Italia!

Ok, let's talk about my trip to Italy. I started from Venice and went to Florence. I am staying in Rome right now. It has been nothing but wonderful. I have been to many places but I have to admit Italy is one of the most amazing places I have ever visited. There are so many things to see, do, eat, and buy!

Some friends suggested that I should get apartments and it was an excellent idea. Especially person like me who has diet restriction, would benefit a lot!

When we were in Venice, I could cook excellent meals with reasonable budgets and avoid crazy expensive and horrible restaurant foods in Venice. I also have amazing experiences at local markets- fresh porchini mushroom, prosciutto, salami, cheese,  and other fruits and vegetables in Italy.

It was a small studio in Asanale, two minutes from Biennale. So convenient if you are an artsy people.

The apartment I stayed in Florence. It was a quite fancy place and two minute walk from Duomo.

And this apartment in Rome... I forgot to take pictures when I first came in. It is two hundred years old, which is very young for Rome. It is not as nice as other two but the place is located in right next to Roman Foro and Colosseum. What else do you need in Rome? You will be too busy to be outside anyways.

As I said, I cooked quite a bit here in Italy. We can buy gluten free stuff here fine. I found very good gluten free spaghetti in Florence. 

Fresh mozzarella and tomatoes with red wine.

Yummy prosciutto and cheese in Venice.

My hand size jujube. It was awesome.

I dinned out a bit as well. There is the oldest cafe in Venice called Florian. It is a bit too crazy expensive for a cup of tea, but well for one time with live music play, that is not too bad.

This seafoods look fine but it was an awful experience in Venice. Never ever go to restaurants in tourist areas in Venice.

After that, I forgot to take pictures of foods. I met with my old friend Kate in Venice. She gave me a tip that we should go little streets off of the main roads. Then, I found some nice restaurants. I did not go to any restaurants in Florence because Central Market was five minutes from my apartment and they had really amazing fresh produce that I just wanted to buy them and cook!

Here in Rome, I got too lazy to cook, plus it is pretty cheap to eat out here.  I had seafood pasta with gluten free noodle for lunch near Spanish Piazza area once. 

Las Palmas

This is the last thing about Canary Island.

I was staying not far from Las Palmas. It was a beautiful city, where has incredible history behind it.

Let me start with some photos.

The island was completely remote from civilization for centuries until Spaniards came.

I could see the influence of Spanish, but also some Islamic influence as well.

The following picture is a kiosk in the street.

One of landmarks in Canary Island.

Beautiful street view. Yes, it is a definitely touristic place, yet very quiet and clean.

You can see many Spanish influence through buildings. But those balconies are very Canary style. 

There are some real old buildings from 14-15 century. A lot of them are from 19th.

I love the shapes of windows.

This is a very old building. When you open your arms, that is about the width of this building.

Were people smaller back then?

Mountain life in Canary Island

Alfonso took me to the top of the mountain in Canary Island. The island was shaped after eruptions of volcano thousands years ago. There are eight islands and I am on one island called Grand Canaria. 

It was a nice day that I could see the other island, Tenerife. The mountain over there is the highest mountain in Spain.

Beautiful landscape. I also wish I could include the smell here too. 

Then we arrived in an old village. They used to dig mountains and lived there. Now people built actual houses in front of it so that you cannot really see how the cave home looks like. But this museum preserves the old cave home really well.

A beautiful entrance. I enjoyed their garden and a whole decorations as much as the actual museum.

Inside of the cave home.

This is how people here used to live.

Old kitchen area.

I loved this place. This was an amazing trip I will remember for a long time!

Botanical garden in Canary Island

I made some really good friends in Canary Island. Gea an Lluvia took me to a botanical garden, Jarden Botanica, the other day. It was very hot day, but we did not mind because it was so beautiful...

The garden starts from the top of a mountain. Then you walk down to the main garden.

Drago trees. I love them so much!

A fruits and there are more fruits inside the fruit.

Foods in Canary Island

I have been eating really yummy cheese, fruites, and olives. I will show you what I have been eating while I am staying in Canary Island.

This is my table and lunch.

Plums from a tree. It was small and really sweet.

I went a farmer's market and local supermarket. I love having cold gabacho and Spanish cheese!

Papaya, plums, and cactus fruits. I don't know the name. Prickly pears? Or opuntias?

I did not know they have stings. I grabbed it by accident. Guess what happened after that...

This is my breakfast.

We had Korean food feast on Saturday evening. 

It was a lot of foods! Amazing night. It is kind of funny that I had to come all the way from Reno to Canary Island to eat Korean food, haha!

Typical Canary food. Boiled potatoes with spicy sauce, baked potatoes and pork, cheese, and corn deep with onion. 

Yum~ some sweets, of course.

And calamari. It was exceptional!