Adventures in Italy Spring 2018 - Reggello, Florence, Cinque Terre, and Siena
Part two! This was the second leg of our trip and definitely my favorite part.
Reggello
We stayed in a small village on the side of a mountain about an hour outside of Florence and it was MAGICAL. The drive up to our apartment was the scariest drive ever. Lots of curves but thankful there were at least railings. But it was so worth it. I think this was my favorite place we stayed the entire trip. It was unlike any place I had been and I probably could have stayed there forever. I hope Lex and I have the chance to come back and stay here. It used to be monks' quarters but since has been converted into a hotel with a pool, tennis courts, vineyard, winery, restaurant, and so much more. There was a train station about 20 minutes from here which took us to Florence and Siena.
Florence
If you go to Florence:
-Check out Ponte Vecchio! I had no idea what it was other than an iconic bridge but it was this gorgeous part of the city full of jewelry shops. I chose a beautiful necklace that I may save for our wedding. Some of the jewelry was pretty pricey but some was pretty affordable!
-If you want to see David, make sure you get tickets in advance. That day the way was abut 2 hours to get in and the museum is TINY. It would have been a waste of our day to wait in line that long. Also, get a tour for this. You learn so much about Michealangalo and David. Looking at incredible art is great but I think learning the history behind it is even better.
For example: David was initial supposed t go on the top of the church so his head and hands were made larger to show off his strength and brain from the ground below. If you have seen David he is a giant and I can't imagine how they would have put him on the roof of any church.
Porto Venere
We booked an all day tour so we could go to Cinque Terre. Porto Venere was a bonus and honestly one of most incredible places. We had learned the day before you can't drive through Cinque Terre one because there aren't roads or parking spaces in the villages but they also only allow a certain number of tourists to drive there and they met their quota. We booked the tour through My Tour. If you are in Tuscany, you have to go here. I could have easily spent the whole day just sitting by the water.
Cinque Terre
This was one of the things we talked about doing that I was most excited about! And It definitely did not disappoint. Photos do not do these villages justice. And neither do words.
Siena
Bobby and Jen had an Italy book they brought with for suggestions on all the places we planned on visiting. We hadn't initially talked about Siena but I'm glad Jen suggested it. It is the oldest Medieval town and full of so much interesting history!
-We got tickets to two museums. I can't remember the first but the second was Santa Maria. We thought it was the Church so we tried to go in there but it ended up being the old hospital across the street. We go in and its pretty odd. You have all these incredible frescoes mixed in with some unusual contemporary art. It was kinda confusing. We almost left until we realized there were lower levels and they made the ticket worth it! Especially the archeology section. It was fascinating! They had a whole area dedicated to pieces of the original fountain from the square (outside the church and hospital) and what it was supposed to look like.
Funny story: Before we went to the museums, we got lunch at this cute little restaurant. The owner put a Barry White CD in and it skipped about 40 seconds into the song AND was on repeat so we listened to the same 40 seconds of the same Barry White song for about an hour!
