Sunday, July 27, 2008

Masi's National Lampoons Italian Vacation!


A few weeks ago, the Masi’s arrived in Geneva and started their adventure in Europe. We spent a week in Italy and visited every type of city you could explore. Family heritage in Corato and Melfi, historic Rome, the romantic and pristine Tuscan hills and the islands by the sea, Cinque Terre. All of these places were beautiful, but for different reasons. The food & wine was delicious, but to be expected! I don’t think I drank this much in college. Masi’s are all about enjoying good food, good wine and good company!
When we told some of our European friends about the trip we were about to embark upon, they all thought we were insane for driving that much, but Americans have no issues with driving 3 hours, 6 hours, whatever it takes. It is about the adventure, right? Corato and Melfi were quite small and I think a few people were a bit concerned as to why we were photographing their little town. We ordered coffee in Corato and my family was a bit perplexed about the miniature cup and SUPER strong coffee. They were good sports though. Rome was amazing, but really hot! The Trevi Fountain, Pantheon, Spanish steps, Vatican museums, Sistine Chapel, St. Peter’s Basilica/Square, Colosseum, Palantine, Roman Forum, you name it, we went there. Brian and I are used to trekking around to 8 places a day on our weekend trips, regardless of rain, snow and of course, 90 degree weather. Our friends here are amazed at the amount of places we see when we travel. I think my parents felt a little like they were being punished, but were total troopers. My mom said a million times “thank god we work out at the Y!” In Tuscany, we were staying in a 17th century converted farm house that was 3km from the center of San Gimignano. The owner, Lucia, bought the ruins over 10 years ago. We could not believe the scenes from the windows (we hope Mom Young can paint one for us). We stayed in 1 of the four apartments there and it was awesome as you can see in the pictures. It was great to relax after the adventurous Rome part of the trip. We did some shopping, eating/drinking and laying out by the pool. We went on a wine tour in Chianti at the Monsanto vineyards. This was really cool as well. I was waiting for my dad to trip on a bottle of 1964 Chianti and owe the place 600 euros! They were extremely generous on the wine tasting part! We all felt a little tipsy afterwards because we didn’t have a large breakfast. Cinque Terre (five islands in Italian) was also very cool. The pictures did a great job of capturing the bright colors of the town. If we go back here, we would like to stay longer, do some hiking and explore all of the islands. In our one day there, soaked in the sun, went swimming and enjoyed a nice dinner. This vacation was not 100% relaxing, but it was a trip of a lifetime! Everyone had a blast and we confirmed our love for Italy!

1 comment:

Sherry said...

Sounds like you had a wonderful time with you family Dena! I am so envious! Pictures are beautiful!