Florence and the Cinque Terre

Manarola, Italy

During the second part of our family travels, we went to the region of Tuscany. Stopping first in Florence, we were able to do a wine tour, shop for some nice leather, and see Michelangelo’s David. The wine tour was lovely, the views of the Tuscan countryside are exactly how anyone would picture the Italian countryside to be, just so much better in person. We learned a lot about the chianti wine that the region is known for, and were able to sample various types along with some olive oils, meats, and cheeses.

Such a beautiful winery

Views of the Tuscan countryside

For our cultural appreciation part of the trip, we headed off to Galleria dell’ Academica. Michelangelo’s David is massive – I did not expect the statue to be so large. And, even though I’m no sculpture expert, I can appreciate this. It was well worth going to see.

I felt no shame taking this

Aside from those activities, we spent our time in Florence very leisurely, walking and eating and shopping.

Our next stop was the Cinque Terre, a series of 5 towns right on Italy’s northwest coast. I had been looking forward to visiting this place since before I left for Italy, and I was not disappointed. The downside, however, was the 100,000 other tourists who were also crammed into these 5 little towns while we were there. It was a nightmare, but we got through it and just adjusted to being body-to-body with strangers for a couple of days. The views, however, are beautiful and we ate a good amount of great seafood. My mom and I also did an early morning hike between two of the towns which was probably the highlight of my time there. It’s surprisingly agricultural on the hillsides – there are terraced plots for growing many things, primarily grapes and olives. It’s a really beautiful area, however it has recently been overrun with heavy tourism.

Sunset over Florence

Manarola

Monterosso

Vernazza

Walking through the Cinque Terre

And with that, my semester was basically over! Some birthday celebrations, studying, and several finals later and I was back home. I am still processing the end of this year and my travels (for now), but I'll have a final reflective post in the coming weeks!