May 11, 2026 - Verona

Verona - May 11, 2026

Veron has an arena like the Colosseum in Rome, but smaller. The arena was used in the closing ceremony of the 2026 Winter Olympics. The flooring of the walkway in Verona has been made of marbles, very beautiful but also can be slippery when raining. We stopped by Juliat's house, but it was closed and seemed to need tickets to go in. So, I could only peak at Juliat’s balcony and the bronze statue of her. We walked over to Piazza delle Erbe where we could see Torre dei Lamberti, the medieval bell tower. There was also a market at the Piazza selling lots of souvenirs. We also walked over to the Verona ancient walls and the bridge across the Adige River. We walked back to the train station. Verona is a very cute town.

Here are some facts from Verona.

"The Bronze Statue of Juliet: Standing right beneath the balcony is a bronze statue of Juliet (a replica of the 1969 original by sculptor Nereo Costantini). A popular local tradition says that rubbing Juliet’s right breast will bring you good luck in finding true love. Because of this, you’ll notice the bronze on her right side is polished completely bright and shiny by millions of hands!"

May 10, 2026 - Tuscany

Tuscany - May 10, 2026

Tuscany wine tasting day was quite a relaxing day. We had to walk in the rain a bit to the meeting point bus location but after that, the weather was getting better. I love seeing the endless vineyards stretching to the horizon. At the first winery, Montecchio, the estate uses self-made clay pots to ferment the wine. It is so unique. Each year they produce about 30,000 bottles and only see them directly from the estate. We tried their 4 varieties with cheese, and bread dipped with olive. We picked the nicest bottle to bring along to the castle for friends to try. At the second winery, Casa Emma, we tried their wine varieties and the 6 olive oil varieties. We learned about Chianti wine blending rules.

"The Location Rules (The Boundaries)

You can't just grow grapes anywhere in Tuscany and call it Chianti.

Chianti Classico - is the historic heartland. It is the specific, original zone between Florence and Siena. Wines from this premium zone are easily identified by the famous Gallo Nero (Black Rooster) symbol printed on the neck of the bottle or the label.

Standard Chianti - comes from a much larger, broader territory surrounding that central historic core."

 "The Grape Blend Rules

Chianti is never made from just any grape; it relies heavily on Tuscany’s signature red grape, Sangiovese.

 Standard Chianti DOCG: Must contain at least 70% Sangiovese grapes. The remaining 30% can be local red grapes (like Canaiolo) or international ones (like Cabernet Sauvignon or Merlot). It can even include up to 10% white grapes.

 Chianti Classico DOCG: Must contain at least 80% Sangiovese grapes. The remaining 20% can only be red grapes. White grapes are strictly banned here. Some Classico wines are made with 100% Sangiovese."

May 8 - 11, 2026 - Florence

Florence - May 8 - 11, 2026

Florence is also very beautiful and magnificent. We visited Uffizi.  70% of the artworks in the Uffizi are about Mary, Madonna, or Jesus.  There are also works by famous artists during the Renaissance (15th, 16th Century) such as Botticelli, Leonardo da Vinci, Michelangelo, and Raphael.  At Accademia Gallery, we met David. David is much taller and bigger than what I used to see in the pictures. The Leonardo Da Vinci Interactive Museum visit was added to our trip along the way. The museum is full of prototypes of Da Vinci's designs. It was so cool and fun to visit the museum. Da Vinci was very genius indeed. I also love the unforgettable view of Florence from Piazzale Michelangelo. It is a MUST visit when going to Florence.

We had a nice dinner at "Il Santa Maria Ristorante Steakhouse". Ducky ordered Chianti steak 8.5 euro per 100 grams. They picked a gigantic 1.2 kilograms for us. This meal costed 225 euros. LoL  It was delicious and not to chewy for me.  We enjoyed the meal and the experience. The leftover fed us as the following day lunch.

May 5, 2026 - Amalfi

Amalfi - May 5, 2026

Amalfi is a coastal town in the Salerno district, take a high-speed train from Rome to Salerno for about an hour, and then take a boat to Amalfi and Positano.

Amalfi builds houses on overlapping hills. It looks very beautiful. Here people grow gigantic lemons with very thick skins, and lemon skins are used to make cups of Lemon Sorbet ice cream. One order for 15 euro!!! The lemons are used to make limoncello as well. We really enjoyed the beautiful coastal, the boat rides, seafood with pasta, ravioli, lemon sorbet, limoncello, and the visit to the ancient sites there. 

"The most famous and dominant church on the Amalfi Coast is the Amalfi Cathedral, known locally as the Duomo di Amalfi or Cattedrale di Sant'Andrea (Cathedral of Saint Andrew).
The Basilica of the Crucifix (Basilica del Crocifisso): This is the oldest part of the complex, dating back to the 9th century. Built on the ruins of an even older 6th-century early Christian church, it now serves as the Diocesan Museum and houses beautiful historic treasures.

The Cathedral of St. Andrew: Built right next to the older basilica in 987, this main church features a stunning, dramatic 19th-century Norman-Arab-Byzantine facade with brilliant gold mosaics."