Showing posts with label Montepulciano. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Montepulciano. Show all posts
Thursday, December 10, 2009
Thursday, November 5, 2009
Tuscana Adventures
Hey Everyone!
Welcome back to your weekly dose of Katie’s adventures in Italy ;) I apologize for the tardy posting, my internet has seen better days..
To start, this past weekend I went along with my school for one of our monthly excursions. This particular trip was to two Tuscan towns: Pienza & Montepulciano.
One known for their cheeses, and the other for their wine. A perfect pair! This trip also happened to fall on Halloween :) So, I was very excited to celebrate this holiday in new towns with their own little histories and mysteries to be explored.
Tuscany is about a 2 and a half hour bus ride from Rome, so it wasn’t too bad getting there. My friends, Anna, Annemarijn, Jan, and Isabella were all with me too. Our school tour guide spoke only in Italian, obviously, but I could really tell my Italian was improving as I understood the majority of her explanations at the sites.
First stop was Pienza. This was the most amazing, quaint, beautiful, perfect little town I have EVER laid eyes on. You can only read about towns like this in fairy tales. Imagine Belle’s town from Beauty and the Beast -but cuter. and even more quaint. In fact, there was only one main road in the entire town. It was medieval and perfect for Halloween day because the air was crisp and clear with only the scents of smoked ham and burning wood filling every inch of the winding alleys and shops that lined the streets. People were even dressed in medieval wear and riding massive horses; however, they were filming a movie on location here so I doubt this is normal for the town. But, the girls and I just kept saying how the town was nearly magical with its ability to transcend you through time.
Along the edge of the town is a peripheral view of the mountains that line Tuscany. It was truly surreal. As I walked by the real estate agency, I couldn’t help but think how amazing it would be to live there. Believe me, if you’re looking for a place to retire- I’ve found your town!
Before we left, we stopped for lunch in a tiny family-owned ristorante, where we comfortably spoke Italian to the waitress and even spoke to their parrot which said “buongiorno” and “ciao” lol. Very cute place and had the BEST gnocchi con ragu. Yumm.. By the time we left lunch we had to book-it to get to the bus for our next stop.
So, after Pienza, we went about 20 minutes up the winding roads to the mystical town of Montepulciano. The roads were so tight and windy, in fact, that we had to get off the bus and walk about twenty more minutes up to the main entrance of the town. Once we entered the main street to Montepulciano, we noticed that most of the shops were closed for the afternoon. It was Saturday, after all, and Italians know weekends mean relaxation for all, not just the privileged. So, we were kinda bummed, but we were soo excited to get to the main square because this was where the second Twilight Saga movie, “New Moon”, was filmed. So, we raced up the winding streets to get to the square and we all took pictures and purchased authentic posters that the town made specifically for the movie. It was so funny because even the shops had gossip magazine clippings in their windows of Rob Pattinson and Kristen Stewart (“New Moon” stars). Clearly they were very proud of their new-found fame- especially for such a small town. They even had an article on the recent Rome Film Festival where they had a special screening and red carpet for the Volturi characters (Twilight’s quasi vampire government) from the movie. (more details on my experience at the Film Festival below).
So, like I said, we took lots of pictures where the movie was filmed and toured through the surrounding church and castle nearby. Montepulciano also had a great view of the rolling hills in Tuscany. And the fall weather provided such a large pallet of differing vineyard colors. Green, yellow, orange, red, brown… spectacular place.
Anywho, we only had 2 hours to tour Montepulciano so by the time we walked up to the square and back we only had time to grab some yummy crepes at a local shop and then proceeded back onto the bus.
In sum, it really was one of the best experiences I’ve ever had. I had always heard of Tuscany and how beautiful it was, but these towns had such character that it was so easy to fall in love with the area even more so. However, it wasn’t nearly enough time to get to tour everything, so some of the girls and I have planned to come back in the spring so we can get a glimpse of more churches, etc.
And now, of course I have my own Montepulciano red wine to share with all my friends back in Roma :)
Well, hope everyone enjoyed my Tuscana adventure. Next month we visit Siena! I hear it’s absolutely beautiful so I can’t wait!
Until next time..
Buena Notte
-Kate
and
HAPPY BIRTHDAY JORDAN! Love you big brother!!! And miss you tons! :) Hope you have a great great great day (which could only mean that your boss doesn’t show up for work ;)
For the Twilight followers who care:
In reference to the Film Festival mentioned earlier, I was one of the lucky few to actually attend the red carpet event for the Rome Film Festival premiere of “New Moon”. Being the experienced celeb-stalker that I am, I quickly weaseled my way to the front line of the red-carpet to make sure I could talk with the stars and get only the BEST pictures :) haha! So, I met the “New Moon” screen-writer, Melissa Rosenberg. She was also the screen-writer for the first Twilight film and will continue to write for the entire Twilight Saga movies. She’s also the writer for the tv series “Chuck”. So, she’s a busy lady.. She told me personally that I’m “going to love “New Moon” and that she had just viewed the film so she was very excited about it. I also met three of the so-called “evil vampires” from the Twilight saga: Caius, Demetri, and Alex (those are their character names). But, they were verrrry nice and probably glad that I could speak English considering no one standing along the red carpet spoke a word of it, or coherent enough to hold a conversation. So, we talked about typical topics: Twitter, Vancouver (where they’re currently filming) and their experiences in Italy. It was the coolest experience; even to just attend a red carpet event was amazing.
But, ahhh! I can’t believe in the span of one month I’ve been to where “New Moon” was filmed AND met the Volturi! I don’t know about you, but November 20th CANNOT come soon enough ;) And you know I’ve already sought out all the English movie theatres here. Because Edward is NOT the same in Italian. Mi dispiace Italiani genti. Solo mio (opinion).
Welcome back to your weekly dose of Katie’s adventures in Italy ;) I apologize for the tardy posting, my internet has seen better days..
To start, this past weekend I went along with my school for one of our monthly excursions. This particular trip was to two Tuscan towns: Pienza & Montepulciano.
One known for their cheeses, and the other for their wine. A perfect pair! This trip also happened to fall on Halloween :) So, I was very excited to celebrate this holiday in new towns with their own little histories and mysteries to be explored.
Tuscany is about a 2 and a half hour bus ride from Rome, so it wasn’t too bad getting there. My friends, Anna, Annemarijn, Jan, and Isabella were all with me too. Our school tour guide spoke only in Italian, obviously, but I could really tell my Italian was improving as I understood the majority of her explanations at the sites.
First stop was Pienza. This was the most amazing, quaint, beautiful, perfect little town I have EVER laid eyes on. You can only read about towns like this in fairy tales. Imagine Belle’s town from Beauty and the Beast -but cuter. and even more quaint. In fact, there was only one main road in the entire town. It was medieval and perfect for Halloween day because the air was crisp and clear with only the scents of smoked ham and burning wood filling every inch of the winding alleys and shops that lined the streets. People were even dressed in medieval wear and riding massive horses; however, they were filming a movie on location here so I doubt this is normal for the town. But, the girls and I just kept saying how the town was nearly magical with its ability to transcend you through time.
Along the edge of the town is a peripheral view of the mountains that line Tuscany. It was truly surreal. As I walked by the real estate agency, I couldn’t help but think how amazing it would be to live there. Believe me, if you’re looking for a place to retire- I’ve found your town!
Before we left, we stopped for lunch in a tiny family-owned ristorante, where we comfortably spoke Italian to the waitress and even spoke to their parrot which said “buongiorno” and “ciao” lol. Very cute place and had the BEST gnocchi con ragu. Yumm.. By the time we left lunch we had to book-it to get to the bus for our next stop.
So, after Pienza, we went about 20 minutes up the winding roads to the mystical town of Montepulciano. The roads were so tight and windy, in fact, that we had to get off the bus and walk about twenty more minutes up to the main entrance of the town. Once we entered the main street to Montepulciano, we noticed that most of the shops were closed for the afternoon. It was Saturday, after all, and Italians know weekends mean relaxation for all, not just the privileged. So, we were kinda bummed, but we were soo excited to get to the main square because this was where the second Twilight Saga movie, “New Moon”, was filmed. So, we raced up the winding streets to get to the square and we all took pictures and purchased authentic posters that the town made specifically for the movie. It was so funny because even the shops had gossip magazine clippings in their windows of Rob Pattinson and Kristen Stewart (“New Moon” stars). Clearly they were very proud of their new-found fame- especially for such a small town. They even had an article on the recent Rome Film Festival where they had a special screening and red carpet for the Volturi characters (Twilight’s quasi vampire government) from the movie. (more details on my experience at the Film Festival below).
So, like I said, we took lots of pictures where the movie was filmed and toured through the surrounding church and castle nearby. Montepulciano also had a great view of the rolling hills in Tuscany. And the fall weather provided such a large pallet of differing vineyard colors. Green, yellow, orange, red, brown… spectacular place.
Anywho, we only had 2 hours to tour Montepulciano so by the time we walked up to the square and back we only had time to grab some yummy crepes at a local shop and then proceeded back onto the bus.
In sum, it really was one of the best experiences I’ve ever had. I had always heard of Tuscany and how beautiful it was, but these towns had such character that it was so easy to fall in love with the area even more so. However, it wasn’t nearly enough time to get to tour everything, so some of the girls and I have planned to come back in the spring so we can get a glimpse of more churches, etc.
And now, of course I have my own Montepulciano red wine to share with all my friends back in Roma :)
Well, hope everyone enjoyed my Tuscana adventure. Next month we visit Siena! I hear it’s absolutely beautiful so I can’t wait!
Until next time..
Buena Notte
-Kate
and
HAPPY BIRTHDAY JORDAN! Love you big brother!!! And miss you tons! :) Hope you have a great great great day (which could only mean that your boss doesn’t show up for work ;)
For the Twilight followers who care:
In reference to the Film Festival mentioned earlier, I was one of the lucky few to actually attend the red carpet event for the Rome Film Festival premiere of “New Moon”. Being the experienced celeb-stalker that I am, I quickly weaseled my way to the front line of the red-carpet to make sure I could talk with the stars and get only the BEST pictures :) haha! So, I met the “New Moon” screen-writer, Melissa Rosenberg. She was also the screen-writer for the first Twilight film and will continue to write for the entire Twilight Saga movies. She’s also the writer for the tv series “Chuck”. So, she’s a busy lady.. She told me personally that I’m “going to love “New Moon” and that she had just viewed the film so she was very excited about it. I also met three of the so-called “evil vampires” from the Twilight saga: Caius, Demetri, and Alex (those are their character names). But, they were verrrry nice and probably glad that I could speak English considering no one standing along the red carpet spoke a word of it, or coherent enough to hold a conversation. So, we talked about typical topics: Twitter, Vancouver (where they’re currently filming) and their experiences in Italy. It was the coolest experience; even to just attend a red carpet event was amazing.
But, ahhh! I can’t believe in the span of one month I’ve been to where “New Moon” was filmed AND met the Volturi! I don’t know about you, but November 20th CANNOT come soon enough ;) And you know I’ve already sought out all the English movie theatres here. Because Edward is NOT the same in Italian. Mi dispiace Italiani genti. Solo mio (opinion).
Monday, October 26, 2009
Campo di Fiori
Ciao Tutti,
Well, I’m not even sure where to begin with this one.
Suppose I’ll start with Saturday night…
The girls (Mandy, Annemarijn, Isabella, Clementina) and I decided to have a fun night out after a REALLY long day of tours near the Colosseum (and yes these were finally in English, thank god). We wanted to go to a discoteca we’d heard of near the Campo di
Fiori so we headed that direction around 11pm. We found the club we were looking for and unfortunately it looked a little too expensive for our budgets so we ended up just going straight to the heart of the piazza in Campo di Fiori, itself.
Well.
I don’t think we were expecting the night that resulted from this decision.
First of all, if you’ve ever been to Campo di Fiori, you’ll know that it’s a HUGE hot spot for the young crowd. And when I say young, don’t forget that the drinking age is much less in Italy, so even high schoolers were gathering here :/ kinda weird.
So, we head into an inviting bar called “Sloppy Sam’s”. Everyone in the bar seemed to be either study abroad students or Italians who really wanted to get to know Americans, because nearly everyone was speaking English.
Anywho, we grabbed some drinks and headed back to the center of the piazza to enjoy the beautiful night. As we were walking to the statue in the center of the square, a bunch of teenage boys surrounded us and literally attacked us with desperation for us to KISS THEM. Hahahaha! Like are you kidding me? Completely disgusting. I was at least 5 years older than all of them so this was all a bit disturbing.
Some of the girls were amused with the attention, but Clementina and I were certainly NOT. So, we escaped back into the bar. The bartender was very sweet (sounded like he was from London) and got us some more drinks then Clementina and I headed back onto the patio of the bar to just chill out.
The rest starts to get a little blurry from here due to the alcohol consumption going on. However, the blurrier, the more entertaining, I say…
Before we knew it, the other girls had finally escaped the boys, Isabella returning with a rose in hand. lol Just too funny.
We sat talking for a bit. We had all found some “eye candy” in our vicinity so we sat just having some nice conversations when two Italian boys come up to us and one says something that basically translates to “there’s a party in my pants”. ! . How American of them. Then, the same Italian boy introduces himself as, none-other than, Chuck Bass. I can’t be fooled. I know this is the playboy character from Gossip Girl. I quickly tell him that that’s funny because my name happens to be Blair Waldorf! Funny coincidence…
Before any more harassing could ensue, two OTHER boys at a table next to us start yelling at them in Italian telling them to bugger off and leave us alone. These new Italian boys told us that most Italians are dirt, like that. The boy talking was named, Lucca. He didn’t look quite so Italian because he had dark blonde hair and blue eyes.
The other boy looked very Italian with deep brown eyes, black hair, and dark olive skin. He’s originally from Spain, I believe, but he’s lived in Rome most of his life. His name stays in the “blurry” category. I had him repeat it about 15 times and even asked, “Come se scrive?” Which is “how do you spell it?” And of course I still can’t even remember that. Something along the lines of Ignasio..?
Anyyyyyways. We chatted with them for a while. They were both 25, and studying in college. Lucca said he wants to leave Rome asap. He hates it here. He’s lived here his whole life and said he’s just ready for a change. I can respect that. He really wants to move to New York City, which I can REALLY respect.
Eventually, Clementina got tired around 1:30 and Annemarijn and Isabella walked her to a cab. Which meant Mandy and I were going to stay out with the two cute Romans(!!).
Lucca told us the thing that stinks about Rome is that all the bars close by 2am because fights break out a LOT. And it’s true. We witnessed a real messy one right near the next bar we ventured to. Since they’ve lived here most of the lives they knew some random pubs that stay open past the normal curfew. So, we headed out for another drink. Then, that bar quickly pushed us out after about a half-an-hour and we decided to call Annemarijn to see where they were.
We met up with them quickly and the 6 of us decided to stay out a bit longer. We walked for a while trying to find some open bars but everything seemed closed. Eventually, Lucca recommended we drive to another spot near their neck of the woods.
Now. Listen up. Normally, I would NEVER do this. Never in a million years would I get into a car with a random boy who said “oh hey I know of this place where I live…” that screams BAD. But, if I’m going to be honest, and I am, I’m in FLIPPING ROME PEOPLE. I’M 22!!! AND WITH TWO CUTE ITALIAN BOYS WHO WANT TO TAKE ME OUT FOR A DRINK. AND. AND. AND. THEY’RE TWO CUTE ITALIAN BOYS!!
*sigh*
So, we said yes.
However, if you know anything about Europe, you know the cars are teeny tiny. And if you think 6 people are going to fit into one car, you’re nuts. You’re lucky to fit 3. So, we split up. “Ignasio” picked Isabella and me up in his Smartcar, blarring “Come Together” by the Beatles because he said he remembered I liked their music. It was sweet. Isabella and I giggled the whole way there because we couldn’t believe we were in a car with an Italian boy.
Can’t imagine how I’ll react once I’m on a vespa ;) yeah. sure.
Eventually, after a crazy ride in our teeny Smartcar, we all we got to this quaint pub and continued to get to know each other, shared a margherita pizza, and finished off more drinks. Before we knew it, it was nearly 4 or 5am (set the clocks back an hour that night) and Ignasio was calling me a cab and soon I was staggering up the stairs of my apartment.
It was such a fun night and I really hope we get to hang out with Lucca and “Ignasio” again. Maybe next time I’ll have the right name in my blog lol.
Next up is a school trip to Montepulciano on Saturday, aka where they filmed New Moon in Tuscany. Yayyy!!! So, details on that are to come. Also to come, is my meeting with the screenwriter of the Twilight series, and all the Volturi cast members :)
So, as always, stay tuned..
Oh! And as a side note, I’d like to congratulate one of my best friends, Jenna Basso. She just performed at the Grand Ole Opry this past Thursday in Nashville, TN. She’s truly the most beautiful and talented country singer out there. Love you Jenna!!
xx
-Kate
Well, I’m not even sure where to begin with this one.
Suppose I’ll start with Saturday night…
The girls (Mandy, Annemarijn, Isabella, Clementina) and I decided to have a fun night out after a REALLY long day of tours near the Colosseum (and yes these were finally in English, thank god). We wanted to go to a discoteca we’d heard of near the Campo di
Fiori so we headed that direction around 11pm. We found the club we were looking for and unfortunately it looked a little too expensive for our budgets so we ended up just going straight to the heart of the piazza in Campo di Fiori, itself.
Well.
I don’t think we were expecting the night that resulted from this decision.
First of all, if you’ve ever been to Campo di Fiori, you’ll know that it’s a HUGE hot spot for the young crowd. And when I say young, don’t forget that the drinking age is much less in Italy, so even high schoolers were gathering here :/ kinda weird.
So, we head into an inviting bar called “Sloppy Sam’s”. Everyone in the bar seemed to be either study abroad students or Italians who really wanted to get to know Americans, because nearly everyone was speaking English.
Anywho, we grabbed some drinks and headed back to the center of the piazza to enjoy the beautiful night. As we were walking to the statue in the center of the square, a bunch of teenage boys surrounded us and literally attacked us with desperation for us to KISS THEM. Hahahaha! Like are you kidding me? Completely disgusting. I was at least 5 years older than all of them so this was all a bit disturbing.
Some of the girls were amused with the attention, but Clementina and I were certainly NOT. So, we escaped back into the bar. The bartender was very sweet (sounded like he was from London) and got us some more drinks then Clementina and I headed back onto the patio of the bar to just chill out.
The rest starts to get a little blurry from here due to the alcohol consumption going on. However, the blurrier, the more entertaining, I say…
Before we knew it, the other girls had finally escaped the boys, Isabella returning with a rose in hand. lol Just too funny.
We sat talking for a bit. We had all found some “eye candy” in our vicinity so we sat just having some nice conversations when two Italian boys come up to us and one says something that basically translates to “there’s a party in my pants”. ! . How American of them. Then, the same Italian boy introduces himself as, none-other than, Chuck Bass. I can’t be fooled. I know this is the playboy character from Gossip Girl. I quickly tell him that that’s funny because my name happens to be Blair Waldorf! Funny coincidence…
Before any more harassing could ensue, two OTHER boys at a table next to us start yelling at them in Italian telling them to bugger off and leave us alone. These new Italian boys told us that most Italians are dirt, like that. The boy talking was named, Lucca. He didn’t look quite so Italian because he had dark blonde hair and blue eyes.
The other boy looked very Italian with deep brown eyes, black hair, and dark olive skin. He’s originally from Spain, I believe, but he’s lived in Rome most of his life. His name stays in the “blurry” category. I had him repeat it about 15 times and even asked, “Come se scrive?” Which is “how do you spell it?” And of course I still can’t even remember that. Something along the lines of Ignasio..?
Anyyyyyways. We chatted with them for a while. They were both 25, and studying in college. Lucca said he wants to leave Rome asap. He hates it here. He’s lived here his whole life and said he’s just ready for a change. I can respect that. He really wants to move to New York City, which I can REALLY respect.
Eventually, Clementina got tired around 1:30 and Annemarijn and Isabella walked her to a cab. Which meant Mandy and I were going to stay out with the two cute Romans(!!).
Lucca told us the thing that stinks about Rome is that all the bars close by 2am because fights break out a LOT. And it’s true. We witnessed a real messy one right near the next bar we ventured to. Since they’ve lived here most of the lives they knew some random pubs that stay open past the normal curfew. So, we headed out for another drink. Then, that bar quickly pushed us out after about a half-an-hour and we decided to call Annemarijn to see where they were.
We met up with them quickly and the 6 of us decided to stay out a bit longer. We walked for a while trying to find some open bars but everything seemed closed. Eventually, Lucca recommended we drive to another spot near their neck of the woods.
Now. Listen up. Normally, I would NEVER do this. Never in a million years would I get into a car with a random boy who said “oh hey I know of this place where I live…” that screams BAD. But, if I’m going to be honest, and I am, I’m in FLIPPING ROME PEOPLE. I’M 22!!! AND WITH TWO CUTE ITALIAN BOYS WHO WANT TO TAKE ME OUT FOR A DRINK. AND. AND. AND. THEY’RE TWO CUTE ITALIAN BOYS!!
*sigh*
So, we said yes.
However, if you know anything about Europe, you know the cars are teeny tiny. And if you think 6 people are going to fit into one car, you’re nuts. You’re lucky to fit 3. So, we split up. “Ignasio” picked Isabella and me up in his Smartcar, blarring “Come Together” by the Beatles because he said he remembered I liked their music. It was sweet. Isabella and I giggled the whole way there because we couldn’t believe we were in a car with an Italian boy.
Can’t imagine how I’ll react once I’m on a vespa ;) yeah. sure.
Eventually, after a crazy ride in our teeny Smartcar, we all we got to this quaint pub and continued to get to know each other, shared a margherita pizza, and finished off more drinks. Before we knew it, it was nearly 4 or 5am (set the clocks back an hour that night) and Ignasio was calling me a cab and soon I was staggering up the stairs of my apartment.
It was such a fun night and I really hope we get to hang out with Lucca and “Ignasio” again. Maybe next time I’ll have the right name in my blog lol.
Next up is a school trip to Montepulciano on Saturday, aka where they filmed New Moon in Tuscany. Yayyy!!! So, details on that are to come. Also to come, is my meeting with the screenwriter of the Twilight series, and all the Volturi cast members :)
So, as always, stay tuned..
Oh! And as a side note, I’d like to congratulate one of my best friends, Jenna Basso. She just performed at the Grand Ole Opry this past Thursday in Nashville, TN. She’s truly the most beautiful and talented country singer out there. Love you Jenna!!
xx
-Kate
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