Last but not Least.. Siena.

Our trusty locomotive once again delivered us to our final destination. I wish we could have spent longer in Siena. That being said we managed to cram in the major sights and even took in a festival or two. As I have mentioned before we went into a lot of churches in Italy. By far, my favourite, was the Gothic-style Duomo from where I think JK Rowling took her inspiration. Without being blasphemous, the interiors look like the back drop for magic and wizardry. See for yourself!

 

 Click on me! 

 

As anyone who has visited the churches in Europe knows, one must always dress respectively upon entering. I was aware of this and for every occasion I was appropriately attired. Unfortunately I had not expected to see another church in Siena. I paid the price.. Ryan found it pretty amusing though..

 See! Harry Potter-esque.

 Doing what I do best..

On our final night in Italy and in Siena we had a fabulous meal as recommended by the B 'n B that we were staying in. This particular restaurant had a wine seller of over 2000 wines to choose from. Needless to say we needed some help. Our lose parameters were a great Tuscan wine - you can't really go wrong. This one's for you dad!

And so we come to the end of the whirlwind Italian experience. We had an incredible honeymoon that was worth waiting for. I'm not sure when the next big adventure will be (perhaps we are living it now) but I can't wait! Now that we're back in North America, I feel a Canadian splurge creeping up and maybe a summer trip to the Big Apple next year as well as explorations of the West Coast. There is just so much to see and so little time (and money) to do it all. One year at a time I guess! I can't wait to hear from you all. Please come and visit us in Chicago and perhaps in New York next year?!! Everyone should be on the blog! x

Firenze!

To be honest I didn't really know what to expect from Florence. I knew it had some competition with Rome by being the capital city at one stage and that it was filled with art and architecture. We were also super excited to see David which we did on the first day we arrived. Unfortunately we weren't allowed to take any pictures of the real David but the bronze copy is coming up. By the end of our two nights in Florence, I was in love. It had the rich history, food and culture of Rome but without the panic of a city on drugs. Two days just wasn't enough so we'll have to go back. Below is our whirlwind tour!

 Of course, not to break tradition we had to climb more stairs to see the panoramic views of Florence. In the background is the famed Duomo (dome). If you're afraid of heights, the windy stairs are probably not for you..

 More stairs, are you kidding? Please don't make me go up there!

 

 Ok it's looking pretty awesome.. perhaps you do know what's best..

 Windy-windy-windy! Not to be confused with how the wind blows!

 Panoramic Firenze.

 The Church in the centre is the Basilica di Santa Maria Novella and our hotel was just to the right in the Piazza di Santa Maria Novella. We woke up to a view of the church each morning. 

Fiersole. On day 2 we decided to do a bus tour in order to see as much of Florence as possible. Fiersole to Florence is like what Stellenbosch is to Cape Town and lies about 30km away from Florence. One day. I will have a holiday home there. All the conveniences of the big city nearby with the cooler climate and peace and quiet of as more rustic town.

 The view from our hotel window!

 The iconic Florentine picture: Ponte Vecchio by sunset...

 ...and at night.

 This is part of the Uffizi museum where all the Medicci's works of arts and where Botticelli's Venus is housed.

 We were those little people perched on top of the dome!

 

 We spent a lot of time in the great churches of Italy. We always light a candle for those dear to us who are no longer with us. This is especially for Ryan's mom.

 

 

 Relic Italiano.

 Piazza di Michelangelo. If you can't visit the Galleria dell'Accademia where the marble David lives then you can view the free copper one outside.

 

The Uffizi from the outside. 

And so loaded with heads and hearts filled with Florentine romance we bid one of our favourite cities farewell and commenced our journey southwards towards Rome. We had one more stop to make and although we could only spend one night there, it was essential not to miss Siena! Last but not least!

We're moving onto Lucca!

After the chaos of Rome and the heat and French tourists of Cinque Terre, it was great to move inward to our first Tuscan destination, Lucca. Lucca proved just the place we needed to still our minds and relax behind its circular renaissance walls and old world charm. We spent two nights in Lucca in a B 'n B occupying a floor of a Tuscan villa. We used Lucca as a base to visit Pisa for a few hours before returning and cramming all of Lucca's own sites in, for the remaining time.

Before our trip we debated about the preferred mode of transport.. hire a car and drive on the wrong side of the road or take the train. Whilst a car ensures more opportunities to venture off the beaten track, the train provided us with a more economical mode of transport, opportunities to relax and the reassurance that provided we got on the right one, we would end up at our desired location. All in all we had a good experience with the trains and they weren't as delayed as we were led to believe. 

For the cia.

Italians love their dogs (yay!). We used to pass this Husky on the way back  to our bed and breakfast.

Italian Biggles!! 

We were utterly amazed by the way the Europeans travel with their babies. It gave us a new perspective on family life and work life balance. The above picture embodied European childhood summers and fairy tales that never seemed to end.

And so I guess we never learn.. Sigh. Yes we climbed up that too. A tree growing on top of a tower in Lucca. At least I could justify the gelato that inevitably followed.

Top of the tree tower!

Some Lucca 360 degree views. 

Pisa

On the same day as climbing a tree tower, we had prebooked a tour of the leaning tower of Pisa (Torre Pendante) which we almost didn't make. A frantic willful train ride from Lucca and 2 abandoned buses later, we hopped into an Italian cab (the sole taxi ride of our trip) and made our scheduled time for the tower by the skin of our teeth. It was well worth the years off our lives and sweat from our foreheads. Take a look!

View from the top. 

 Doing the classic 'lean'. Ahh hahahahahahahhahaahahahah! Silly tourist! Trust me this is not as easy as it looks.

 Doing the 'group' lean. As you can see, the boys have left me to hold up Pisa on my own. Men! All the same!

I would like to think (and say) that this picture was taken whilst we were trying to keep our Pisa appointment and the enthusiasm to climb up 500 steps was so overwhelming that I just couldn't wait, but I think honestly I had just seen an ice-cream truck and needed to gesticulate wildly to make sure we were going in the right direction.

Back in Lucca we ummed and ahhed about over exerting ourselves to rent bikes and doing the classic cycling loop atop the city balls. Finally my sense of Carpe Dium took over the feeling of my aching legs and I'm glad we got to pretend to be locals and sail around the city on our two wheelers. 

 

You entralled us, Lucca, we will most definitely be back!