Ahh.... Italy.

I'm not sure I can capture in words the experience that George and I had in Italy. I had never done much traveling until my early thirties, and Italy has been a goal for a long time now. And we went on our honeymoon!

We deliberately tried to avoid tourist traps. We tried to pass for Italians, or Europeans at least. We decided to visit fewer places and spend more time in those places so that we could explore them more fully. I'm glad we did that.

Cinque-Terre (or 5Terre)
These are five ancient terraced towns along the Ligurian coast, between La Spezia and Genoa. Their specialties are seafood, lemons, olives and olive oil, pesto, wine, and gorgeous scenery. We tried all of them.

You can drive between the towns - Monterosso, Vernazza, Corniglia, Manarola, and Riomaggiore, but it's really easier to take the train. Or walk. We stayed in Monterosso, the western-most and largest. It has two beautiful little bays, a couple of very old churches, and a graveyard on a mountain at the edge of the sea. It also has a very friendly dog who will beg food from you if you eat at one of the sidewalk cafes. A cat, too, who just looks at you. You, in return, are supposed to share with him some of the excellent seafood you are eating.

We hiked up into the hills one day, 7 km straight up, and were rewarded with an incredible view - all of the mountainside below us, and then the island of Corsica, far of on the horizon.

We hiked between the villages one day, too. The scenery was incredible - postcard-like views upon views. My favorite place was just outside of Vernazza. We'd climbed up the #2 path, past the gate, and stopped against a slanting cliff of stone. Below us was... the sea. I sat there for a while, soaking up the sun and meditating on the fact I was hiking in Italy.

Vernazza was my favorite village. It had a charming village square overlooking the bay and a beautiful old church. It was very much an Italian village - the houses so close together, the bright colors... The afternoon sunlight just glowed on the sides of the buildings.

I can't wait to go back.

Florence
We spent the second half of our trip in Florence, with a brief stop in Pisa. I must say, it was slightly mind-bending to see the leaning tower of Pisa in person. It really does lean, and at a disturbing angle that's not quite captured in photographs. It'll be a shame when it finally falls over. Just hope I'm not on it when it does, LOL.

Florence is, well, Florence. Probably about as opposite as you can get from 5Terre. A city, with all kinds of drama and history. Once again, I loved the buildings - such wonderful stone! The people-watching was also excellent.

I think my favorite of all places was the Duomo, the cathedral, Santa Maria del Fiore. (Our Lady of the Flowers). It's an incredible feat of artistry, of engineering (Brunelleschi's Dome), of faith. We climbed to the top of the dome the first day we were there, and went to mass in the church on our last. Both experiences were deep in some way. Going up the dome, you're climbing something laid by an architect nearly six hundred years ago. Sitting at Mass, you are worshipping in a place where people have been worshipping for a thousand years or more.

We did the usual touristy things too, going through the Uffizi Gallery, which had an excellent Leonardo Da Vinci exhibit, and visiting Michaelangelo's David. It is kind of cool to see these works of art in person....

In Florence you eat steak, pasta (gnocchi with gorgonzola cream sauce, anyone?) and drink really excellent chianti. I had this wonderful salad that was greens, walnuts, pecorino cheese, and a roasted pear that had been cored, slice, and reconstructed on the plate, then drizzled with honey. yum.

Did I mention that I couldn't wait to go back?