Favourite Travel Memory: Florentine Church Organ Music

Confession time; I'm not that into music. 

I know, it's a bit weird and I know the look you're giving your screen, it's the same look I gave a friend when he admitted that he didn't like movies. There's that look again but now I bet I seem less weird (at least in my own mind).

Now some qualifiers; I like music as a background, atmospheric, mood setting kind of thing, I played piano for 10 years (can only play chopsticks now), and occasionally there will be a song that really speaks to my soul and you can't stop me from belting it out, guaranteed off key. Still I would say, I'm just not that into music.

So it's kinda funny what happened on my latest trip to Italy, when I had a profound musical moment. We had been wandering the streets of Florence, meandering our way back to our hostel to clean up before dinner and along our zig-zagged route we came across a church with it's double doors open and organ music streaming out. It caught our attention. We walked in and were overcome by the sensory of the atmosphere. The smell of incense, the dim lighting, the hushed tones as people reverently listened to the organ composition. We quietly made our way to a rear pew and took in our surroundings. The organ player expertly played a beautiful piece that built up to a crescendo that whelmed us. The stained glass windows, naves, and statues seemed to be even more beautiful due to the melodic atmosphere. We sat, listened, and rested for the duration of the recital, not wanting it to end.

We returned the following night to hear the music, but it just wasn't the same. The experience we had the night before, just couldn't be duplicated.

It had been the perfect culmination of all factors. It was a moment that couldn't be repeated and really I'm glad for that, it is to forever live in my memory and be cherished.

What's your favourite travel memory?

Don't miss a post! 

Sign up for email posts (found on the sidebar), like my facebook page, or follow me on bloglovin'. You can also keep up with my instagram feed and I occasionally tweet.

Let's get social

Acqua Potabile

We all know it's important to keep hydrated in the summer time, especially when living through a heatwave and being a tourist at the same time. While we were in Venice and Florence we were sure to buy a large, I'm talking 2L bottle, of water daily and it would be consumed within an hour. For someone who is terrible at remembering to drink enough water each day, this was surprisingly an easy task for me. When we arrived in Rome it was a whole new game all thanks to Acqua Potabile; the fountains of Rome 

image via

Found all over the city, dotting the streets of Rome were these wonderful fountains. Some were big, others were small, some were just a simple spout and many were ornately stone carved features that drew crowds in admiration and thirst.

image via

Before you ask, yes they are safe to drink from. So keep those euro coins rattling around in your pocket and fill up your empty bottle at the next fountain you see.

image via

The water is ever flowing, cool and refreshing. I was always a bit worried that it would taste a bit funny, but not once was I disappointed. 
I wish this was something we had more of in London. When we landed at Stansted Airport at the end of the trip I refilled my water bottle at a drinking fountain next to the airport loos, took a big gulp and sure enough EEUCK! Funny tasting water.

Don't miss a post! 

Sign up for email posts (found on the sidebar), like my facebook page, or follow me on bloglovin'. You can also keep up with my instagram feed and I occasionally tweet.

Let's get social

The Food, The Drink, The Gelato

**Warning, if you are hungry, look away now.**

The Food

As you can imagine the food in Italy was great. Real authentic, delicious food everywhere we went. Some restaurants were better than others and some cities better than others. The group I was with had done a bit of research into the specialties of each city and were determined to try them out. 

Smoked salmon

Fish soup

In Venice we hit the fish market the first night and ordered seafood everywhere we went. It was fresh and è delizioso.

tuna salad

Florence was all about the Ribollita and Pappa al Pomodoro (Tuscan bread soup) and the Florentine steak (Bistecca alla fiorentina).

Ribollita

Ravioli 

Our new friends that recommended the Torre Guelfa also recommended a great sandwich shop called 'Ino which just happened to be near our apartment. The sandwiches are made to order on artisan bread with fresh ingredients. Although we didn't have time on our visit the shop offers a tasting of wines and cheeses, which we would have liked to have done.

Every where we went, I couldn't get enough of the caprese insalata. The best one I had was in Florence, but no matter where I was, it was refreshing to have in the 30 degree heat.

Caprese Salad

Gnocchi 

I know the guide books say it all the time, but it's true. Going off the beaten track to find a restaurant is your best bet. Doing this, we found some charming restaurants frequented by locals and that weren't as pricey. 

The Drink

 Although we drank Prosecco in Venice and made our way through several wine and cheese plates in Florence, we noticed a lot of people before dinner were drinking these reddish coloured drinks that came with snacks! We asked the waiter what it was and figured, 'when in Rome...'

Cheersing our Prosecco

The Spritz is an aperitif which originated in Venice but found all over Northern Italy. I just liked that it came with snacks to tide you over before your 3 course supper at 9pm.

wine for the train journey to Florence

Having wine and cheese has always been my idea of what adults did when I was a kid. But now I get it. It's delicious! There were 2 very charming wine bars on our street that we were so excited to try out, although both were fully booked for dinner, we were able to perch ourselves at small tables and enjoy some tasty wine and beautiful cheeses of the region.

One day we stopped in our local grocer and discovered he had REALLY cheap wine in vats. For 2 euro we got half a liter of red wine and half a liter of white. Since we were nearing the end of our journey some of the wine made it back to England with us and we reminisced 
about our trip while enjoying one last glass.

If I've said it once, I've said it two times now, I enjoy my cocktails to come with food and these fresh fruit cocktails were right up my strasse. I have yet to actually eat any watermelon this summer, but I've drunk it's scrumptious juices a lot.

The Gelato 

You can't go to Italy and not have a gelato. Every day. It's a fact. Go ahead, try not to.

We started off with one in Venice (which I forgot to take photographic evidence of...did it really happen?) and it was good, but not great. Then we went to Florence were it got better and I tried a new flavour; coconut, so good! The best Gelateria is at the foot of the Ponte Vecchio across the river, you can't miss it!

Then we visited the Gelateria Giolitti in Rome, recommended to me by an Italian co-worker and it was a game changer. 

BEST. EVER.

I'd go back to Rome, just for this. No lie.





Fun travels!

All opinions are my own and I was not compensated in anyway at the various restaurants we visited in Italy.

Italian Holiday: Rome

Of the eight days we had in Italy we spent most of our time in Florence. Well worth it, but it now meant we only had exactly 50 hours to see all of Rome. So what to do with such little time? Hit the highlights and regret nothing. 

On to Rome!

Trajan's Column, my favourite of all the columns. Not even kidding.

The wedding cake as a high school teacher called it

Rome is a big city, but the major tourist attractions are walkable. If you aren't interest in killing your feet you can purchase a ticket for the hop-on-hop-off sightseeing bus tour, its a great way to see the city and learn a few facts from the audio guide. Otherwise the Metro is another good way to get around and easy enough to navigate.

The Roman Forum from the Colosseum 

We opted for Ancient Rome one day and Vatican City the next, to keep our Roman timelines in check. 

The altar of the Temple of Julius Caesar where he was cremated 

St. Peter's Basilica 

Vatican City has it's own postal service. Probably only used by tourists

Car Pope John Paul II was shot in

We visited the Castel Sant'Angelo and were treated to panoramic views of Rome.

The Pantheon 

TLDR: Rome was excellent, I ate some food, walked my feet off, visited Pope Francis, and went up some tall buildings.

And so ends the photo dump of Italy.

Fun travels!