Weekend in Italy

This past weekend, a friend and I migrated to warmer weather in the form of Italy. Winter is a little bland here in Germany. Very grey. And rainy. I actually don't mind the rain that much (especially when I get to use my yellow umbrella, inspiringly bought because of the yellow umbrella from HIMYM), but I'm not a huge fan of grey. I like color… color is happiness. Italy trumps Germany in the color department…and being there just for the weekend did the trick. It replenished my color deposit so that I can make it until Spring starts to bloom here in Germany.

We flew into Pisa very early on Friday morning, arriving at about 12 pm. Our plan was this:

Friday - Cinque Terre

Saturday - Florence

Sunday - Pisa

For the most part, our plan was a success. I won't go deep into the details of Friday, but we did not end up seeing Cinque Terre. I have been there once before, almost three years previously, and loved it. Great hiking, beautiful scenery. Unfortunately, we didn't realize that there had been a rockslide and most of the trail is unaccessible right now. One of the towns was even completely destroyed and is now vacated, which is really sad. So a lot of our Friday was spend on a train up the coast of Italy to Cinque Terre, a wrong train even more up the coast of Italy, then back down the coast of Italy to Pisa. The good part was that we got to see some amazingly beautiful views and play MASH, which is always fun, even at 23 years old.

So that was our Friday. Not entirely successful, but we still had fun times and the weather was warm, which makes everything better.

Saturday was amazing. It was our Florence day. I love art history; Botticelli is my main man. Last time I was in Florence, it was only for a few hours and I only had time to go see the Duomo and real David. This time, I was determined to see as much as possible in one day, and I'd say we accomplished that. We got there early, sat down outside the Duomo at a cafe, and drank a cappuccino while munching on some breakfast. All was delicious of course. We then explored the Duomo, walked over to the Ponte Vecchio, shopped, and bought some art. We went to the Uffizi so that I could see Botticelli's most famous paintings, which were incredible. After that, we needed some nourishment, so we went to find the lunch spot which was recommended to us by a local italian man. And let me tell you, it was possibly the best lunch that I have ever had. There's just something about eating in Italy that makes me extremely happy. Maybe it's the atmosphere or how Italians really love food, but food just tastes better in Italy. We each ordered some Bruschetta for appetizers, and I had pesto fettucini, while Jordan had an arrabiata sauce with spaghetti noodles. AH I want some more now. After lunch, we did a bit more shopping around the leather markets (Florence is the leather capital of the world), I accidentally bought 2 scarves and a gorgeous leather purse each for my mom and me.

gorgeous. and delicious.

the Duomo!

In front of the Duomo.

Gates of Paradise on the baptistery of the Duomo.

Piazza del Signoria… where the fake David rests.

Cute Italian street… loved the flags!

View from Ponte Vecchio.

On the Ponte Vecchio.

By the time we left Florence that night, I was in love.

We ate dinner at a pizza joint in Pisa. They were supposed to have the best pizza in town. After eating a slice, I totally believe it. Quite possibly the best pizza I've ever had. We ordered what the waitress recommended…eggplant and sausage, which apparently is a traditional italian pizza (maybe like our pepporoni pizza?). I must order pizza with eggplant more often. Oh so good.

Sunday, we slept in a bit then set out to see the Leaning Tower of Pisa, which was cooler than I thought it'd be. I figured it would look the same as in pictures, but it was a lot bigger and lean-ier (word, yes?) than I imagined. The area surrounding the tower was also pretty and where all the tourists were gathered, of course. The rest of Pisa is basically only locals, I think. Helps you to get the more authentic feel rather than staying in a city bombarded by tourists.

Leaning Tower…doesn't look so leaning here.

Good lean view! but still doesn't really show its true "lean".

We got on the plane back to Germany on Sunday afternoon. When we left Italy, it was a balmy 60 degrees and sunny. As soon as we flew into Germany and started our descent, it was raining and about 40 degrees. But that's OK…it will be spring soon enough and Germany will have sunshine again (I feel if I say this enough, it will come true).

I can't wait to go back again. Next time, I plan on staying for 3 weeks and eating nonstop. Who wants to go with me?