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kitmerlot_1213I swear the week went by like a freakin’ whirlwind and my sleep patterns are still off but I truly had a lovely time.
Tuscany and the Italian Riviera were just beautiful and picturesque and I found that I liked the smaller town of Lucca, Siena and Pisa more than I liked the city of Florence—though the Uffizi Gallery was beyond gorgeous. I also really loved just how beautiful and medieval the towns of Monteriggioni and Cinque Terre were but I think the travel brochure should have mentioned just how rugged some of the walking was. My mom and I were fine but some of the older people really struggled walking up and down the hills and the stone and cobble steps.
I also got to drink my fill of white wine and I practically ate a form of pizza every day, though I did have ravioli a couple of times and the risotto was out of this world. I couldn’t quite bring myself to try an espresso but I did have a cappuccino and that was massively strong, along with the café Americano. Seriously, if you are a caffeine addict, visit Italy.
Just as a side note, I was stunned to realize that the story of Pinocchio originated in Italy, but then I really thought of the names of the characters and I can’t believe that I missed it the first time around. It cracked me up at just the sheer number of Pinocchio merchandise that could be found all over the street markets.
I did have one complaint though, the lack of public bathrooms in most of the towns. If you needed to use the restroom, you had to go into a bar/restaurant, buy something and then use their bathroom. I’m sorry, but that really bothers me. You want the tourism, so then you have to deal with tourists needs and visitors coming a long way to visit the charming towns/villages need to have a convenient, clean and free bathroom.
But overall, it was a lovely experience, and now I’m ready to visit another European country!
Tuscany and the Italian Riviera were just beautiful and picturesque and I found that I liked the smaller town of Lucca, Siena and Pisa more than I liked the city of Florence—though the Uffizi Gallery was beyond gorgeous. I also really loved just how beautiful and medieval the towns of Monteriggioni and Cinque Terre were but I think the travel brochure should have mentioned just how rugged some of the walking was. My mom and I were fine but some of the older people really struggled walking up and down the hills and the stone and cobble steps.
I also got to drink my fill of white wine and I practically ate a form of pizza every day, though I did have ravioli a couple of times and the risotto was out of this world. I couldn’t quite bring myself to try an espresso but I did have a cappuccino and that was massively strong, along with the café Americano. Seriously, if you are a caffeine addict, visit Italy.
Just as a side note, I was stunned to realize that the story of Pinocchio originated in Italy, but then I really thought of the names of the characters and I can’t believe that I missed it the first time around. It cracked me up at just the sheer number of Pinocchio merchandise that could be found all over the street markets.
I did have one complaint though, the lack of public bathrooms in most of the towns. If you needed to use the restroom, you had to go into a bar/restaurant, buy something and then use their bathroom. I’m sorry, but that really bothers me. You want the tourism, so then you have to deal with tourists needs and visitors coming a long way to visit the charming towns/villages need to have a convenient, clean and free bathroom.
But overall, it was a lovely experience, and now I’m ready to visit another European country!
