Italy Part 4: Cinque Terre

We were lucky to have some friends join us for the second half of our trip and it was so fun to share the experience with them! Chris and Emily flew into Milan as well so from Florence, we picked them up at the airport and headed to Cinque Terre on the coast.

We found an awesome little villa to stay at in Levanto and made it to town just in time for the sunset.

We stopped for some focaccia while we waited for the restaurants to open for dinner. The Cinque Terre region is famous for their focaccia and it definitely didn't disappoint!

The villa we stayed at was a B&B and had probably one of the best European breakfasts I've ever tasted. Even the hot chocolate came out with a smiley face!

Levanto is about a 10 minute train ride from the last of the five towns, so it was really convenient to stay overnight there and take the train in (much cheaper, too).

We started the day off in Riomaggiore and then made our way up the coast throughout the day. These little colorful buildings never get old. Always a photo op wherever you look.

Unfortunately because of the heavy flooding last year, all of the walking trails between the towns were closed--including the famous "walk of love." It was a bummer that we couldn't do the trails, but luckily they've done a great job with cleanup after the flood so all of the towns are mostly back to normal now.

Instead of walking we just took the train. It made our tired feet a little less tired.

Next stop was Manarola where we did a fun little vineyard "walk" that turned into more of a hike. Some people say it's been estimated that the walls vineyards in these towns have a combined length that's greater than the Great Wall of China. Not sure how accurate that is, but there are certainly a lot of stone walls!

After Manarola we made a quick stop in Corniglia only to find that my favorite Gelato shop (with honey gelato) was closed for the season. Sad! At least there was a great view from the top. 

We spent a while hanging out at the waterfront in Vernazza.  We learned all about these history of these towns (and the church in the background) thanks to Rick Steves ;). 

 We made a short stop in Monterosso before sunset. The boys spent most of their time skipping rocks. Haha.

 

We headed back to Levanto for dinner and ordered a classic pesto dish (which Cinque Terre is also famous for). Nick also loved his seafood pasta--probably caught that day!

We absolutely loved our stay in Cinque Terre! It was nice to avoid the crowds during the low season, but next time we'll probably come in the summertime to enjoy the beach!

Italy Part 5: Pisa and back to Siena 

Italy Part 6: Rome 

Italy Part 5: Pisa and back to Siena

After leaving Cinque Terre, we decided to make the best of our drive to Rome by stopping a few places along the way. We stopped in Pisa for a couple hours and then drove through San Gimignano again so Chris and Emily could check it out, and then spent the night in Siena again so we could see Ben, my host dad, who was back from his trip.

Not much more to see in Pisa except for the church and the tower, but it's a must-see nonetheless!

The inside of the church is beautiful--especially the ceiling

Obligatory tourist picture

My host family made us another amazing dinner and it was great to see Ben and introduce him to Nick and to our friends.

They made us a traditional Tuscon dinner with bruschetta and fresh mushroom pasta, which, according to Nick was the best pasta he's ever had :).

And Anna's delicious apple cake for dessert

Ben is an amazing cook and I spent many hours in this little kitchen learning from him. It was so fun to be back!

After dinner, Ben drove us into the city to take us on a short walking tour. He shared some fun facts about the city that we hadn't heard before. This city has so much history! Our second visit in Siena was short and sweet--we're so grateful for Ben and Anna and hope to be able to see them again when we go to Italy in the future.

Italy Part 6: Rome 

Italy Part 6: Rome

We saved a full three days for Rome considering how much we wanted to see and do there. I'm sure we could have spent a lot more time there, but we definitely packed a lot into those three days. We had a small mishap with the rental car drop off and ended up having to drive into the city center (Termini train station to be exact) to drop off the car. Let's just say I was so stressed out once we got there I forgot to take any pictures. Despite several close calls and almost getting hit by a streetcar, Nick's stellar driving skills got us safely to the train station :).

After we got to the hotel and dropped our stuff of, we traveled back into the city center to go to the Borghese Gallery. Normally you have to reserve tickets at least a week in advance, but thanks to the low travel season we were just able to show up and buy our tickets. The Borghese Gallery is famous for having one of the biggest collections of Bernini's work--who is arguably one of the best sculptors ever. His work is phenomenal.

The exterior of the gallery

This isn't my picture, but this is one of my favorite statues done by Bernini. It's still incredible to me how he can put so much life into a stone block! 

  

Had to add this in here. I can't resist Italian pizza! 

 After our tour of the gallery we walked over to the Spanish Steps. The rain had just stopped and the steps looked awesome! This is one of my favorite parts of Rome--lots of wonderful memories here from over the years.

Next we headed over to the Trevi fountain--likewise one of my favorite parts of Rome. Unfortunately it has become really overrun with vendors who prey on all of the tourists and kind of detract from the ambiance, but it's still amazing nonetheless. We came back to enjoy it every day we were in Rome.

The next day we started off at the Colosseum. This was at the top of everyone's list to visit so we made sure to block out a lot of time for it. We opted for the guided tour and it didn't disappoint! It was so fun to learn more about the history of it and made it that much more amazing to walk through.

This was my first time taking a tour of the basement of the Colosseum and it was awesome to hear all the stories I've heard about while looking at it. So fascinating, but also gruesome at the same time! 

Next up was the walking tour of the forum. It's still hard to grasp how old all of the structures are that you see while you're there. I love to see all of the details in the stone work that has lasted thousands of years.

Next up was the Pantheon

 

 And then after dinner I topped the day off with some delicious tiramisu at Rome's famous McDonalds. Definitely not your average fast food restaurant, that's for sure!

 

The next day was reserved for touring Vatican City which was also a highlight of the trip. I've been to St. Peter's Basilica a few times before, but it never ceases to take my breath away. The sheer size and ornate details are insane (that gold canopy in the background is 9 stories high - the dome itself is 45 stories high)!

A closer look

After we toured the church, we made the trek up to the top of the dome

 Again, no such thing as elevators here!

 View from the top

After that we made our way over to the Vatican museum. We lucked out again and didn't have to wait in a single line to get in. I've been to Rome a few times in the past during the summer and have seen the line wrap all the way down the Vatican wall. We definitely saved a lot of time by traveling in November!

 School of Athens by Raphael. Nick loved seeing all the paintings he's learned about in all the humanities classes at BYU :).

And yes, he broke the rules and snapped a picture of the Sistine Chapel--no flash of course! This place never ceases to be amazing, either. Our necks were sore by the time we left--there is so much detail to look at! Definitely lives up to its name of one of the greatest works of art ever created.

Our last day in Italy was actually Thanksgiving so we decided to treat ourselves to an awesome dinner. My host dad, Ben, recommended a restaurant near the Spanish steps. You know it's a great restaurant when you only see locals there! It was quite the find and perfect for our own little Thanksgiving dinner.

 We started off with fried zucchini flowers for our appetizer. Nick got traditional homemade spaghetti and I tried their risotto--and then we got their Mediterranean swordfish for our main course. Every part of it was delicious!

One last view of the city at night before we left the next morning

 By a miracle (seriously), the four of us made on the flight back to Atlanta and all got to sit in first class. The flight from the day before had been cancelled so most of the people we re-routed on other flights. When it finally left the next day, there were several seats open for us. Seriously the perfect ending to an amazing trip! It was a long time in the making but we were so glad that we could go so many amazing places and share that with our friends, too! Italy will always hold a special place in my heart.