Ciao from Italy! We have once again been visiting beautiful Italy! After a long (and late) train from Zagreb, Croatia to Venice, we spent the day exploring the beautiful city. Venice is absolutely amazing. The narrow winding streets coupled with the canals, gondalas and beautiful buildings makes for a mesmerizing experience. We decided to get lost in the beauty of the city and put away the map. Halfway through the day we ran into Will and his new friend from Milan. The four of us enjoyed delicious Italian pizza and hot chocolate before continuing our wandering. They tried to convince us to pay for a ride in one of the Gondolas - but this adventure would cost 80-100 euros, and the budget just wasn't allowing it. When it came time to leave the enchanted island for our camping site we ended up being cold, tired and out of 30 euros. The bus we were to catch never arrived and after catching a taxi we arrived at our overpriced, loud and cold campsite bungalow. Thank goodness the thing had a heater. In the morning we set out for Florence.
We immediately felt at "home" in Florence. We stayed at a one star hotel for three nights, located near the biggest local market. We used it as a base to explore Siena and Pisa. Florence with its famous statue of David and large markets, selling all kinds of goods including leather, was really fun to explore. We spent our Thanksgiving evening watching the sunset on the hill overlooking the city and then indulging in dinner at a restaurant. Some wine was involved which was a real treat. We spent the afternoon in Siena, a small town an hour and a half from Florence by train. It has well preserved medieval buildings. The main piazza was awesome, and we spent some time just sitting there enjoying the atmosphere. Pisa was also a short trip from Florence, where we spent most of our time taking the iconic tourist photos. After pisa we caught the late afternoon train to Milan.
Early the next morning we had our reservation to see Leonardo's famous Last Supper painting. At 9am we went through the different chambers to enter the fragile but magnificant painting. It is massive and faded. Many additional layers of painting have been removed to show the original base painted. The best view came from standing back and taking the whole thing in, truly admiring one of the most cherished and valuable pieces of art. We were only alotted 15 minutes before having to move on.
We decided to head straight to our next destination - Cinque Terre. We arrived in the late afternoon and the weather was AWESOME. We stayed in Riomaggiore - the furthest down of the 5 cities. We checked into our little apartment and went out to explore the minature town. We sat on the rocky beach for a few hours and enjoyed the last minutes of sun. We made our own pasta dish and relaxed for the following day - to explore the other towns.
Early the next morning we set out to explore the other towns in order: Manarola, Corniglia, Vernazza and Monterosso. There is a hiking path of varying distances connecting each of the towns. We discovered the one connecting Manarola to Corniglia was closed due to landslides so we opted for the train. The views were absolutely breathtaking. People had attached locks all along the siderails and wire mesh lining the "via delamore". We never made it to Monterosso because we loved Vernazza so much. It was an hour and a half uphill trek to this city. We sat at the harbour and soaked up the rays and indulged in delicious gelato. Chocolate and raspberry..mhmm.. By far one of our most favourite spots. In the evening we enjoyed a few cocktails at the local Riomaggiore bar (steps from our apartment) to get access to their "free" wifi. (I don't think it counts as free when you are buying overpriced drinks). After that we bought a local pizza, some wine and headed for the rocks to watch the sunset. It was beautiful. Although a little windy, we devoured our margherita pizza (giving the crusts to a poor deformed seagull) and watching the sun creep lower and lower along the horizon until it disappeared completely. it is moments like these where we really appreciate how fortunate we are. Cinque Terre is by far one of the most beautiful cities in Italy, and the entire world.
Today - we are headed for Nice, France for two nights. Then we head off to see Sam's G. Aunt Jessica outside of Toulouse, France. We are excited for a potential beach day in the middle of October and even more excited to meet A. Jessica and U. Mike. It is hard to believe we have been gone from home for over 3, going on 4 months. The adventures never cease to amaze us, but the heartache of home can be strong at some points. We just want to say we miss everyone and think about them often. Thank you for supporting us on an adventure of a lifetime!
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