Venice.

Claire ed io siamo andate a Venezia insieme e ci siamo divertite molto! Of course, that was over a month ago. I'm a little bit behind on the blogging, if you haven't noticed. There's been a severe lack of time! I'm hoping to catch up this weekend, so stay tuned.

So, Venice is a pretty cool place. I'm sure you've all heard of it but let me reiterate: it is a city surrounded by water, people - in fact, it stretches over one teeny hundred islands. Pretty awesome, huh?


Me and Claire upon our arrival.

We boarded a ferry to travel down the Canal Grande in order to reach the central part of Venice. We took in some sights along the way!

This, for instance, is a water taxi. Sweet.





The Basilica Santa Maria Della Salute from the Canal Grande.

Just part of the Venetian Lagoon.

That's the Basilica San Giorgio Maggiore in the background.

And then we were back on land. Here is a shot of the famed Piazza San Marco. It is the only piazza in Venice - anything else resembling a public square is called a campo.

Claire and me taking it all in!

I just can't shake the headshot photographer out of me. ;] Claire's a beautiful model!

A pitiful representation of the Basilica Cattedrale Patriachale di San Marco. It is absolutely beautiful, but also absolutely under construction. :P


Me standing on one of venice's four hundred and nine bridges!

We watched a very brief glass-blowing demonstration, which was pretty cool.

This here is Stacy! Stacy is a friend from school who is studying in Perugia here in Tuscany. We just happened to be in Venice at the same time.

She and her friends were sweet enough to let us join them for lunch. :]



There are copious amounts of gondolas all over the city!

Unfortunately, a legit gondola ride comes at a pretty steep price.

We forewent it and took the thirty-second ride across the canal. ;]

Back on land!

Pretty in pink. ;]



The view from the Ponte di Rialto.

And again.

And again.

Again.

One more time.

This is a snapshot of the Mercato di Rialto, which actually goes up, over and down the bridge.

And this is the Ponte di Rialto itself. So pretty!
Venice was magical. After an incredibly long bus ride home - one of our fellow tourists somehow managed to wind up in Padua, which is about an hour from Venice, and we had to go pick him up - we were back in Florence and ready to sleep. ;]

Cinque Terre: part two.

The five coastal downs of Cinque Terre (which literally means "five grounds") are linked together by a series of trails. You can walk the entire length of the coast from the northernmost town to the southernmost town in about five hours. We weren't that ambitious, but we did make quite a day of it all!

We began the day by taking a train from Levanto to the southernmost town of Cinque Terre, Riomaggiore. The trail between Riomaggiore and Manarola is not so much a trail as it is a walkway. It's called Via Dell'Amore - Love's Way. The entirety of the pathway is lined with locks placed there by lovers to symbolize their everlasting love. Awww! So sweet. And the views? Breathtaking!





I also came across this graffiti, which I could not help but photograph. I'm so homesick for my San Francisco Giants!
The tunnel at the end of the walkway.

Jackie, Alyssa and Claire ready for some hiking!

Ciao, Monarola!


Claire being cute!

I spy...
Upon arriving in Monarola, we found out that the first portion of the next leg of the hike was closed due to a landslide. Bummer! So we awaited the next train to take us past it. We arrived at the base of the mountain upon which the town of Corniglia sits to find we had quite a walk ahead of us.

The view from the train tracks!

Jackie, me and Claire.

What's...

Going...

On? :P
We stopped by Corniglia and then were on our way to Vernazza by way of another intense hike. Let's just say the end result was totally worth the trouble! Vernazza was our favorite town to visit by far.

The view from the trail between Monarola and Corniglia.

Like a answer to the question we were all thinking, we found this sign at the top of our hike to Corniglia.

Jackie and Claire taking a breather in a random nook. :P

The view of Corniglia from the hike to Vernazza.

Again from further away.

And further still.

Check out those clouds.

The view of the ocean on the hike to Vernazza.


Suddenly found ourselves in what seemed like a rainforest.

Finally! Vernazza in sight.


Way too cute of a town.

Jackie, me and Claire.

The view of Vernazza from the pier.


They've managed to integrate the land and the water with this really cool architectural piece. :]


Jackie snapped this photo of me!

Jackie and me in a random cave. :P
After dining on some delicious trofie al pesto, we were off to the most touristy and crowded town of them all, Monterosso al Mare. There's a reason this beautiful place is so popular.

Wow.
We headed home that night, exhausted. What a weekend. ;]