Adventuring Through Italy, With My Amazing Mom

As an American who was born and raised in Southern California – I can honestly say that living in Florence, Italy has been an amazing experience so far. I feel like my life has forever changed, and like I’m no longer the same person I was just 2.5 years ago – in significant ways.. Sure I can speak another language, but beyond that I feel like my eyes have opened up so much wider simply living beyond the world –  that at many levels – began and ended with the United States, and even more so within the bubble of Southern California.

Beyond all the excitement, cultural enrichment, and self-growth though- I also know that this life that I’ve chosen for myself has also taken me more 6,200 miles away from everything I have ever known, all the people that I love, and who love me as well. 

I’ll never forget the moment I told my Mom that I was moving to Italy, and I’ll never forget how proud, excited, and sad I felt that she was all at once – knowing that I would have the most amazing time – and also how much she would miss me. 

My Mom and I have always been very close – and even right before I moved from Italy we even worked next to each other at the same office every day. We share similar interests and even share friend groups. Needless to say, it also shouldn’t be a surprise that my Mom and I also travel really well together, and I’m so excited to share the absolutely amazing experience that I’ve shared with my Mom over the past couple weeks. She visited me in Florence again, but this time we also headed into the Tuscan countryside, and I also took her to Rome, Venice and then back to Florence again for a Birthday Party I don’t think either of us will ever forget.

May 22nd, 2015

I picked my Mom up at the airport, we got past our typical waterwork-filled hugs and laughs, and we headed towards the city center so she could freshen up. Seeing my Mom is always such a grounding experience for me, and I was so excited for her to be able to see the world through my eyes, as well as for her to get to know the ‘why’ behind the life I was living even more as well. We headed out through the historical center towards an aperitivo and a light dinner, taking some mandatory photos along the way before heading out to Rome first thing the next morning. One of my favorite local spots is in a place called L’Angolino right next to Santo Spirito, where they have one of those bike cars parked outside which serves as extended seating since they can’t have any tables and chairs out on the street. Talk about Italian Genius!

We arrived in Rome with the train the next morning, and headed straight towards the apartment we rented near Via del Governo Vecchio. Our first plan was to head to Saint Peter’s, and I knew this great sandwich place nearby called La Salumeria where we could get some sandwiches to go which we ate while walking towards Vatican City.

Seeing someone’s reaction the first time that they see a major monument like this is honestly a priceless thing to witness – my Mom was absolutely astounded at the sheer size and amount of wealth that was required to construct such a massive building so many centuries ago. At this point I had already visited Vatican City and been inside St. Peter’s a few times – but even so it’s always such a remarkable place to visit. After we left Vatican City we headed back over the Tiber, zig-zagging our way through some of my favorite places to check out including Castel Sant’Angelo, Piazza Navona, Teatro di Marcello, and back through Campo De’ Fiori in search of an aperitivo. For my Mom there is her life before and after her discovery of the aperol Spritz. She absolutely loves them – and I don’t blame her! ( I’m partial to a Spritz with Campari, or a Negroni Sbagliato – but I digress ).

We enjoyed our aperitivo, and eventually dinner while people watching for a bit before heading back to Vatican City to capture a glimpse of Saint Peter’s at night – which was honestly such a wonderful wrap to our awesome day of exploring The Eternal city.

The next morning after getting our cappuccini and cornetti from a bar down the street, we headed towards the Pantheon and what we found was a group of people that were waiting outside the entrance. Not really knowing what was going on, we decided to wait with them to see what might happen – maybe a parade? No. Not at all. Little did we know that once a year the Pantheon organized something so amazing that neither of us could have ever expected it – and it just so happened to be that Sunday we were there together, and we just so happened to be there early enough to intimately witness it. The day was Pentecost, and what do the Romans do at the Pantheon on Pentecost? Well, they pour thousands of rose pedals through the oculus. It’s difficult to describe the feeling of witnessing literally thousands of rose petals falling through the opening in the center of the dome, which is 43m tall ( ~141 feet ), all slowly floating down to the floor below. The choir was singing, the sun was shining, and there I was with my Mom – both of us with tears of amazement in our eyes. It was absolutely breathtaking. 

Once the petals stopped falling they started cleaning up a bit before letting everyone inside. I had originally thought the highlight of the Pantheon was showing my mom how cool and unique the building was, telling her how old it was, and also being able to see Rafael’s tomb – but the Roses totally stole the show. Sorry Rafael! I still think you’re pretty rad!

After leaving the Pantheon we headed towards what some Roman’s refer to as the ‘Wedding Cake’, which is located in Piazza Venezia ( Guys let’s be honest, it’s amazing ) , and then we headed towards the much anticipated Colosseum. It’s difficult to fully appreciate a place like the Colosseum if you don’t truly spend a lot of time with him ( il Colosseo ). There is an unimaginable amount of history, architectural feats, damage and straight out robbery of this goliath of architecture. It’s one of the most famous places in the world! They staged naval battles in the damn thing! And hold up – will you just look at how cute my Mom is though? I mean seriously. She’s just soaking it all up and living her best life. Love you Mom <3

After spending some quality time with the big C, we strolled through Monti, which is one of my favorite neighborhoods in central Rome before heading to a metro so we could catch a ride back towards our hood. As the sun started to set we found ourselves in Piazza Navona again ( aww, shucks! ) , and then went back to one of our favorite activities in a narrow Roman street – which is enjoying a drink and just enjoying ‘the show’. That night I took my Mom to dinner at one of my favorite places in Rome where we both enjoyed Carbonara, Cacio e Pepe – and to my entire families surprise – even eggplant parmesan ( Which, thanks to the real Italians who know what they are doing- we both now absolutely love! ). After dinner we then headed to one of my favorite beer places in Rome called Open Baladin where we made some friends, had a few laughs and then headed back to the apartment to get some much needed rest.

Early the next morning we made our way to our next destination – VENEZIA!

Venice is one of the most beautiful places in the world. Okay, let me rephrase this. Venice is one of the most beautiful places in the world – but my god if you come in the middle of tourist season and the heat – you’re going to have a bad time.

GUESS WHAT THO?! It’s May, so we’re good! ( If you’re reading this from the future, and May also is completely intolerable now – then, well, you missed out my friend and Venice is probably suffering and sinking more than ever. I pray that will not be the case! Long Live Venezia! )

Stepping out of the Santa Lucia train station in Venice feels like stepping into another dimension. Wait, we live in water world now? What? What were the Venetians EVEN thinking?! Amazing.

Police? Boats.

Construction work? Boats.

Package Delivery? Boats.

Cars? Nopes.

Bikes? Nopes.

Scooters? Nopes.

Ambulance? Boats.

Taxi? Boats.

Public Transportation? Boats.

Fireboats?! Boats.

Hoverboards?! HoverBOATS!

You get the picture.

Heaven forbid you live in Venice and ever sprain an ankle man. All the bridges and steps you will still need to traverse on a daily basis- let alone those that you probably need to get into your house will either kill you or make you stronger – fo real.

Okay, so where were we?.. Roads?! Where we’re going we don’t need roads!? ( Welcome to Scott’s life that is filled with so many tangents ;D ! )

….So my Mom and I leave Rome, take a train, arrive in Venice, we step out into Water world, it’s amazing and…. yes here were are….

So we exit the train station and start heading to where we’re going to stay. One of the things that I love most about Venice is how GPS doesn’t work that well. If you rely heavily on your phone to navigate through Venice – good luck, and I honestly hope this never changes. Walking through Venice has leveled up my ability to navigate and orient myself like no other place to this date has done. You’ve got narrow curved roads, endless canals, frequent straight and angular bridges, confusing signs – you name it. Venice has endowed me with the talent of being able to memorize a map and walk where I’m going with confidence, and with my Mom in tow I was definitely feeling like a proud son just letting her soak in all the sights.

The main difference between Rome and Venice for my Mom – that I could tell – is that in Rome my Mom walked around with a sense of awe for the amount of history and overall grandeur and enormity of monuments all within relatively close proximity to one another. In Venice my Mom’s reaction was a bit different – which was more along the lines of smiling, shaking her head, laughing and being astonished about the absurdity of it all, as well as the overwhelming beauty and uniqueness that encompasses you and all of your surroundings. Rome felt like an amazing ancient city – Venice felt like another world from another time.

After dropping off our things we winded our way through Venice’s maze of canals and colored buildings on the way to St. Mark’s square – avoiding all the pigeons, and 25 Euro cappuccini, but definitely telling my Mom the story of how many times the belfry and spire atop St. Mark’s Campanile have been destroyed by natural disasters, and then rebuilt. It’s honestly pretty hilarious – you should look it up on Wikipedia and read the section called ‘Belfry and spire’. Finally someone eventually installed the damn lightning rod in 1776! ;D

After passing through St. Mark’s square we walked to see the Bridge of Sighs, and then back along the very nice path next to the lagoon down towards the end of the island towards a famous lunch place I really love called Trattoria alla Rampa. The farther away from the center of Venice you get – away from all the crowds and stores that sell a bunch of the same touristy stuff you see everywhere – you honestly find little neighborhoods and pockets of reality- where the few venetians that still populate the island still live. You find people hanging their laundry outside, even trees and small parks and that is really refreshing to see.

After lunch we hopped on the ferry so we could take a ride on the canal back towards the heart of Venice, and so my Mom could see the view from out on the water, which is honestly such a cool thing to see and experience. Travelling with my Mom has made me discover my passion for sharing the world through my eyes- and making cultural enrichment more accessible to more people. The way I feel when I can see someone’s world getting just a little bit bigger, and seeing inspiration filling their eyes, heart and mind – just like I’ve witnessed with my Mom – this is a big part of why I know that being a better Travel Photographer is what I continue to aspire to be.

After Venice we headed back to Florence to recharge before heading out to our next adventure – Wine Tasting in Tuscany <3

So a little backstory here – I met my friend James through a client of mine that I used to work with named Jim. James is an extremely talented print artist and teacher by trade, but he also has a friend named Riccardo who decided to change his life and become a private driver. So Riccardo and James decided to work together leading these small tours around Tuscany in Riccardo’s very nice luxury van. James is your definition of the artistic mind, and he’s British. James will talk your ear off with tangented stories, quick jokes and easy laughs – it’s hard to not have a great time around James. James has also been living in Italy for 25+ years – which obviously makes James the perfect tour guide. Riccardo is a very nice and quiet guy who was born and raised in Florence – though you would never believe it as his appearance screams German or Austrian all the way. Riccardo knows his way around – James tells the stories and entertains.

So I called James up and let him know that I wanted to hire them for a day trip with my Mom, told him a bit about what I wanted to do, and we put an itinerary in place:

• Morning Pickup in Florence at my favorite Caffe Piansa
• First stop in San Gimignano for a few hours + wine tasting
• Second stop in Castellina in Chianti + wine tasting
• Third stop at a vineyard in Greve in Chianti ( Obvs + wine tasting )
• Drop off back in Florence in time for aperitivo

So my Mom has been to Florence once before, but she’s never been into the Tuscan countryside before. Through this lens, we can imagine someone seeing the rolling green hills of Chianti – the vineyards and olive groves all leading up to a quaint and beautiful town like San Gimignano – all without the suffocating swathes of unsustainable tourism. It was magical. 

Getting out of the van and heading up to the viewpoint from San Gimignano and gazing upon the surrounding scenery felt like a dream. We stayed there for several minutes just taking in the view before heading into the medieval hill town. Walking through the gates we took our time. We popped into shops, almost committing to visiting the torture museum, instead favoring trying to get lost in the narrow alleyways and stone-covered walkways.

As we zig-zagged towards the top of the town we met up with James who gave us a brief history of the town and a bit more context of what we were trying to soak in beneath the shade of some refreshing pine trees. After chatting with us for a while and depleting our ignorance just a bit he gave us directions to an organic wine bar where we could do some wine tasting while he hiked back towards Riccardo so they could pick us up there with the van.

Once we got back in the van we headed towards Castellina in Chianti, which is another very charming small Italian village. We strolled around and did some casual sightseeing, visiting a couple enoteche along the way, but what my Mom particularly loved about this village wasn’t necessarily the place itself – which we both agreed is honestly quite charming and we both really liked it – but Castellina in Chianti is where my Mom discovered her love with simply being able to sit on a stoop on the street, enjoy a glass of wine, and snack on a delicious Italian tagliere.

It might sound like a rather random thing, but we come from the United States where something like this would not be legally possible. When you also factor in the charming atmosphere, being able to peoplewatch, and also the casual essence of being able to just sit down essentially wherever is convenient and have a drink and a few snacks – this is something that was so simple, and yet also so enchanting to my Mom. It also happens to be one of my favorite things to do ( go figure, as I was the one that suggested that we do it when the small restaurant we ordered food from didn’t have any free tables) – whether on the steps of monuments, park benches, or really wherever it makes sense and is comfortable. Needless to say, my Mom also really enjoyed Castellina in Chianti, and was also really looking forward to our last stop for the day – A winery in Greve in Chianti.

Greve in Chianti is located about an hour outside of Florence, and our specific destination was Conti Capponi – Villa Calcinaia. To be honest, this place is amazing, and it was exactly what I wanted my Mom to experience. What a way to end such an amazing day. ( Way to go James and Ricardo for bringing us here! ) We parked the van and started our walk up to the villa between the cypress trees – which is beautiful in itself, also walking past some large wine barrels that are used as decoration. My Mom particularly enjoyed these ( Exhibit A, and B ;D ). Once we got nearer to our destination we also saw a nice view looking out over the nearby valley, as well as some beautiful flowers that were right outside the Villas entrance. 

We walked inside, and to be honest, the rest is history and it was just a really, really nice time with my Mom. We explored the inside of the Villa after the old gentleman was watching the place opened it up for us so we could walk around. We strolled through the lovely gardens, admired statues, drank wine, chatted, laughed, and just basked in the moment. I didn’t take a single photograph, I wasn’t distracted, I was just fully present and enjoying my time there. I loved it – we both did.

Once we left the villa I took a photo of my Mom as she really loved the place and wanted me to take a photo with her of the wine glass she purchased from them as a memory / keepsake from her experience.

After we left Villa Calcinaia we slowly made our way back to Florence, driving through Chianti’s luscious vineyards and landscapes, just taking it all in and reflecting on all that we had experienced during the day. It was truly a day to remember, and one I’m confident that we’ll never forget.

The next day was my birthday – my 30th birthday actually! Due to this, my Mom and I had quite the plan sorted out. All pretty las minute of course, because well, that’s how I roll – but it turned out to be a completely amazing time! ( Are you even surprised at this point?! ) 

Here’s the backstory. My friend Taylor ( Aka- T, T-bone, Tay, Tay Tay) works for these people that own the entire floor of a historical palace in the center of Florence. In passing she heard from them that they were going to stop renting the place short term, and they were going to think about selling it sometime in the future, which means that it was going to be left vacant for a period of time. We gave it a think, and we decided to ask how much it would be to rent this place for a couple nights. Since the owners knew Taylor they gave us a bargain of a deal and we were SET.

Imagine this: An entire floor of a renaissance palace. Chandeliers, multiple fireplaces, a Master bedroom, Dining room, huge living room, additional large bedroom, kitchen, and palace-length balcony. If you’re thinking that sounds like the perfect place to have a 30th birthday party- You my friend, would be right. And that is exactly what we did.

As soon as we got the place booked, we sent out invites to all my friends in Florence, and started making all the other necessary preparations. What I wanted to do is to have everyone over for an apericena ( Drinks like wine, beer, spritz, etc. ) combined with a variety of some light Italian dinner foods in an open buffet setting. Once I sorted out the menu and made preparations for all the food, it was time to start carrying over the instruments for the after party as well. I brought all my guitars, djembes and small percussion instruments. My buddy Nico brought over his electronic keyboard ( he’s an amazing classical pianist, though he would say it’s just a hobby), and my friend Stefano even brought his girlfriend who is the lead singer of a rock band, who also plays the guitar and the piano. My friends Riccardo. Matteo, Andrea and Gabrielle all also play the guitar as well. 

As you can imagine, as the night started progressing the instruments started getting taken out. One by one everyone ended up singing and playing some sort of instrument during the evening. We played covers, we had piano solos, we had drum circles, and we sang our lungs out until past 3am. It was honestly so much fun, and I felt so grateful and thankful to have been surrounded by so many great friends – and to have my Mom there singing right there with us the entire time. 

This party, my birthday, was the grand finale of this trip with my Mom visiting me in Italy. I feel so honored that I was able to show my Mom the kind of life I’ve been living, and why Italy has taken up such a big place in my heart after me only living here for just over 2 years and change. It’s been a bumpy journey that is for sure – but I wouldn’t change my life for the world, and now I feel like my Mom knows a lot more about the ‘why’ behind my decision to try to make my life here. 

If you’re reading this Mom- Thank you so much for coming to visit me, and for joining me on such an unforgettable experience. I love you <3

To everyone else, I hope you have enjoyed this blog post, and I hope to continue to share more adventures with my Mom, other members of my family, and friends in the future 😉

Cheers until next time-

Scott