Au revoir Paris -- hello LA!

The streets of Paris 

I can't believe that our 3 wonderful days in Paris are over and that tomorrow we will be headed home.   We have had so much fun in Paris showing Emma the sightts, museums, cafes and all of the things that make Paris so special.  But...let's be honest... The most impressive thing about Paris to Emma is that there was a macaron shop and chocolate shop on every single block! And to her credit she tried most of them!!! When we weren't sampling Paris sweets, we walked the streets, went to the Rodin museum, visited the Eiffel Tower, champs élysées, the louvre and last but not least Versailles !!!! I'm actually looking forward to doing absolutely nothing for 12 hours on the flight home tomorrow!!!  As I think back on the past two and a half months I feel blessed that I had the opportunity to. travel, explore, learn, reflect and really appreciate life in its simplicity.  I was happy to have a lot less stress and happy that Howard and I had an opportunity to spend so much time together.  In many ways the time

Versailles and all of the beautiful gardens!

has gone by so quickly and in others I feel like I have been gone forever.  I am sad to leave certain things behind but am so excited to come back home to our family and friends that I have missed so much and thought of all the time.  We look forward to reconnecting and seeing everyone. While the time here has been amazing ..I think Dorothy had it right...there's no place like home!!!!!  Can't wait to seee everyone. Xo

Emma never grew tired of her favorite sweet!

Arrivederci italia

Italian riviera and some of our favorite eats on our last day!

Our favorite sights!!

Things we will miss seeing

So much for regulation baggage!

                           

                          



The last few days have been very quiet as we wrapped up our time in Italy and did little more than enjoy the natural beauty and try to take in all that we loved about our time here...mostly the scenery and the generous and friendly people. We went to our favorite local restaurants, sat by the pool, enjoyed morning walks and went to the beach! (All of the beach clubs opened Easter Sunday!). Today we hit the road by 4am in order to make it to Florence in time to return our rental (I'm sure going to miss driving a stick shift!!) and catch our 7 am flight to Paris.  Although we shipped a box back home and begged dani to take an extra suitcase home with her, we still seem like we have a ton of baggage.  Shopping is out of the question in Paris since we can't fit one more item in our luggage!!!! Arrivederci Italy.  We loved our time here!!!

Naples for the weekend

Naples coastline and castel

After a wonderful visit with dani it was time to say goodbye and in Saturday we headed to Florence for her to catch her flight back to la. With only two weekends left in Italy we decided on one last excursion to Napoli!  We had heard a mixed bag of reviews--some saying if you haven't been to Naples, you haven't been to Italy...others saying stay away from this dirty chaotic town. We figured we would make our own judgement and...off we went!  As the birthplace of margarita pizza how bad could it be!!!  We took an easy 3 hour train out of Florence and arrived at Napoli centrale before dark.  We were pleasantly surprised to see such a beautiful coastline and bustling town. Our hotel was perfectly situated with a view of the harbor and one of the many castles.  We decided to save the pizza experience for day two and rather indulged our yearning for sushi since we read that one of the top

The famous margherita pizza!

sushi  ars in all of Italy was located in Naples!  We were not disappointed. Had an amazing sushi dinner and then back to the hotel for our early start on Sunday. We woke up and decided to walk through castel dell' oso. It was one of the castles in Naples used to protect the city from oncoming battle. Pretty remarkable to see the castle and imagine how effective it was hundreds of years ago.  Next we decided to take a boat tour of the coastline and see my Vesuvius from the water. We were also just a 40 min boat ride from Capri which we were also able to see but unfortunately time didn't allow us to go to the island. For lunch we went to one of the oldest and most famous pizza restaurants in Naples--Brandi opened in 1889! . It is where margherita pizza was first made and named in honor of the queen!  It was very different (and in our opinion...better) than the pizza in Tuscany.  This pizza was a bit more doughy with thin crust but a little bit thicker around the edges.  Very little cheese and amazing!!! After lunch we walked and walked.  Some stores were open but many were closed since it was Sunday. For dinner we went to an outdoor restaurant along the boardwalk. Great food and amazing people watching. We ate at 9:30 which we thought was late but people were rolling in for dinner at 11:30 when we left! Lets of fun and lots of energy in Naples.  On Monday we headed to the famous archeological museum where's my of the ruins from Pompeii are on display.  I never knew that the ancient Italians were known for erotica!  There is a special area of the museum which displays the

Erotica shop or museum?? Hmm 

many x rated works of art!!! They had a real obsession with anything phallic!!!  After the museum it was our final lunch in Naples and then the train back to Florence in time for Seder! Since we were a little early for the Seder we ducked into a "bar" across the street and had our version of cocktails and appies

Pre Passover libations!

(Italian style!).  The Florence synagogue was positively beautiful.  As in most synagogues here the women and men sit separately ...of course Emma and I didn't mind too much since the women were far less serious and far more chatty! than the men.  Howard wasn't as thrilled!! After the service we were ushered to the basement for a very lackluster Seder. We did meet some interesting people many of whom were here on vacation looking for a Seder so it was fun to hear their travel stories.  Unfortunately

The beautiful Florence synagogue 

we "surrendered " at around 10:30 and still no meal had been served!! We were able to grab some matzah and had our share of wine so it wasn't a total loss but no replacement for our fabulous Seders at Wendy's house!!! After a long weekend and Seder we drove an hour back to the villa and arrived around midnight safe and sound.  On Tuesday while Emma and I were more than ready for some
down time, Howard had the energy left for one last excursion.  Off he went for a quick two day trip to Prague!  Fortunately, Michael has two of his close friends studying in Prague so Howard was able toile dinner plans with them and spend the days seeing all of the sites in Prague. Since I had already been there (visiting dani some years ago), this was the perfect excursion for Howard to do solo! While Howard was away, Emma and I went to montecatani terme a little town between Tuscany and Florence know for their spa/beauty treatments.

Howard's "selfies" around Prague 

Can't say it was the best massage we ever had but we definitely loved our girl time.  We all get reunited tomorrow when Howard returns and then we head out to Paris on Monday and back to LA Thursday night!!!! Can't believe this adventure that we have been on is winding down.  Can't wait to see everyone. Xox

"Marble" ous times with dani

Wish I could take some of this home with me!

Wow it's been a whirlwind of fun since Dani has been visiting. I'll try to recap the past few days. On Tuesday we went to Carrera Italy, home of my favorite...Carrera marble.  We found an adventure tour which takes  you in a land rover straight up (and I really mean straight up!) into the mountains and the marble caves where you can actually see the men cutting the blocks of marble from the mountain. If anyone saw 007 Quantum of Solice, the opening scene was filmed right on this site!    This mining  has been going on for hundreds of years and to see how the marble is cut and excavated helps explain the extraordinary cost of getting it to us at home.  Close to Carrera however, the. marble is so readily available that some of the sidewalks nearby are paved in marble rather than cement or tile since the marble is less expensive and more available.  So strange to see.  The enormity of the marble caves was something I will never forget. Don't think the pictures really capture it but its the best I can do. After the marble caves we headed back home and I shared the recipes from the cooking class which  I had taken with my mom and made a mini cooking class with the girls!  We made our own pizzas and pici (pasta) and sauce.  Yum but ALOT of work making homemade pasta if you plan to have more than 3 strands per person!!! We all enjoyed it but I don't think I will be firing up the pizza oven again before we leave.  Lots of fun but with no gas starter it is a time consuming labor of love---same with the pasta!. On Wednesday, we headed towards the water for a beautiful day in cinque

Fun by the sea

terre. This time we drove in the back route and saw some pretty spectacular views.  It really is an amazing place and fortunately we are close  enough to be able to take our visitors there...I wouldn't want anyone to miss all if the natural beauty cinque terre has to offer! Thursday we headed out to lucca and then to a magnificent villa, monte chiara, for some wine tasting  

Our wine tasting adventure

This amazing property with views of the entire valley has been owned and operated by the most lovely family for 200 years.  They prepared a wonderful tasting and then a tour of their grounds and production facilities. Their wines have been recognized as worldwide and they really were delicious. After wine tasting it was off to lucca for some shopping and dinner.  Today we took the train into Florence where
the girls met up with two of Dani's sorority sisters who were spending the semester studying abroad.  They had a great afternoon walking around and then going to boboli  gardens and had a picnic on the grounds to take full advantage of the perfect weather.  While they were busy with friends, Howard and I secured our plans for Passover at the historic (and magnificent) Florence synagogue.  They will be offering a full service and sedar in both Italian and English!  That should be quite and experience.  Since we were already at the train station in Florence we decided to check and see where we could go on our last excursion that didn't involve a flight (the flights within Europe are inexpensive but also inconvenient!). Looking at the train schedule we decided on Naples since it is 3 hours by train and convenient times in and out of Florence.  That adventure will begin tomorrow but for now we are squeezing the last bit of fun in with dani and Emma. With the logistiics of our next few days taken care of, Howard and I walked around, bought a little art  and had a beautiful lunch.  After the fun filled day in Florence, we all met up at the train station and headed back to viaregio for dinner. We loved having dani and know it was an extra special time for Emma too!  Travel back home safely!!! Love to all. Xox

Dani and Emma having fun in Florence.

Siena, hamburg and dani...oh my!!!

Siena museum and wine tasting! 

Truffle dinner in Siena. Still milking the anniversary 

What a fun filled couple of days.  On Friday, Emma jumped on a flight to Hamburg to visit her friend Lara who she met last summer at berklee.  As soon as we dropped her off at the airport we headed to Siena for a weekend of exploring and wine tasting. The ride from Pisa to Siena was absolutely beautiful.  Saw magnificent rolling hills, grape vines and incredible landscapes.  Siena is another "walled" city and we elected to stay at a hotel right outside of the walls

Emma in hamburg

to make it a little easier for us to come and go!  Siena reminded both of us a bit of luca although Siena is bigger (second largest Tuscan city) and less touristy!  We had a fabulous truffle dinner the first night in Siena and walked around a bit before passing out!! The next morning we headed out to piazza del campo which was one of the largest and prettiest squares we have yet to see.  After a morning walk it was off to montalcino for a day of wine tasting...mostly the wonderful brunello's most favored in the area. After our tasting we took the hour long drive back to Siena and decided to have a very casual, low key night.  The next morning we had planned to see the duomo in Siena which we heard was

A breath of springtime in camiore 

fantastic.  Unfortunately when we arrived at the ticket office we were told that the duomo was closed on Sundays until 1pm.  Fortunately in our very limited Italian we were able to convince the gaurds that we were not tourists but rather wanted to go in to pray and light a candle.  They went with that so

Over the moon to see dani!

we were able to see the duomo without any crowds at all!  (We lit a candle for good measure!) and it really was as beautiful as we had heard it was!  After the duomo it was off to Florence airport to pick up dani!!!! She arrived safe and sound and actually got a little sleep on the plane so that was great!  Had a nice local dinner with dani and today we hit the market at Lido Di

The girlies together in Italy

Camiore since it was magnificent spring day, walking along the seaside market sounded perfect to all of us!  This afternoon howard headed to pisa to pick emma up and alas, we are all under one roof...happy and safe!  love to all xoxo

Man does not live by pasta alone...a taste of home!

Time in and around Vinci

It's been a couple of mellow days as I have been trying to take it easy and recuperate (which I'm happy to say I'm feeling better!) and Emma has been trying to catch up on some schoolwork before heading out to Germany this weekend to visit a friend. Yesterday, however, we did go on a little outing to Vinci...as in the home of Leonardo.  Hence Leonardo di Vinci.  We walked through his modest home and saw replicas of his many inventions as well as the drawings that he sketched during his inventive process.  The town is quaint and sweet but definitely not much going on in Vinci!  Next we hit enoteca

di vinci for a tasting of the wines of the region. That was fun and as always, they didn't even think twice about including Emma in the tasting. She is still not a big fan of wine but its growing on her. She also had her first taste of grappa. Too strong for all of us!  After the tasting it was back to the villa for a quiet night. Today we went to a local market in viareggio which is always fun and then, missing home a bit, went in search of anything but Italian food for lunch. After much research we found a sushi reatauant
 which we unanimously decided to try!  The first good sign was that there were people in  the restaurant and Japanese sushi chefs!  We decided to stay.  Lets just say it wasn't  Nobu!!! I'm not sure if it was good because it wasn't pasta or if was actually good.  It was certainly different from the sushi that we know and love!  We won't be back but it did the trick!! After lunch we were just a block away from the popular "Emma Creamery" so we had to stop in for a very little gelato at Emma's namesake! Headed back and spent the rest of the afternoon relaxing and reading then the perfect Tuscan dinner

The perfect Tuscan dinner to ward of missing home!!

We had to do it!

courtesy of the wahls "hostess" gift!  That rounded out our yearning for home today!!!  Love to al

Down (me) and out (them)!

My day!

Things have quieted down quite a bit since our company left and as soon as they did, I got sick!  Perfect timing. Up all night Sunday with a dreadful sore throat and by Monday morning, after a sleepless night, I felt my standard upper respiratory "thing" coming on.  Not wanting to wait it out (as I do at home!) Howard and I headed into town first thing Monday morning in search of a doctor. No luck there but we found a pharmacy where someone spoke English and was good enough to call the local doctor.  Unable to explain to us (with her broken English) where the doctor was, she hopped in our car and directed us to the doctors house.  Once we were there she told us to wait until 9:30 when he would start seeing patients and then she insisted on walking back to the pharmacy!  Only in Italy.  Very thankfully they are much more helpful here than in the US!  As we waited, patients started pouring in. When the doctor arrived, we found that he spoke no English but as soon as I started hacking and pointing to my throat and chest he whipped out the stethoscope!  Diagnosis (bronchitis), visit and stop at the pharmacy all took about an hour...antibiotics, Sterroids and a (dreadful tasting syrup) should have me

Their day!!!!

fixed up in no time. While I was resting, Howard and Emma hit the road for a beautiful day in Lido de Camiore where Emma experienced her first "local market" and really enjoyed it. Afterwards they went to Pietra Santa for a nice pasta bolognese lunch and a drive through forte di marmi. Emma has already decided that she needs to take dani to the local market when she arrives!  Last night we stayed in and I made some soup (no deli's here!) which tasted delicious.  After dinner Howard had the idea that a little gelato might help my throat (purely medicinal...of course!) so off we went for a quick drive and a little gelato before tucking in.  A quiet restful day.  Xox

Full house!

Beautiful day in cinque terre

So much has happened since our 2nd night in Spain.  The rest of our time in Spain was amazing. We saw the Gaudi villa (casa batllo)which was breathtaking and especially fabulous for my mom who had studied his work while in design school.  We went to markets, ate tapas, went to the sea, took an aerial view of Barcelona and visited the sagrada familia (final resting site of gaudi) --an unfinished cathedral which should take another 30 years to complete making the total construction time over 130 years!  After our whirlwind trip to Spain it was back to Tuscany to receive our newest visitors ... Michael and

Gaudi by day...and night.  Beautiful!

Josh who were arriving from Prague just a half hour after our flight arrived.  With some coordinating everything went according to plan and the buys arrived safe and sound. It was great to have them here and we had planned a few fun filled days.  Michael smuggled in a "sleeve" of thin mints from the US and u can only imagine how excited we were to get them!! First night dinner was at a yummy lical pizzeria. When we woke up on Friday it was a beautiful day so we headed to cinque terre for a scenic day of lunch and light (very light) hiking.  Definitely a different rigor than our last trip to cinque terre but magnificent none the less. After cinque terre it was a visit to lucca followed by dinner there and home for some much needed sleep. On Saturday the boys ventured by train to Florence for the day while Howard, my mom and Emma enjoyed a bit of down time.  Last night we decided to stay in and have an Italian feast at home.  Great decision and we all enjoyed pizzas, salad, truffle pasta and ragu pasta, wine and laughter.  After dinner my Mom, Howard and I broke in the new Mahj card (thanks for sending it Wendy!!) which was great fun.  This morning started at 3:30 am as I drove my mom and michael to Florence airport to catch their early flights back home.  We had a wonderful time and now villa life consists of just Howard,Emma and I until next Sunday when the final member of the stern family makes an appearance.  Can't wait to see you dani!!! Love to all xo

Love having our special visitor from Prague...and Michael spend the weekend! 

Mother daughter breakaway time in barcelona at the sea!

No rain in Spain!!

One of the charming streets in the gothic area

That's luggage for 4 people for our 3-night trip!!

We were up bright and early yesterday to head out for a quick flight to Barcelona.  While the weather report was a bit ominous, so far the rain has held off (except for showers at night!) allowing us to walk all over this beautiful city. We started out with a tapas lunch (believe it or not I was actually ready for a break from Italian food!) and then a walk through the charming gothic area and a stop at the cathedral di Barcelona. (Howard couldn't resist yet another cathedral visit!). For dinner we looked for a traditional Spanish

The much awaited...paella dinner 

Having a great time at the Mercat!

style restaurant serving paella.  It was good...not great but fun nonetheless.  This morning we woke up and headed out (by foot) to conquer the city yet again. We started out wih a morning stroll down la rambla heading towards  the Mercat boqueria, the local market which was by far one of the best we have ever seen. There were selections of spices, vegetables, fish, cheese, nuts and anything else you could imagine eating.  All displayed so perfectly!

Hard to believe this is for real!

After that we headed to the liceu area and visited some beautiful galleries and shops and alas Howard and I bought some art!!! No more empty walls when we get back to Calabasas -- we will have some beautiful pieces to remind us of our wonderful trip.  Next it was back to the gothic area to go to the Picasso museum which really was something special. Tonight we are venturing out and having sushi!! No idea how it will be but it has been a while and we are all anxious to give it a try.  Love to all.

Florence for the day

Yesterday was the first "lazy" pajama day that we have had since arriving in Italy.  The weather helped motivate us to stay in by being a chilly rainy Sunday.  Additionally, we were all a bit wiped out after a fun filled Saturday in Florence.  We took the morning train to Florence and spent hours walking the streets, shopping and of course eating.  Emma and my mom loved the hustle and bustle along with the incredible energy.  The threat of rain loomed all day long but it wasn't until we were on the train headed home that the skies opened up!  Luckily we were able to enjoy the entire without a drop of rain. Made it home safe and sound and finished off the night with a couple of hours of mahj!

In front of the duomo

Inside of Eataly

Looking for that Joker!

Mom in front of the Duomo

The herbs at Eataly

Cooking up a storm

We made this all by hand pasta and all!

Mom's Masterpiece

The perfect afternoon with Mom
Today was a wonderful day. We started with a true Italian breakfast (as in they don't really have breakfast) with a quick stop for cappuccino and a pastry just like the locals! After the stop it was off to San Gimignano where my mom and I had an amazing cooking class and Emma and Howard explored the beautiful walled city.  Our cooking class was completely hands on, given by a women and her uncle who also run a b&b but when they are not busy they offer a cooking class and lucky for us it was available.  We started off making our own homemade pasta which we rolled each "pini" (slightly thicker spaghetti shaped pasta) by hand and followed up by making a delicious but very simple checca type sauce wih tomatoes, basil, garlic and oil. Next sauce was a "cream" sauce made without cream but actually emulsified cannelloni beans.  Not being a bean person I really didn't expect to like this true Tuscan dish but it was incredible and felt very rich even though there wasn't a drop of butter or cream in the entire dish!  We also made two different antipasti dishes..bruschetta and a simple salad with tomatoes, cucumber and soaked bread. All beautifully presented. Next was the "secondi", the main protein course.  We had a very simple chicken saltambucco made with a sage leaf and one slice of prosciutto.  Unlike the rich dish served at home, this was simple, flavorful and much smaller than anything they would serve at home. The flavors rather than the portions are huge here!!! All of these dishes will most definitely be making an appearance at future dinners in Calabasas.  Can't wait to share them with all of you. In addition to the amazing food, each course was paired with a fabulous local wine that enhanced every bite!  After the class Howard and Emma picked us up and we had just enough time to go back to San Gimignano so my mom could see the medieval walled city for herself!  To end a glorious day we made it back to the villa without even one wrong turn. Look at us.  Feeling like locals.  Back home safely and looking forward to a quiet dinner at home....and some MAHJ!!!   Love to everyone.    

Couldn't pass up this shot...looks like a backdrop 

Magnificent Tuscan hills

The "girlies"