Finally, I have a free moment to tell you about my first trip to Italy! I kind of had an idea of what to expect from seeing photos and hearing stories, but nothing compares to actually experiencing it yourself. After having my flight to D.C. cancelled (thanks so much United) and spending an extra night in D.C., I finally made it to Rome a day later than my mom and the rest of the group.
Since I was a day late, I only had one day to explore Rome before heading South to the cooking school. I arrived at about ten AM, got settled into the hotel, then headed out for a short tour of the town and lunch. We ate lunch on a restaurant patio right next to the Pantheon, it was unreal! Of course, the food was delicious. I sampled everything from vegetable bruschetta to caprese salad to carbonara to pizza and more.
The Pantheon
Mixed Vegetable Bruschetta
Caprese Salad
Authentic Italian Pizza
After lunch, my mom and I climbed all 500+ stairs to the top of the Copula (we didn’t even take the elevator for the first part!) in the Vatican. The views of the city were amazing! The red tiled rooftops are so rustic and there are historical ruins at almost every turn you take. Of all the places I have been, Rome has the largest historical essence instilled into its city walls.
City Rooftops (Vatican in background)
Every place I visited was filled with cute little bakeries and coffee shops. The assortment of gelato flavors and desserts was amazing- too many to choose from! If I was ever going to be a baker I think I would want to own an Italian bakery.
Italian Gelato
Desserts
After my day in Rome, we took a six-hour train ride to the very South of Italy, to a small town in the “heel of the boot” called Lecce. The streets in historic Lecce are so cute with beautiful alleys, unlike any in the US. I loved seeing local farmers selling produce out of the back of their little wagon-like trucks.
One of Lecce’s Street
Farmer Selling Produce
After touring around Lecce for a day, we had a welcome dinner with Silvestro, the teacher of The Awaiting Table cooking school that we were going to be attending. Silvestro and The Awaiting Table have been featured in the LA Times, Food & Wine magazine and many other places. Silvestro’s school was gorgeous; each room was a different, and very bright, color; there were trinkets and collections everywhere. But, I’ll save that for another post because there are just too many pretty pictures to share from this dinner. So for now, arrivederci!
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We were in Venice and absolutely loved it..Your pictures are beautiful..We plan on hitting other areas next year..My husband and I have family still living there..Coincidentally our families are several miles from each other…Small world..We had no clue!
YUM!!! SO envious of you!!
Oh how lucky! Can’t wait to hear about the cooking school!
How lucky to get to tour Italy and have a cooking class! I would have been livid with United for screwing up my plans!
Oh I was! Not to mention also that they cancelled my return flight by accident when trying to fix my reservation, so much unneeded stress! Oh well I’ll take some stress in order to travel! =)
o wow…wonderful pictures:) Your post had reminded me of our trip to Italy last summers. It was just superb…warm, friendly culture and the best food on Earth….:) Will be waiting for your next episode:=)
Do visit/join my blog if you like at http://schee-culina.blogspot.com/..chao!!!
I’m going to culinary school here in the states, and it’s nowhere near the beautiful! Can’t wait to hear more…
I start culinary school in the states next August, this was just a one week class, but yes it was gorgeous!
What an amazing experience! I can’t wait to read more. I would love to do this someday. We plan on going to Italy in two years (and I can’t WAIT!) but cooking school in Italy – WOW! New item added to my bucket list.
Wow, I am soooo jealous, Italy is food heaven…
I miss Rome so much. Evening strolls with some gelato a must.. Buzzed
So much history, culture and great food! Can’t wait to read your next posts on your Italian adventure. Thanks for sharing!
Ugh, I am jealous x100! Everything looks just incredible!
SO excited for you and I can’t wait to see the rest of this series. The food in Italy is amazing and Rome truly is the Eternal City. I lived in Sicily for 3 years….and the experience never equals the telling – it’s that incredible! Thanks for sharing the pictures!
Oh I miss italy so much! Even though you were late it still seems like you had a great time! Love the photos!
wow lovely location and yummy food. really Excellent this post for italian food. i like it
I was born in Southern Italy (Abruzzo) and go back quite often. I do miss those small streets and the fruit vendors. Love the photos.
Elisa@LaCasa e Il Giardino
How wonderful that you got to go with your mom…sorry however that you were delayed a day.
The sites are just gorgeous!
Wow, I’m so jealous of your trip, I plan to do the same thing in 2013 with cooking school and all. I’m glad I stumbled upon your blog, it looks great and happy to follow you,
Take care…
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