Read this before DEC 11, 2009! They're making a movie! I can't wait to see how that turns out. I think it could be absolutely amazing if made right, but typically the movie doesn't even compare to the book. The movie stars Mark Wahlberg and Rachel Weisz as the Salmons and a girl I've never heard of as Susie. How do you think the movie will be??
d to pick a place. It's a small town but it is big enough that it has shopping and lots of restaurants. It's extremely clean and the wall that encloses the town is thirty feet wide so everyone rides bikes and walks their dogs along the wall which is covered in gardens and flowers and overlooks Lucca. We got to Lucca in the evening and right away went out to dinner at a restaurant called Buca di Sant'Antonio. It was overrated and overpriced in my opinion although they did have some extravagant dishes like duck and boar that I didn't try so maybe those are great. In the morning we decided to go for a bike ride along the wall. I 
didn't know I could have so much fun on a bike but it was so nice out and the wall was so pretty that I did. We decided to catch a train to a town called Montecatini Terme where there are natural hot springs. It was very tropical and reminded me of a ritzy Caribbean town. We had lunch and decided the hot springs weren't exactly what we hoped they'd be so we took a taxi to Montecatini Alto which was on top of a mountain overlooking Terme. It was amazing there and the views were ridiculous. My dad loved it! There were lots of little cafes and big fancy villas on the cliffside. That night my mom and I went to apertivo at the hotel bar and had a glass of wine. We went to dinner at a little restaurant which we ended up going back to 2 more times because we absolutely loved it. It's called Bastian Contrario and it's only been open for 5 months. 
The owner is Italian and says he doesn't speak English but it's just because he's shy.. eventually we got him to try and he was fine. In the a.m. we got up and went to Pisa and we spent the rest of the afternoon relaxing back in Lucca. We went to a restaurant called Da Leo for dinner and Doug (the world's pickiest eater) got Carpaccio, raw slices of beef, to eat?? The following morning we decided we'd go to Cinque Terre and luckily we had perfect weather. Allie met us at the train station in Monterosso. We decided we'd get something food/drink related in every one of the five towns. In Monterosso we got appetizers: bruschetta and antipasto. In Vernazza we got lunch at Gianni Franzi. We hiked from Vernazza to Corniglia which was a crazy hike and now I understand what they meant when they said "repairing the trails" before because it literally looked like there had been a landslide or would be one shortly every 20 feet along the cliffside path. The hike took about 90 minutes and luckily there was a man sel
ling water 3/4 of the way through. When we got to Corniglia we stopped and got a local dessert wine that's only made in Cinque Terre called Scciachetra. It was really good so we bought a bottle to bring home. We took the train from Corniglia to Manarola where we didn't end up eating anything, but by the time we got off the Via dell'Amore we all needed a snack so we stopped at a restaurant for salads. My mom and I went out to dinner at Bastian Contrario. We ordered a cheese platter and the guy gave us a huge assortment of the best cheeses along with honey and jams to put on them. We also got an antipasto platter and by then I was so full I cancelled my entree order. After dinner the owner brought us a dessert that tasted like baked peach french toast and Finnish Pan
cakes combined, it was amazing and he told us his mom made it! Then he gave us glasses of a Lucchese (Luccan) dessert drink called Biadina that had pine nuts in it. We ended up buying bottles of that too and as we were leaving he gave us a bag of these delicious biscotti to take back to the hotel with us (he was so sweet,) so we went back to San Luca Palace with our hands full :) Yesterday was the only day it rained so we stayed in Lucca for the day and walked around town. I was tired so I stayed in my hotel room and talked to Josh for a while on the phone because he finally had a day off (yay!) Lastnight we went back to Bastian Contrario with the whole family and again had a great meal. Today my family is flying home and I'm on the train back to Florence now :)
h so we just went out to dinner at the same restaurant I went to in Campo di Fiori a few months before. It was decent this time around. We got nutella crepes afterward and by then they were so tired from jet lag we just went back to the hotel. The next morning we did a tour of the city on our own, and I couldn't believe how much I remembered from the first time I was there. Around 2 we met up with a private tourguide and went to Vatican City which I missed the first time around. We saw the Sistene Chapel which is soo much bigger than I thought it would be. Our guide was great and gave us so much information. We saw St. Peter's Church and the Pope's apartment. Then we all headed over to the Colosseum where she gave us a quick tour of that. My entire family was so into the Roman history, we ended up walking through the Forum and around the ruins. We found a restaurant for dinner that night that my dad's cousin who's a pilot recommended called Gioia Mia. It was a little hole in the wall but it was great and it was really close to our hotel. The next morning my dad and brothers went to the Palatine and the ruins again while my mom and I shopped. I got some cute bags and sandals from Zara :) Then we got a crepe and met back up with the rest of the family. The next morning we all left for Florence on the train. I showed them around a bit and we ended up running into a designer for Hermes who also has his own leather line and he dragged us to his shop which is right by the Ponte Vecchio. The man was hilarious and lived in the US f
or 12 years but he had the funniest, gay Italian accent when he spoke English. I made a reservation at Acqua al 2 for Monday night so we went there and everyone loved it. Tonight we're going to La Congrega and I think they'll really like that also. They visited the Uffizi and Accademia today while I was at class, and in between my classes I brought them up to San Miniato al Monte which is this incredible church on a hill overlooking the city which has a pretty graveyard. When we got there the monks were all inside chanting, it was so eerie. But they had a really busy day so hopefully dinner will be nice and relaxing!
out to eat at La Congrega for dinner, and they lovved it!! We went out to Bigallo and Twice after and then went to the secret bakery around 4:30. The next day we got up around noon and then had lunch at Oil Shoppe and got gelato at Vivoli's which is the best gelato everrr. They have dark chocolate with candied orange pieces, mmm! Then we did a little tour of the city and that night went out to dinner at Nuti for pizza. We had to be at the bus to Greece at 10am so we grabbed bagels and coffee on the way. They played movies on the bus and we got dropped off at our cruise ship which was actually pretty nice. We paid for a cabin, luckily, because it's an overnight cruise and people who didn't were just sleeping on the floor. We grabbed drinks at the bar and then went to
dinner at the restaurant on board. They served such good Greek food, and it was the first time I tried tzatziki, which I loved! But we had the worst wine I've ever had in my life, I don't know what it was but I think it was greek and we could hardly drink it. We went back to the room and like 14 year olds played never have I ever, which was hysterical.
which was included in our hotel. I wasn't expecting much but they gave us a huge dinner. We had roast chicken with vegetables, potatoes, salad, soup, and bread. We had these really good drinks called Pink Palace Coladas which were basically unfrozen pina coladas with strawberry flavor and some milk added. Then we moved downstairs where the club was. We danced and it was actually a decent size party but after a while they started playing bad songs and they never recovered so we left. The next morning everyone psychotically decided to sign up for the booze cruise at 6am so we didn't even bother trying. Instead we slept in and went to breakfast down by the beach where they cooked us fried eggs. Then we got beach chairs and laid out. We went to 
lunch by the water and they had amazing greek salad and such fresh fried pita bread with tzatziki, im officially a HUGE greek salad fan! We laid out for the rest of the afternoon and then picked up our togas (aka pink silk sheets) for the toga party. We went back and got ready, trying to figure out how to make togas. We ended up all making them totally different because none of us could remember how we did ours and/or they didn't fit everyone the same but they all came out cute and with only one safetypin each! We went to dinner in our togas and then went downstairs. They were supposed to have plate smashing and other greek events but we ended up staying for an hour so and going back to our room because we wanted to go ATVi
ng again in the am. The next morning we got our 4 wheelers and left to find a private beach. We found one called Pelekas that was up and down a bunch of steep hills but it was a resort beach and it was really nice. There was a brand new cafe there that overlooked the beach so we got cappuccinos and then went down to the water. It was so nice to lay out there on a quiet, sand beach and we could see the boozecruise parked off in the distance for cliffjumping. After a couple of hours we had to drive back to the hotel for the trip back home
.. It was a nice trip even though it was pretty disorganized. As were about to leave Camila realized her camera was gone and she thought she left it at the beach. Luckily a guy at the hotel offered to drive us to the beach and then to the cruiseship so we went with him but had no luck finding the camera. He was funny though, half way there he pulled out a bag of weed and just started smoking and telling us how in Greece it was no problem (but for some odd reason he also had a serious stick up his ass about the police so I don't know what his deal was.) So that was fun and when we got back to the cruise it was just about to leave.. perfect timing!
ut we ended up going out the night before we were supposed to leave, and when the alarm went off we were so tired that we just stayed in bed.. woops! We felt guilty though so when we woke up we made ourselves go and do stuff around Florence for the day. It was nice, Florence is such a beautiful city and I finally dont get lost now :) Lauren and Camila get here tomorrow!! They'll be here for 2 days, then we go to Greece and they stay here one more day when we get back, I'm sooo excited they're coming! I'm taking them to Acqua al 2 and La Congrega and they want to go to Twice to meet Nicco. Lauren lived here for a summer but Camila's never been so we're going to give her a tour I think before we leave for Grecia.
So I'm back in Florence. I got back to Barcelona around midnight and went to Caley's, because Lauren was there. We ate a bunch of popcorn and fruit&nut Toblerone and watched a million episodes of ANTM. A much needed girls night just hanging out. We all somehow fit into Caley's bed and passed out around 4 but had to be up at 11 for breakfast before I had to go to the airport. We went to Milk for brunch and I had blueberry pancakes with real syrup, yumm! We sat at Starbucks after for a while with chai's and I finally had to catch a cab to the airport around 1:30. I was sad to leave, little did I know I'd have hours of time left in Barcelona because my plane was delayed until 7.. oh well.. thats traveling! I read most of The Glass Castle which I had put off the entire time I was on break, and it was pretty good. I thought the story was really interesting but the writing was only okay.
o or three hours before getting on the plane to Gran Canaria, but the night before that I'd only slept maybe 3 or 4 hours? So I was running on low, but the second we got dropped off at the IFA Continental Resort on Playa del Ingles I went to my room and passed out. I planned to get up for dinner but I just never did and I slept until the next am. I was SO ready for the beach, but we started at the pool area which was beautiful! Ohh the view from our hotel room is amazing also, a big balcony overlooking the ocean. I'm staying with Allie. Cat, Tiana and Jenn are at our hotel also and a group of six or so more girls from API are staying up the road from us. So we just ended up staying by the pool all day except for when it was time to eat, which reminds me! Remember my workout plan for Spring Break? It totally failed, I did it, I think, one day and then of course Josh came and I ate out all the time, then Barcelona and bam here I am in the Canaries! But I'm not too worried, who do I have to impress? Anyway, later in the day we went down to the beach briefly and saw the other girls that are here. It's amazing to me that to every Spanish and Italian 20-something year old boy a blonde American girl is automatically "Paris Hilton" or "Barbi
e," but the thing about the "Paris" one is that they don't even say Paris normally, they say it like the French do.. "Paree" hahaha. I've heard that more times than I can count since I've been in Europe! Again that night as soon as I ate dinner I was absolutely exhausted and passed out at like 8, so weird but I again ended up sleeping through the night and waking up fully energized the next day. We planned a booze cruise for that day and when we woke up in the morning we were a little worried because it was raining, but by 1 the clouds were gone and it was gorgeous out. The cruise was 4 hours around the island and in the middle we stopped for drunken jet skiing and homemade paella that was really good. Everyone was wasted and our cruise guide had everyone playing ridiculous games, but the best part was that we were in the sun the entire time so we all got somewhat tanner. After we got back from the cruise we had dinner at the hotel and then went to the Miss IFA
Continental Pageant which was hilarious! There were 6 girls or something from all different countries, and in the end the girl from the US won, woohoo! She's studying in Florence too. We had some wine during the show and then passed out. Today was my last in Gran Canaria and I'm on the plane back to Barcelona now. We just laid out all day again today, it was really nice out. I had a ride to the airport around 7 for my flight, and I'm so confused because I get into Barcelona at 1am supposedly but there's a one hour time difference between Gran Canaria and there and it's daylight savings tonight so I'm so lost as to what time I'm actually getting in there. Anyway I'm taking a cab to Caley's because Lauren's there and we might go out I think, not sure.
slept in and went to a place called Bo da B for lunch where they have the freshest ingredients for great salads and sandwiches and they're really cheap! We went to the main harbor which was really beautiful and then went to Parc Guell which is by far my favorite place in the city. When you're there it's like you're in some fantasy world, and when we were there lots of musicians were set up throughout it playing so it made it even more dreamy. Gaudi's architecture is so creative and the tilework is really pretty. One of the best parts of the park is the fact that it overlooks the entire city out to the ocean. That night we went over to Lauren's friend Caley's apartment where we got drunk and played the dumbest (and yet most pathetically enterta
ining) game I've ever played. Interesting night.. On Monday I went on a tour of Barcelona with friends from Florence because Lauren had classes and Camila had gone back to Granada. We saw Casa Battlo, Parc Guell (again,) La Sagrada Familia and the soccer stadium. I made a reservation for Lauren's 21st bday dinner at Rita Rouge (sister to Rita Blue) for the next night and secretly ordered her a big birthday cake. We went to a club called Apolo that night with Lauren's friend Jaye who's really cute and is from the south. That ended up being a crazy night also and for some reason Lauren and I decided to walk home at 5am, but by the time we got half way back it was almost 6am when the metro opened so we just went and waited for the metro back to her apartment! Lauren had class in the a.m. and I couldn't sleep for some reason past 11 so I went online to check my bank account and was some how -$888,888.. good work Bank of America. So I spent an hour dealing with that, got ready and met Lauren at metro stop Arc de Triomf for lunch. The arc was really pretty and had a path lined with palm trees leading up to it, at the back of which was a big park where everyone was laying out and relaxing. After we left the park we went shopping to get Lauren a birthday dress for that night. We went to a bunch of boutiques and stores but of course she ended up getting a dr
ess from H&M and then a belt from Zara.. it was really cute though! By the time we were done shopping it was almost 7 and we had to rush back to her apartment to get ready for dinner. We ended up being late but they didn't care, and we had the best table in the house.. Right under Rita's portrait! Lauren's roommates came along with some of her friends from her program. The restaurant was cool, with zebra prints and disco ball columns. The meal was delicious (I got chicken fajitas again) and the best part by far was the cake.. It was fudgy chocolate with chili-powder and had caramel drizzled over top. I haven't had a dessert like that in Europe at all! Afte
r dinner, at which point Lauren was already wasted, we went to an Absynthe bar where the owner was a complete Scottish asshole, but moving on.. and then we took a cab (we took 2 cabs because there were so many of us and our cab drivers blasted the music, windows down and raced eachother, haha! they were old men too!) to Shoko which was packed and really fun. We decided to move on so we went over to Opium which was really nice but not many people were there. This guy we were with stole a bottle of Malibu from behind the bar and we went up in VIP where Lauren just blatantly was pouring it into a Sprite she somehow got haha. Needless to say she got caught so we moved and within minutes Lauren was pretty much passed out so we took a cab home. I think it was an excellent 21st!
ut it! I'm now in Barcelona. I flew Meridiana from Florence and took a bus from the airport to Catalunya where Lauren met me. I was SO happy to see a familiar face but especially hers! We went back to her apartment and she made a great caprese salad to tide us over until dinner. Camila is here too so we met her at a bar called Milk for happy hour where we got these really good raspberry drinks that had creme de something in them and brown sugar! Then we went to Rita Blue for great Spanish/Mexican food. We had the best nachos I've ever had, I'm not really a nacho person because the cheese is too greasy and heavy but these nachos were in a little cup with salsa and goat cheese on them and theyre amazing! Then I went on to have the best chicken faji
tas ever, and a delicious (and free) Kiwi Mojito, so all in all Rita Blue gets an A++ from me. The cook came out of the kitchen during dinner and was doing magic tricks at our table and everyone else that worked there was hilarious too so we had a great time. We didn't know where we wanted to go out for the night but as we were leaving Rita Blue we ran into a promoter for a club by the beach so we went there. It was all Spanish people, we were the only Americans and it was fun but the guys were a little skeezy. They had good music though!
Mar. 18, 2009
d for an hour or so and then met Mark for lunch at Coin department store where they had the freshest, most amazing buffet I've ever had (it kind of reminded me of Club Med!) I had a really good fruit salad, a cheese plate and some pasta. Mark is in the financial industry and is American but met Elena in the U.S. and married her while she was at NYU getting her MBA. She is from Milan so after they had their kids they decided to move to Italy to raise them. All of their kids speak English, Italian and French. After lunch Mark drove us to Lake Como which was really pretty but honestly kind of paled in comparison to Cinque Terre. There were a lot of sailboats out, so we stopped and got a coffee and relaxed by the lake for a while. Then we headed back to the Larkins for dinner. Josh and I went for a walk through their town, w
hich is very small and quiet, but nice, and then through their gardens which were unbelievable! When we got back dinner was ready. Elena cooked a great pasta with pesto, veal and salad. We had great wine and for dessert we had strawberries with whipped cream, it was all soo good! We ended up sitting talking with them for three hours, they're so nice and interesting! A lot of the conversation was about hockey though, of course, so Josh was right at home.
world's most beautiful place. I seriously don't know where these people go on vacation, because they live in paradise! Every single one of the five villages had it's own unique little style and each one was so great. Josh and I stayed in Levanto, the town just before the Cinque Terre, at a bed & breakfast called Villa Margherita and had a really nice balcony overlooking the ocean. We got there at night because we planned to hike the next day so we just went out to dinner and relaxed at the hotel. We got up really early in the am to grab breakfast and start the hike. When we got to the first town Monterosso, we went to the start of the trail and found out it was closed for repairs (whatever that means) so we ended up buying a day pass on the train and took it from town to town. 
Monterosso had the biggest beach of the five towns. All of the towns were practically deserted but I guess in the summer it gets really busy there. The second town was called Vernazza. This is where we stopped to get lunch. We ate at a place called Gianni Franzi and I tried the pesto on homemade pasta because Cinque Terre is known for its pesto. We also had a bottle of the local D.O.C. white wine, and bought a bottle for the family we're visiting in Varese. The third town is called Corniglia and it was a hike to get there even from the train station, but the hike was worth it. The town was on top of a cliff and had ridiculous views of the ocean! From there we moved on to 
Manarola which I think was my favorite. It was colorful and had a pretty boat launch. Josh went and dipped his feet in the Mediterranean for the first time and I bet it was freezing! We took the Via dell' Amore, a path along the water, to the last town Riomaggiore. In Riomaggiore we got gelato and used a bathroom that literally just had a big hole in the floor, and then we had to hurry back t
o the train station for our trip to Varese. The ride was about two hours and when we got there Mark Larkin picked us up and brought us to his house. I thought it might be kind of awkward since I didn't know the family at all, but they were so normal and nice that right away I felt totally fine, especially after I met Elena, Mark's wife. Their house is absolutely beautiful, it's a big villa that used to be a convent and they have incredible gardens apparently but we can't see them until tomorrow. Our room is huge and has a balcony that looks out over the town and the lake in the distance, soo glad we came! 
Josh at the top of the Duomo (he hates heights!)
