Italy and Spain!!!

Ok, so I kept a vacation diary and took pics of almost all my food. our daily exercise was pretty much walking all day long---up stairs, belltowers, hills, except for the final day in Spain---I ran 5K at the hotel gym. Here is what we ate!***there is a more detailed diary of what we did in my other blog***

Friday 12/21/07--arrive in Roma

flying since last night---just eating crappy airplane food except for the fabulous sandwich we shared at the Madrid airport--Jamon (spanish cured ham) and cheese on a baguette oh and when we got into italy we ate paninis by the Vatican===not so great, paninis were dissappointing in Italy--no pics

Saturday 12/22/07

Breakfast---fabulous buffet at the hotel---there were many temptations, but we are trying to be good---I had fresh fruit, cappuccino, toast with cream cheese and fresh OJ

Lunch---Insalate---Salad with Basil, Arugula, Fresh Mozzerella, tomatoes, and olives with olive oil and balsamic vinegar, and a big glass of red wine. My husband had a giant beer and a pizza

Dinner--at Ecce Bombo Restaurant

The most fabulous Lasagna, with meat sauce and bechamel and bruchetta with more red wine. Steve had veal that he did not like---sorry ate my meal too fast to take pics.

Sunday 12/23/07

Breakfast---ate pretty much the same thing every morning===love those italian cappuccinos---I tried fresh kiwi juice today---yuck!

Lunch---Insalate Misto, Pizza Margherita and wine and beer (me wine, hubby beer)--this was the worst salad ever----lettuce, corn and tomatoes----seriously, corn. The Pizza was frozen and reheated---the wine was good and these Italians know how to fill a wine glass!!!

Dinner---skipped dinner for a nap, then went for a walk and had some snacks and too many drinks at the hotel bar.

Monday 12/24/07

Breakfast---same

Lunch--no lunch, Pistachio Gelato!!!

Dinner---Caffe Martini---right next to the Colosseum---you pay for that view though!!

we split a Caprese Salad and I had homemade ravioli with meat sauce, steve had gnocchi with four cheese sauce and we had grilled veggies (excuse the photos---the restaurant was so dark!), this is where I made the mistake of letting the waiter pick the wine---a half bottle was 30 Euros!!!!! Ack!

Tuesday 12/25/07--Christmas Day

Breakfast---same except I had fresh pineapple juice (yum), and some potatoes

Lunch---we went to this terrible tourist place and ate a ham and fresh mozzerella panini, and some snacks they gave us and wine and beer. It was not that bad, considering that half the stuff on the menu was frozen and microwaved. We were just so hungry!!!


****More Gelato!!!!!! I had Nutella, Amaretto, Vanilla in a cup

Dinner---this great place in Piazza Barberini---Ristorante Conti De Galluccio

We split a very nice Chianti, and also split some Porcini Barolo Risotto. Then grilled chicken and potatoes and asparagus for me---the most moist chicken I have ever had! The food is so simple here, but so good! Then we walked 4 miles back to the Vatican to look at the crowds for midnight mass. At the hotel they left us a Pannetone and wrote Buon Natale in chocolate---we split it

Wednesday---12/26/07--today we went to Florence for the day

Breakfast---the same, with some prosecco--Im over the breakfast, same thing every day and they dont cook their eggs/bacon all the way, so I cant eat it.

Lunch---Le Campane---in Florence---this was my favorite meal!!!!! It was a tiny pizzaria on some small street and no one there spoke English---so a local place and I can see why!

We split a salad that had arugula, mushrooms, pecorino and some kind of cured meat with a lemon vinagrette, also split a ham/mozzerella calzone and I oopsed and ordered a pitcher of wine instead of a 1/4 liter I ordered a 1/2. We were a little drunk when we left.

Dinner---me---penne with meat sauce and cream, red wine. steve---spagetti with tomato basil sauce and a beer. I am telling you we ate everything and just walked all day long and I came back 3 lbs lighter!!!

Thursday 12/27/07

Breakfast---same, last day here, the rest of teh day was ucky airplane food because we were on our way to Spain!!!!

evening---we had a welcome reception from the company steve uses to go on trips to Europe with his students. We had wine and some marcona almonds, potato chips and spanish olives. Then took a nap, woke up at ate great sandwiches in the hotel bar---no pics, sorry!

Friday 12/28/07

Breakfast----yay! I love this place more than the expensive one in Italy---I had churros, fruit, chorizo and tortilla espanola and some yucky coffee---so strong here.

on our bus tour we stopped for some chocolate!!! A thick hot chocolate drink that you dip churros in---it just tastes like melted chocolate!

Lunch---were not hungry-we were thirsty---so we had a smoothie at cafe & te

Dinner---Tapas Crawl---we went on a Tapas Tour to 3 restaurants. We had lots of Sangria, chips (the spanish love potato chips, they are everywhere), chorizo, pork wrapped in bacon, ham, barley (some kind of blood pudding thing), fish, Nachos (at a mexican place), bread, tortilla espanola, Patatas Bravas, some mushroom thing with more blood ( I tried it, but yuck).

Saturday 12/29/07

Skipped breakfast to sleep in

Lunch---fabulous Paella de Pollo and Sangria at a restaurant called Chiky.

Dinner---this great farewell dinner put on by the travel company---we had sangria, wine and beer, bread and first 7 different tapas!!!!!! Then a mariachi band, then dinner (I had pork, steve had a whole fish that had its head still on---eww), and dessert. So sad this was our last night

Sunday 12/30/07

Travel day---last yummy breakfast in Spain---churros, tortilla espanola

Did not each much on the plane because we were still full from last night.