Day Trip to Pisa - Day 8Good morning! Hope you are all having a wonderful Wednesday!! It is sunny and lovely here in Tuscany! Today, we will be taking a day trip up to Pisa We will see all the fun sights including the infamous Tower of Pisa, walk around the Piazza dei Miracoli, the Fountain of Angels and take a peak inside the Cathedral! The girls did not want to come so they stayed back a the villa and spent the day with Tedd.  Last night we dined on the premises here at our vacation villa property. It was a absolutely scrumptious! Sitting in the hills of Tuscany overlooking the breathtaking view made for another memorable evening here in the Italian countryside.   Appetizer of potato croquettes, grilled eggplant and salad with cheese and walnuts  Pasta with Zucchini flowers  Spinach & Cauliflower with Chicken Pizzaiole I'm so happy that Tanya is having a blast. Everything sounds wonderful from her trip!! It was so nice having a brief conversation in real time yesterday. There was so much to say, but she didn't have internet for very long :-( Tomorrow we have a cooking class here at the villa. They were kind enough to adjust the meals to vegetarian for us. I'm looking forward to doing some creative cooking with the kids. It's a short blog since me and Mom are heading out early. Will post lots of pictures tomorrow from our little Pisa excursion. I hope you enjoyed the food pics today! Be back tomorrow! -E  Another fabulous view from our outdoor dining room | Alesund - Day 8Hey hey hey everyone! God Morgen (Good Morning) How's everyone been? Good. Good! I'm doing quite well me self (imagine me saying that in a British accent!)  Yesterday was lovely. Skjolden is such a remote and small town, where the population is only a mere 400. And then this huge ship comes into town with over 3,000 people wandering about! We were sure to be one of the first in line to disembark and to be one of the first off of the ship. Therefore we fortunately had the chance to see the community in it's true and rather barron state. We also had the wonderful opportunity to visit the Urnves Stave Church, a UNESCO world heritage site. Set on a beautiful site overlooking the gorgeous sparkling aqua colors of the Sognefjord; it was a truly exquisite example of original 12th century design, carvings and architecture of a stave church.  Alesund  Alesund Another highlight of my day (although quite brief) was finally being able to chat and catch up with Elisa! It's so nice to be in the same time zone. And on the opposite end of the spectrum, it stinks having limited internet access. Because, it has been so difficult to reach the kids and/or my mom in California (a 9hr time difference). Today's port is Ålesund. I'm loving it!!! Located at the mouth of the Stor Fjord. Ålesund straddles parts of seven islands today with a network of bridges that have earned it the nickname of "the Venice of Norway"! Boasting a large collection of Art Noveau architecture due to a tragic and devastating fire that took place in 1904. Sadly over 10,000 people were left homeless. But within three years, Ålesund was totally rebuilt with brick and stone. We have signed up for two excursions today! A visit to Giske & Godøy Islands, which are loaded with charm & history. Giske trivia side note: This island is the reputed birthplace of the great Viking Rollon, who laid siege to Paris and founded the Dutch of Normandy. William the Conqueror was his decendent. Our second excursion is a City Tour, where we will be sure to gain plenty of local knowledge & insight to this very beautiful Western Coast of Norway. As well as a few visits to breathtaking and stunning overlooks including Aksla mountain which can also be reached by trekking the 418 steps from town center. Between keeping busy with tours, we will also be on foot touring/sightseeing for ourselves. I'm wishing/hoping to finally find some souvenirs for myself and to gift the fam upon my return. As they well know, I always come bearing gifts!! Finally, just in case you've been curious, eating has been fun! Especially for dinner, where we (as vegans) order the chef's vegan choice! I'm not use to surprises for dinner (as I'm usually the chef myself). But come to think of it, this must be what it's like for all the mouths that I feed at home!! It's a surprise for them every night! WooHoo :) Cheerio chaps & chickadees, until tomorrow! -T |
