All You Need to Know About Gelato

How to tell real gelato from fake:

Someone said about 80% of gelato in Rome is fake.  How you can tell is by looking at the colours.  If the pistachio is bright green, it's fake.  Or if the banana is yellow, it's fake.

Another way is if you see the gelato piled way up to the top it's a fake because the real ones are actually made in the container, not scooped out of a bucket.

But we've found some really good ones!  These are my top three places:
Perche-No! in Florence dates back to 1939.

Grom in Sienna.  This would be the best gelato I've ever had.

Maleti Gelateria in Verona was thick and creamy.

But you'll have to go to Italy to try for yourself!

What Could be Better?

Typical Tuscan Countryside

What Could be Better than spending a week at a countryside villa in Tuscany? A week in a Tuscan Villa with my sister!

My sister Cathrine* actually took me up on my offer of sharing our accommodation in Italy (as long as she could book a flight within the 2 week window that I left available - oops!). Paul was confident that Cathrine would arrange it and would be joining us for a glass of wine (or 2).

What Could be Better than taking a tacky tourist picture of me holding up the Tower of Pisa? Convincing my sister to take a picture supporting above mentioned leaning structure!

What Could be Better than climbing up the Mangia Tower in Siena? Looking down onto the Piazza del Campo and imagining the horses running around the outside in the annual Palio Horse Race.

What Could be Better than eating delicious Italian food? Having a lovely Italian woman teach you how to make the traditional, simple Tuscan meals as passed down to her by her mother and mother's mother. Thanks Paola!

What Could be Better than saddling up to the coffee bar to enjoy a cappuccino in Italy? Enjoying a cappuccino at a quaint little trattoria in the small Tuscan village of Rosano. In the cities you'll be charged extra to have a seat, but not here!

What Could be Better than overlooking Florence and the famous Ponte Vecchio?  Being on the Ponte Vecchio!

What Could be Better than spending your birthday in Tuscany? I just don't know,...

*unfortunately other members of the family could not join in on the adventure (probably the mainly due to my lack of organization and advance notice)

Preventing Fashion Crime in Italy

I found a pair of pants I liked when we were in Florence yesterday. I pointed the display out to the sales clerk and explained I didn't know what my European size would be. While they had my size, he also very politely informed me that these were "skinny" style and would not be "appropriate" .