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Notes on the Italian Lifestyle

By Jessica

This post may contain affiliate links. I may receive commissions for purchases made through links in this post.

Notes on the Italian Lifestyle

Going to Italy was a wonderful experience, we ate wonderful food and saw some amazing sights, but it was the little cultural differences that struck me the most. During our trip, I took some notes that I thought would be fun to talk about them on here.

First and foremost English is not the primary language, while plenty of people spoke English, there were plenty of times where the language barrier was present. All I have to say is thank goodness that most people get the awkward pointing and hand signs.

Tiny tea cups was another thing. Maybe it’s because they prefer espresso, but all the tea, coffee, and water cups were tiny. I’m used to a solid 12 to 16-ounce cup of tea in the morning so paying 2,50 euro for less than 6 ounces was a real shock for me. Having an entire apartment in Rome was a life saver.

One of my favorite things about Italy is that there were gardens everywhere. Whether we were in the city or the countryside, everyone had a garden. Even in Venice where there was very little grass to be found flowers and herbs were in nearly every single window, porch or patio. In the countryside, the gardens were larger with lots of vegetables and roses.

Good food matters. I think this one was to be expected, but I think the gardens and potted herbs in the city shows how important local fresh food is to the Italians. We did a wine tour and were told that many of the locals in the countryside grow their own olive trees and have the olives pressed to make their own olive oil, again showing how much they really care about fresh food. I also think the fact that they typically take a 2-hour lunch break each day to partake in several course meals says a lot.

Breakfast is small. A croissant and coffee or hot chocolate is a typical Italian breakfast. For me it was a little lack luster, I like a good croissant but for desert, I much prefer the big breakfast of potatoes, eggs, bacon, toast with endless cups of tea and juice. Needless to say, I’m used to a big breakfast with a smaller lunch, quite the opposite of Italian tradition.

Continuing the food conversation, restaurant etiquette is a little different as well. For starters, the portion sizes are smaller because tradition is to order multiple courses at a meal. It actually took us a few days to get this, and we ended up going to bed hungry before we figured it out. Additionally, waiters do not typically get tipped so that means they aren’t running over to ask you if you need anything, however, they will pay attention and make sure your wine glass is always full. They also will not bring the check unless specifically asked, I think this is because Italians like to linger, relishing their wine and desert, and really who could blame them? Altogether I think dining in Italy is a much more relaxed and potentially pleasant experience than it is in the states (at least the area I’m from).

Now to talk about the puppy dogs: While there weren’t a ton of dogs around the ones we did see we were wonderfully well behaved. Many of them followed their owners around town without leashes, some even waiting patiently outside stores while their owners shop. I pride myself on my own well behaved pup, but these dogs were pros. What amazed me the most is that it is something that we noticed in every place we visited.

These were just a few of the things that we noticed that were very different from our lives here in the northeast. I’m sure there’s more that I’m forgetting but I can always add to this list later right? If you ever get the chance to visit Italy I totally completely suggest that you do, it is a wonderful and beautiful place.

 

 

 

June 27, 2016 August 9, 2016 Filed Under: Travel Tagged With: Travel

Our Italian Vacation

By Jessica

This post may contain affiliate links. I may receive commissions for purchases made through links in this post.

I have plenty of stories to tell, but for the time being I thought you guys might like to see some photos.

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Our trip started in Venice.

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Then we visited Florence.

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While in Florence we went on a wine tour to the Chianti Classico countryside.

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From there we spent one night in Siena. This was the view from our room.

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Rome was our last stop.

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Including a trip to the beach.

June 17, 2016 August 9, 2016 Filed Under: Travel Tagged With: Travel

My Italy Bucket List

By Jessica

This post may contain affiliate links. I may receive commissions for purchases made through links in this post.

I have to admit I’m falling behind on planning for Italy. I planned everything to a T when we went to Ireland but honestly I don’t have it in me this time. I just want to get there already. I want to be drinking wine on a side walk at a little café. I mean doesn’t that sound delightful?

While I don’t have our transportation, or plans set in stone yet I do have a few things that I know I want to do. I thought it would be fun to share that list with you.

Eat gelato every day

Wander through ancient ruins

Spritz in Venice

Source: cntraveler.com

Eat Seafood & Drink Spritz in Venice

Go on a wine tour in Tuscany

Spend an evening strolling through city streets as the sun sets

Buy fresh ingredients and cook a meal on my own

Go to an authentic trattoria

Trevi Fountain

source: trevifountain.net

Get a photo  in front of the Trevi Fountain

Eat Pizza

Visit some epic Dan Brown movie sights, because why not? (eg. The Pantheon, Piazza del Popolo, Church of Santa Maria del Popolo, etc)

Eat Pasta (Basically we are eating all the things here)

The Vatican

source: en.wikipedia.org

See the Vatican

Go to a gallery and see some beautiful art

And there you have it my bucket list. We aren’t really looking for anything ground breaking here, but it was a fun little post to put together. Happy Friday!

May 6, 2016 August 9, 2016 Filed Under: Travel Tagged With: Travel

Watkins Glen State Park & The Gorge Trail

By Jessica

This post may contain affiliate links. I may receive commissions for purchases made through links in this post.

Watkins Glen State Park located at the base of Seneca Lake in the Finger Lakes Region of Upstate New York is easily one of the most beautiful place I have ever visited. It was definitely a highlight of our trip to the Finger Lakes for our honeymoon.

The park itself is pretty small, though it does still boast camp grounds, a pool and other amenities along with its famous Gorge trail. There are a total of 19 waterfalls and numerous pools of water created over the centuries by the Glen Creek. The Gorge Trail is impeccably maintained trail that includes cement pathways and stairs, stone and timber bridges and informational plaques. The pathway is carved into the side of the massive cavern and in some places right through the stone wall itself. It’s a pretty easy little hike, though be aware there are a number of stairs.

For more info check out the park’s website.

On this little hike we took our time making our way from the main entrance up the Gorge Trail. Enjoying every site and analyzing the different types of rock, how it must have felt to build the stairs, and bridges, as well as the millions of years it took to develop such a beautiful place. On the way back we started on the Indian trail, crossing at the rainbow falls bridge to make our way up the North Country Trail to the Lilly pond and back across the suspension bridge, before heading down to the Gorge Trail again to exit the park. It was a breath taking, easy going hike that I’m glad we were able to do.

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October 16, 2015 December 5, 2017 Filed Under: Camping/Hiking Tagged With: Camping/hiking, Travel

Our Honeymoon in Wine Country, NY

By Jessica

This post may contain affiliate links. I may receive commissions for purchases made through links in this post.

I’ve been a married lady all of about 2 weeks now. The whole idea of being married is still settling in on me. Wedding pictures are forthcoming I promise, but today I want to talk about the honeymoon.

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We stayed at the Savanna House on Seneca lake, in the honeymoon sweet. It was absolutely delightful. The whole thing was the size of a small apartment decorated in the shabby chic style that really reminds me of NY, Finger Lakes style. When we entered the room there were lavender scented candles alight, and tranquil music playing. It was absolutely perfect! What’s better is that the masseuse arrived about 2 minutes after we did, starting this honeymoon off right. We ended the night pretty early with a bottle of cider that was a wedding gift, cheese crackers and veggies that I had brought for snacks throughout the week.

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After a hearty breakfast at a local diner we ventured to Pulteney Square and then did the Keuka Lake Wine tour. We finished off the day by ordering an obscene amount of Chinese food and a nice long bath.

In case you are wondering these are the wineries we visited: Bully Hill, Keuka Vineyards, Heron Hill, Dr. Frank’s Wine Cellars, Deep Root, & Yates Cellars.

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The next day we ventured to Watkins Glen for breakfast at Glen Mountain Bakery and a short hike that deserves its own post (coming soon).

Lunch was burgers at the Village Marina. Which put us into a food coma enough to take a nap. Since most winerys close at 6 and we woke up at 5:30 we decided to hang out in our sweet, read and find a nice place for dinner. We decided on Nonna’s Trattoria in Geneva. It was classic Italian food, that was delicious, another food coma ensued.

The following day we chose a few wineries along Seneca Lake, and Cayuga Lake to hit as we made our way back to pick the Brody Monster.

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The wineries that we visited on this part of the trip included: HJ Wiemer Winery, Pompous Ass Winery, Red Newt, Wagner Winery, Lamoreaux Landing, and Sheldrake Point.

With puppy in tow we finally made it back to our favorite camping spot for a few days to finalize the week.

I couldn’t ask for a more perfect honeymoon. I think Chuck enjoyed it as well. It was simple, easy, and perfectly romantic, as well as very us. We also ended up coming home with about 2 cases of wine, so I think we did alright.

If your interetested to see what else NY wine country has to offer check out my Wine Country Bucket List.

 

October 2, 2015 October 1, 2015 Filed Under: Travel, Wedding Tagged With: Travel, Wedding

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Hi, I'm Jessica. I'm an engineer living in the great northeast with my husband Chuck, our two little boys, our dog Brody and a flock of chickens. I'm all about real, good food and good times with awesome people. I spend a lot of time outside, in my garden, and concocting potions with my essential oils. I also like tea, reading, and about a million other hobbies. I'm so happy your here on this adventure with me.

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