delivered by Matt to his co-worker’s son Ben (FYI, mailboxes don’t really exist here). Finally, we found a little malachite statue of a lion that Jo couldn’t resist.
Finally found a meerkat in Tanzania
Water Buffalo finally getting some respect
Our goal was to arrive at Tarangire by noon, and after making a couple turns off the more populated main roads, we pulled up to the gates of the park at roughly 11:30am. Making good time!
7km to the park entrance, it’s a bit more urban here than the Serengeti
The tagline for Tarangire National Park is “The Elephant’s Paradise” so there are DEFINITELY going to be some elephants here, right? Right?!? This park is known to be the home to over 300 of them. However, today they wanted to play hide and seek. We drove around and searched for elephants for an hour with no luck. We did see some zebras, giraffes, monkeys, warthogs, and a lizard though, so not a total loss.
You can see elephants here in the dry season
You can see elephants here in the wet season
But you can’t see any elephants today!
Will you accept warthogs instead?
One thing we did see was the famous Baobab trees. The park has some that are up to 5,000 years old (not a typo). This led us to search for young baobab trees to see what they would look like (surprisingly few). The bark of the baobab trees hold moisture, so in the dry season, animals will survive by eating the bark to get moisture. You know, animals like elephants.
Baobab tree, aka. “Tree of Life”
We stopped for lunch in the designated area. The picnic tables were situated inside a large cage. While there were some zebras and other animals nearby, we figured the cage was actually to keep the monkeys out. They were very crafty and consistently plotting ways to get food near the picnic area. We watched a pair of them working together as they attempted to infiltrate another company’s safari car through the open roof.
Heed the lunch area warning
The sign is referring to this guy and his cohorts
Now look who’s in the cages!
By the way, another hot take regarding game drives and lunches… maybe your stomach doesn’t feel great during a safari because you have no chance to digest breakfast while you are getting shaken to death in a Land Cruiser for four hours, and on top of that, you try to eat lunch and that’s gonna make you feel even more bloated. Or maybe Matt’s stomach isn’t back to 100% yet. Anyways, the chocolates and chips made a re-appearance in the lunch boxes, and nobody is complaining about that! 🙂
Needing to stay on schedule to get to the airport by 6pm, we started to drive back to the park’s exit. Were we really going to be shut out of pachyderm sightings in Tanzania’s official Elephant’s Paradise?!? Well lo and behold, about 10 minutes from the exit, Juma spotted about seven elephants a distance off the road. They were close enough to see without binoculars, but still a bit hidden in the bush. Thanks for making an appearance, you guys!
We exited Tarangire’s gates and navigated our way back to the main road. Juma slowed down and bought a couple Baobab tree fruits from a kid for show-and-tell-and-taste at our final pit stop. Meanwhile, Aidano did his best not to run over those kids when they carelessly jumped/rode in front of his jeep, making his best dad-face grimace and telling them to behave better (paraphrasing, of course).
The drive from Tarangire to the airport was roughly another four hours. Much of that time was spent in some crazy slow (Saturday rush hour?) traffic as we attempted to pass thru the city of Arusha. Eventually, we skirted around the city on a bypass route and continued toward the airport. For a few minutes, the sporadic clouds cooperated, and we were afforded a final glimpse at Kilimanjaro peeking thru the skyline to the northeast.
Diving back to JRO… one last peek of Kilimanjaro thru the clouds
A few miles before the airport, we stopped for our final pit stop to take our good-bye group photos, trade Instagram handles, and sample the baobab tree fruit Juma procured earlier. The results? Well, it was a little bit like unsweetened astronaut ice cream. Not too bad. Or as Aidano warned us, “Be careful, you’re gonna need some sugar with that!” Ah, classic Aidano. But then again, do you know which guide is gonna make sure you get to the airport at 6pm if that’s when you need to be at the airport? You know who!
Final group shot
This guy knows what he’s doing!
After arriving at the airport, we said goodbye to Juma and Aidano, performed some necessary luggage re-packing in the parking lot (stashed that coffee and gin in our checked baggage), and strolled up to the check-in desks. There wasn’t much of a rush, as we had to wait in line for customs to open anyways.
Once it did, we got through security and had plenty of time to relax before the flight. We wandered the gate area for a while, checking out a few little stores. But we had successfully purchased everything we wanted and did not need to buy anything else. Then we determined that between us and the Dallys we had enough lounge guest passes for everyone. So we proceeded to have dinner and enjoy the fancy lounge life with our remaining time before boarding.
IS.. THIS… THE… TANZANITE EXPERIENCE?!?! OMG!!!!
That’s our plane!
The first flight was direct to Amsterdam, but with a stop in Dar es Salaam. Some passengers got off while others boarded. Anyone continuing to Amsterdam stayed on the plane. The process took about an hour and we were off again. We paid for exit row seats, which was nice considering the extra time added on the flight with the pit stop.
Dar es Salaam
Next stop, Amsterdam
Once we arrived in Amsterdam, the group scattered to catch their next flights. Adam had a tight connection and left right away to get to his gate. Emily had a seven-hour layover and immediately fled the airport into Amsterdam for a plant show. We hung out with the Cordinas until their boarding time arrived about an hour later. Aaron’s flight was supposed to depart 20 mins after the Cordinas, but got delayed five hours. So he hung out with us in the Priority Pass lounge… which we finally managed to enter after spending a hour at Starbucks. (FYI, Priority Pass is pretty lame these days.)
Splitting up to get our flights back home
Bye everyone!
We said goodbye to Aaron and boarded our flight back to O’Hare. Everything went well and we landed on time. Thanks to Global Entry, we went through customs in about 12 seconds, but then waited an hour for our bags. We decided to take a taxi home to save some time. There was a line to get a taxi, and the usual Chicago traffic, but it still helped. We made it home at about 4:30pm and immediately went to pick up Poe (they close at 5:00pm). Happy to be back home, we unpacked and went to bed early to try to get back on Chicago time.
Found our gate
Next stop, home.
It was an amazing trip and so happy we got to spend it with friends.
Waking up today, we have officially logged three nights at Nyumbani Camp, which — fun fact — is the longest we have stayed in one place consecutively on this entire trip. And three will remain the maximum because today we venture onward to our next destination. But more importantly, Matt was feeling much better this morning and ready to take another stab at a timelapse sunrise shot with the Osmo Pocket.
Here comes the Sun
We finished packing our bags, called for our security escort, and arrived at the main tent for breakfast. After powering up for the day, we loaded the trucks and departed at 7:30am as planned. We headed southeast, where we will leave Serengeti National Park, re-enter the Ngorongoro Conservation Area, and eventually reach the Ngorongoro Crater by late morning.
Goodbye Nyumbani staff
Safari Day 5 drive (detail)
It was a long drive with a few rest stops along the way. There aren’t a lot of different washboards — er, I mean roads — to pick from when planning your travel in the Serengeti, so this was the same route we drove a few days ago (heading the other direction). However, this time, it was earlier in the day and there were no rain showers, so we saw a few more animals on the route, including lions, baboons, and the usual topi, gazelle, etc.
Whoever introduced Christianity here… stellar job
Ready to see more animals
Try all the Fantas!
Eventually, we reached Ngorongoro Crater and checked in at one of the three entrances you can use to enter the park and drive down to the bottom. When we reached the crater floor, we immediately saw a bunch of animals. Because the crater is relatively small, there are a lot of species that have learned to live peacefully together that may not otherwise enjoy each other’s company in larger spaces. We saw many zebras, gazelles, and wildebeests together. Hyenas were waiting around lions. Flamingos, cranes, and egrets filled the shore.
One does not simply walk into Ngorongoro crater
Flamingoes. Not sure which type – sorry, Oscar
Blue heron takes flight
A dazzle of zebras
One of the animals we hadn’t seen yet was the rhino. They are not found in the Serengeti and there are only 27 left in the crater. We drove to where one might be, and were lucky enough to spot it.
Found a rhino!
Having completed the Big Five, and feeling hungry, we got our lunches in the car to start eating as we drove to the designated lunch spot. Before we got there, we saw some very lazy and full lions hanging around the road. They had a half eaten water buffalo carcass near them. Some of us originally thought it was a zebra because we saw stripes. Turns out those were ribs.
Passing out bag lunches to the other car
Open road
Ostrich
Lunch was at a hippo pool where we were able to get out and walk around. Since we ate most of our lunches in the car already, we bought ice cream from a zebra-painted snack truck and stretched our legs for a while. From there, we drove up out of the crater to our lodge for the night.
Group shot at the lunch spot
This is where we are
Hanging around the lake
Having a great time
No clouds blocking the Crater view today!
The road to Tortillis Camp was again not paved and we all received a free “African massage.” It also made for great napping. The lodge is at about 9,000 feet, which meant it was also a bit colder here. When we pulled up, we were welcomed with another rendition of Jambo Gwana, this one specific to the lodge and the crater.
Following the song, we entered the lodge and were served juice and samosas to enjoy during our briefing from the lodge manager. Completing your samosa earned you WiFi.
Our “Oldupai” tent… Maasai for “the place of the wild sisal plant”
Our room for the last night
We had time to settle in and relax before Juma and Aidano joined us for our last dinner. Juma and Aidano’s fun “Odd Couple” dynamic was once again on display as Aidano sat quietly at one end of the table trying to stay warm under a cozy Maasai cloak, while Juma held court at the other end, eyes lighting up telling stories about animals, his aversion to snow, and his parents. He joked Lily and Melanie were more than welcome to come back to Tanzania, but the rest of us, well, probably too old.
The dinner itself was buffet-style, after a first course featuring cream of banana soup, which was very tasty. These Tortilis Camp guys must also know how to party because Emily ordered a gin-based drink and they gave her the entire 250ml bottle.
Dinner with Juma and Idano
Near the end of dinner, the entire staff started singing songs and dancing in the dining room as a celebration of our trip and an a goodbye. Juma joined in the festivities and sang along with the group.
No longer cold after his cardio workout, Juma re-joined us at the table for last questions and stories. We hung out until we got too tired and went back to our tents to sleep. The staff gave us hot water animals to help keep us warm throughout the night and noted our requests for when we wanted hot showers in the morning… 5:45am please! Thanks!
Tomorrow we leave early, have a long day of driving, go for one last game drive, and then fly back home.
