Tag Archives: Italy

Take Us Back, Tuesday.

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Member last year at this time when we were splashing through the narrow streets of Venice?  OK, well we definitely remember and talk often about what an awesome Europe trip we had together last year.  Out of the multiple rounds of photos we took, we hardly shared the best ones including some outtakes.  Hopefully these can provide you a good laugh on this fine Tuesday or at least just a little internet getaway.

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We really got silly when the weather didn’t let up.

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Trying for the “splash” shot.

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Monitoring the weather.

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The water kept rising and rising.

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I’ve heard the saying a million times “Life’s not about waiting for the storm to pass, it’s about learning how to dance in the rain” and we couldn’t agree more!

Take Me Back to Pisa.

It’s been a year since our Italy trip and one of our best days was spent in Pisa. We explored the small city, grabbed a few cappuccinos, a wine spritzer, some questionable pizza, and just had an overall blast.Pisa Italy(The wall of the city has an arch that give you a peek into the Tower, we were so excited when we found it!)

Pisa Italy(It was the most perfect weather we could have asked for. Also, all of the buildings are pristine; so white and clean)

Pisa Italy(I wonder if we were the first ones to think of doing this)

Pisa Italy(We visited a museum within the walls and I loved seeing these statues. An invading city chopped off all of their noses)

Pisa Italy(Inside the Duomo)

DSC_0306We had such a great time, I can’t believe it has been a year already! Time flies when you are having fun!

Oh Siena.

IMG_9752While we were parading around Italy last May, we went on a road trip to Siena for a day.  It was a beautiful drive and the skies were perfectly enchanting.  While we wandered around this walled city, we got carried away with the mesmorizing sights.  How can a place be this beautiful?!

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I’d love to go back.  Funny side note: we pulled over to the side so I could drop a coin into this majestic wishing well.  My coin purse was from a long time ago and I’d brought it from home to Europe as it had a bunch of Euros still in it.  After waiting for the herds of children to part ways just enough for me to squeeze up to the well, I pulled out a coin as they all stared in amazement that I was actually going to drop a coin in.  I started to think maybe it wasn’t right to drop a coin in but to hell with it (When in Sinna, right?).  Bombs away, dropped my coin and walked off.  The kids all left and I went back to look in the well only to find I had dropped a Chuck-E-Cheese token, NOT a coin…. HAHA do dreams come true even on a Chuck-E-Cheese coin?!?  Happy Wednesday 🙂

Pisa, Pisa.

imageSo many memories flood my mind when I think about our trip to Europe but by far one of the funnest days we had in Italy was when we took the train to Pisa.  We had no idea what to expect and we had been tucked away in a very remote mountain villa so it was like all of the sudden we had a field day!  As soon as we got there, these Italians gave us these vodka drinks with these crazy straws and the code to free internet.  It was like we didn’t even need to see the small town of Pisa but of course we eventually meandered on.

imageOh yeah, they also gave us these awesome little cookies with our cappuccino’s.  What more could we ask for?!

imageWe sheepishly asked a vendor (after our drinks, you can’t blame us), where the tower was and low and behold it was right around the corner!

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IMG_0387I love this photo of Chels.

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IMG_0353Of course I did the obvious jump shot.

IMG_0389It really does lean!

IMG_0343I love that you can see the people in this one on the top tier.

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I’ve heard many say that they were not amused with Pisa and let’s be honest, it is a very small place.  No matter how small though, we found it incredibly beautiful.  Chelsea also taught me that Van Gogh’s “field of dreams” was here where he would paint.  I loved this fact because I found it very picturesque and the large lawns seem like the perfect painting grounds.  Pisa is worth a visit if you ask us!

When the Fog Rolls in.

imageWhile in the small village of Rocca, Italy, there was such a beautiful canyon that let the fog seep through it from time to time.  It varies on a day to day basis but up in these lush green Italian hills, there’s a calm.  Rocca overlooks the Devil’s Bridge from a far ways up and sits quietly at the top of a mountain.  It’s the perfect place for some R&R.

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IMG_9662(Watching the sun shine through)

IMG_9668(Enjoying some coffee with a view, a happy place for me)

IMG_9669(Slowly, the sun burns off the fog)

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IMG_9679Another beautiful day to enjoy.

There are so many different ways to travel and enjoy your time off.  Choosing to stay in a small village is great for rest, relaxation, and views even when the fog rolls through.

Pedal Power.

imageAs you saw in this post, Chelsea and I really enjoyed the town of Lucca in Italy.  It was the smallest piece of perfect located inside the city walls.  It was also unbelievably awesome that we could ride around the entire wall on bikes.  I love riding bikes and in Europe it is so much easier and safer to ride around cities.

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image(Resting on the wall)

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My preferred transportation is bike (or obviously horse if that were possible :D) so it was great to be able to rent bikes and cruise around.  The path was also canopied by tall, beautiful trees that left splattered shadows.  Lucca was very quaint and had a few incredibly unique stores that we discovered.  There is also a very large market that consumes the outside streets of the city.  It’s definitely a wonderful day trip destination.

European Travel Awards.

After traveling through 7 countries, the question my friends and family have asked the most is “What was your favorite place?!”  To this question, there is no real answer because I had a positive experience in every place.  However, there were certain things that I liked more about one place if I were to compare it to another.  Alas, I give a few of my European travel awards that I deemed from my own discoveries.

imageThe best coffee (although there were some strong contenders) came from Italy.  Cappuccinos were strong but small so you’d get to enjoy a caffeine kick without being overloaded with too much milk.  NOTE:  If you are looking for iced anything, good luck.  Some may note that on a menu but it’s not the same.  Stick with the hot drinks even if on the beach.  You will enjoy it no matter what.  Va Benne!

image By far, the most picturesque was Switzerland!  Every turn has something beautiful in sight and it’s a photographers dream land.  I can’t say enough about how beautiful Switzerland is.  It’s a place on my list to go back to for winter and summer.  NOTE:  You may not always get sunny and perfect weather so my saving grace was a pair of thin thermals to layer under my clothes in the case the weather turned.

imageThis definitely belongs to Berlin.  There’s so much history and art, it’s a city wrapped up for old and new school.  I wandered for hours on end finding fascinating things.  My favorite to see in Berlin was the East Side Gallery which is a beautifully painted in graffiti section of the Berlin Wall.  I can’t wait to dedicate an entire post to it 🙂

imageNow if you know me, you know I died and went to heaven in Denmark.  Bike riding is the main means of transportation with their very own lanes and horses are not few and far between.  I hope I get to go back and visit Copenhagen many more times.  I’ve heard it is very dark during the winter with very short daylight hours but in the summer it stays light past 10pm and you can enjoy the outdoors even longer.

imageThis is no shock considering Mallorca was the only place I visited that is known for beaches.  However, that didn’t change how incredible STUNNING the beaches are on this Spanish island.  You can check out more pictures from one of the beaches here.

I’ll be posting much more in detail about each of these places I visited, including good places to grab some food, coffee, and how accessible the transportation was.  Travel is such a beautiful thing and a great way to open your mind to new people and places.  Pictures can only show you so much but my suggestion is to buy a plane ticket and get out there to experience it for yourself.  You will be pleasantly surprised by the gems you find 🙂

Lucca- Italia.

There is no question that Italy is grand and beautiful, but I fell in love with a tiny town called Lucca. We rented bikes and rode circles around the wall bordering the city.

Lucca, Italy(The wall of he city is topped in grass)

Grass(Even the weeds were pretty!)

Lucca, Italy(I loved the colors of the buildings)

Lucca, Italy(This was one of my favorite statues that I had ever seen)

Lucca, Italy(We parked our bikes and walked around a bit)

Lucca, Italy(Every city had a watchtower)

Lucca, Italy(Brittany and I snapped photos, I loved the wall)

Lucca, Italy(Miles and miles of wall)

I love cruising around any city that I am in, it’s a fun way to see it all. SF is not the safest place to ride around so it was nice and refreshing to be somewhere less rushed and more laid back.

Friday’s fun quote it brought to you by Sara:

“You have the Ora of a tall person”

A Venetian Flood.

San Marco SquareIt rained heavily in Venice when we were there. Before heading out for dinner, we were greeted by 2 inches of water outside of our hotel’s front door.

San Marco Square(We didn’t have rainboots so we took off our shoes and walked to dinner)

Venice Flood(A little flooding wasn’t going to ruin our night)

San Marco Square(A view from our hotel window)

Venice Flood(Off we go)

San Marco Square(After dinner we walked to San Marco Square and saw that the flooding was much deeper there)

San Marco Square(So we scored some rainboots and did what anyone would do, splashed!)

Venice Flood(The water probably 5 inches deep!)

San Marco Square(But frolicking in the flood works up an appetite for gelato eventually)

Venice is really beautiful, but it is actually pretty cool when you are sludging through flooded areas. Most of the Venetians were saying this kind of weather was irregular for May, but we made the best of it!

Cinque Terre.

Cinque Terre 1One of the most beautiful days that I spent in Italy was in Cinque Terre. A portion of the coast along the Italian Riviera, Cinque Terre is easily one of the most beautiful places I’ve ever seen. There was damage to some of the hiking trails after a landslide occurred a couple of years ago so we were unable to walk the entire coastline but the parts we were able to see were gorgeous regardless.

Cinque Terre 2(The first village we stopped at was called Monterosso)

Cinque Terre(There were little markets everywhere. I regret not getting this killer poster)

Cinque Terre(Britt checking out the water)

Cinque Terre

Cinque Terre Hike(There were lots of little waterfalls along the hike to Vernazza)

Cinque Terre(Our first view of Vernazza)

Vernazza

Britt jumped into the water while I shopped around for trinkets. I remember it being one of the most perfect days in Italy, the weather was never better. I think I found my happy place, where my hair can run wild. Omg, what is going on with our messy buns?!