Italy. Hells to the yeah!

The Cen-Tex Smoker

Foghorn said:

Dude.  So that's how you do Italy on a budget?  You scrounge around in the dirt for food and make your own stuff?  And then eat leftovers?

When I go to Italy I'm going to live large.  I'll be dining at Olive Garden or Macaroni Grill or some place that doesn't make me do the work myself.

We do have an actual Olive Garden (they call them groves here) out back of the Villa and although I haven't seen any macaroni yet, we have a few serviceable grills in the area. Don't forget you need to stay in Hostels. cheap and shared rooms with German backpackers on hallucinogens but very serviceable accommodations. 

JRWhitee

That looks excellent. 

kl8ton

That all looks like alot of fun!

The Cen-Tex Smoker

I literally found the foot. Proudly displayed at the cathedral of Paul and John in Venice. Along with many other relics from the 1400's
on. Crazy stuff. 

Stormbringer

If you can squeeze it in, the Ristoro di Lamole does amazing strips of local steak smoked over vine leaves. They used to make their own wine too, don't know if they still do. It's just oustide of Greve, Tuscany.

The Cen-Tex Smoker

Stormbringer said:

If you can squeeze it in, the Ristoro di Lamole does amazing strips of local steak smoked over vine leaves. They used to make their own wine too, don't know if they still do. It's just oustide of Greve, Tuscany.

In Venice today and tomorrow then back
home so we will have to add that to the list for next time. The steaks in Tuscany were incredible. 

The Cen-Tex Smoker

The Cen-Tex Smoker

I had to step on or over at least 10 tombs in the floor of the church to get to this 650 year old foot. Apparently if you had a little sway in your home town back in the 1400's they tore up the floor of the church and built a crypt for you and yours. Such fascinating reading and the dates on all this stuff is just crazy to think about. They have services in that church every day. And have since the 1400's! 

stv8r

The Cen-Tex Smoker said:

Stoogie said:

@The Cen-Tex Smoker .... First, let's hear about the "weird sh!t" that you didn't know exist.  Second, more info about Tuscany, please.  

Going to Italy and specifically Tuscany is on my wife's bucket list... so by default it's on my bucket list as well.  Funny thing is that the additional LGBE that's on MY bucket list doesn't default to her's.

Ok. Here you go. How about an 800 year old nun's mummified severed head who claims she wore baby Jesus' holy foreskin as a wedding band. I am not kidding 

http://www.atlasobscura.com/places/st-dominics-basilica

Wow that is a fascinating story for sure! Love hearing about your trip!

The Cen-Tex Smoker

Venice...ah, Venice. It's as if a cruise ship shat on one of the most beautiful and historically significant places on earth. Like a giant Applebee's on the set of Game of Thrones. Tough to wrap my head around this one. Prices up 200% from the rest of the trip, quality of food and accommodations down 200% from the rest of the trip. Tourists EVERYWHERE (says the tourist). Insane. You could easily get ass-whipped here if you don't strike out and get away from the 2-3 constant carousels of cruise ship depositories. That said, it is incredible. I spent 70% of the time wondering what the hell I was doing here but the other 30% was more than enough to make this work. I did get my nun's mummy foot which sealed the deal for me but the other historical sites were amazing. Literally speechless in many of the cathedrals. I'm not a homer for any of the religious teams but this is cradle of civilization type stuff. Very humbling. Everything we do today from government, law, education, rules of society are all documented here. From about 1300 on. Makes you realize how crazy some of it it (nun's heads and foreskin wedding bands) but we still make life and death decisions for entire modern civilizations based on these stories! The stuff we still fight over today is painted on the ceilings and carved in to the marble walls of these cathedrals. 800 years ago!

Anyhow- Italy is amazing. Great people, unbelievable culture, unbelievable beauty everywhere you look. This was a game changer for us.

Adding a few pics then signing off for a long 7 hour nap. See you in Newark and then home to the ATX for an immediate Tex Mex fix at my local joint on the way home.  Gonzo's plate- 2 Cheese Enchilladas, one crispy beef taco, one giant chip smothered in neon orangy-yellow queso, a guacamole salad, rice and beans. $9.99. 

The Cen-Tex Smoker

The Cen-Tex Smoker

Our taxi to the airport port this morning  ^^^^***

The original mega-church. Cathedral San Marco (known in America as the apostle Mark). Mark was a Greek and the virgin birth story of Jesus is Attribted to him in the Bible. He is a big deal here. So much that the revered mummified foot of St. Catherine  is in the shared cathedral of the apostles John and Paul. Yeah, they had to share. 

The Cen-Tex Smoker

Almost back on Terra Firma in the Land of the Free. I'm hitting up the first serviceable burger I can find in Newark before the final leg home. 

Legume

Mmmmmmm, Newark.

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Legume said:

Mmmmmmm, Newark.

The bliss has come to a screeching haul. Thanks, Newark. 

dmchicago

Great Trip!

We are 71 days away from take off for 15 days in Italy. 

Enjoyed your journey!

Legume

The Cen-Tex Smoker said:

Legume said:

Mmmmmmm, Newark.

The bliss has come to a screeching haul. Thanks, Newark. 

Beaches closed in NJ, so maybe just stick to the cultural mecca that is EWR.

The Cen-Tex Smoker

dmchicago said:

Great Trip!

We are 71 days away from take off for 15 days in Italy. 

Enjoyed your journey!

Oh man. You are in for a treat. Let me know if you have any questions. I probably can't even help since this was our first time. Best advice I can give is if you are in a touristy area (Rome, Naples, Florence, Venice) just now that all those a-holes like me are there for a reason. They are really spectacular. I hate throngs of tourists but even the crazy places left us with somethings we will never forget. Like I said above, it was an asswhip 70% of the time In Those places but don't let that take away from the 30% that is incredible. I had to give myself "the talk" a few times when it got crazy but every single place delivered something I will
never forget. 

Tuscany was much slower paced, which I enjoyed, but the whole country is amazing. Just dig in where you are and see everything that interests you. There were days that were were like "venice sucks- so many tourists". Then we found a tiny corner cafe or an amazing 1000 year old artifact or painting and it made it all worthwhile. Have fun. If i can offer any help, please let me know. I am the newest chamber of commerce huckster for Italy. 

dmchicago

The Cen-Tex Smoker said:

dmchicago said:

Great Trip!

We are 71 days away from take off for 15 days in Italy. 

Enjoyed your journey!

Oh man. You are in for a treat. Let me know if you have any questions. I probably can't even help since this was our first time. Best advice I can give is if you are in a touristy area (Rome, Naples, Florence, Venice) just now that all those a-holes like me are there for a reason. They are really spectacular. I hate throngs of tourists but even the crazy places left us with somethings we will never forget. Like I said above, it was an asswhip 70% of the time In Those places but don't let that take away from the 30% that is incredible. I had to give myself "the talk" a few times when it got crazy but every single place delivered something I will
never forget. 

Tuscany was much slower paced, which I enjoyed, but the whole country is amazing. Just dig in where you are and see everything that interests you. There were days that were were like "venice sucks- so many tourists". Then we found a tiny corner cafe or an amazing 1000 year old artifact or painting and it made it all worthwhile. Have fun. If i can offer any help, please let me know. I am the newest chamber of commerce huckster for Italy. 

Thanks man...

Our schedule is:

2 nights Rome
3 nights Florence
3 nights Monterosso
2 nights Capri
3 nights Amalfi
1 night Rome

DoubleEgger

Legume said:

The Cen-Tex Smoker said:

Legume said:

Mmmmmmm, Newark.

The bliss has come to a screeching haul. Thanks, Newark. 

Beaches closed in NJ, so maybe just stick to the cultural mecca that is EWR.

Except for Chris Christie and family. 

The Cen-Tex Smoker

dmchicago said:

The Cen-Tex Smoker said:

dmchicago said:

Great Trip!

We are 71 days away from take off for 15 days in Italy. 

Enjoyed your journey!

Oh man. You are in for a treat. Let me know if you have any questions. I probably can't even help since this was our first time. Best advice I can give is if you are in a touristy area (Rome, Naples, Florence, Venice) just now that all those a-holes like me are there for a reason. They are really spectacular. I hate throngs of tourists but even the crazy places left us with somethings we will never forget. Like I said above, it was an asswhip 70% of the time In Those places but don't let that take away from the 30% that is incredible. I had to give myself "the talk" a few times when it got crazy but every single place delivered something I will
never forget. 

Tuscany was much slower paced, which I enjoyed, but the whole country is amazing. Just dig in where you are and see everything that interests you. There were days that were were like "venice sucks- so many tourists". Then we found a tiny corner cafe or an amazing 1000 year old artifact or painting and it made it all worthwhile. Have fun. If i can offer any help, please let me know. I am the newest chamber of commerce huckster for Italy. 

Thanks man...

Our schedule is:

2 nights Rome
3 nights Florence
3 nights Monterosso
2 nights Capri
3 nights Amalfi
1 night Rome

You are in for a great trip. there will be tourist stress in a lot of those areas so just chill and realize that some days you are going to burn a lot of calories to get to the gold. But you will find gold every day. I'll send you a few good spots in Rome. We avoided the other places to try to balance out the peace/tourist ratio. 

bgebrent

Legume said:

Mmmmmmm, Newark.

Burger in Newark....  Brother CenTex may book a return flight to Italy right there.

The Cen-Tex Smoker

Habgebrent said:

Legume said:

Mmmmmmm, Newark.

Burger in Newark....  Brother CenTex may book a return flight to Italy right there.

bgebrent said:

Legume said:

Mmmmmmm, Newark.

Burger in Newark....  Brother CenTex may book a return flight to Italy right there.

Had an $18 pat lefreida brand beef burger and 2 double woodfords. Just what the doctor ordered. That thing was money. I was as surprised as you. 

DMW

I'm going to hire you as a travel agent when it's time for us to do a trip like this. Nice...

bgebrent

The Cen-Tex Smoker said:

Habgebrent said:

Legume said:

Mmmmmmm, Newark.

Burger in Newark....  Brother CenTex may book a return flight to Italy right there.

bgebrent said:

Legume said:

Mmmmmmm, Newark.

Burger in Newark....  Brother CenTex may book a return flight to Italy right there.

Had an $18 pat lefreida brand beef burger and 2 double woodfords. Just what the doctor ordered. That thing was money. I was as surprised as you. 

Damn!  Happy ending there brother.

The Cen-Tex Smoker

DMW said:

I'm going to hire you as a travel agent when it's time for us to do a trip like this. Nice...

That was all TFJ. I showed up from a 6 week work bender and got on a plane