Antipasti Welcome

My best friend came into town and I wanted to cook dinner at home but still have something on the table so she wouldn't starve before dinner. Also, I wanted to serve her the yummy Aperol cocktails I learned about in Italy called a "Spritz" and you shouldn't drink on an empty stomach! The traditional recipe has Aperol (a citrus liquor that has a hint of bitterness), prosecco and club soda. So what best to serve with an Italian aperitif? An antipasti plate! We had soppresata (an Italian salami) and prosciutto, along with tomatoes with basil, mozzarella, almonds and pita crackers. So good!

It was a great start to the visit!

Murano Glass

I haven't shown you our wine set from Murano...from our trip to Italy! We ordered it while we were there and it was customized for us (with the family name and the year) on the bottom of the wine decanter before it was shipped to us. The glasses and decanter are all hand-blown and the gold leaf is hand-painted. 

While we were waiting to take our trip to Italy we had Italian nights once a week where I cooked Italian food and used a few Italian words...now that we have such a nice set we'll have to keep having them!

Italian Fresco Slippers

I finished my Italian Fresco Slippers! The photo doesn't do them justice...and they are so comfy too! Every time I look at them I'll think of all the walking we did in Italy :)

Crafted in Italy Souvenirs

 We unpacked more than just clothes once we were finally home again.  I was able to enjoy my purse from Florence.

And we all enjoyed playing with Pinocchio. He had to come home with us...the Pinocchio story started in Italy, and he was so cute! He's made from wood!

While in Pisa we saw these baskets at a stall. I loved the carvings, and how unique the design is...the basket also folds flat.

We found this pastel of Venice at a stall as well (but in Venice).

So, do you remember the video I shared with the glass artisan making the glass horse? Well, after the tour Little Man was gifted the horse! He was the youngest visitor and SO EXCITED! It's it beautiful!

And, he received this little glass turtle family.

We had one item we ordered shipped, so I'll have to share that too when it's here!

Leaving Italy

 Too soon it was time for us to leave Italy. It felt like we had blinked and the trip was over! We woke up early and had breakfast one more time. Our group had different departure times but we were able to talk to some of our group before we left...and Little Man was so sad to say good-bye to Simone the tour manager. He had loved being a "junior tour guide" and feeling like a big kid carrying the tour sign. And Simone was funny and reminded Little Man of my brother Marcus who tells fun stories.

When it was time to leave for the airport our ride arrived via water right outside the front door of the hotel. It was fun to ride the Venetian water way. They have a highway of sorts marked where boats travel.

We flew from Venice to Istanbul where we had a layover and then, we were off for New York. By the time we arrived and had our luggage it was almost midnight. We stored the majority of our luggage at the airport and took overnight bags with us to our hotel for the night.  We were all so exhausted we barely had enough energy to brush our teeth and change into our pajamas before we collapsed.

Day 6: Venice, Part 2

When we first started planning the trip to Italy, Hubby said that he wanted a gondola ride to definitely be something we did in Venice.  We all agreed, the gondola ride was a highlight of our trip to Italy. We were able to see smaller canals from the water and listened to a musical serenade while we did it.

Below is a "bus" stop.

After our gondola ride the tour manager took some of us on a walking tour of Venice.

When we walked around the Rialto Bridge we saw this stand with all types of beautiful pastas.  And then we all stopped for gelato.

Our hotel is above.

Little Man and Simone, the tour manager outside of the hotel.

That evening we walked to our farewell dinner.  We enjoyed four courses and wine while talking with our new friends.

After returning to the hotel we enjoyed the view of Venice, lit by the moon and I sipped a bellini (which originated in Venice).

Day 6: Venice, Part One

What an amazing day we had in Venice! It truly was everything we had hoped it would be. We woke up and had breakfast at the hotel and then walked to meet the boat that would take us to the Island of Murano. 

 Murano is less than a mile away from Venice and is known for its glassmaking. In 1291 all the glass artisans were moved to the island in order to help prevent fires in Venice. Afterwards, they were not allowed to leave the island and return. Murano wanted to keep its glass-working secrets to itself. We visited a workroom and watched an artisan first make a vase... 

and then, like magic, made a horse appear from a molten piece of glass.

Afterwards we visited the showroom where we marveled at all the artwork and picked some pieces out.  Our finds deserve a post of their own, so I'll share them later!

Afterwards it was back to the boat!

It was a perfect day to visit Venice...beautiful sunshine and wonderful blue water everywhere.

We were so lucky that these weren't needed while we were there...when it rains the sidewalks flood...and they put out these for people to walk on!

While walking to the Doge's Palace we saw the Bridge of Sighs...it has a romantic legend, but was named because it was the last thing convicts saw before their imprisonment.

I took this photo a while later while we walked over the bridge ourselves.

Afterwards we saw the pigeons in St Mark's Square.

The palace, and Saint Mark's Basilica afterwards, were beautiful...but the water views were the highlight for us.

After a morning full of touring  we were off to have a quick lunch. The tour manager mentioned a great place to grab pizzas and the like, and I had an amazing pizza with ham and arugula.

I only wish I'd had the room to eat more of it!

After lunch we were back in the whirlwind...look forward to filling you in next post!