Pisa, Lucca, & Cinque Terre

This past weekend was incredible! It was so exhausting... I'm still recovering... But it was beyond worth it! I saw some of the most beautiful parts of Italy all in just two days. Bright and early Saturday morning I was off to the towns of Pisa and Lucca with SACI where we spent the day in churches, museums, and walking around the beautiful cities. It was really fun to see the leaning tower of Pisa in person, and although it was full of tourists the atmosphere was laid back and enjoyable. It's really easy to get from Florence to Pisa so I will definitely be going back!

Sunday was an early morning as well, heading off to Cinque Terre on the Italian coast with the tour group Bus2Alps at 6:30 am. We took a two hour bus ride to Riomaggiore, the first of the five towns that make up Cinque Terre (Five Villages). From there we got on a train that took us to the second town, Manarolo, where I had the most delicious focaccia bread with cheese in preparation for our two hour hike. We hiked through Corniglia and arrived in Vernazza worn out and were ready to indulge in the regions specialties: pesto, seafood, and white wine. YUM! After wandering around and exploring our options we decided on Ristorante Ciak La Lampara. We looked through their street level window and saw fresh seafood being prepared by cooks wearing sailor hats... I was sold. I ordered their gnocchi with pesto, and tried the mussels that my friends had ordered. Although tt's hard to compare meals here because the food is so amazing wherever you eat in Italy, but this has got to be my favorite pasta dish so far.

After lunch we walked to the last town of Monterosso, where we relaxed on the beach, swam in the ocean, and drank piña coladas until it was time to leave. Che Bello!!

Pisa!

Lucca!

Cinque Terre!

... After the hike

Pesto Gnocchi

Cheers!