Sorry I’ve been MIA this past week. Internet access got a little pricey while traveling, so I retired the computer for a few days. I’m back in LA, going through some of the photos from Italy, and it’s a beautiful city rich in history, tradition and of course, Italian food. We head through narrow roads lined with Umbrella Pines, olive trees, and grape vines for wine tasting at Fattoria Maionchi in the Lucca province of Tuscany. The estate itself was originally built in the 1500’s, and the winery has been there since the 1700’s.

The farmhouse was originally built in the 1500's.

We’re provided with bread, salami and cheeses as we savor some classic Tuscan wines. We learned a lot about the wine region famous for it’s Chianti’s and drinkable red table wines and the difference between oak and chestnut fermentation. The wines were drinkable, definitely amplified by the amazing surroundings of a centuries old winery and farm.

Olives, salami and cheese to help balance bring out the flavors of the Tuscan wines.

Lot's of dust and old, retired oak wine barrels.

The valves on top allow the wines to breath as they age.

The next day we head into Rome in search of ancient ruins, the Vatican, and some mouth watering pizza and pasta. Luckily for us we found all three. After wandering through the complicated streets of the city we manage to find the Colosseum and hooked up with a tour to bypass the line. After soaking in the wondrous magnitude that is the Colosseum, we headed towards the Vatican. We followed the aroma of pizza down a road along side the Vatican walls and found Pizza Hostaria Zi Adele. A quaint sit down pizza and pasta joint on Farinone just around the corner.

The Vatican is as breathtaking outside as it is inside.

Not much on the outside, but magic is happening inside.

We were ravished after walking around Rome all day, and devoured perhaps the best garlic bread I’ve ever had. It was simply olive oil and garlic, covered with fresh Roma tomatoes and roasted in the oven. The pizza came and it was a simple pie, covered lightly with mozzarella cheese, and salami. The sauce was tangy and had a nice balance of acidity and garlic.

The most amazing garlic bread I've ever had.

Simple, thin crusted and sliced salami. The perfect pizza.

Tortolini with meat sauce, rich and savory.

We wish we had more time to explore one of the worlds greatest cities, but we had to head back to the boat and head for Gibraltar. Up next, monkeys, meat pies and ESB.