Some photos from Italy

My Italy trip can be summed up in one word - "gastronomic". The whole trip was pretty much about eating and drinking. I think every meal I consumed consisted of 3 courses and half a bottle of wine (plus Amarone/Grappa/Limoncello and what-have-you). I think the only authentic Tuscan food I didn't eat was the tripe, which I was too chickenshit to try. The wines were very, very good across the board - Chianti, Brunello di Montalcino, Rosso di Montalcino, and Vino Nobile de Montepulciano. Even the Vino da Tavolo's (table wines) were pretty damn good. But, the thing I absolutely LOVED were the olives! I have never, ever tasted olives so fresh and succulent. Mmmm....

Anyway, the food was amazing, and the Tuscan landscape is so varied and beautiful; from the green groves of Chianti to the rolling plains of Volterra, to the hills of Montalcino, each region has its own distinctive look. The common thread is that the towns all have medieval forts and churches. I would've definitely liked to see more of Tuscany, especially northern Tuscany.

The one thing I would've done differently is stay somewhere in Tuscany (most likely somewhere in Chianti) rather than staying in Florence and taking day-trips. Florence is cool, but I liked the countryside a lot more. Also, because Florence is such an old city, there are way too many one-ways and winding roads, which makes getting in and out of Florence pretty time consuming.

Florence was kinda cool. It's a lot smaller and less modern than Rome or Milan, but it was easier to walk around in. It was also tons of fun renting a moped to drive around Florence for a couple of days. It's the best way to get around the city, and brought back wonderful memories of riding around Bangalore in a Kinetic Honda :-). I must say, I didn't care too much for the Uffizi. Too much Christianity without much thematic variation in the paintings. Or maybe just my ignorance.

Milan was cool the way New York or London or Paris is cool. I did splurge a bit in Milan and eat at a Michelin starred restaurant (I figured what the hell, I'll probably be living on pizza for the next two years), which was really good, but nowhere as good as a Michelin starred restaurant in Paris (IMHO, maybe the guide is only reliable for France). I also window-shopped on Via Napoleone and Via della Spiga (maybe in a few years, I might actually be able to buy something from one of those shops).

MILAN:
Tram Station. "Efficiency" and "Italian" seldom go together, but the tram timings were pretty accurately reflected on these little screens.
















Top of the Duomo against an absolutely clear blue sky. Sadly, due to ongoing repairs, the rest of the facade was covered by a terribly unsightly billboard










Galleria Vittorio Emanuelle













Slightly creepy-looking souveniers


















FLORENCE:
The marble facade of the Cathedral (at the Duomo)












Firenze - city of scooters and mopeds













Santa Croce at dusk (over the next couple of days, we kept getting lost and coming back to the same spot :-))











Dudes fishing in the Arno! ("catch of the day" at the neighborhood restaurant?)

















TUSCANY:
The landscape around Volterra is a complete contrast to the Chianti landscape (more brown here than green, of the wheat fields)











Wine Barrells inside the Vignomaggio Winery in Greve


















Chianti Country (grapevines, olive groves and cypress trees)
























Lots of sunflower fields en route to Montalcino (from Florence)











View from terrace of the Vignomaggio Estate (a beautiful winery in Greve, producing some excellent Chianti Classico)










San Gimignano, city of 14 "skyscrapers" (medieval towers dating back to the 13th century, the tallest of which is 175 ft)