After the lengthy drive up from Pompeii we checked in to Hotel Tornabuoni and hit the streets. Il duomo was already closed to non-Catholics so Lethy peeked inside and then we climbed the tower next door which had great views of the whole city.
On the way back through the city we saw some amazing street art:
Over to Palazzo Vecchio
Dinner across Ponte Vecchio at Bibo. Not the way it used to be.
Uffizi and Academia. Neither allow photos. Lots of amazing art in both. Seeing the David is always impressive. It feels like he may step off the pedestal at any moment.
Dinner rooftop at the hotel…. great views, great steaks, great wines. Especially the Greppone.
Day 4 (all pics here)
Between Rome and Pompeii we stopped in Herculaneum, a smaller site, but less over run with tourists and perhaps a bit better preserved. Frescoes, Mosaics, etc in very good shape.
From there we drove on to Pompeii and checked into the Hotel Forum. Definitely appears to be the nicest hotel in the tourist part of Pompeii… with fruit gardens full of grafted orange/melon/whoknowswhat trees to sit under and enjoy a drink.
A very nice dinner at La Bettola Del Gusto. Good wine:
Having a full day available in Pompeii was a wise choice. Getting started early before the heat came on and the crowds arrived was an even better one. We started from the back end of the site by their amphitheater and picked up a private guide, Antonio, who was very knowledgeable about history and kept us on pace.
Red light district building fresco:
The main judicial building:
After 3 hours in the sun and having covered all the major spots in Pompeii ruins, we jumped in the car and without lunch (just some Biscotti) we decided to hike Vesuvius. Yes, hike the volcano, that destroyed Pompeii and Herculaneum.
There is still steam seeping out of the rocks inside the crater in places, but it has not erupted since 1942.
Dinner at “Ristorante President” with very charismatic waiter “Paulo”. Food good, wine (Gemma) better:
The next day we would take the long drive up to Florence.
What better way to start off in Italy than with dinner. We went to a place around the corner from the hotel the night we arrived and enjoyed a nice family style Tuscan meal. Wine: Chianti Classico Ruffino de Oro. Good thing we had a hearty meal, because Day 1 would bring lots of walking…
It’s COLD. 5 degrees in SLC. Negative nine in Park City.
By 5 we’re checked in, groceries bought, and planning out the next day.
Snowmobiling offers heat vents, heated handlebars, and a Yurt with hot Cocoa!
Day 1 – Monday we snowmobile mid day. It’s a lot like Jet Skiing but on snow instead. The same mushy turning and fast slowing down. Hills and deep powder are both a lot of fun.
The walk down to main street from the room is not bad at all despite still sub-zero temperatures, literally! Dinner at The Butcher’s Chop House. Very good cowboy steak (bone-in rib-eye), nice bison steak. Wine list a little weak. Side dishes done very nicely.
Day 2 – I Ski. Lethy hangs out. Still cold, temps in single digits at the base. I spread my time across the whole mountain. Some of the back mountain lifts are numbingly cold! Dinner in.
Day 3 – More skiing! Temps are better, in the teens at the base, around 0 at the summit. No need for heatpacks. Focus mostly on the Silverlode area. Detonator totally rules! Found a great run of a glades beginning, a 2 sections of moguls, followed by a big steep, leading into Detonator which dumps me onto a “bomb it” flat to the lift.
Day 4 – Work / rest. Blah blah. Amazing dinner at Prime Steak House. Kobe NY Strip double thick and a pair of fresh Australian Lobster tails. Some of the best steak I’ve ever had. Sides were so-so. Fairly extensive wine list. After dinner we do a wine tasting while listening to live piano/guitar.
Day 5 – Ski! A half inch of fresh powder makes for a nice change of pace. Skiing solo is a little strange. Sometimes its lonely, but other times it has huge advantages. Singles lines means no wait at the lift. No waiting for bio breaks… averaging 25 runs a day! Doing the constant short mogul runs has really forced my technique to improve. The day off was a must though, with improved technique came improved leg cramps at night. Dinner in.
Day 6 – Ski some more! “Heat wave” making conditions a little more interesting. Wearing literally 2 fewer layers all around than on Day 2. Still barely cracks 32F but the sun makes it feel 50F. Last day on the slopes. Dinner at Easy Street Brasserie. Good food, but overpriced.
Day 7 – Checkout at 10AM. Starting to snow pretty hard so despite the desire to stick around and maybe go tubing, we beat feet for the valley. We decide to head out to the Bonneville Salt Flats – which are quite a drive. Albeit a very flat, straight one. (Duh!)
Apparently the flats are actually flooded with 1 to 2 inches of water and slush from November to early summer. It then evaporates and they smooth out 3 race tracks in August and race through October. $400 for as many times as you can make it down the track in a week!
After the salt flats we swung paste Temple Square in SLC. We went into the visitor center where we were continually approached by “tour guides” who were really just recruiters. They had that “wild-eyed, enthusiastic, I’m totally in a cult” stare to them. It really creeps me out so we got out of there as quickly as we could without being totally rude.
Redeye flight home was again completely packed, but at least we got to sit together!
Looking forward to more slope time in Jackson this March!
On the way to Pilsen we first stopped in to visit with Mom’s cousin in Lhotka u Radnic. After some tea and delicious pastry we went and checked into the new Marriott Courtyard in Pilsen and had some great salads and pizza for lunch.
Then we went to Dýšina to meet a long lost cousin and her family from my Dad’s side who live in the house he grew up in. More pastries consumed, we did a driving tour of the town and then visited Dad’s parents’ graves.
From there we went and met with the Stone mason who will redo the grave. From the pictures you can see the stonework is crumbling.
After we visited my Mom’s parents’ and brother’s grave in Pilsen.
It was quite windy and getting lit tea candles all the way from the entrance where I could light them took quite a few tries.
Having had enough with that business, we returned to Pilsen after doing a drive by look at Grandma’s old apartment. Then we went to dinner in yet another Italian place. The salads and entrees were great, but the desserts were lacking. The “flambe” banana lacked flambe (it came warmed, no cooking at your table) and the fondue was only so so.
Next morning we woke up and did the express 1 hour brisk walk Pilsen tour.
With Dad needing to fly off to Cork, Ireland to look at a plant for GE, we piled into the car and hit the road.
