I just returned from Italy where I visited Florence and Rome to celebrate my mother’s 80th birthday.
Since I love traveling as much as I love food, I thought I’d share some of my pictures and experiences with you here.
I find it ironic–given I eat pasta maybe once every two years, that I ate paste every day I was in Italy. The pasta was so fresh and delicious, and there were so many types to choose from, that I never ran out of something new to try. Not only do the Italians offer so many different kinds of noodles, but they also prepare an incredible variety of sauces. I ate wild boar ragu, spring vegetables, pesto, bolognese, basic marinara, spicy sausage with “black cabbage” and vongole (pasta with clams)–the list goes on. Oh, and the fresh burrata! It was dessert for me. Of course, I also had to try the cannoli, the gelato and the tiramisu. Much to both my joy and horror, the hotel we stayed at just outside of Florence offered several tarts each morning as part of its large breakfast buffet. I tried to eat carefully and healthy–choosing sauteed mushrooms, eggs, fruit and roast tomatoes most mornings, but the tarts and Nutella-filled chocolate-glazed croissants called my name loudly each morning. And after all, I was on vacation!
Here are just a few photos of Florence–many of which will be very familiar if you’ve ever visited, along with some of the delicious food I ate (and appear to still be carrying around). If you follow me on Instagram, a few of the photos are repeated (sorry!). I will share photos from the rest of my trip in a subsequent post because I have so many I’m excited to share.
Ooh, those tomatoes look delicious!
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They were ridiculously good! I don’t know why Italian-grown tomatoes are so much sweeter and denser than anything I’ve eaten in other EU countries or in the U.S.
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fabulous photos. Florence is definitely on my bucket list.
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Thanks, Sarah! In addition to being beautiful, it was much richer in history than I had ever acknowledged or realized. I hope you make it there someday soon. -Moira
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