Italy Part 2

Day 3- still in Florence

In front of the Duomo in Florence.

A me sized car. (it's being plugged in to charge)

I supported the arts and gave this guy a Euro so I could take a picture. Too bad it's only chalk.

Mommy, for you!

Inside the Duomo in Florence. Not a very impressive picture, but there is a 24 hour clock! And you can probably imagine it was pretty inside.

To make up for the last picture being a little less than spectacular, feast your eyes on this one! Blackberry and Mango gellato, TOGETHER!

A view of Florence from the other side of the bridge.
From here we walked to the right a little, up a big hill, where we had intentions to find a church with singing Monks. After sitting in one church for awhile, we realized that what we thought were monks warming up in another room was probably a CD being played. So we moved on to another church, and found the singing Monks. Amazing.

A view of Florence from the hilltop while looking for the singing Monks.

Fall Colors! Haven't seen too many of these in Sevilla, so it was good for the eyes.

The real statue of David used to be here, but now in his place is a bronze replica. And Oh what a replica it is!

A view of the city. That's the Duomo sticking up in the middle.

Day Four- Florence to Chinque Terra
by train

Liza guarding our little equipaje (our luggage). Could this road really be the right way to get to our hostel? After about 30 yards it got even more weedy, windy, narrow, and uphill. We gave up the goose chase for the hostel and settled on a hotel by the sea, where we could hear the waves lapping up on the shore all night!

Beginig our hike from town number 1- Monterosso.

St. Francis of Asisi

One the trail. There were vineyards on the hills, and the hills rolled right down into the ocean.

How quaint! A bridge!

Meara and Liza and a really cool stone wall.

Cat bums. There was a sign that said something to the effects of ¨please feed us! No one loves us!¨But don´t worry. They looked pretty fat and happy. One of the cats even had a cat sized tend, which you can see in the background.

Arriving in town number 2- Vernazza.

Be warned, there´s a ferocious PUG!

After scarfing pizza and our second gellato of the day, we leave Vernazza, and we´re on to Corniglia.

I thought about my geology course I took this summer. If you want to know why, ask me in person.

Taking a path through an olive grove. These trees have nets underneath to catch the olives when the ripen and fall off the treed.

Sign for Corniglia!

Path going through someone´s back yard, with a great patch of fall leaves.

We can see Corniglia off in the distance!

Another group of cats bumming at yet another set of picnic tables.

Rad hiking hair!

Town 3- Corniglia!

Railroad tracks runnig through the towns, much of the tracks laid in underground tunnels.

Day 4- Cinque Terre to Milan by railroad

The Duomo in Milan. I couldn't take pictures inside, but there were mummified Popes (yes, plural) in glass tombs.
The other incredible part about the Duomo was the stained glass that told the most incredible visual stories.

Flower booth in the rain!

Pictures from Italy, Day 1 and 2

Day 1- Sevilla to Pisa by Airplane

Pisa to Florence by Train

From the back of the bus in Pisa. The very first picture I took in Italy!

Crossing the bridge in Pisa.

The tower... it's LEANING!!!

Thank goodness Chelsea came by. It might have toppled otherwise!

Pretty great souvenirs...

Before I broke down and bought sexy Italian boots, this was the sad state of my feet.


First train ticket... going from Pisa to Florence. Didn't realize that Florence is called Firenze in Italian... important detail to know when your train stop is the city name.

Meal number 1 in Italy. This is my room mate Meara looking ferociously hungry. And our pizza was, indeed, heart shaped.


Day 2- Exploring Florence
First thing is first, we saw the David. The verdict- No man will ever compare.

We couldn't take pictures inside the museum, so I found this one on the internet.

Then, on to exploring the city. There was an outdoor statue mall.

Death to Centaur by Club!


Death to Mythological character by other mythological character!!!

My first Italian Gellato... fig flavored and heavenly! I will give you a little education on Gellato. First thing is first, you can order a cup or cone. But it's not given to you by scoops, you can choose 2 or 3 or even more flavors... whatever fits inside your cup! And, the flavors are amazing. The flavor you order actually tastes like it's supposed to, because they use real, fresh ingredients. A little hint... when you're trying to choose which gellateria to go to, take a look at the banana flavor as a judge of how good the shop is. If the banana flavor is grey, it's good, and made with fresh bananas. If it's bright yellow (think school bus or caution sign), it comes from a mix, and you don't want it.


Florence! This bridge behind me is pretty darn old. I like the last time it was rebuilt was in the 1300s, but don't quote my numbers as the gospel truth. On the bridge are a ton of expensive jewelry shops, where I lusted after the awesome cameos.

On the bridge with my friend Liza.

Just in case you can't see, it says "Real Python skin!"

Lunch...! Pizza with arugula on top.

And really cheesy yummy gnocchi.

Next, we went to the Uffizi, where once again I couldn't take pictures. But here is a pictures I found on the internet of The Birth of Venus, a famous painting by Botticelli, and one of the many great pieces I saw here.

On he roof of the Uffizi.

"No private university." Interestingly enough, I just gave a presentation 2 days before in one of my classes about the privitazation of Universities in the European Union. I've seen protests in the streets of Sevilla, and aparently it's protested here in Italy, too.

Dinner at Mama Mia's.

Day 3- still in Florence

In front of the Duomo. Please note my awesome Italian boots.

The Duomo, from another angle.