Italia! Pisa & Cinque Terre

Day six we say goodbye to Florence and drive to Pisa. This is one of those days they warn us we will not be checking into our hotel until very late & will not have access to our suitcases, so be prepared. I wanted to wear a skirt or dress b/c it had been so warm out, but I convinced myself that I needed to wear jeans to do goofy poses in front of the Leaning Tower of Pisa. (There was going to be a crazy photo contest for our tour.) I also quickly talked myself out of wearing my bathing suit all day after Harmony said she wasn't going to go swimming. I don't know how I so easily do this to myself.

I was having fun until I thought I would pass out from the heat. It got extremely hot that day. We had a very long walk from the parking lot and when we arrived, they told us we only had an hour of free time. Only an hour!? I didn't want to waste that time standing in a long line at the bathroom waiting to change. I wanted to see the Leaning Tower!

Harmony and I took a few goofy photos when we arrived but mostly wandered around taking photos on our own. We didn't take a lot of crazy photos so I was feeling upset that I didn't listen to my gut & just wear a skirt b/c now I was overheating & I wasn't doing those goofy photos I thought I would be doing. I brought a skirt with me, but after our hour at Pisa was quickly up, I still wasn't able to change. We waited in line for a bathroom break at McDonald's. Thankfully they always had free bathrooms. A lot of public bathrooms in Italy come at a fee even if they say they are free. To add insult to injury, there was a long line for only two stalls, which were disgusting and smelly. We were running short on time to meet our group so I didn't take the time to try to change. I should have just done it. I would have been much happier.

We walked back to the bus and our next stop was Cinque Terre. We were dropped off by our tour bus to catch a local bus into La Spezia so we could catch a ferry to Monterosso. Unfortunately the public bus would not take us (citing a strike - questionable!) and we all had to walk into town - very far in the hot sun. I was straggling at the back of the line b/c here I am still in jeans, still out in the hot sun & just wishing I wasn't. I was finally able to change in a bathroom when we got into town and from there I was a whole new person & really started to enjoy myself.

We took a ferry ride to Monterosso al Mare and got to see Cinque Terre by sea. I was so excited! I had forgot to stash my swim suit in my bag as a back up in case I wanted to swim & after seeing the water here, I started saying I didn't care if I had to go in my underwear, I was going swimming! It was very beautiful and charming. I rode on the back of the ferry in the sun, even though I had been in the sun all day & miserable, I was now out on the Ligurian Sea & enjoying these gorgeous views!

When we arrived, my arms had popped out every freckle they had despite putting 100SPF on an hour before. We landed in the Old Town but our tour guide walked us over to the New Town. The Old Town was very medieval looking and the New Town was very beach community looking. Food was our main priority at this point, so we walked back to Old Monterosso and found a little shop to sit & eat. We had some pesto & cheese focaccia bread. We walked some more, shopped, stopped for coffee, then went back to meet with the group. Again here we had just a few hours of free time. Certainly not enough!

We arrived early and decided to put our feet in the sea. I had already been so distracted by eating & looking at the sites, that swimming had almost been forgotten. I didn't have a towel with me, so I would have had to go swimming earlier so I could air dry in time to catch the train. Not swimming in the Italian Riviera remains my biggest regret of the entire trip to Italy. The water was so clear and blue, you would think you just filled the bath. Gorgeous. You could see straight through it. I could have spent hours splashing around here. Shortly after we took the train back to La Spezia for the night.

Italia! Florence

"Just remember, you are enough for anyone." - T-shirt seen on a man at an Autogrill on way to Florence.

Our 5th day is spent in Florence. (6th day for you Contiki people, I'm not counting my travel day.) This was one of my favorite days on the tour.

We skipped the morning included activities (a leather demonstration & walking tour) to do laundry and go see "The David". We had pre-bought tickets to the Uffizi Gallery, so we had to go to a ticket booth to pre-buy tickets for The Accademia. We got to walk the streets of Florence, we even went to the post office. We had some coffee at a tiny cafe near the museum. Then it was off to see David. There was no photography allowed inside, unfortunately. We turned the corner & there he was! I've seen a replica in person before, but seeing the real thing is a completely different experience. It really is an amazing sculpture. And I learned something - David's pupils are shaped like hearts, and his hands & feet are purposely proportioned bigger b/c he was originally displayed high up. We sat for a while & stared at him.

We went to the Uffizi Gallery and saw the painting of "Venus on a Half Shell", where there was no photography allowed either. We looked at lots & lots of religious art. That has never been my favorite & boy do they have lots of it. We went outside to Piazza Della Signoria & took photos with the fake David. There are lots of fountains in Florence - I LOVE fountains, so I was happy to photograph some along the way. We stopped for lunch (more mediocre pizza) & had overpriced gelato. Gelato is still really good, no matter what the price! I am noticing the graffiti gets creative here. Everywhere else has been only tags. I hate tagging. It's really ugly.

We walked over The Ponte Vecchio (The Old Bridge). I noticed along the street leading up to the bridge there are tons of locks with people's names & dates on them. Symbols of people's love. It was near here an old Italian man says to me, Oh, Jennifer Lopez, mmm, (kissy noises). I couldn't help but laugh & wonder - what the hell? Turns out vendors try to lure women in by calling out names like Jennifer Lopez or Lady Gaga. I don't know who that works on.

We also visited Opera di Santa Croce to see the tombs of Galileo, Michelangelo & Dante. Although, I read Dante's tomb is empty here as he was exiled from the city & buried elsewhere. Florence wants him back now, but the place he's buried in won't give him up. Drama!

That night we got dressed up and went out for a Tuscan dinner with the group. We stopped for a photo and saw a gorgeous view of Florence. The meal was delicious - even if I had eggplant again! We had some bread, salad, pasta, vegetables and our main dish. Lots of wine, though none for me. The dinner was a lot of fun. Fantastic night out.

www.firenzemusei.it
www.uffizi.com
www.santacroce.firenze.it

Italia! Tuscany & Florence

I'll be honest. I brought a notebook with me to jot down my adventures along the way, but I basically stopped after we left Sorrento. Not because I didn't want to write, but because I was usually so exhausted after each day that a hot shower & sleep were my priorities. I had amble opportunities to write on the bus, but I get motion sickness if I even read in the car. Writing on the bus seemed like a horrible idea. Later in the trip I tried to make up for lost time, so everything this point forward is a little less fresh than the first three days' accounts.

The long, long ride to Florence. It took us something like 6 or 7 hours to get to Florence from Sorrento. We stopped at a winery on the way for wine tasting. In Tuscany of course & technically in Florence. We were running late so we were rushed through the tour of the wine cellar a bit. Outside, the lady giving us the tour pointed out their largest & most fruitful olive tree. She said it makes just 4 bottles of olive oil per season. I'm not sure how large those bottles are, but wow, I can not imagine how many olives it takes to make all the olive oil in the world. The views here are so beautiful. Driving up I notice the sunflowers look like they've died. We have missed them. When I think of Tuscany, I think of fields of bright, fresh sunflowers. I did not get that. Now I have visions of fields of dead sunflowers. Not quite the same image. There are some chickens wandering around & there is a very pretty blue door on the building. There is a castle also, but we did not get to see that. I thought we'd get to wander around the fields, but we are all brought up to the courtyard for some wine tasting & snacks.

They gave us samples of several wines & I tried them all. The wine tasted smooth, but I still really don't like it. They gave us some cheese & bruschetta. After the long ride up here, Harmony looked like she reached heaven. That girl loves wine! We saw some grapes fresh from the field being put into a machine and squished and separated. Got to taste one and it was delicious. I purchased some olive oil. Very curious to see how it tastes.

We got back on the bus & drove into Florence to our hotel. We went over the river & I got excited. Florence! We are here! Tonight we had an included meal. I had spaghetti with eggplant. It was pretty good even if I don't like eggplant. There was an included night out at the bar, but we stepped in and immediately left. It was a loud Moulin Rouge themed Karaoke bar, which could be fun if it wasn't so loud & cheesy. Off to sleep early tonight. There are so many things to discover tomorrow.

www.castelloilpalagio.it