A trip to Italy for DaVinci: As we sailed across the Mediterranean from Spain to Italy, we are reminded of the glamour of travel that existed decades ago. We were headed for Florence, the capital of Italy’s Tuscany region and birthplace of Leonardo DaVinci.
We had our first taste of authentic Italian cuisine in the dramatically beautiful medieval hilltop town of Erice on the Island of Sicily.
Spaghetti Carbonara and homemade pizza. Of course some Italian pastries and cappuccinos to finish.
The DaVinci museum in Florence. This was a voyage to explore all things DaVinci related, for our next game, "The DaVinci Murder mystery." We arrived on Leonardo DaVinci's birthday April 15th. He would have been 564 today! Born 1452. We visited the museum in Florence on his birthday...sooo cool.
Inside The DaVinci museum in Florence.
After the museum a quick lunch in a local Trattoria.
A break from site seeing with a wine tasting. It all started in 1918, when Francesco Argiolas started from scratch and planted the first vineyard with the assistance of some war prisoners; the rest is history. Wine tasting with family members of the winery
We lunched in the hills above Sorrento, ( a town overlooking the Bay of Naples in Southern Italy ) where a family owned farm produces homemade products. We toured the farm and it's old wine cantina, learned how they produce olive oil and homemade mozzarella and for lunch sampled the local fare surrounded by lemon and olive groves (below).
Filming in Saint Peter's Square (Vatican City) to be used as reference point ideas for the DaVinci murder mystery game.
In Florence where the original David stood, now stands a perfect replica.
From there it was back to Spain for a visit to the Benedictine monastery to buy some very special chocolate made by the Monks for our DaVinci test party's dessert (see pic below.) The Monastery of Santa Maria Abbey resting high on the mountain Montserrat, in Barcelona. We enjoyed learning the history of the Abbey and the daily lives of the Monks who live there today.
The signature desert that comes with the game download is "Pastry Roses on a Chocolate Crown of Thorns." You don't need to travel to Spain for the chocolate LOL!