Over three weeks have passed since I first set foot on Italian soil; the experience feels like a dream. Kenny and I never had a honeymoon, so this was it and it was worth the wait (four years later).
We started traveling early Thursday and took an evening flight out of NYC. We landed in Milan around 8 a.m. The first Italians that I came in contact with teased me playfully as I went through customs (I kept going the wrong way).
The Milan train station was one of my first "sites" of the trip.
With only an hour before our train to La Spezia, we decided to run to the metro and see the Milan duomo before we left. It was here that I learned to not pay any attention to street sellers. Kenny and I still jokingly demand, "Give me something."
We made it to La Spezia Friday evening. This was Kenny's first and one of his favorite areas of his mission.
We had a dinner appointment but still had time to get our first gelato and explore the city.
La Spezia is gorgeous right next to the Mediterranean Sea. We held hands and walked along the water while gazing at the moon and boats.
That evening, we met some friends, Mario, Simona, and Alyssa, at Bella Napoli.
We ate pizza while mostly Kenny spoke in Italian. I tried to communicate with words here and there. At one point, I communicated with their daughter who knew a little English and Spanish. They were really awesome people!
The next day was magical and possibly my favorite day of the whole trip.
We made our way to the train station and spent the day exploring the towns of the Cinque Terre.
There are five towns but we hit four: Monterosso, Vernazza, Manarola, and Riomaggiore.
We loved walking along the beaches of Monterosso and climbing the cliffs.
I adored Vernazza's narrow alleys and peeling paint on the colorful buildings.
We would climb the stairs and walk past the Italian's unique front doors. It was like our own little hiding spot and we totally made out as we explored.
Manarola was peaceful sitting next to the water. I ate the most amazing bruschetta with fresh mozzarella.
We found a hideout with a lookout of the city.
We kissed some more.
Gorgeous. (Oh the town too)
Riomaggoire was a lot of the same, but still unique and beautiful.
Later that night in La Spezia, we had dinner with Mauro Margheriti, who was branch president when Kenny was a missionary, and his family. Mauro had a wall in his store with missionary tags that he's collected over the years. Kenny found his name.
The food was delicious and company wonderful. Again my Italian was lacking but I could feel their love.
The next day we went to church and Kenny bore his testimony of Jesus Christ in Italian. It was neat for him to be back with the people he served with.
Later that day, we took a walk around Portovenere. It was this amazing town by the sea (that was nearly secluded) with castles. It was so perfect and I took so many photos (I'll have a separate post all about our adventure there).
We then said goodbye to La Spezia and went on to Pisa.
It wasn't too late when we got there, so we enjoyed dinner outside.
And took a walk.
I cannot describe the moment when we suddenly turned the corner and saw the tower, stunning in all its glory.
I was in awe and love.
We grabbed a delicious chocolate pastry in the morning and went to see the city again during the day.
The tower was still wonderful in the daytime.
I loved the doors of the baptistry. Each panel had an intricately-carved biblical scene.
We toured the baptistry and duomo. Then I took the classic tower picture, with a twist.
For lunch, I didn't know it at the time, but we had some of the best food of the trip. The flavor of our pasta was so moist and rich.
Before we left, we met up with Patrizio, a friend Kenny had taught and baptized. Another special moment.
I had a bit of a meltdown on the train before we got to Firenze (Florence). We had left way later than expected (we were supposed to get most of Monday in Florence and we were getting there later in the evening). We also realized our train for Rome left the next day at 2 p.m. To top it off, we couldn't change our train tickets and it was too late to buy tickets to see the original David, which I really wanted to see.
Firenze turned out to be a total dream and everything worked out perfectly.
We dropped our bags off at a member's house. Heather was so nice and equipped us with a map. We set off to see the city.
We saw the first David replica that looked over the city. We tried to send off a Chinese lantern; the first burned up. With the help of a street seller, we got the second a float among a crowd of observers.
We walked down into the city and all was a lit and gorgeous.
In the morning, we grabbed a cup of Italian hot chocolate. A.K.A. melted chocolate in a cup. A-mazing.
We saw Ponte Vecchio. This super cool town on a bridge. In the day and evening, it was bustling with tourists, shops, and street performers.
Firenze was packed with works of art on every corner.
Galileo!
The second David replica that we saw.
The Firenze duomo was like the tower of Pisa. It snuck up on me and sucked the breath out of my chest.
The colors...
This was the best play on words we saw the whole trip.
We DID get to see the original David. And he was pristine. Perfect. I thought about the real David and how he lived the rest of his life for God, despite all that he lost with his sin. I think that says a lot about him.
The other statues in the museum just looked so real and soulful.
We came upon Rome that evening. Our fast train got delayed because of cattle on the tracks, so we took it slow.
We got dinner. This waiter had a great sense of humor.
We got to see the Pantheon at night almost deserted, which was nice because it was super crowded the next day.
The Colloseum.
Rome was covered in this rustic cobblestone. It was probably my favorite part of Rome. The Italians called them little San Pietro's (little St. Peter's).
This church was quiet. Serene.
This monk walked past us and Kenny heard him say in Italian on the phone that he was passing a beautiful married couple. :)
More ruins.
We made it to the Vatican on Wednesday afternoon. Had we kept our earlier appointment, we would have caught a glimpse of the pope and would have probably had an empty museum, but we slept in.
I was excited to see Apollo of the Belvedere. He was in David's league, almost.
The Vatican was the only place that we had a guided tour the whole trip, and I hated it. We were rushed and no one could understand the tour guide; she was nice though.
Finally, we got to the climax of the tour: the Sistine Chapel.
I felt overwhelmed at first glance, but I sat and slowly drank it in. The colors alone were incredible, which is probably why you can't take pictures for copyright issues. Some of the paintings had the effect that they were 3D.
This is a picture of the hall leading to the Sistine Chapel.
Nothing like gelato after a long tour. My top scoop comically splattered on the ground and got some giggles from the people around us.
I was starving that night and didn't want to try to find the right bus or train or walk even (this was the day before we left). Kenny's friend Alvin saved my sanity when he picked us up in a car with his other friend John Paulo. They zoomed through the city in the tiny car and took us to dinner. We had this mouthwatering meat and cheese spread and bread followed by pasta di mare. (Also a note, Italian olive oil is SO MUCH BETTER. Sweet and less bitter).
The four of us walked around the city afterwards.
Thursday, we toured the inside of the Pantheon. I loved how thoughtful this monk looked.
We got a glance of the Mormon temple under construction in Rome. Yay! We also made a few friends on the bus on the way there.
Alvin was so great. We saw him again the next day to say goodbye.
Our packs were heavy and my feet were bleeding by the end.
Ciao Italia, mi amore.
