Grazie, Merci

I’m very thankful Amanda and I could return to our traveling ways at the end of August. Before going any further, a major thanks to her parents and all of our family that allowed us to go solo on the trip, as they took care of the kids. 

8 years after our last Labor Day trip to Italy for a wedding of Singapore friends, we went back to Tuscany for another celebration. This time it was to celebrate Gemma and Shavit, some truly amazing and thoughtful friends. 

Plane, Train, Taxi

We met up with Amanda’s parents in Dallas so we could pass the kids to them, as we went from Dallas to Rome. Nothing remarkable about the flight, but after our lost luggage in Auckland/Melbourne, I was just happy to see our bag come off the luggage belt.  

From the airport, we took a train to Florence as there were welcome drinks with the wedding party that night. When we told our taxi driver in Florence that we were from Texas, he told us how he loved American football and his favorite team was the Dallas Cowboys! The trip was off to a great start. 

Once we arrived at the “agroturismo” that our Parisian friend,  Ben, booked for all of us, we were stunned. It was a 19th century villa about 25 minutes outside the city in the Tuscan hills. It’s been remodeled to serve as a hotel, and it was a very cool experience. Ben arrived later that evening and the trip was underway for real. 

10 Years, One Moment 

Sunday night, we arrived at the welcome drinks and it was so wonderful to see the wedding couple again! The bride and groom each had a bar they were posted up at, so we started at the bride’s. All the drinks were named after sexual inuendos and the bathroom even had a stripper pole! That being said, it was all very tame and we just enjoyed seeing friends. The groom’s bar was much more straightforward, which definitely fits his persona. 

For both, I was so thankful that even though it’d been 10 years since I’d seen them in person, the connection was instant. I’ve often viewed our Singapore time as a second college experience, and that unique time in our lives created forever friendships. 

Where is the Castle? 

On Monday, we had a chill morning, and I took a walk outside our hotel through their olive and grape vineyards.  Then Ben, Amanda, and me went further south into a town called Panzano. This was a recommendation of our Deion Sanders-loving taxi driver. Our plan was to find somewhere for lunch, but it wasn’t quite the little town I was thinking it’d be. That being said, the driver was right in telling us that one of the world’s most famous butchers, Dario Cecchini, had his shop in town. If anyone reading this is a “Top Chef” fan, he’s the man that shouts “Carne!” We even got to meet him briefly.

After, we went through country roads to a restaurant in the hills. Boy, did Ben pick a great spot! The scenery was perfection. We enjoyed buffalo mozzarella, bread, wine and pasta. Amanda picked a little better than I did, but I was trying to adventurous and push my palette with a mushroom dish. To top it off, we had this delicious chocolate panacotta. It was like the texture of a flan with the comfort of a vanilla ice cream with chocolate sauce. It was one of the top things I ate in Italy. 

Following lunch, I wanted to go back into Panzano to see a castle I’d read about. I ended up disappointed when we realized the castle isn’t quite a full castle anymore. Part remains as a church, but there’s no tour or anything to take. The joke from then on was that I just wanted to see a castle. Boo hoo 😢

No big deal, as we had something even better ahead. Another great friend, Alex, had arrived into Florence and we were on our way to explore with him. With Alex in tow, we walked through the streets of Florence, taking in the Duomo, walking by famous sculptures, and crossing the Ponte Vecchio. 

By this point, we’d also connected with Beny, who was a friend coming to the wedding. Beny and I had just missed each other during our times in Singapore, as we left just as he arrived. Not shockingly, he’s very nice and easy to get along with. 

For dinner, Alex suggested going to one of the kosher restaurants in town, which was right next to the synagogue. From the outside, you can tell how beautiful the chapel is. While we weren’t able to make it inside on this trip, some friends showed me photos and it’s stunning.  For dinner, Alex and I ended up sharing a classic, the Florentine steak.  It was a big porterhouse, and it was really, really good. Amanda ordered a pasta carbonara, which we normally can’t have because it uses bacon, but this one used baked duck and it was very good. Another SG friend, Eli, joined us at dinner and from there, we all went out for drinks. It was a wonderful night with lots of good conversations and meeting up with other wedding guests.

The Lake Effect 

Tuesday morning was really special for me. The guys invited me to join them in taking Shavit out for a swim in a little lake nearby. As Alex and Ben were groomsmen, I really felt honored to be included in this.  We ended up walking down the wrong path to get to the lake, and thankfully, no one turned an ankle. Either way, we got there, and I was expecting the water to be freezing, but it was quite nice. We swam from one side of the little lake to the other, chatted, reminisced about old times, started making future ones. I had a moment where I really thought about lucky we were to be four friends in the middle of a gorgeous area. From there, we found a restaurant for lunch and really enjoyed having burrata and pizzas. While I was away, Amanda enjoyed a restful day to herself, taking in a day when she could sleep as late as she wanted, watched what she wanted and simply got to relax. 

That night, we had the wedding and I know the couple was a little sad it had to be moved indoors because of rain, but truly, it was still very beautiful. The service had a calm, warm and welcoming feeling. And afterwards, everyone enjoyed seeing the view from the gardens and the balconies. The reception was amazing - great food, wonderful dancing, funny speeches, an incredible cake presentation. Overall, it was just perfect. We finished the night with a rowdy rendition of the seven wedding blessings, and that might be one of the moments that sticks with me for a while. 

Impruneta for Instance 

After a late wake up, we took it easy and drove to a little town called Impruneta. We lunched at a cafe, walked around the streets and then rested a bit more. I took another walk through the villa’s land just to soak it all in. That night, the bride and groom hosted a large pizza party. This wasn’t a stack of pizza boxes type thing. No, no, no. There was a mobile pizza maker and it was awesome! I really enjoyed chatting with some of our Singapore friends, new and old, and then watching the sun set that night was gorgeous. It was hard to say goodbye to our friends, but I’m thankful we had this amazing opportunity. 

So Nice to Visit Nice 

With Ben driving to another wedding in the south of France, we tagged along and had him drop us off in Nice. Our little road trip with him was really chill, getting to see the Mediterranean coast line at times, while also seeing beautiful mountains. I’m always amazed to see homes up there, and at times, there would be incredible looking churches at the top of a hill. We stopped and bought some sandwiches from a little place along the coast. My turkey sandwich was delicious! I think we might need to get a panini press back at home. 

Our hotel room in Nice was quite small, but it was clean and did the trick. The best part was it was a 5 minute walk down to the waterside. The water was SO blue! There was some teal water right by the shore and then deep blue after that. It was gorgeous. We walked along the Promenade des Anglais which is a large pathway right along the water. We did a free walking tour which is something we always enjoy. I didn’t realize the name Nice stems from Greek and was named after the Greek goddess, Nike. Which leads me to wonder, how in the world does the French football club, Nice, not have Nike as their kit sponsor??? Seems like a missed opportunity to me! We enjoyed trying a local dish called socca, which is a little pancake made out of chickpeas. It was nice, but could’ve used something to dip it in or pair it with. It was fun that a couple from the tour joined us in trying it, and we found out they had just gotten married earlier that week. 

On to Paris 

Thursday morning, I jumped up to go swim in the sea. The beach is all rocks, but thankfully they were smooth. I debated getting in or not and then thought, “This is your chance, just go for it.”   Once in the water, it was really comfortable, and I’m happy I did it. From there, we got on the train for Paris. It was nice to look out the window and go along the coast, and then go through farmland, including a few wind farms. 

Friday evening, we had a lovely Parisian dinner not too far from the Eiffel Tower.  Amanda really enjoyed a goat cheese salad, while I had steak frites, and I was pleasantly surprised with a peppercorn/curry sauce to dip the fries in. That was something new for me! 

After dinner, we found a different spot for crème brûlée before take an evening, river boat tour. It was very calming to be on the top deck of the boat, seeing so many beautiful buildings and the Eiffel Tower. When the tour was done, we walked to the tower to get a closer look. Amanda knows that I don’t enjoy seeing pictures of things before we visit them, but that’s somewhat impossible to do with a landmark like that. Even so, it was really quite magnificent, especially at night. 

On Saturday, we made our way to Le Victoire Synagogue, which is known as the grand synagogue of Paris. It was stunning with an almost cathedral like feel to it. The ceiling was so high, the design in the stonework was incredible, and so were the windows. It stood out to me that the synagogue had a choir that sang in quite operatic tones, which is definitely different than what I’m used to. One final note, I loved that the gabbi of the shul, who helps organize the service, wore a French style hat. It looked good on him, and felt very Parisian. 

After that, we followed a walking tour Ben had given us. It went threw really cool shopping tunnels and through some plazas. We were able to stop in at the Anne Frank Garden before having lunch not too far away. Afterwards, we took a free walking tour, led by a man named Pierre (which Amanda felt was totally appropriate 🤣). Through the tour, we saw the Hotel de Ville, the exterior of Notre Dame Cathedral, the Pont Neuf, a bridge that used to have the keypad locks of many loving couples, the Louvre and many other cool spots as well. After that was done, we hopped on a train so we could see the Arch de Triomph before having dinner at a wonderful restaurant called Bouillon Republicque. The wait to get in was quite long, but that’s because they have good food at very reasonable prices. We were able to each get an appetizer, main, side and dessert for the same price as the meal we had the night before. The highlight was the French onion soup Amanda got. I was more than happy to finish off the bowl when she was done with it! 

On Sunday, we went to the palace at Versailles. It was something both Amanda and I were keen to do from before the trip. And while it’s a bit of a trek out there, we really enjoyed it. To see the highly decorated rooms with so much art in them is incredible. We didn’t end up buying a gardens ticket, but, we were able to visit the park at Versailles after a half-hour walk. It’s impressive to see how large the palatial estate is, and I know we saw just a very tiny part. 

That evening, we went to dinner near the apartment we were staying at. The restaurant was right along the waterway, and it was a great evening to eat with a view. Instead of dessert, we strolled along the water while watching a beautiful sunset. It was a perfect way to cap off the trip. 

Overall, we had a wonderful time on our trip. I loved seeing close friends, exploring new areas, eating very good food, and honestly, just being outside with it not being 95 degrees. I don’t know when we’ll go back to Europe, but I’m sure we will one day, and maybe next time with the kids.