Italy 1: Pisa and Cinque Terre

Trent and I have been planning a trip to Italy for some time now.  We were intending it to be a one year anniversary trip but quickly turned into an October excursion.  Thankfully, the extra time gave us more time to sift through rooms and restaurants.  The plan was simple: eat as much delicious food as possible and enjoy every sight.  Check and check.

During our planning, I found between 2-3 highly recommended gelato shops in each town/city we stayed.  Trent scoffed at me and asked "do you really think we need that many gelato shops?"  I affirmed that we did.  After Trent's first lick, he was hooked and asked for it each afternoon and night.  Our love for the frozen treat led us to try 33 different flavors.  Yes, we kept a list with our favorites underlined.  As for our favorite gelateria, it would be Gelateria de Nero in Florence and Old Bridge Gelateria in Rome.  Now with the flavors:    Banana * Strawberry * Pistachio * Ambrocio * Cinnamon * Mint and Chocolate * Caramel * Prickly Pear * Chocolate * Bacio * Panna Cotta * Rice * Hazelnut * Mango * Dark Chocolate * Lemon * Pear * Pear with Caramel * Chocolate Orange * Pineapple * Chocolate Mousse * Melon * Black Cherry * Walnut * Pomegranate * Honey * Coconut * Kiwi * Passion Fruit * Raspberry Chocolate * Creme Napoleon * Strawberry and Cream *

Pisa

Our plane landed at Pisa Airport, where we quickly hopped on a city bus towards the famous Leaning Tower of Pisa.  Pisa the city is nothing special but the square which houses the tower is charming.  We took the obligatory pictures and were off to the Cinque Terre.



Cinque Terre

The first time I saw pictures of the Cinque Terre I rushed home and told Trent that we had to go there.  I was absolutely correct.  We decided to start our vacation out right with a little R and R.  Our first night was spent in the small town of Manarola.  It was my favorite among the towns due to its steep hills, mazes of back streets, sheer drops to the landscape, and center square where local children meet to play.  As soon as we arrived in Manarola, we felt completely relaxed.  That was until we reached all the stairs.  What a work out - as the video will painfully describe in my breathing (in my defense, the camera was right next to my face.)

All those steps were worth the room and the view.

Next to our room there was a picturesque square that over looked the sea.  Little Italian grandmas sat out in the square and knitted while the old Italian men sat and talked. 

On the top of the town, there is a square that includes this church and clock tower.

On our second day, we woke up and took a "hike" to the nearby town of Riomaggiore.  I say "hike" because it was a paved walkway that hardly slanted.  It is called Lovers Lane.  The name came from when the pathway was built between the towns it became a meeting place for courting couples where they would paint their names on the rocks.  It would then become tradition to get married along the lane.  Now the tradition is to attach a padlock to the railings and then throw away the key into the sea to lock your love forever. 

This was a view of the backside of Manarola, which includes the little square near our room.

Our next two days were spent in Vernazza.  While not as scenic as Manarola, it had more restaurants and shops. There was some scrumptious focaccia bread that had cheese, bacon, and tomatoes.  Yum!  There was also this wonderful pastry shop ran by two brothers.  Each day (yes we went there three times) the brother would say "you need to try this" and then he would bring us out some delicious pastry he had created.  Those were the best pastries we had the entire trip.  I would go back to Vernazza just for these pastries. This is the place that I will probably come closest to my dream of drinking from a chocolate waterfall.  The hot chocolate I ordered was very thick.  It was like swimming through chocolate.  Pesto was discovered in these lands so we ate plenty of it. Our room that we rented was high up on the hill (more stairs) but had an amazing balcony that over looked the sea.  Our windows opened up right to the sea.  Waking up in the morning to a wonderful husband and the sound of waves crashing.  Aww....  Amazing.



Italy has amazing water, especially in the Cinque Terre.  The public outdoor faucets were much appreciated during all the hikes and stairs climbing.

The view out of our window!

We started the third day with a hike, then a train ride, and ended with a boat ride.  It was such a wonderful day to visit the other two towns. As we hiked, we loved the smell of olive trees, grape vineyards, and thyme.

This is a small town perched on the top of the mountain.

Monterosso al Mare

The last night in Cinque Terre was spent on the rooftop balcony.  We read books and enjoyed the sunset.



Off to Lucca!!!