On the Road is a weekday feature spotlighting reader photo submissions.
From the exotic to the familiar, whether you’re traveling or in your own backyard, we would love to see the world through your eyes.
SuzieC
Hello fellow jackals. WaterGirl found out that in the last five years I traveled to Hawaii 3 times, and to Tuscany last October. She asked me to compose a submission for On The Road and coached me through the process.
I visited Tuscany last October for 9 glorious days with a culinary tour group. Our objective was to eat our way through Tuscany and see the world’s greatest works of art in between meals. My friend and I stayed for 2 extra days because we certainly could not miss Michaelangelo’s David. Here are some highlights.
Our headquarters, the Hotel Berchielli located next to the River Arno.
Of course the first thing we did after checking into our hotel was visit the nearest gelateria.
The next day we took cooking lessons at Mama Florence cooking school.
One of our creations: ravioli with pesto. The pesto made with locally grown basil was the best I have ever tasted.
One of our road trips into the countryside: Tattoria Fugnano winery
road trip to Siena. The Town Hall has been in continuous use since the year 1297.
road trip for truffle hunting, followed by delicious meal featuring white truffles.
Our final meal, held in the oldest building in Florence which dates back to the 6th century. It was a women’s prison.
Botticelli
David
OzarkHillbilly
Thanx for the pics, SuzieC
They let you out on parole?
Baud
Food! It’s my favorite thing to eat.
mrmoshpotato
And now I want pesto at 5:30 in the morning! It’s a good thing I don’t have any because I do have a box of rigatoni on top of the fridge.
mrmoshpotato
@OzarkHillbilly: Parole is the best sauce.
Betty
Oh, so envious. What a lovely experience!
J.
What a delicious looking and sounding trip!
Shameless plug: I wrote a culinary mystery that takes place at a cooking class in Tuscany called SOMETHING’S COOKING IN CHIANTI. Sounds quite a bit like your trip. (No one was murdered, were they?)
Citizen Scientist
Lovely photos. Glad to see you got to visit Siena and taste some wine!
StringOnAStick
I loved every moment I spent in Italy, thanks for the reminder!
That menu is lovely though unfortunately just something I can remember now and not taste thanks to losing my ability to digest dairy. The hours of gut pain are not worth the trade, no matter how tasty but I still have the memories!
YY_Sima Qian
Oh I do miss the gelato & the pizza in Firenze (翡冷翠)! I can’t believe the lack of crowds in front of David & La Primavera!!
Argiope
@StringOnAStick: At the risk of unsolicited med advice: is it lactose intolerance? The replacement enzymes really work (Lactaid and generics). Thanks to a vegan natural building workshop in my mid-30s, I lost my ability to produce lactase (damn vegans!//). The enzymes have allowed me to eat all the dairy I want.
Argiope
@YY_Sima Qian: I guess October is the time to go!
Manyakitty
@mrmoshpotato: that image grabbed my by the rumbling tummy. Yum!
Albatrossity
Wow! What a great trip! And yeah, pesto with pasta is simply a great combination.
Thanks for sharing it with us here. Now do Hawaii!
Barbara
I love Botticelli. What a nice post to start the day with.
Barbara
@Argiope: Semi-pro tip: The museum where the David is housed is open at night during high season, at least on Thursday. Our concierge suggested that we wait until night to go there.
I like this picture because it shows the sheer scale of the statue. It’s so well-proportioned you don’t normally grasp how big it is from pictures.
SuzieC
@Barbara: We went first thing in the morning. By the time we left the Accademia, the crowds were overwhelming.
mrmoshpotato
@Manyakitty: Same here!
randy khan
We were in Florence for (only!) a day last year. Just walking around was great, but there was so much we didn’t get to see. But we did get excellent gelato.
SuzieC
@J.: I ordered the book for my Kindle!
YY_Sima Qian
@Argiope: I went in October, but that was 2016.
Kristine
What a great trip! Thanks for posting.
I’m on the mailing list of one of the culinary tour companies. It’s a dream.
JAFD
You may have heard the story of the man who opened up the first Italian restaurant in Latvia…
A sad tale. No one knew what brought him from the sunny Mediterranean to those cold Baltic shores.
Indeed, no one knew his real name…
They just called him ‘Riga Tony’
Miss Bianca
Oh, this takes me back. Thank you!
SkyBluePink
Now I’m hungry!
Great pics!
hoosierspud
The spouse and I are heading to Lucca next month, followed by a few days in La Cinqueterra. You’ve got me even more excited.
Dan B
@StringOnAStick: I can’t digest milk but discovered that I can digest sheep and goat milk, particularly cheeses. I had gut agony for years and finally went cold turkey. An employee at a specialty food shop told me she couldn’t manage cow’s milk but could digest sheep and goat milk. She was standing behind the thirty foot long cheese case. My world changed
BTW I enjoyed my two trips to Italy and Firenze in November is manageable plus there are other wonderful places with few tourists or far fewer. tourists.
TooTallTom
Offspring visited Florence a year ago. Absolutely fell in love with Florence / Tuscany. Came home and immediately bought an espresso machine.
bluefoot
@Dan B: My cousin is allergic to cow dairy products. I wonder if that’s what’s going on with you. She can have any other type of dairy. So she does goat milk yogurt and sheep, goat or buffalo cheese. And she switched from ice cream to sorbet.