You Can't Not Think "I'm in a Postcard Right Now"

The Cinque Terre.  Thank you to everyone who, from the first moment I thought about taking this trip, told me I had to go to the Cinque Terre.  It is one of the most uniquely beautiful places I've ever seen.  Worn yet colorful buildings, clothes hanging from wooden-shuttered windows, tiny streets, fishing boats aligned in the water, and waves crashing at the break-point.  I spent my first afternoon "tanning" on the rocks (there really is no such thing as getting tan for me) and then watched the sunset with a German couple I met over a pre-dinner drink.

There was a free concert that night, which was a nice surprise.  The band played what I assume are popular Italian songs from the past 50 years, given the little bit I could understand from the band manager's descriptions and the fact that people of all ages were singing along.  My favorite song was about Coca Cola, since I understood at least that much.  Who knows why that's a crowd favorite, but they played it twice!

From Happy to Panicked to Joyous

You can't be in Italy without drinking wine, and if at all possible, in my mind, everyone should get out of the city and visit a vineyard,.  I took a day trip for a wine tasting, a visit to a wine cellar, and some free time to explore a little town called Greve in Chianti.  While the rest of the group headed to cafes, I tried to get lost on the outskirts of town.  Deciding that walking uphill was the way to go - better views - I ended up not only passing the town's stream and cemetery, but past a great vineyard where I could get up and close to the vines and grapes.  Awesome!  I could have hung out there for hours, just taking photos in all directions, but my hour was just about up.  I grabbed some gelato on my way back to the bus and was very happy to find it was by far the best in Italy yet!

The first major crisis of the trip hit that night, when I couldn't find my camera when I got back to the hostel.  Asking people around the computers, at the desk, and a few panicked phone calls to the tour company still brought me no luck.  Let's just say that I didn't sleep too well that night, but was very fortunate to have had a kind soul turn it in to the front desk, so when I asked again in the morning it was there.  Phew!

Leather, the David and One Amazing Night

Florence is the a city well known for its leather and I had trouble finding real stores selling authentic goods. However anywhere you look you see street vendors selling anything and everything they can get tourists to buy. Almost from the moment I walked out of my hostel (which was by far the nicest of all the hostels I've stayed in on this trip) I was surrounded. At least they respect the piazza around the Duomo - for the most part!

The Duomo is beautiful with its white and green stonework. I decided to climb to the top of the cupola and then on to the campanile. They said it was 463 stairs to the top, but I counted closer to 600. Either way I was sweating as I climbed but quite enjoyed the twisty staircases and peeks out tiny windows on the way up. And the view from the top was pretty stunning too! Such a great look at the city! Being at the top of the dome - on the inside- also helped me to appreciate and respect the artists who painted frescos on curved ceilings so that they look accurate to people on the ground. Wow.

A foot on a fresco up close!

My second day was reserved for the Academica, the Ponte Vecchio, and the Uffizi. Michelangelo's David is everything everyone says it is - powerful, thoughtful, beautiful, and huge! He definitely was worth seeing, but the rest of the museum was just ok. Am I getting to be an art museum snob?!

The Ponte Vecchio was something new with jewelry stores on both sides of the bridge. The shopping was out of my league but pretty to look at none the less! After some lunch and gelato I headed into the Uffizi with Rick Steves again as my personal guide. He walked me through the museum, from painting after painting of Madonna and Child to those of Venus. Botticelli's talent is evident in the way he created scenes and movement in the Birth of Venus and Spring.

Since art is not as exciting to read about I'll move on and tell you about the unexpected events that made this night my favorite of the trip so far. I got some food and a half bottle of wine and headed to Pizzale Michelangelo to watch the sunset over Florence. If you ever are in Florence, you must do this! It was so much fun watching the city change colors as the sun lowered and watching the sun itself slip behind the far off mountain. I walked back and came upon a guitar-playing street performer who did a decent version of U2 on the Ponte Vecchio, but continued on my merry way in search of gelato.

I never found it because two blocks later I came across another performer... a classical pianist playing on a real (but amplified) piano in the street. He was amazing, brilliantly playing one masterpiece by Mozart, Beethoven, and Chopin right after one another. For almost 45 min I stood in the street avoiding cars and watching from 10 feet away as this man played, his 3 year old son amused himself or talked to his father mid-song, and his wife and infant sell his CDs. At close to 11pm he called it a night and I was disappointed to have to head home. What a way to spend a night in Italy!