Wait, no, haven’t done that yet. We aren’t in Italy anymore, we’re in Jordan. You can find alcohol, but it’s not easy.
We took an early morning flight from Rome to Amman (0650 departure, so we were up *early*), arriving a day or two before starting our ‘Jordan Discovery’ tour. We’re doing a group tour, as it seemed the easiest way to see what we wanted with minimal fuss.
We got settled into Hotel Toledo and explored, then grabbed a much-needed nap. Our hotel was not super close to the couple of fun areas we’d read about, so our initial exploration was in the adjacent residential neighborhood, checking out a mall that could be anywhere (with an H&M, Sketchers, Subway, Starbucks, etc.), a large mosque, and the hostel we’ll stay in on our way out of the country.
Checking out the neighborhood
The tour began with a day trip to the ruins of Jerash, a city dating to the Roman empire (we’re seeing a lot of ancient Rome on our travels). Its ruins were spread out as the city was pretty sizeable.
Large Roman-era theaterEnter, stage left
We then bussed back to Amman to tour the Citadel, a ruined fort overlooking the city. Amman is much hillier than I expected (in fact, the seven points on the star of the Jordanian flag refer to the seven hills around Amman). The views of the neighboring canyons were impressive.
Along the way, our guide shared information about the country. Jordan is a country of 11 million, of which 4 million live in Amman. About 40% of the 11 million are refugees from neighboring states that have experienced war and hardships. A little under a million of the residents are Christians. We were told that the Jordanian people are tolerant of other religions and it is not proper to ask somebody about their religion.
We didn’t see too many women on the streets, and the ones that we did see wore headscarves and very conservative clothing. The few women we saw without a head scarf were likely local Christians or tourists.
Day 2 was a bus ride south to see an ancient Crusader-era castle at Karak, and the summit of Mount Nebo, climbed by Moses to lay eyes on the promised land.
Castle was nearly unapproachableWith deep canyons on three sides
After concluding at Karak and the castle, we stopped at a mosaic shop to see how they are made (painstaking work!) and took a back-roads bus ride arriving late in the evening at Wadi Musa, the town next door to the country’s crown jewel: Petra.
Let’s Go Warr-iors!Bus travel past sunset (we didn’t arrive until 830 pm)Bus was comfy & had Wi-Fi
Stay tuned for some beautiful photos of Jordan’s ancient architectural wonder.
We knew Italy would have amazing food and we found tasty pasta, pizza and focaccia everywhere, everyday (often followed by a nap). Sometimes that’s practically all we’d eat all day.
Vegan options abound, with cheeseless “marinara pizza” and veggie focaccia as regular menu items. Yup, we were immersed in carbohydrate overload but too much of a good thing was, frankly, too much. Tim and I will probably be craving those foods again in a week or two, but for now we’re officially sick of dishes made with white flour!
To find other types of vegan food, I had to dig deeper, consulting Google restaurant reviews and the veg-friendly Happy Cow app. Those sources revealed humble hidden gems in suburban neighborhoods and fancy restaurants that had separate vegan menus. We treated ourselves to one fancy meal in each main city (prices were on par with high-end restaurants at home). The dishes were so creative and beautifully presented as well as palate-pleasing! Here’s a random selection of meals we enjoyed:
Fine dining in FlorenceStuffed zucchini blossomBeets encased in phyllo with a mushroom sauce – incredibleHearty earthy soupFunky vegan burger chain called Flower Burger
But the true food star of our Italian travels was a three night stay at I Pini (Italian for “the Pines”), a fully vegan villa in the Tuscan countryside. The property was walking distance to the cute town of San Gimignano (which Tim covered in an earlier post).
Too cool for the pool, but still a lovely settingWalking through the vineyards; San G with its tower on the hill
The villa, known for its sustainable practices, has 11 rooms, multiple sitting areas, and a salt-water swimming pool. It is surrounded by its vineyards, olive groves and veggie gardens. Magnificent, vegetable-centric meals were included in the price and they were the highlight. Both breakfast and dinner were multi-course events, with dinner lasting up to two hours. We slowed our pace here after days of bustling activity, and the high-end farm stay was so relaxing. We had the chance to mingle with other guests from places as diverse as Salt Lake City, Denmark and Tel Aviv.
Dinner course 1 – carrot soup w miso mousseDinner course 2 – tangy eggplant saladDinner course 3 – mushroom risotto w tempuraDinner course 4 – coconut pudding with fruitNext day’s dinner – cauliflower soupNext day’s main – veggie dumplings w fava bean saucePizza night – one of 10 different offeringsFull of veggies and capersBreakfast plate + porridge & yogurt. Savory pancake was amazing!Quite possibly, this was the single best three days of food I’ve ever eaten – foodie Jenn
These dishes were simply incredible, at least as good as anything that I’ve ever enjoyed, even at top restaurants in the USA. I was actually a little disappointed that our final night was pizza night, baked in a wood-burning outdoor fire pit, because while it was delicious, it wasn’t as unusual or special.
Every dinner was enjoyed with wine pairings from the villa’s own vineyards.
This “orange” was one of the seven wines produced from I Pini’s grapes
Unfortunately, I need to let out my belt (again) because the gelato, something we treated ourselves to frequently, was irresistible. Standard gelato places had vegan fruity flavors, but only a few offered creamy and crave worthy vegan varieties made from nut-milks. I miss them already.
Salted Caramel and Almond Mocha from Grezzo in Rome
This wraps our postings about Italy as we are off to another food haven: the Middle East.
…. roam around the world”. (You knew we’d do that, didn’t you? And for those who don’t get the reference, it’s from a song from the B-52s circa 1989.)
We had but three days in the Eternal City, but we’ve managed to make our feet ache by adding 30+ miles to our shoes. Actually, this is the first city in which we’ve extensively used public transportation, which is pretty easy and very reasonable all-everything pass (€18 for the a 72-hour card).
Day 1- Colisseum day visit and walking tour around Flaminio (between Vatican and Colisseum)
Not much we can add to descriptions of the Colisseum but it’s an incredible feat of engineering constructed in the first century AD and host to the bloody gladiator games where man fought beasts and other men to the death! What I found most striking was the height of the building- it’s really tall, and I can imagine contemporaries thinking “who knew humans could build something this high”*
Our walking tour finished up around sunset, and took us from the Porta de Popolo down to the Pantheon and back towards the Vatican.
Now I know where the missing Egyptian obelisks wentLucio answers a question
Day 2- Segway tour, and night photo tour for Tim
Segways are fun, and after a small re-learning curve we enjoyed a roll around some of the neighborhoods. We went to a different part of the city, crossing the Tiber near its one island over to Trastevere, a previously downtrodden but now hip and trendy area.
Mario leads the waySt. Benedictine churchJenn pauses in the Jewish quarterCafes everywherePotable water in the public fountains
We also saw the Jewish ghetto and learned that Rome is currently home to the biggest population of Jews in Europe. We had lunch at a Jewish restaurant after the tour, enjoying a platter of pita and dips and a local delicacy, the fried artichoke.
Later, Tim had a night walk with a professional photographer, who took their small group to a few unusual spots.
Day 3- Vatican City tour, and more walking in Flaminio
Our Vatican tour brought home the full force of tourism in Italy —and it’s late October, normally past the leak of the season. It was mobbed, along with everything else in Rome, like few other places we’ve been so far. Our guide, the tough (but sweet to the ladies) Saverio, tried to keep us moving quickly. He was funny, but also tough (“move quickly, quickly now, stay with me. But not in front as I am the tour guide, see my flag?”). The art collection at the Vatican is off the charts amazing, with the lot the largest collection of ancient art in the entire world! One could spend days there. Oh, and the Sistine Chapel was nice too.**
Not sure who inspired more respect.Lots of art: Paintings.Mosaics.Ancient Etruscan pottery.More crowds.This is a smooth surface, painted!Crowds were thick. And it’s only October.I hear the Pope’s a fan of the Cardinals? Wait, not those Cardinals?
We had a few minutes to swing by a couple of other super-popular highlights:
Spanish Steps
Seems like we’re alone?Not alone
Trevi Fountain
Quiet?Um, no. Crowded!
“Are you not entertained? Is this not why you are here?” *
Thus concludes our Roman Holiday. Next stop: the Levant.
Finita in St. Peter’s Square
*Yes, a line plagarized from the movie “Gladiator”. We watched it here, and it was great.
**I mean fabulous. But no pictures. “Do not take pictures I am your guide they will put you in Vatican jail for three months.” He was tough.
We are not traveling at a blistering, record-setting pace; this is by design. We are on the road for about two months, and know that we can’t maintain a rapid pace for that long. We’ve built in a few extra days to kick back a bit, including a couple in the small town of San Gimignano in Tuscany. We rented a car in Florence, and made the one hour drive out to the countryside to a small vegan agro-tourismo (think high-end farm-oriented B&B; details coming in another post). Jenn’s a champion navigator, btw!
Our little conveyance. Had to remember how to drive a stick.San G. is visible on the horizon.
We chose to spend one of our days driving to the nearby town of Siena, home to arguably the world’s oldest still-open university (dating to 1240). The medieval town is known for its sizeable cathedral, and is stunningly situated atop a steep hill. We took a short walking tour, including visiting the enormous semi-circular square at the center of town, and peeked inside the cathedral at the incredible marble flooring and stained glass.
Siena’s symbol is a she-wolfWorld Famous!
We had a mainly restful day as well, walking the gravel road from our B&B to San G. As it’s October, we’re lucky to have sunny, cool weather so the 3/4 mile wasn’t too bad, despite the hills. The terrain is hilly, and covered with agriculture.
Grape Harvest was in September
While in San G., we walked the narrow city lanes a bit, climbed its bell tower and enjoyed gelato from a well-known vendor, judged the world’s best for several years in the aughts. We’ll need to cover the food in its own separate post, but this place was really popular due to its unusual and creative flavors.
Weird fact: San G. has not one but two torture museums (Siena has at least one too) but we skipped them. We didn’t want to think of more evil ways people could destroy each other.
Loved our couple of restful days in the countryside, as we head back to the beaten path, and on to Rome.
We had a very quick stop on our way from the coast to Tuscany, working into the itinerary just two nights in the historic city of Florence. We were there on a Monday, so the museums were all closed, but we opted for a bike tour instead which was terrific.
The magnificent cathedralOMG! Check it out!
Florence is a beautiful city, known for its large Duomo, the Ponte Vecchio over the Arno River, and its fabulous cathedrals.
Green and white marble is characteristic of FlorenceFamous Ponte Veccho Landmark
Florence also has a lot of fun places to shop.
After pursuing a hundred pairs, she found one that she liked!
We ate pretty well too!
Fancy dinner at CuculiaSo many optionsDigging into a Flower Burger
The reason for our short stay is Jenn has been here before and she’s seen the main sights. I don’t know if I’ll get back here again, but I don’t feel like I did it justice. However, time is finite and we had a rental car to secure for our drive south into the wine country.
Next stop: The Tuscan countryside and a vegan agro-turismo (fancy farm stay) with amazing food.
Cinque Terre (“Five Lands”), on the northwest coast, is a special part of Italy, and designated as a National Park. When we would tell our guides in Venice or Ferrara that we were heading here, they would gush: “Oh it’s so beautiful”; “Oh I so want to go- I’ve never been”; and so forth. Now we know why.
This chain of five villages (Riomaggiore, Manarola, Corniglia, Vernazza and Monterosso) between La Spezia to the south and Levanto to the north are all similar to each other, and a bit different. All are hamlets clinging to the steep slopes that rise 1,000 feet from the Mediterranean. All seem to have the same neighborhood association rules about allowable colors!
It was very easy to get there by train: Ferrara to Florence to La Spezia to Manarola. The train system in Italy is extensive, but not expensive. The route from La Spezia runs right along the coast.
Manarola stationCorniglia stationJenn trying out her new Italian SIM card
We spent the next three days exploring, walking and hiking, grateful to be in nature. Traveling on foot between the villages, one can go via the coast or up and over the hillside ridges that separate the communities, so there were a few options.
Day 1: we took a short (~15 min) train ride three towns north to Monterosso, and then hiked along the lower path (which still had a lot of elevation gain / loss) toward Corniglia. Monterosso looked lovely, and had a proper beach. The views were stunning as we wound our way south along the hilly, rocky coastal trail.
We had a quick stop for food in Vernazza, and then carried on to Corniglia, where we caught the train back home.
VernazzaCorniglia station
Day 2: For next segment of the trail, we were forced to take the high road as the coastal path had collapsed into the sea. That first mile from Manarola to Corniglia was rough with an hour of climbing stairs amid ancient vineyards and gorgeous terraced gardens.
Looking back on our starting point, off in the distanceThere’s a church everywhere!
Eventually the trail flattened and we had frequent views of the Mediterranean.
Up from ManarolaAmongst the vineyardsDown to Corniglia
Day 3: we moved to a different town, Vernazza, and explored all the side spurs and view points.
We definitely enjoyed all towns, which are just so picturesque, any time of day.
Vernazza harborAbove VernazzaInland of ManarolaManarola at dusk
All in, we walked and hiked 18 miles over three days, with an elevation gain of 5000 feet — equivalent to about 500 flights of stairs, and we have sore knees to prove it.
We were surprised by how warm and humid the days felt even in mid October, and wouldn’t advise coming here in the summer when it would be even worse. Likewise, the trails were crowded even at this time of year.
Also, compared to Venice, Americans were very over-represented. We heard some English in Venice, but also a lot of French and Spanish. In Cinque Terre, American English was the dominant foreign tongue. My Cardinals shirt got a few comments, including an older man from Edmonton, whose father listened to KMOX in the ’30s as a child; and a couple who just moved to Belleville, IL.
It was not an American who took this, but he was very nice to do so!
We’re halfway through our Italy trip (three of six locations down). Next stop: Florence!
Ferrara. Said with an Italian accent it’s really cool and fun. Ferr-AHR-ah. Yup it’s fun.
Ferrara’s a small city of about 200,000 people between Bologna and Venice. At one point in time, it was one of Europe’s more affluent cities, sitting astride the River Po trade routes and agriculturally productive due to developed flood management. The river’s long since shifted away but for a small channel next to the old city, but it remains something of an off-the-beaten-track tourist attraction.
Let’s get the highlights out of the way first: the city is home to a sizeable castle, one of the first (the first?) in Europe with a water moat. It’s really, really impressive, dating originally to the 15th century with its first tower and subsequently expanded by the family Este which ruled the area.
It had only a few artifacts inside, as most were plundered when Papal control was exerted over this fortress. However many of the frescoes remain (if damaged by a 2012 earthquake), because as our guide Massimo reminded us, it’s hard to pillage ceilings.
Mirrors to aid in viewing the frescoAlso had a serious dungeon.
The city is also home to a number of churches, built in the 16th and 17th centuries to show off the relative wealth of the duchy.
The city itself is typical I think: narrow cobblestone streets in the old town; a large church and bell tower in the central square; and plenty of outdoor cafe life in the evenings.
Aperol Spitz is a very common drink here
There were a couple of surprises, especially after Venice. The first was the prevalence of bicycles as a typical mode of transport. Sure there were some cars, but in the city center there were a *lot* of bikes. We rented a pair for a ride around the city walls and its environs on a lovely fall day.
Several mile ride along or even on the walls surrounding the city
There were also some unusual architectural novelties, including a rotunda and a building made with diamond ended bricks. These too were created to show off the wealth of the town and its inhabitants.
Due likely to our relaxed pace, we also got just a bit more interaction with some of the locals, including our tour guide Massimo and the proprietress, Alicia, of the restaurant, La Vegana. Both were generous with their time and knowledge, and made this stop a little more personal than what we had in the bigger Venice.
Massimo from Guru WalksAlicia from La Vegana
Jenn’s Addition: Ferrara is known for a pumpkin-stuffed pasta called cappellacci, akin to a giant tortellini. They are also known for a dessert called chocolate salami (I’m not making this up) which is cake with nuts and cookies that comes in the shape of a salami. We enjoyed the vegan versions at Ferrari’s only vegan restaurant and the food was spectacular!
More please! So goodCoppia, their hard and frankly terrible local bread
I took the train from Naples northeast to Venice. Because I’m an idiot, I didn’t know that Venice is actually built on top of a series of islands (I thought it was more like New Orleans, built on the coast. Read a map much?). Luckily I’m joining the better prepared half of the team, as Jenn was waiting for me at our rental flat.
Canals– What I don’t know about Venice would fill volumes, but I knew about the canals. Or at least I thought I did. Turns out there are a bazillion of them running through the city and our rental apartment even looked onto a canal! Many narrow lanes dead-ended onto water. Nearly everyone was trying to navigate by smartphone maps, which were amazingly useful.
Cobblestones– What isn’t water is almost completely cobblestones. We did see a few patches of grass, and perhaps 15-20 trees, in the main center of town during all our walks (I saw more in the east side of the city, but still).
A square with a few treesMost streets looked like thisOur walking guide Simona was terrific
Cafes- The city’s residential population is down below 50,000, which is a reflection of how hard and how expensive it is to live there. It’s becoming almost completely a tourist attraction. It was difficult to find a grocery store (they exist, but we had to search a bit), but cafes are omnipresent.
Cafe at Piazza de San MarcoWe splurged one night for dinner
Tourism/Shopping– As it’s more a tourist town than a place people live, much of the shopping seemed geared to tourists as well.
Holy Cannolis!Learn where to look grandpa! Distracted at the TIM store.
Photogenic- All that said, I can’t imagine a place that is more photogenic than Venice. It seemed like every turn brought me to something worth taking a picture of. It. Was. Nuts. It helped that we had good light in October, but man is this city pretty.
This is the view from the train station. WOT!!!
Sights– Venice has its share of sights as well. We barely scratched the surface, but took an early-bird tour of the Doge’s Palace, and were mesmerized by its opulence. The city was incredibly wealthy, for a very long time.
The detail was incredible
The church of San Marco (undergoing serious renovations, like a lot of Venice) was also spectacular.
Even some of the everyday stuff was fun, too.
He was pretty good. Not a distorted view- huge doors.
Other Islands– I took a day trip to see a few other neighboring islands, Murano, Torcello and Burano. I could have skipped Torcello, but I could have spent more time in Murano (for its glass) and Burano (for its color and food).
Glass maestroColorful Burano
In sum, Venice is a special place. It’s beautiful, a lovely escape from the real world. I took no fewer than 450 pictures in our three full days there. I wonder how long it will remain so- our tour guide, when asked about the long term plan to keep the city above water, said “You know this is Italy, right? We don’t do long term plans.” I’m very, very glad I came.
Next, we boat and train to the modestly-sized city (250,000) of Ferrara, in between Venice and Bologna. Ferrara is a recommendation from my college friend, Bob D, even though he’s never been there himself! We’ll see!
Hopped cities from Luxor to Cairo (6 hour layover) to Rome to Naples. Long, long day. Cairo’s airport, if you’re ever there, is pretty crummy until you get through security, and then it gets nice. If you have the chance, get through security ASAP and enjoy the other side.
Tarmac at LuxorGoodbye to Cairo
So, Italy. This is my first trip here, and of course I’ve heard amazing things about the sites, scenery, food, people, etc. Yeah yeah sure sure I thought: I’ll get there at some point. After a couple days here, I’m starting to understand why many friends keep coming back.
I had two days in Naples, which isn’t long but I guess there’s not that much to see here. I spent the first day trying to find an ATM that worked for me (Bank of America’s international presence kinda stinks, and I don’t know the PINs to my Visa cards). Found a currency exchange booth that gave a decent rate, and walked all over downtown.
I found myself angling to the west part of Naples, and made a sweaty climb up narrow streets to Sant’Elmo, a huge fortress overlooking the city, where my exertions rewarded with spectacular views.
I did not get to the Amalfi coast, but did a day trip up Vesuvius and to Pompeii. The hike up Vesuvius was challenging, but the crisp October air made it very pleasant. I had great views again, this time facing to the west.
Naples in the backgroundDon’t let your DevOps blow a hole in your company.
We also went to Pompeii for a tour- nice site with lots of history. Well preserved and they’re still uncovering more. The stadium was cool, and the central square was neat as well.
Naples isn’t complete without pizza, so I got my share. They were all tasty!
Then walked to the central train station, and jumped my train to Venice. Have to say the train was easy, fast (topped out at 198km/hr) and had wifi- what a great way to move between cities.
Next post: Jenn and I report from Venice- I have a feeling I’m really going to like our time in Italy!
So as not to swamp inboxes (too late I know), I’m combining a pair of posts to finish up Egypt.
This one’s for my girls: Egypt- food & drink
Jenn and Charlie are complete and total foodies, so this section is for them. The food I had in Egypt varied between really good and ordinary, and cost wasn’t really correlated to my experience.
The restaurant attached to our hotel in Cairo was pretty good- my Greek salad was the fresh food I needed after flying in from California. I enjoyed Egypt’s khousary, the tagines and the koftas (chicken and beef). The soups (lentil, orzo, etc.) were fine. I never really found a tahini that I liked- I thought they were too strong, but the baba ghanoush was terrific.
KhousaryBaba ghanoush on flatbread
We had a group dinner at a very upscale resort in Aswan called the Old Cataract (rooms from US$250 and up), though the food didn’t live up to the very first world prices I didn’t think.
Cold beer on the patioGreat atmosphere, meh food
My favorite meals were those in our two home visits, where the families offered a wide range of dishes that were all good to very good.
Home visit #1- Lentil Soup and BreadHome visit #2- bread and soup course
I also had a great meal of a unique dish called a fateera (I had the fateera dajaj) at a restaurant in Luxor called the Al Sahaby Lane. This was a flaky pastry outside with cheese, veggies (peppers, tomatoes, onions) and meat inside, topped with what tasted a bit like barbeque sauce. It was really, really good- the best single dish I can remember. My appetizer was a dip called a mohmarra, which tasted like a flavorful red pepper puree with spices, and was also very good.
Al Sahaby fateeraView of Luxor Temple from Al Sahaby
Drinks: I had a lot of hibiscus juice and tea, as it wasn’t water. Bottled water (our guide strongly suggested we not drink the local water) was consumed in great quantities as I tried to stay hydrated. But there were opportunities to get other drinks- Coke was everywhere, one could always get tea and coffee (though the coffee was pretty universally panned by the tour). I had a couple of the local beers, Stella and Sakkara, which were fine though nothing to write home about. I also enjoyed a pineapple soda.
Pineapple soda- very goodYup I got a McDonald’s drink to enjoy looking at the Nile
In sum, I was pleasantly surprised by the food we got during our tour- even the food on the boat was pretty good.
Random Observations
Topography & Weather:
OMG was it hot. Routinely above 40C/104F (saw a couple >110F days). Worse, it never seemed to cool off- the group absorbed and retained the heat well into the evening. Sunrise/sunset were pretty regular, about 530-545 both AM and PM, and it was kinda unbearable being outside between 1 and about 5. It wouldn’t cool off (meaning got into the 80s) until after 8PM.
Sometimes it was hard to find shade…but this cat had the right idea.
So it’s no wonder that virtually all the population lives in a narrow strip of land on either side of the Nile for its length, and in most places I saw no more than a half mile from the banks. Our guide said that something like 93% of the country is desert, leaving 110 million people to jam into 7% of the country.
East side- narrow in placesWest side’s rough terrain hems in civilization
Infrastructure and Transport:
Our tour with G Adventures used mainly buses to get from the towns to various sites. We had a combination of smaller minibuses and large intercity buses. They were all find and comfortable, and the drivers were great (and sold cold bottled water, which we really appreciated).
We also used the train to get down to Aswan from Cairo. It was modest but perfectly fine. I slept really well actually and it was a pretty easy trip.
GE Wabtec Locomotives on the line- serious stuff“Ok, but I get to be on top”
We took a felucca from Aswan up close to Luxor overnight, which was a really great way to go. We were lucky with the weather, as it was only in the 90s, but we lazed under the awning which covered nearly the whole boat.
Captain Haby adjusts his riggingThe local boys paddled out to busk by singing
I didn’t find Egypt to be very walkable; I walked a lot, but it’s hard to say Egypt cities are walkable as no pedestrian uses the sidewalks (everyone’s in the street). I only occasionally felt like a participant in the vintage arcade game Frogger.
It only looks like this at 5 am.
Egypt will keep expanding its historical and archaeological appeal
Finally, the whole country is almost one big archaeological dig site. As more discoveries are made, the sites get richer with artifacts. A couple on our trip did the same Egypt itinerary with G Adventures 14 years ago, and said there were a lot of new (old) things this time. This country alone will keep generations of archaeologists busy, and quantity of ancient items “parked” out back of these sites is amazing.
More stuff waiting for ID and reconstruction“it belongs in a museum”
Overall, I had a great time on this trip. G Adventures made it pretty easy (no decision fatigue at all, just pacing fatigue which is fine) and our guide Arafa added a lot to my experience. I’m glad I went and saw these treasures of humanity and experienced a little bit of the country.
Notes from a Big World 
