Florence, Italy

My Italy trip is being done in 3 posts, so if you haven't read about Cinque Terre yet, look for that one below this one!!

Day 1

            Britt, Nina and I arrived in Florence on Sunday at around 7pm.  We made our way to our AMAZING hostel and settled in.  As we finally had Internet, Nina was able to contact her friend who had studied in Florence the past semester and she gave us a ton of inside tips. 

            That first night we went with one of her ideas and went to a restaurant Napoleone.  We made our way to the Piazza (plaza) where it was and ended up looking around for a half hour, when in reality the restaurant was literally right in front of our face.  A classic Lydia move.  It was a very nice restaurant that had great food and great ambiance.  I got a delicious plate of Fettuccine Bolognese.  Even though I was incredibly full from that, I had to go for gelato #2 after dinner.  I ended up getting a larger size than I had expected but I got to test out chocolate, coffee and pistachio gelato.  My favorite by far was the pistachio, which oddly enough was the one I expected to like the least.  This gelato restaurant was definitely leaps and bounds better than the first one I ate at. Worth way more than 2.50 euro J

            Since we were tired from traveling, and too full to put anything else in our stomachs, we passed on going out for drinks that night and just headed back to the hostel.  I found a deal online through this hostel so we had our own room and our own bathroom for very cheap.  I will never again underestimate how important it is to have a space to go to be with just the people you’re traveling with.  It’s just so much more convenient and comfortable.  I will say that it is now my goal to come back to Europe and be able to stay places that are considered hotels instead of hostels.  Sorry, no pictures of this night due to a dead camera :-(

Day 2

            We got a nice early start on Monday, partly due to the early breakfast hours at the hostel and partly due to the free walking tours offered by the hostel that left at 10am.  Since the tour was offered and we weren’t sure what we really wanted to do in Florence, we decided to join in on it.  Luckily, the one they offered that day was a tour of historical Florence, which is pretty much the city center.  The tour lasted until 12 and we actually managed to make some friends on the tour that we spent the rest of the day with.  From the tour we found TONS of museums we wanted to visit, places we wanted to explore more, etc.  It was definitely worth the time!  Plus, the tour guide stopped for a gelato break and I, obviously, had to partake.  This time I got raspberry and lemon because I thought it was a little too early for really heavy flavors like chocolate or tiramisu, etc.  Below are some pictures from the tour:

This door is on the building next to the Duomo, it's called 'Heaven's Door' and features stories from the Old Testament:

            Where the tour ended was where we decided to start our exploration.  It was a church called the Basilica de Santa Croce.  This church held numerous fresco paintings but more importantly was the resting place of many notable Italians; such as, Michelangelo, Machiavelli, Galileo, Aligherio, etc.  It was a beautiful church in general and it was really amazing to see the graves of these amazing Renaissance men.  Michelangelo’s grave is located in the corner of the church that faces the Duomo (The main Cathedral in Florence…Duomo means Cathedral in Italian).  He apparently chose this spot specifically so that when Judgment Day comes and the walls of the church fall, he would have a view of the Duomo.  Talk about thinking ahead!

The first 2 photos are of Michelangelo's tomb:

 Aligherio's Tomb:

 Machiavelli's Tomb:

 Outside of the Basilica:

 Inside the Basilica:

 Nina, Britt and I outside of the Basilica:

            After that we went out to lunch and got pizza, which was good, but not as good as my first pizza in Cinque Terre.  Side note:  A lot of restaurants in Italy charge ‘cupertos’ or service charges and at this one it was 3 euro which was pretty high and somewhat annoying!  Anyways, to make up for the only ‘good’ pizza at lunch I went for some really delicious gelato…I can’t help myself!  I ended up convincing everyone else to get it as well even though they had originally claimed to be to full.  Here began the somewhat comedy of errors.  First, Britt dropped her spoon with chocolate gelato on her tan dress.  She was trying to wipe it off while walking and it wasn’t successful so we decided to stop.  One of the girls we met there tried to help her pour some water on it and while doing so, dropped her cone.  Then the 3^rd girl ended up spilling some from her cone on her shoes.  And as that was ending, I, being the classy person that I am, was trying to lick the inside of my gelato dish and ended up spilling my ‘Opera Italiano’ (mixture of pistachio/hazelnut/vanilla, yumminess) all down the front of my dress.  Needless to say, we looked like a bunch of sloppy American girls!! 

            We made our way to the Duomo, which is the main Cathedral in Florence.  You’ll recognize it by the rather large dome on top!  One fun fact about the Duomo is that on the front of it Jesus is featured with all 12 disciples.  This is odd because usually Judas isn't included as a disciple in many works of art, but they wanted it to be symmetrical so they included him, but his head is covered and looks down in shame:

 Judas is the one in the middle:

As it turns out they built the entire Duomo and left the ceiling open for a dome to be built over it, but realized after they had built it that no one had ever created a dome that large.  So they started taking ideas from people as to how to complete it.  Filippo Brunelleschi ended up winning with his idea of using small bricks to create it, as well as having a dome within it for support.  The creation was obviously successful, but the problem is that Brunelleschi never told anyone how he actually completed the construction, so, to this day the dome is an architectural mystery!  We managed to climb up to the top of it, which I believe was about 426 steps…or somewhere around there.  I would not recommend it to those who are claustrophobic or get dizzy easily when climbing spiral staircases!  But, once you get up there, it is definitely worth the effort!

            That night, we decided to go to the Piazza de Michelangelo to watch the sunset over Florence because Nina’s friend said it was one thing you absolutely had to do while there.  I would completely agree with her.  We grabbed some wine, headed to the plaza, and sat on the steps with hundreds of other people watching the gorgeous sun set over Florence.  A truly breathtaking moment that makes you step back and seriously question…is this real life?

Day 3

            This day was somewhat anticlimactic for us.  We had planned to go see the statue of David and go the Uffizi Art Museum.  We started out at the Uffizi and waited in line for an hour only to realize that we still had an additional 2-hours to wait.  I went to check out the line to see David and that was even longer!  After waiting for that long at the Uffizi and barely moving we decided to cut our losses and just go and enjoy our last day in Florence walking around.  We did a little shopping, found an outdoor market, and I got another gelato.  In case you were wondering, yes, I think I am actually gaining weight from all the gelato…and it’s worth every pound! 

            We left for Rome that afternoon and ended up taking a direct train that only took about an hour and a half.  So, a summary of Florence: gorgeous city, great food, all-in-all an excellent city to visit J

Cinque Terre, Italy - The region of 5 Cities.

Day One

            Cinque Terre means, in Italian, 5 Cities.  The region of Cinque Terre is on the West Coast of Italy, right on the Mediterranean Sea.  It has gorgeous landscapes and colorful cities.  The region consists of the following cities: Monterosso al Mare, Vernazza, Corniglia,  Manarola and Riomaggiore. 

            We arrived at 7pm on Friday night.  I traveled there with 3 friends: Britt, and two new friends Nina and Abby, who also attend UW-Madison.  When we arrived we met up with 2 of Abby’s friends who are studying abroad in Madrid this semester.  We chose to stay in Monterosso al Mare, which was one of the largest cities.  Our hostel had no bells and whistles, but it was quaint and got the job done!  Below are some pictures of where we stayed, and the view from the balcony attached to our room!

            It was much cooler than we had expected and after a long day of traveling, it wasn’t a welcomed surprise.  Granted, my body has grown accustomed to Sevilla’s 85 degree weather, so Cinque Terre was really only 55-60 that night.  Our hostel didn’t provide any heaters as well, which didn’t help.  We decided to get out and experience our first Italian food that night.  Our hostel recommended a good place for pasta, and it was AMAZING!  I ordered linguine with pesto, and it was the freshest, most delicious pesto I’ve ever eaten.  Every person ordered pasta that night and there wasn’t a bad word uttered about anyone’s meal. Yummmmmmy!  We also got to experience our first Italian wine: a bottle of Chianti and a white wine from the Cinque Terre region.  Pictures of us celebrating our arrival...yes, Mom, I'm the one with the chipped nail polish.

            We went out later that night to the only bar open past 11pm in Monterosso.  It was a very American bar, and we even found a dollar bill that was signed by UW Badgers that had previously been there.  They played what they considered to be American music for us…it was a very interesting selection!  I’m always amazed when traveling at how small the world truly is.  While sitting in this bar I met people who were studying abroad who grew up with people I knew in high school, who knew where Stoughton was, etc. etc.  That idea of 6 degrees of separation has been proven to be true!

            The next morning we got a later start as we were all pretty tired from traveling.  We went out for breakfast at a little bar.  I got a ‘brioche’ or croissant, which was filled with Apricot jam, and coffee.  Delicious.  I can already tell I’m going to be spending my life savings here, and the bulk of it will be on food.   We decided to spend this day traveling throughout all the cities.  There’s a foot path that connects all of them but, unfortunately, due to a landslide, the foot path was out between all of the cities except for the route from Riomaggiore to Manarola.  We bought an all day pass for the trains and traveled straight to Riomaggiore, which was the end of Cinque Terre to work our way back up.  While Riomaggiore was beautiful, the main attraction there was going on the footpath to Manarola.  We went straight up to start the treck.  It was called La Villa della Amore and the landscape throughout was absolutely breathtaking.  The path was laden with couples stealing kisses and hugs.  It’s definitely a place to go for a romantic vacation!  I’m happy to say though, that I was content to be there with great friends J

            We took that trail into Manarola; a cute town that was filled with restaurants, tourist shops, and another beautiful view of the Mediterranean Sea.  There was a restaurant recommended by a guidebook, and it definitely surpassed our expectations.  Although to be completely honest, I haven’t had any food yet that hasn’t!  I decided to go for my first Italian pizza experience.  I ordered the Margherita Pizza, and it was the best pizza I’ve ever had.  It was layered with cheese, fresh tomato sauce and basil.  Deeeeelicious!  Britt got mussels that had a lemon-butter sauce on them and I’m happy to say that I grabbed a hold of my adventurous spirit and actually ate one.  (For those of you that don’t know, I dislike all types of seafood and fish.)  While I still prefer pizza, pasta, beef, chicken and pretty much any other kind of food before it, it was not as bad as I expected it to be!  Not a great review, I know, but Nina and Britt both really enjoyed them. 

            After lunch, we had 2 more cities to visit.  We decided to save one for the next day and just finish with Corniglia.  Corniglia was a bit of a disappointment because you had to climb a steep, winding road to get up to the city, and even then there wasn’t much once you got up there.  But it, once again, had beautiful views!

            That night we met up with the rest of the girls and went out for dinner again.  I was still stuffed from my pizza so I just got bruschetta with pesto and tomatoes.  Again, a superb meal.  Although, when we ordered wine our waiter doubted whether we were actually 18, which we all took as an insult!  I wasn’t quite stuffed after that, so I decided to go for my first Italian gelato experience.  It was great, but I think I can find better!

Day Two

            Since we had saved one last city for Sunday, we woke up early and took a train to Vernazza, the last of the 5 cities.  It was a very cute little city.  Mostly we just took pictures, enjoyed the views, and did a little shopping for souvenirs J We returned to Monterosso al Mare to explore the city a little more and had our last lunch there.  We didn’t go for anything fancy as food is expensive and we were all pretty full from all the other meals!  After lunch, we ran back to our hostel to grab our bags and hopped on a train for Florence!!  The first two pictures below are from Vernazza and the rest are from Monterosso!

            So, in summary, Cinque Terre is amazingly beautiful and a great place to spend a few days if you want to enjoy great food and have a nice relaxing vacation!!  Highly, HIGHLY recommended if you are coming to Italy. I’ll continue to update you – Lydia’s adventures in Italy, Florence and Rome to come :-D

Lagos, Portugal - The End of The World

Well hello!!  I'm happy to hear that Wisconsin is starting to warm up, means that it's finally Spring, which means I'm getting closer to coming home!!  A bitter-sweet realization for me, not exactly ready for that roller coaster of emotions.  Fortunately, I have 45 days left here in Europe and I plan to enjoy them all to the fullest!

This week, I was fortunate enough to go to one of my new favorite places on Earth: Lagos, Portugal.  I will have to say that this has been one of my absolute favorite trips not only because of the gorgeous scenery and having a ton of really amazing friends with me, but because we went with a travel agency who planned out everything for us.  So, all I had to do was mindlessly follow guides around and lay on the beach that they brought us to.  My kind of weekend :-)

It started out Friday morning when we loaded up the buses.  It was about a 3 1/2 hour bus ride there.  When we arrived we checked into our gorgeous hotel.  I got to room with Britt and one of my new good friends, Makenzie, who conveniently goes to Madison too :-) It was a triple room, with a kitchenette and looked right onto the 2 pools, not that those were necessary considering the ocean was within a 10-15 minute walk!  We first went to stock up on some food so we wouldn't have to by lunch, and we even splurged for the peanut butter.  I had been MASSIVELY craving it since I'd been here.  The first day we went to a small beach called Dona Ana.  It was our first glimpse at Portugal landscape, and it was absolutely gorgeous!

We headed back to the hotel to get ready for our evening.  All of us met up before sunset and took the trip out to Sagres, Portugal, which is the most South-Western point of Europe.  This is where they thought the world actually ended when they thought the world was flat.  I can honestly tell you this was one of the most gorgeous things I have ever seen, and getting to see it at sunset was just amazing.  One of the best experiences yet.  This place is definitely on my list of recommendations for anyone visiting this area!  For possible future travelers, the actual name of this area is Cabo San Vicente.  Here are some pictures:

That night we went out to eat at a local restaurant called NahNahBah.  They lured us in with the fun, beachy-reggae atmosphere, and once they fed us I did not want to leave.  I will be completely honest with you when I say that I have found what I want to be my last meal.  I had the BEST BURGER I have ever eaten in my entire life.  It had juicy hamburger, lettuce, tomato, swiss cheese, pineapple, bacon and their secret sauce which was a tropical mayonnaise.  Now, I'm not one to put pineapple in/on anything other than a fruit salad, for instance, ham and pineapple pizza - hate it.  But this, my friends, was amazing.  If it were possible to marry food, I'm confident in selecting this burger.  In fact, I loved this place SO much, that we convinced a group of people to go back the second night, and I ate there both nights.  Here are some very poor pictures, but I feel it's important to share with you all, the true love of my life:

So, day 2 was spent basically at the beach the entire day.  We went to a beach a little further away at about noon and didn't leave until 6.  There were LOTS of red American students on the beach that day.  I'm proud to say that I was not one of them, with the exception of the backs of my legs and one awkward spot on my neck I apparently missed with the sunscreen.  While it was really nice to have such a relaxing day, it did get to be a little too much time in the sun and a lot of us were dehydrated.  My roommate Makenzie actually fainted later that night while Britt was doing her makeup.  Luckily, Britt was able to catch her!  We watched her like a hawk the rest of the night and made sure she drank tons of fluids and we had no more drama after that!  The beach was much bigger that day, and more of what you would consider an average beach, but definitely still pretty!

The last day, we took a bus to a beach that was about 45 minutes away from our hotel.  Britt signed up for a surf lesson so we tagged along to watch and relax on the beach.  It was unfortunately pretty windy, so we kept getting sand blown into our faces and it was a little chilly as well.  But, I guess I can't really complain all that much!  This beach was part of a National Park in Portugal and there were really pretty rolling hills around it.  Pretty good way to end the vacation I'd say!

Well folks, that's all for Portugal!  I'll be leaving for Italy in t-4 days!!!  Definitely overly excited for that trip, hoping it lives up to my expectations, although from what I hear from everyone I've talked to, it will!

Hope all is well with everyone.  To my coworkers at the DOJ - hope you're all breathing a little easier, at least for a little while, thinkin' about you all over here!

Have a great week everyone!