Chinking Glasses in Cinque Terre: Florence Part Two

After an amazing two days in Florence, it was time to head back out of the city to explore another famous Italian spot filled with colorful houses and swimming spots!

July 5: Cirque Terre

Today's tour started early with a 7 am meet-up at Piazzale Montelungo, where we boarded a bus for the two-hour drive northwest to Levanto. Clearly, I have pushed Bryan to the brink of exhaustion, but at least he was able to recoup a little sleep on the bus ride!

Today's day trip took us to Cinque Terre (chink-eh-tear- eh), a UNESCO World Heritage Site along the Italian coast. Nestled between Genoa and Pisa, this area can be translated to mean "five towns." That's right,  Cinque Terre is a collection of five colorful fishing villages, four of which we will visit today!

Riomaggiore

After arriving in Levanto, we boarded a train to the first fishing village of the day, Riomaggiore. Known for their foccacia and cappucinos, Bryan and I opted for a stop at Panificio Rosi for a pesto and cheese foccacia and a pesto and sausage foccacia. After grabbing a coffee to go at Caffè-Restaurant Il, we found a quiet bench to sit and enjoy our breakfast alongside the colorful street!

Punto Panoramico

With fuel now flowing through us, we made the hike to our first viewpoint of the day, where we looked out over crystal clear waters and a rainbow of houses lining the bay!

Manarola

After a one-stop train ride, we made it to Manarola, village number 2 of the day! As we made the short walk down their center street, we stopped in to Gelateria Sorbetteria 5 Terre, where we got a lemoncello and a mojito frozen drink to sip on the hot walk out to this town's lookout spot.

Manarola Overlook Viewpoint

When you Google Cinque Terre, this is more than likely the first image you see! Talk about picture-perfect! Seeing those brightly colored houses contrasting with the teal waters below the steep cliffside, no wonder this area of Italy is world-renowned!

Solo Arte Creazioni D’autore

You know us, we aren't going to bypass an art shop, and we lucked out with a painting of this exact view to add to our world travels wall back home! That makes two paintings to add from this trip! Woohoo!

It was about this point in the day that I regretted not bringing a swimsuit. While I knew this day was going to be packed as is, I really would have loved a cooling swim myself! The hot, humid air made today that much more exhausting. BUT- for those planning their own visit- over half of those on our tour who did get in the waters came back with jellyfish stings...so take that info as you will! There are nets, but the jellyfish are tiny and can swim through with no problem, leaving swimmers with small stings!

Monterosso

A few train stops later, we arrived in the capital of Cinque Terre, Monterosso! This was the first stop we made with true beaches, and all the tourists must have known that because the sand was PACKED! Umbrellas cost €40 to rent for the day, and there wasn't an empty spot we could see!

Statua del Gigante

Along the farthest point of this fishing town is Statua del Gigante, a rock statue of Neptune. Legend has it, he stands there protecting the coast and disappears when he is needed to protect these fishing towns from bad weather.

Cantina del Pescatore Enoteca Bar

Seeking a cool spot to rest our feet, we decided to rehydrate in Cantina del Pescatore Enoteca Bar, where we chugged three bottles of water and shared a plate of bruschetta. Ok, you know we couldn't pass up a drink there too: Bryan enjoyed a basil mojito while I tried the white wine from this region of Italy.

LEMONS Monterosso

As we wandered the busy streets of Monterosso, Bryan spotted a cute little lemonade window. We agreed to split one, and if you know me, you know I have an obsession with anything tart and sour. This was THE BEST lemonade slushie I have ever enjoyed. It was tart. It was sour. It was perfection in a cup.

To reach our fourth and final fishing town of the day, we traveled by ferry! After meeting up with our guide, we all shimmied onto the ferry boat that took us a short 10-minute ride over to Vernazza.

Vernazza

As we got off the ferryboat, we immediately recognized this cute little town from Pixar's film, Luca. That's right, Disney's animators were inspired by this little fishing town of Vernazza and used it to inspire their film! I have to say, it looks exactly like our photos, just with the Disney touch!

Our View

Disney- Pixar's Luca

Church of St. Margaret of Antioch: Chiesa di Santa Margherita di Antiochia

Not included in the Pixar setting was the Church of St. Margaret of Antioch. We did walk inside, but I wouldn't say it was that impressive. Yes, it's an old church, but I was hoping for cooler inside temps and instead we ended up just sweating in the stifling, stale air.

Gelateria Vernazza

But with this heat, gelato always helps! When our guide said that Vernazza is well known for its gelato, Bryan only heard "we are getting ice cream here!" He chose two scoops of coffee and a peanut caramel ice cream for us to split!

Just a short train ride back to Levanto, and we boarded our bus that would take us back to Florence.

Reflecting on our day in Cinque Terre, I would highly recommend visiting this colorful area! If we ever end up back, I would split my time between Manarola and Vernazza. While the capital, Monterosso, was the primary beach location, I would prefer fewer crowds and to swim along the cliffs of Manarola and then end my day (or stay in) Vernazza for a small-town vibe with the Pixar backdrop.

Carrara Marble Excavations

Along the way back to Florence, we passed by the city of Carrara, which is known as the main marble excavation site near Florence. The city of Carrara is known as the "Marble Capital" due to its extensive quarries and the high-quality white marble extracted there. Anyone want to guess what famous marble came from here?

If you guessed the slab for Michelangelo's David, you would be correct!

If you said the marble used to adorn the exterior walls of the Duomo, you would also be correct!

La Bontà

As you can imagine, by the time we made it back to Florence, we were truly exhausted. The sun, the humidity, and 12 hours of exploring Cinque Terre really wore us out! We stopped by La Bontà for sandwiches, and a Carrefour Express grocery store for a bottle of Chianti Classico wine before going back to our hotel for a little evening picnic!

I bet you can guess what movie we watched while we ate dinner! (Hint, it's Disney-Pixar and we visited the setting today!)

July 6: Uffizi Art Museum & Pisa

One final day in Florence, and you know I wasn't wasting any time! Our feet may still be sore from yesterday, I may have torn the crotch out of my favorite pair of linen pants, and Bryan's heels may be bleeding all over his white Keds, but there's no time to wallow- let's go!

Uffizi Galleries: Galleria degli Uffizi

When planning our trip, I realized we were lucky to visit the city on the first Sunday of the month when the Uffizi Gallery offers free entrance to everyone! It only took about 45 minutes of waiting in line before we made it inside and saved $40 on entrance fees to this world-renowned museum.

So here's a quick little lesson on that Medici family before we dive too deep into this art gallery: The Medicis were bankers (not doctors as their Italian name would imply) and they grew to become one of the wealthiest families in Florence's early history. They balled out and built massive villas for themselves and had a private bridge built over the main streets that connected their house to the main governmental building. But this family also had a huge impact on the Renaissance movement.

The Medici family commissioned works from some of the best artists of their time, including Donatello, Botticelli, and Michelangelo, while also purchasing and displaying works from many others of the Renaissance. Some art historians argue that the Renaissance boom wouldn't have been as successful had it not been for the Medici's financial involvement! This family acquired many of the paintings on display in the Uffizi gallery, leading them to be historically known as the finance family behind the Renaissance Movement.

Up first, we walked through massive galleries of Medieval art and Roman statues. I was pleasantly surprised when Bryan recognized a few Durer paintings, reminding us of our time in the artist's hometown of Nuremberg, Germany!

We then reached a crazy long line waiting to see the Tribuna Room. This octagonal room is covered in red velvet and has a ceiling decorated with mother-of-pearl. This expensively decorated room was originally designed to showcase the Medici family's wealthiest art, since this museum used to house all of the city's governmental offices in the 16th century. Take a hint from my lucky find- don't wait in that hour-long line; instead, enter one of the neighboring galleries and see the room from both the left and right side with zero lines!

The Uffizi Gallery is also home to three Da Vincis:

1. The Baptism of Christ

2. Annunciation (Angel and Mary)

3. Adoration of the Magi (incomplete)

   
   

My favorite of the three was the third, Adoration of the Magi, an incomplete painting that was supposed to be a large altarpiece for a church in Florence. Apparently, my man Leo started the painting and then took off for Milan and never returned to finish it! I found this unique sight to be thought-provoking; seeing the first painted layer has helped art historians understand Da Vinci's painting style and technique used in all of his other famous paintings!

Another important painting was Michangelo's only documented panel painting titled, Holy Family with the Young St. John the Baptist. If you think about it, Michaelangelo's known for his sculptures (like David) and his frescoes in the Sistine Chapel! Seeing the only panel painting of his adds another fun fact to our arsenal of unique sights.

Raphael's St John the Baptist as a Boy

Rafael's Portraits of Agnolo Don and Maddalena Strozzi

Raffael's Madonna and Child with the Young St. John the Baptist

Michelangelo's Holy Family with the Young St. John the Baptist "Doni Tondo"

We then had to backtrack after somehow missing the entire Botticelli exhibit! Again, we saw three memorable pieces of his:

1. Adoration of the Magi

2. La Primavera (aka Spring)

3. The Birth of Venus

All three of these paintings are recognizable from my high school AP Art History course! Here are two fun facts about the paintings:

1. Spring has over 138 recognizable species of plants, used for herbal healing, painted within the frame. So while it may look like a field with some flowers on the ground from the photos, when you look closer, you can see each individual plant. It was thought that the Medici family may have commissioned this work to help the herbalists of this wealthy family visually spot various helpful plants!

2. The Birth of Venus tells the story of Venus, the goddess of love, being born from the seafoam on the island of Cyprus. You may remember that Bryan and I visited that exact beach in Cyprus last August...and let's just say the rolling green hills in the background of this painting aren't accurate. The temperatures and scenery in Cyprus could be compared to the entrance of hell...dirt, dry, and hot!

Oh, and apparently everyone else got the memo about these famous pieces because the crowds around them were pretty massive. I guess that's what happens when you visit one of the art capitals of the world!

Adoration of the Magi

La Primavera (Spring)

The Birth of Venus

The last bigwig artist of the day was Caravaggio! Known for his drastic use of light, this guy was one of the fathers of classic art. We saw his Sacrifice of Isaac painting and Testa di Medusa, an oil painting on a parade shield commissioned by the Medici family. (See, I told you those Medicis were funding art everywhere!)

Whew! That was a lot of art for one morning! As we left the Ufittzi Gallery, we got to see the modern art form of street performing- this guy had a full setup depicting a medieval altar piece.

Mangia Pizza

Let's pause and give Bryan a round of applause for his positive attitude during our 2.5-hour visit to an art museum! As a reward, I let him pick lunch, and he chose handmade pizza and beer, which was also art-themed!

Mangia Pizza was fresh; we watched as he pulled out a giant ball of wet mozzarella from a tub and spread aromatic tomato sauce across the handmade dough before tossing our pizzas in the oven! We split a tomato and onion pizza and a fresh pesto pizza! I'm gonna miss the constant access to fresh pesto that we have enjoyed on this trip!

We also loved chatting it up with our pizza maker. He told us how he lives 2 hours outside of Florence and takes a bus-train combo to get to work every day. While other cities, like Barcelona, gripe about tourists causing housing prices to skyrocket, the Italian locals seem to understand the tourist industry and appreciate the travelers. It was a warm sight to see, and chatting with locals is always a highlight of our travels!

David la Gelateria

With a filling lunch under our belt, Bryan also decided we needed one final afagato in the city of its invention! We decided to walk by Vivoli, the TikTok-famous affogato spot, but seeing a line of 30 people waiting for an espresso poured over ice cream, we opted to go back to David's!

Don't get me wrong, sometimes a long line equates to perfection; other times, it's just a social media pull. I'd argue that waiting an hour for an affogato is crazy! Plus, Bryan and I prefer to turn into regular customers at David's, where I start drooling just looking at the photo below!

Firenze Santa Maria Novella

As we began our walk back towards the hotel to retrieve our bags, loud bursts of thunder and blinding lightning began popping off! I wasn't complaining about the temperature drop, but when the sky fell out, we had to seek shelter in a nearby bookstore! As the rain pounded the rooftop, we passed some time looking at Italian children's books before having to brave the rain in fear of missing our train!

Did we get drenched? Yes.

Was it kind of nice for a cool down? also yes!

But don't worry, we dried off during the hour-long train from Florence to Pisa! While Bryan caught up on his weekend's worth of TikToks, I enjoyed an hour of uninterrupted reading!

Piazza dei Miracoli

Thankfully, the rain had plowed through Pisa and taken the stifling heat with it! We caught a bus from the train station to Piazza dei Miracoli, the ancient town square.

Tower of Pisa: Torre di Pisa

As we pulled up to the city's one sight, we were shocked to see an entire block filled with baseball tents packed with touristy crap for sale. Sorry to everyone reading- we didn't buy anyone a mini leaning tower figurine. Instead, we fought through the crowds, saying "We are good. No, thank you. Please don't touch me" to every salesman in the area.

As we peeked at the famous Torre di Pisa, we also caught sight of the wild crowds of tourists. It's like someone stepped on an ant hill and every ant crawled out with a camera and their hands in the air for the stereotypical "holding up the tower" photo. This place was madness. Between the hagglers, people pushing you out of their photos, and the lack of shade, I can't say the pictures were worth it.

If you are planning a trip to Florence, I'd honestly skip Pisa and instead enjoy an extra half day exploring Florence. See a picture of the famous leaning tower in any Italian travel book, and you are good to go. It just isn't worth it, in our opinion!

But since we were flying in and out of Pisa, we had no excuse not to take the 10-minute bus out to the famous sight! After hustling back out of the crowded masses, we caught a bus back to the train station and then walked to the airport!

Pisa International Airport: Aeroporto Internazionale di Pisa

What was supposed to be an hour wait in the airport lounge turned into three hours, as our flight kept getting delayed. The French air traffic control was on strike for better working conditions, leading to delays all over Europe. Luckily, we were only delayed two hours instead of one of the hundreds of flights that were cancelled over the weekend!

We made it back home around 12:30 am...thank goodness I get to sleep in tomorrow! Unlucky Bryan had a short sleep before returning to work on Monday!

This was another fantastic trip in the books! Florence now sits as my second-favorite Italian city. (It will be hard to beat Rome with Mom and Dad!) Even with the blistering heat, Florence was a trip we won't soon forget!

Until next time!

--Katie