Mamma Cuts Takes Italia

My mom and her college friend Mary came to visit me in Italy last weekend. We started off the weekend in Florence and took a quick trip up to Fiesole to see the ancient Etruscan and Roman ruins, have a wonderful lunch over looking Florence and then hike up a hill to a monastery with an even more gorgeous view of the city and its surrounding hills. For dinner we headed across the river to avoid the "touristy" restaurants in search of some authentic dishes in the piazza outside Santa Spirito. Between mom tripping every 5 minutes on the cobblestone or off a curb (now I know where I get my gracefulness) and Mary having difficulty keeping the olive spread on the bread, we were quite the scene that evening.

The next day we did the full museum/art tour including: the Uffizi, Academia and Boboli Gardens, while I played the role of tour guide in hoping that my Bowdoin art history education would pay off. We then headed to the other side of town to a small trattoria with the two most entertaining waiters we've ever had. 4 hours and several bottles of wine later, we made our way back through the packed streets to our little hotel near the Duomo.

Later that week, Mom and Mary met up with me in Siena so I could show them my home stomping grounds. We did a full Siena day that included: climbing the tower, walking the fortezza, enjoying gelato in the campo and then headed to my favorite restaurant with no menu, run by an elderly man who thinks my name is Francesca. The remainder of the week while I was in class they headed on day trips exploring San Gaminiano (which they couldn't pronounce for the life of them) and riding bikes in Lucca. They also got to meet the entire CET gang for aperitivi and a taste of Sienese dessert at the Tea Room.

Mary took off a few days early, so my mom and I spent the afternoon going on a long walk around the city then to a restaurant that was recommended to us by one of her friends, Tim, where the risotto was brought out in a large carved out wheel of parmesan cheese! Epic is really the only word to describe this dinner. We then headed to Bologna for the weekend where we met up with some of my Bowdoin friends studying there. With not so great weather, and not a whole lot to do in Bolonga, we caught up on some sleep and followed the news in the hopes that Mom would still be able to fly out (damn volcano in Iceland).

As of now she took a train through the alps from Bologna to Munich and is delayed 5 days in Munich just waiting for the ash the clear and the volcano to stop spewing! Cross your fingers that her flight will get out on Thursday!