Brynn’s Italy – Part Two

June 10, 2025 / marniesteve / Leave a comment

Our second week in Italy was as busy as the first. If you missed part one of this three-part blog, you can catch up here. Last week we arrived in Rome and explored Cinque Terre and Florence. In our second week we checked out the beautiful Amalfi coast and key sites in Rome.

Because we covered so much ground, this post will summarize the first half of week two and we’ll finish up the trip summary with a part three.

We took the train from Florence to Salerno, which is the town on the southern end of the Amalfi Coast.

At first we weren’t sure Salerno was a good choice as it’s not actually on the Amalfi Coast. However, our travel agent’s recommendation was spot on, as being based in Salerno made it easy to explore the coast as well as Pompeii, yet rest in a less touristic city.

On our first day we took a day-long boat tour of the coast that included stops in Positano and Amalfi, along with three swimming breaks, lunch, prosecco, and lemoncello.

On a beautifully sunny day we cruised the colorful coast, admiring the famed lemon groves and hillside towns. Stopping to swim in the turquoise water of the Mediterranean was also a highlight.

We found the towns of Amalfi and Positano to be overly crowded with tourists. While the towns are spectacular, we were happy to return to quiet Salerno in the evening.

Another highlight of our time in the Amalfi area was a half-day cooking class at Amalfi Heaven Gardens. This top-rated experience lived up to the hype.

We toured the terraced gardens and picked vegetables for our meal. Then, we worked with the chef to prepare an elaborate meal of fresh salads and appetizers, including stuffed zucchini flowers and eggplant bruschetta.

The main course featured gnocchi which we made by hand. Brynn got to smash the potatoes, and we all got to roll the small potato balls into the traditional shape.

Our meal, which was prepared in an idyllic setting overlooking the Amalfi coast, finished with homemade lemoncello and cream puffs.

The staff was entertaining and the day just flew by.

On our final day in Salerno we navigated the train system to reach the ruins of Pompeii. On my birthday, we were guided through the vast complex by our incredible guide Rafaela, who is an expert archeologist at the site.

She was able to show us the most important features of this lost city. We saw the extensive homes, public baths, and key temples of this early Roman city, frozen in time. It was a great way to finish our time in the area while checking one more thing from my bucket list.

Our time on Amalfi coast was punctuated by daily stops at the local gelateria where Brynn always got lemon. We spent our evenings the way locals do, strolling the waterfront and watching the sunset. The Amalfi coast is as magical as they say.

And our story is not over yet. In the next post we’ll give you a report on our time exploring Vatican City and ancient sites in Rome, including the Colosseum.

Brynn’s Italy – Part One

June 2, 2025September 11, 2025 / marniesteve / 2 Comments

As DINKS, we didn’t have the normal expenses that accompany children. And, as you know, we value travel as an educational experience. As such, we have offered all of our nieces and nephews a trip of their choosing when they turn 16. Our latest adventures are with Brynn, Steve’s brother Gary’s sweet daughter.

Brynn told us several years ago that Italy was her choice. Our two week trip takes us to Rome, Cinque Terre, Florence, and the Amalfi Coast. This post will cover our first week.

We flew from Kansas City to Rome with no delays or issues. Our driver was waiting for us in Rome and took us directly to our hotel in the Trastevere neighborhood. From there we wandered a bit, trying to shake off the overnight flight.

Though we were jet-lagged we booked a golf cart tour for our first afternoon to give us an overview of the key sites. We’ll return for a more in depth look at Rome at the end of our trip.

The golf cart was a perfect way to get oriented and see the major sites. From the Trevi Fountain to the Colosseum and from the Vatican to the Spanish Steps, we caught glimpses of the most famous of Rome’s landmarks.

The next morning we took the train to Levanto, a small city on the northern border of Cinque Terre National Park.

The next morning our wonderful guide, Stefano, led us back to the train station and through the two of the five quaint, picturesque, seaside towns that make up Cinque Terre. Our first stop was Vernazza, with its small, protected harbor and its church dating to the 11th century .

After a walking tour up and down the steps of the town, we took the train to the village of Monterosso. Here we wandered the narrow lanes and ancient landmarks until we came to our lunch restaurant.

Pesto is a specialty in this region of Italy, so we took a lesson in pesto making before being served lunch. Steve got the sauce started by crushing fresh basil and pine nuts. Brynn finished, using her muscles to create a fine sauce.

Using the mortar to crush the fresh basil

Stefano left us after lunch and we explored two of the remaining three villages on our own. By the end of the day we had walked over 20,000 steps and climbed over 40 flights of stairs. We felt like we earned our gelato!

Our second day in Levanto was just as active. In the morning we borrowed bikes from the hotel and rode north on an old, seaside, rail trail to the villages of Bonassola and Framura. We couldn’t pass up a stop on the beach for a little dip.

After our picturesque ride, we met up with our guide Luca for a paddling trip down the Ligurian coast. The cliffs that make these ancient villages so pretty also make for a scenic paddle. Since the water is still a bit cool in late May, our wetsuits were appreciated. This was Brynn’s first time paddling in the open ocean and she did great!

We moved on from the beautiful Cinque Terre for a quick stop in Florence. We only had a day and a half in the city, but we crammed in as much as we could.

Even though we are early in the season the crowds in Florence can be overwhelming. Our museum guide, Fillipo, made it easy to skip the lines and the crowds at the Accademia. He guided us through the galleries, providing just enough detail and background to understand the most important works. Of course, we were most interested to see Michelangelo’s David. Considered one of the most important works of art on the planet, it truly takes your breath away.

After our museum visit we spent most of the rest of the day wandering the streets and alleyways of Florence, stopping frequently to shop, eat, or check out a market.

We found our way across the Arno River to the Piazzelle. Michelangelo where Steve, my mom, and I visited in 1999. It was fun to recreate our photo of mom in her honor. Steve gets credit for both photos.

We celebrated our 38th wedding anniversary while in Florence with a great meal and a bottle of wine. Thanks to Brynn for being our photographer!

We’re heading south and will post a recap of the second half of Brynn’s Italian adventure next week.

Our Happy Places: Horses, Bourbon, and Running

May 4, 2025 / marniesteve / Leave a comment

Two years ago we spent time in Kentucky and fell in love with the horse and bourbon culture. We couldn’t wait to return, so this week we settled ourselves in the state capital of Frankfort to continue our exploration of this beautiful area.

Let’s start with horses. During this visit, we were able to catch the last day of racing at Keeneland’s spring meet. Our general admission tickets allowed us to approach the rail and see the horses up close.

Despite some periods of heavy rain, it was a fun afternoon, cheering the ponies, losing a few dollars, and watching the people.

Dad always said, “bet on a grey horse on a sloppy track.” Well, that didn’t work for us today but we gave it a shot!

This trip coincided with one of the premier equestrian events in the world: the Defender Kentucky Three Day Event.

The competition draws Olympic-level competitors including Michael Jung, Boyd Martin, and Harry Meade.

We attended on Saturday, which featured the cross country competition. Over a four mile course, riders and their mounts race the clock over 20+ fence combinations. As you can see from the photos, we were able to get very close to the horses and were able to walk through the course, seeing the event from all angles. What a day!

And, to finish the horse part of our visit, we took a tour of Spy Coast Farms, one of the leading performance horse breeders and trainers. In the fastest two hours ever, we toured the 800+ acres seeing the training, rehabilitation, and breeding facilities.

We met the stallions, who are treated as royalty. The best part, of course, was meeting the mares and recently foaled babies. Did you know that in operations like these they use “recipient mares,” or what we might consider surrogates, to carry and birth the babies for top performance mares?

In between horsey fun, we hit a number of distilleries we missed when we were here two years ago. The bourbon industry has been exploding, so there were quite a few new operations added to the Bourbon Trail.

During our week in central Kentucky we visited: J. Mattingly, Buffalo Trace (twice), Castle and Key, Whiskey Thief, RD1, Bluegrass Distillers, and Four Roses. Each stop is a unique experience.

For example, tasting at Buffalo Trace is free, and every day they sell a different featured, sometimes rare bourbon. At Castle and Key, we opted for a taste amidst the stunningly beautiful grounds.

RD1 is moving to a new facility in Lexington, and we were given a tour of the yet-to-be-completed facility and a private tasting experience. Soon they will offer a premium blending experience, and we were invited by the tasting room manager to try some of the samples right from the tiny barrels.

At Four Roses we opted for the legacy tour, which gave us access to the fermentation tanks and historic grounds. Of course, a guided tasting of their tasty bourbon followed the tour.

We are leaving Kentucky with our supplies restocked.

We started each morning at the local Planet Fitness, which was a convenient way to maintain a little fitness while on the road. We’re thankful for this useful benefit from United Healthcare.

Leaving bourbon country, we traveled 90 minutes north for a marathon in Steve’s 40th state, Ohio. Before race day, we hit a few of northern Kentucky’s bourbon distilleries. Each stop gives us another stamp in our Bourbon Trail passport book, with goal of filling the whole book! We also found Party Source, considered to be the largest liquor store east of the Mississippi.

The Flying Pig in Cincinnati is considered one of the best races on the calendar, with over 5,000 marathoners and 49,000 total participants in the weekend’s pig-themed events. The expo, sponsored by Proctor and Gamble, was a celebration of running with lots of free P&G samples.