The one where Winnie takes a nap

Susan in Toronto

Train ride!!!

Cool rich peoples houses

Aquaduck! \240Just in the middle of a neighborhood! (It’s aquaduct, but good effort Susan! - Praachi)

Cool alley. \240So much graffiti here!

Our first Italian pizza!!!!

Our first Italian wine!!!!

Cool Airbnb window!

Cappuccino and espresso to start the morning

We had a nice slow start to the morning after 12 hours of sleep!! \240Still a bit jet lagged but much better than yesterday. \240We wandered through the neighborhood and found some delicious croissants. \240One was traditional and the other had ricotta. \240We also had cappuccino (Susan) and espresso (Praachi).

The Vatican…well the wall of the Vatican

After a very fun stop at the Italian McDonalds, we headed to the Vatican. \240Apparently you have to book Vatican tickets like 6 years in advance or pay your left kidney for a tour so we went and saw the walls! \240Oh well, I guess we’ll have to come back 🤷‍♀️

St. Peter’s Basillica

After being denied entry (and Praachi turning down my great idea of dressing up as Nuns to sneak into the Vatican), we just started wandering around the neighborhood. \240It was quite surprising how quickly it became quiet again, even while we were still by the Vatican walls. \240We wandered into a park and got an amazing view of the Basilica for free!! \240Also found a tennis club, I don’t think the Italians have discovered Pickleball yet.

Amazing paninis for lunch

During our wandering, we found a little cafe with amazing painis. \240They had fresh mozzarella that melted nicely and they were only 4 euros each!

Pantheon

Next stop, the Pantheon! \240It was big and had cool art and there was a giant circular hole in the ceiling! \240Apparently famous people like to be buried there.

Aperol Spritz

We went to the Campo di Fiori, which is like a big open air farmers market. \240Unfortunately it was pouring quite a bit, but there was a cool bar so we decided to pay the tourist prices to sit and be dry. \240It was a fun little bar and we had our first Aperol Spritz!

Trevi Fountain

After much wandering and a long rain stop in a pizza store (the pizza was obviously amazing) we headed to the Trevi Fountain! \240It was cool at night and was bigger than we expected!! \240It was horribly down pouring so we made our way to the subway (but of course had to stop for the multiple free samples along the way)!

Pasta at last!!!!

After an annoying subway closure, we walked to the neighborhood near our Airbnb that our host recommended called Via del Pigento (apparently it’s where all the Italians hang out). \240We stopped at the first place selling pasta that we found (because we were exhausted)! \240It was sooooo good!! \240Praachi ordered Cacio e Pepe and I had carbanaro!!

Trash can time

We have a great system worked out! \240Praachi tries things but can’t always finish them (and hates wasting food) and I am very good at eating! \240So I finished her pasta and it was delicious!

Tragically, all the gelato stores were closed after dinner so we will have to have 2 gelatos tomorrow! \240So much food, so little time!

Italian breakfast

Tragically the gelato shop closed early yesterday so I made up for it by having gelato for breakfast!! \240It was delicious! \240They even put real whipped cream on top!

Susan + gelato = happy

We went to the Trastevere neighborhood to start the day. \240It took us forever to get there because it was not on the subway line and traffic was terrible. \240We noticed a huge increase in the crowds from yesterday, probably because it’s Friday. \240We wandered around the neighborhood for a while. \240We went in the wrong direction of the cool area but finally got turned around. We got pizza and ate it as we walked. \240We also found tiramisu finally! \240When we reached the cool area, \240we decided to stop and try the ravioli at a restaurant. \240We wanted to spilt a plate since we already had a bunch of pizza, but naturally they brought us each a plate! \240We also tried to order two glasses of wine but he brought a whole bottle! \240We drank the whole thing because we thought we were paying for the bottle but then when he brought the check, he said we needed to pay for the whole bottle since we drank it! \240So confusing! \240

Ravioli and lots of wine!

Next stop, the colosseum!! \240We had to rush to get to our reservation on time after ravioli, but we made it thanks to Praachi’s navigating (I was not helpful after all that wine 🤷‍♀️)! \240It was surprisingly easy to get in and there was almost no wait! \240It was really cool to be in a building so old! \240We listened to the Rick Steve’s online tour while we walked around and rediscovered that the Romans were pretty shitty people lol. \240Much murder, no wow!

Coliseum

Our best gladiator impression

After the coliseum, we went to the Palentine Hill and Roman Forum. \240It was huge!! \240We tried to listen to the Rick Steve’s for that, but I think we went the wrong way and it didn’t make any sense! \240It was fairly empty though so that was nice. \240I guess the forum was the main town square and government center. \240It was obvious how big it used to be! \240We finally found the icon three pilars, although we don’t know why they are so important!

Iconic pillars at the Roman Forum

After finally escaping the Roman Forum (we couldn’t find the exit!), we sat down and ate the tiramisu we bought earlier. \240A man was playing the violin and we had a really good view of the forum. \240It was a very peaceful place to hang out!

Praachi’s first Italian tiramisu

While we were on the bus, we drove by this cool piazza that happened to be near the colosseum so we went there!! \240We climbed up a million steps and got a cool view of everything!

Piazza de Venezia

After the Piazza, we wandered around for a while and saw the city at night. \240We once again wandered away from the cool stuff and learned that we need to have some destination in mind in the future!! \240Oh well, you live and you learn!

Baby Colossuem

We finally made our way back to Pigento and had a quick dinner of sandwiches and wine at a local place. \240After a lot of translating, we finally ordered! \240We ended the night with gelato from the cool hipster coffee shop!

Nighttime gelato

As a final point of struggle, we came back to do laundry and couldn’t figure out the washer! \240After 30 mins of struggle, many message to the host and Praachi finding the manual on Google, we discovered that we didn’t close the door hard enough 🤦‍♀️. \240The theme of today was “why would it be easy when it could be hard!!” \240But still very fun!!

Breakfast at Fattoria’s

After breakfast, we walked to the metro to discover it was closed! \240It was also raining which made us very sad. \240We waiting for the bus for a while but it never came so we decided to walk to another metro station. \240We had trouble finding it so we asked some locals for help and finally got there, but then it was also closed!! \240We finally read a sign telling us the line was closed for the weekend and that we needed to take a bus with the same name. \240Thankfully the bus pulled up right away so we got on. \240However after a few stops, we realized it was going the wrong direction so we got off again!! \240We were very sad and wet. \240Thankfully Praachi realized that another bus was just across the street so we sprinted and made it on there! \240We thought we had escaped that hellscape when we made it to the next metro station, but then it was also closed!! \240We discovered that the whole system was shut down due to strike! \240We just decided to walk the rest of the way to the Spanish steps!

The bus A.K.A. Hell

When we FINALLY reached the Spanish Steps, it was sunny and beautiful! \240The steps were very crowded (they are very popular) but it was cool to see. \240The steps were surrounded by a lot of fancy shops (Prada, Dior, etc). \240After the steps, we wandered around the Villa Borghese (a garden park) and it was quite lovely. \240It was similar to Central Park! \240A very peaceful area in a busy city.

Yay Spanish Steps

Next we went to our cooking class! \240We were in a group of about 12 and started by making our Tiramisu. \240We all did one part of the process and then did our own layering. \240We did that first so it could sit in the fridge to set. \240Next was the pasta! \240We all made our own dough and then made the fettuccine and ravioli pasta shapes. \240We got to use a pasta machine! \240It wasn’t hard at all, it would just be a bit time consuming to do all the time. \240Once we made our pasta, we put it on a big plate and sent it to be made!

Chefs hard at work

The pasta was delicious!! \240They used a red sauce for the fettuccine and a white sauce for the ravioli. \240We also had Prosecco as the wine and it was the best I had ever had! \240I made friends with the instructor and told him that in Ohio, we fill our wine glasses close to the top and it worked to get me more wine :). \240We loved the pasta and the tiramisu, hopefully we will make it again at home!!

Our creations!

After our many glasses of Prosecco, we decided to wander over to the Castel de Angelo! \240It was very pretty at night! \240

Castel de Angelo

After some challenging navigation (due to the Prosecco) we made to the last metro of the day to avoid a 2 hour walk home!! \240We still had to walk part of the way but it wasn’t too bad. \240We then went for one last pizza at our favorite neighborhood pizza place called Pizzeria de Simone. \240We had a picante pizza (pizza with chile flakes) and it was very good!! \240We will miss the Pigneto neighborhood!! \240

Late night pizza, like true Italians

Also!!! \240We must look Italian because three different Italian people asked us for directions today!! \240We could not help them due to not speaking Italian lol 🤷‍♀️

Yummy breakfast and sleepy Praachi

Thankfully the transit system was working today and we easily grabbed a bus to the Termini station, although it was packed! \240We got on the intercity train to Cinque Terre. \240We made friends with some people going on an 11 day cruise (the lady happened to be from Westerville!)! \240The views on the train were very pretty! \240We were along the coast for a while and then went through the mountains outside of Pisa (which we had no idea existed!

Train time!

Naturally it was cloudy when we pulled into Cinque Terre but it was absolutely stunning! \240There is a regional train that runs through all five towns, so we grabbed that and headed to Vernazza. \240We met our host at the pharmacy (we were expecting a woman because the name was Andrea, but then a man showed up! \240We then pronounced it like an Italian and realized our error!). \240Anywho, Andrea led us up a winding narrow passageway and a ton of steps to our place. \240The houses here are beautiful!!

Vernazza off the train

The forecast has looked terrible for our time, so we wanted to get out as much as possible today. \240We were starving so we did a quick food surveillance walk and decided to get sicillian style pizza and focaccia. \240It was delicious!! \240There was some kind of melty cheese that was different than anything else we had before!

Yummy lunch!

After our quick lunch, we headed to a trail! \240It is so cool, the trails are connected the the towns and it goes right by our Airbnb! \240The sign said the trail was 2.0, so we assumed it was 2 KM, but that turned out to be very wrong lol! \240The trail was stunning! \240The sun came out and it was actually very warm. \240There were exactly one million steps and it was a very technical trail. \240Praachi was smart and brought hiking boats! \240Every turn had a beautiful new view of the town or the cliffs!! \240We were so glad we could get out to see at least some of the trails!

Our town of Vernazza

The hike took about 3 hours and we think it was about 3 miles or so. \240We stopped a lot to take pictures and just enjoy the views! \240We also found lots of rocks for me to climb on :). Such a beautiful hike!!

The hiking trail

We finally made it to the next town over, Montersso! \240We walked along the beach and explored the different restaurants. \240We decided to have dinner here before heading back. \240It started raining so we went to a place close by!

Beach in Montersso

We had a great dinner (it was sadly more expensive than our cheap dining in Pigneto)! \240Praachi got the trenette pasta with pesto and I got the pansoti (a regional ravioli) with a walnut cream sauce. \240Both were regional specialties and were very good!! \240At dinner, we also made friends with a family from Singapore (you can see two of them in the background of this picture). \240They were very nice and hilarious! \240We bonded over us all noticing a nun drinking a giant Aperol Spritz! \240They thought she must be in the mafia!! \240We all were laughing very hard all night! \240It seemed like a dinner the Italian way!

Nun or Mafia???

Great dinner!

After dinner, we took the train back to Vernazza. \240The crowds had cleared out and it was a beautiful night despite some wind. \240We walked down to the water and enjoyed seeing the waves crash (even if they kept scaring Praachi!)! \240Things seem to close a bit earlier here (can you hear Praachi cheering??) so we went back to the Airbnb to get settled! \240

Vernazza at night!

Early morning hike

Praachi met me in Corngelia and we wandered around looking for a breakfast place. \240We decided to get lunch with our coffee because the American breakfast didn’t look great. \240It was good but we missed Fattoria!

Yay breakfast!

The weather seemed to hold up so we decided to go to Riomaggiore to try the hike to Manarola. \240We took the train and quickly found the trail. \240We knew it had some steps but as we got on the trail, the steps kept going and going and going and going and going!! Much pain. Much distress.

Praachi regretting all her life choices

As we struggled up the mountain, we started commiserating with the group behind us, they were from Colombia and Mexico! \240They kept saying that we were all in hell!! \240We ended up climbing up 620 steps and then down 620 steps! \240It was very slippery so we were worried about falling but thankfully all limbs are still intact! \240Everyone was very happy to be off the mountain!

Post hike happiness!

After our hike, we wandered around Manarola and looked at the cliffs and views! \240It was so beautiful! \240I still don’t know how they built these villages! \240It was also very crowded! \240People just appear throughout the day (we think they come in on day trips) and then all of a sudden, they are all gone!

The iconic view of Manarola

For lunch, we grabbed some pizza and pastries! \240Always a good bet! \240

Pizza time!!

It started to rain after lunch so we camped out at a bar and had some wine. \240We decided to try and make it to the water taxi to get a water view of the villages, so we hopped on the train and went back to Riomaggiore. \240We finally found the marina but discovered the boats were suspended due to the weather. \240We wandered around the marina and then went to look on the shops (we bought matching magnets and gelato). \240We started to notice that shops had signs up saying they would be closed the next day due to a predicted storm. \240We messaged the Airbnb host and he said that most places would be closed. \240We decided we better stock up on supplies (food and wine lol) in case nothing was open!! \240So we headed back to Vernazza and found a few places still open! \240Fingers crossed it’s not too bad tomorrow!

Emergency pizza!!

For dinner, we found a cute little trattoria very close to our Airbnb that was reasonably priced, so we checked it out! \240We obviously made friends with an older couple while we waited and ended up sitting next to them for dinner lol! \240I had gnocchi with red sauce and Praachi had trenette with pesto. \240Both were good, although it wasn’t the best pesto Praachi had so far! \240After dinner, we were hanging out and chatting, and then the owner of the restaurant starting playing guitar and singing. \240It was very nice and relaxing! \240However we started to realize that no one was leaving while he played so we were trapped until he was done! \240It was very nice, just kind of funny that no one left!

Yay dinner (and free bread!)

Live music after dinner

Fingers crossed for less rain than predicted tomorrow (they are calling for 2-3 inches of rain!!)!

Rainy morning breakfast

The rain wasn’t too bad so we ventured out and took the train to Monterosso. \240Once again, when we got off the train, it started pouring, so we found the first restaurant we could find and camped out with coffee and wine!

Praachi loves all the pictures!

Thankfully most the day it drizzled but it did pour a few times and we were glad to be inside!!

Raining cats and dogs!

When the rain let up, be caught the train and headed over to Manarola to find some lunch. \240Almost every restaurant was closed but we found one that was open so the choice was easy! \240We hadn’t had lasagna yet so we ordered that and it was very good! \240

Lasanga time

The villages were very quite today. \240It seems like Tuesday is usually a day when shops close anyways, but the red weather alert level likely cancelled many tours. \240It was a bummer that shops were closed but nice to have a break from the hoards of people!!

Quiet towns

After lunch (which was around 6p haha!) we wandered out and took in the views! \240We even saw a bit of sunshine!

The sun trying to peak out!

Almost everything closed early, so we went back to the Airbnb to have pizza and wine! \240We wanted to watch a movie but nothing good was on, so we watched some HGTV and judged the people’s design choices! \240It was nice to just hang out in the same place together!!

Pizza and HGTV

Morning hike! \240

We then packed up and headed out for breakfast. \240Vernazza wasn’t big on breakfast food so Praachi found an average crossiant and I got a slice of pizza with this amazing melting cheese! \240We ate our breakfast while watching the very aggressive waves crash into the rocks!

Breakfast with a view

When then hopped on the train and headed to Pisa! \240It was a little under an hour. \240We found storage lockers for our backpacks and walked to the Leaning Tower! \240It is quite impressive! \240It took a million tries to get cool pictures of us holding up the tower lol. \240It was also pretty funny to watch everyone holding up their arms and legs to take different pictures!!

So strong!

We then wandered around looking for food. \240Naturally it was hard to find what we wanted but we finally found decent sandwiches and ate them so fast, we forgot to take a picture! \240There was a gelato place next door with absolutely amazing gelato!

Finally a warm day for gelato!

Next we got back on a train (and I took a little nap) to head to Florence. \240It is a beautiful area with many villages in the rolling hills, and so many vineyards! \240We stopped at the Airbnb (which is huge!!) to drop our stuff off, and then headed out! \240We wandered to the Michelangelo Piazza after our host suggested it and enjoyed the views of the city after dark!

Beautiful Florence

We then wandered down to the Ponte Vechino, a famous bridge full of jewelry stores. \240We also found a piazza with a ton of naked statues (they really like those here!)! \240We then started walking back to our place in search of pasta. \240We figured it would be nice to be close to the Airbnb, so we looked for places close by and naturally there were none so we ended up getting pizza and falafel sandwiches at the Indian pizza restaurant nearby. \240We also went to the grocery store for wine and found the amazing melty cheese (stracchino).. \240We will double up on pasta tomorrow to make up for our errors!! I also ate some of Praachi’s samosa that was spicy and about died from the heat!!!

Dinner in the Airbnb

Susan getting attacked by chiles!!

Just made it! \240

Our first stop of the day was Monteriggioni. \240It is a small castle about an hour outside of Florence. \240It was used in the Medieval times to guard against someone! \240It was a very cool structure!

Big fortress

Next we headed to Siena, the largest of the towns. \240As soon as we got off the bus, it started pouring!!! \240The tour group kept going so we all got soaked!! \240We considered abandoning the guided tour but we were already wet so we figured we’d keep going. \240Unfortunately it was very hard to see anything because it was so rainy but we made it to the famous cathedral, which was beautiful.

So much rain, so much sad

By this point we were freezing, dripping wet and starving so we set out for a lunch place. \240We found a slightly sketchy osteria and decided to give it a try cause it was warm inside and had the regional pici pasta (a thicker spaghetti type). \240I got cacio e Pepe and Praachi got the red sauce. \240We were so happy to have something warm!!

Pasta makes everything (a little) better

We wandered around Siena a bit more but it kept raining so we didn’t get to see as much as we liked. \240We considered buying new plants because we had so much more time to go but couldn’t find anything cheap. \240Our next stop was the wine tasting. \240It was a more modern winery but it ended up having some great wine. \240We tried 4 kinds of wine and liked all of them (one red wasn’t amazing)! \240The best was the sparkling rose! \240We also got to try a bunch of olive oils and balsamics that they made there!

Yay wine!

We may have had a bit too much wine cause we were feeling it quite a bit on our way to San Gimignano!! \240Oh well, what else can you do in Tuscany??

Day drunk!

After chugging lots of water, we could see the beautiful town of San Gimignano! \240The sun came out and we could see the hills very well! \240The town was almost all stone, it was so cool to walk through! \240

Tuscany hills

As we wandered through the town, we found the gelato shop that apparently was voted the best in the world, so obviously we had to try it!! \240It had a very nice texture, but we agreed that the dark chocolate from yesterday was still the best flavor so far!

Gelato time!

We finally made it back to Tuscany! \240We were still a bit wet from all the rain, so we hopped on the train to change and then went back to the main area for dinner. \240We walked along the main center and found a pasta place that had pretty good pizza and pasta!

Florence dinner

Once again, we missed a bus or train late at night and had to walk all the way back to the Airbnb! \240We did see some good street music so that was nice along the way! \240We certainly got our steps in today!!

Stupid lack of trains!

Yay pizza!

We finally found the Duomo and it was big and cool! \240We didn’t get tickets to go inside but we got the gist by looking at it! \240Very old, very pretty!

Big Dome Energy

We then wandered through the streets more and found a few that were almost empty and got some fun pictures in!

Praachi the model!

Next, we went searching for the famous wine windows! \240We found one and you had to ring the bell for the server to come take your order, and then when your wine is ready, he rings it for you to come back! \240It was fun!

Yay wine!

During our wandering, we found a fun little restaurant with a nice view of the city streets so we sat outside to eat lunch. \240The food was delicious and the atmosphere was so fun! \240I had one last carbonara and Praachi got a red sauce with burrata. \240We savored our last pasta of Italy!!

Lunch in the street!

After lunch, we miraculously found a market where we could buy pasta to take home (it had been very hard to find in Florence naturally!)! \240We also stopped for one last gelato and then headed to the airport for our flight to Paris!!

Paris time

After our flight and a very long train ride, we finally made it to Paris!! \240It was pretty late when we got in so we look forward to exploring more tomorrow!

Officially in Paris!

After walking up all 5 flights of steps to our apartment (ahhhh terrible!!), we went back down to a Chinese restaurant we passed on the way! \240It was very good! \240Praachi said I had to include that when I ordered the spicy chicken, the guy warned me that it was spicy, but not Praachi 🤷‍♀️. I ate it like a champ and didn’t cry this time!!

Chinese for dinner

We are not sure that we are going to like French food, but thankfully after a little walking in the neighborhood, we discovered that there are a ton of restaurants from all over the world, so I don’t think we will starve!! \240

Our neighborhood at night

French crossiants

Next we headed into the city and went to the Luxembourg gardens! \240The sun came out for a bit and it was a lovely walk! \240It was similar to Central Park, except you couldn’t go on the grass and the kids had to pay to play on the playground!!

Some castle in the gardens

Next, we wandered towards the Lock Bridge and through the Saint German neighborhood. \240It had a ton of shops and restaurants and very pretty buildings! \240We wanted baguette sandwiches for lunch but naturally it started raining so we decided to sit inside a Caribbean restaurant and got some wings!

Cool Parisian lunch

Next we headed over to the lock bridge and Praachi got her first view of the Effiel Tower and she handled it like a champ!! \240

Praachi and the tower!

We then went to the Louvre! \240It was huge, easily 2-3 city blocks!! \240We had to wait in line to get in, even though we had skip the line tickets, but thankfully it went fast!

HANG IT IN THE LOUVRE!!!!

We found a guided walking tour online and followed it through the museum. \240Thank goodness because it is so huge, we would have gotten lost in there!! \240We saw a lot of cool art and naked statues before finding the Mona Lisa!! \240She was very cool! \240But it was so crowded trying to get to her! \240There was a terrible system where everyone just pushed towards the front and it was a huge pile of people!!

Mona Lisa

After we survived the Mona Lisa, we wandered around a bit more and I did my best to imitate the art, to better appreciate it! \240I think I blend right in!

Statue or Susan???

As we tried to leave the Louvre, it was like a giant maze!!! \240We kept following the “sortie” signs but the exit never came!!! \240They just made us walk through a giant mall and food court before we finally found it! \240We thought we would never get out!

Next we wandered through the Louvre gardens and hopped on the train to the Arc de Triomphe. \240It was very big and cool! \240But we were starving so we decided to try and find food! \240

The ARC

After 2 hours and only finding one pano de chocolate, we gave up and went to McDonald’s! \240We were in the Champs Elysees area and everything was so fancy and expensive, we couldn’t justify spending money on food that didn’t look great!!

McDonald’s never fails!

After our McDonalds brought us back to life, we wandered over to the Arc again to see it lit up! \240We also saw the top of the Effiel Tower lit up, and the light show played! \240 Praachi finally cried at the sight! \240It was super cool!! \240We also got a crepe to eat while we watched!

Crepe and Effiel tower!!

We were throughly exhausted so we headed back to our neighborhood! \240We stopped at the store to get some dinner and snacks. \240We then made our snacks and did laundry, but then the power went out!! \240We had blown a fuse. \240We tried to fix it but then couldn’t figure it out so we had to message the Airbnb guy to help us. \240We had just finished cooking so we ate our ravioli in the dark while we waited!! \240

Sad dinner

Finally the Airbnb guy told us what to do and we fixed it!!

Yay light!

We then had our cheese, baguette and wine! \240The cheese and baguettes were good but the wine was truly terrible! \240We drank it because it sad but then we both thought we would throw up!! \240Ahh hopefully we will laugh at this one day!!

Cheese and bread finally!!