Hey, do you remember Part I of our Italian Anniversary trip? If you not you can click here to read all about it.
I decided I better get this posted before we start on our West Trip in August! Otherwise I'll get all confused with order :). Now for part II!
Seriously reminiscing back on this trip is making me sooo nostalgic! I'm forever grateful we were able to enjoy our trip to the fullest right before Covid-19 hit and shut everything down!
Cinque Terre was our second favorite location on our trip! Cinque Terre is made up of 5 little towns all along the coast. We stayed in the bottom town called Riomaggiore. Our first night here was an adventure to say the least. Everywhere you walk in these coastal towns is either uphill or downhill. No flat areas. For supper we walked down the hill to find food. It was rather late and the restaurants weren't taking anymore guests so we found a pub and ordered a takeout pizza. 10 steps outside the pub and we were assaulted with pelting rain! We dashed under some deserted restaurant umbrellas and waited until the rain slowed down long enough for us to speed walk up the hill to our airbnb.
The image below is from our airbnb window. Best view of all our stays!!
The next morning we took a train to Monterosso to start our hike. I had done some research and discovered you can hike from town 1-town 5. In my research I also found that the trail might be closed in places due to landslides. But we bought passes and took a risk. It was 8:30 am and the town was incredibly quiet! After we walking down the beach we started looking for the trail head. We were met with a trail closed sign and the path was roped off with a very very low chain. Being the adventure minded people that we are we decided to hike anyways and see how far we could go! Best decision ever!!
We were able to do the entire hike and see some stunning views!!
This town was a personal favorite!! Manarola is a must visit in my book! from here we began our final hike back into Riomaggiore. See that mountain/hill behind the buildings? That's where we had to hike over in order to continue. The steepest hike of the trip but also the shortest. At the bottom of that trail we are greeted with a gate instead of a chain. We scaled the gate a partial wall to get out. Definitely worth it!
BEST VALENTINES DAY EVER!!
Valentines 2021 is gonna have to be pretty amazing in order to top this!
After Cinque Terre we took a train to Pisa. We wanted to rent a car for Tuscany and this was the closest place that made sense. Bonus we got to see the leaning tower. This town also had some of my favorite gelato! We stopped their on the way to the tower and again on our way back. :)
TUSCANY...my favorite favorite place. The lane to Poderaccio Organic Farm, where we stayed, was lined with olive trees. I can't recommend staying in the countryside on farm enough! Everything from the robes to the food was organic. The food was either made on their farm or produced on a nearby farm. We ate at "Ristorante Al Poggio Di Vito" on recommendation from the owners and again I reiterate follow the advice of locals! Best Meal! We took a winding drive up the mountain, watched the sunset and dined to the best wine and pasta around. Ever tried Seafood Lasagna? It sounded sketchy but I am so glad I tried it, it was divine.
Our first morning there we woke up to warm spelt bread hanging on the door.
After a farm fresh breakfast we drove to Florence. The roads are crazy small, but Matt was true pro! We saw the sites, the state of David and the beautiful architecture of the Duomo.
Tuscany deserves a second visit. I hope to be back again!
One our way to drop off our rental car we stopped at hot springs and took a relaxing break. Next stop...Rome
We spent four days in Rome, due to the airline pushing our ticket back a day. An intriguing city so full of history.
I do miss my morning cappuccino and flaky croissant.
So many adventures were had and so many more pictures could be shared but I'll save them for us. I want to make a book this winter once business slows down, so I never forget the memories. I will never forget our first anniversary! :)
Love you, Babe! Thank you so incredibly much for taking me on my very best European adventure. I wouldn't have wanted to do it with anyone but you!