Pienza

The views in Italy are so beautiful, especially in Pienza! Pienza is known for its different types of cheeses.

This is a picture of Monica and I in one of the beautiful alleyways. 

Something that has been unique to this city... the restrooms. This is the first time I have seen it Italy. I have only seen these in Egypt before.

This is the church that is in Pienza. In order to remember the names of all of these places I have to take pictures of the signs with the names on them. That is the reason for the picture below.

This is a view from the back of the church. It is a great view of the country side as well as the building.

Sitting on a ledge! It was scary, the drop was very steep.

Bindella Vineyard

One of the beautiful roses at the vineyard! This was the second vineyard we visited on the trip.

This vineyard was just as beautiful as the first. Those are rows and rows of grape vines.

The scenery was beautiful here. The pond was a great addition.

This is a view from the Bindella Vineyard of Montepuciano. This is where I went after the vineyard.

The process of making the wine was just the same at the other vineyard. The only difference is that the barrels are made of a different type of wood. These barrels were imported from France.

These were also different because the other ones were made of metal.

Always taking funny pictures! They make the albums a little more interesting.

They use wheels to move the barrels. This was a new practice for the vineyard.

The packing of the bottles.

These are the labels from the bottles. I think they are a bit plain. I would have imagined expensive bottles would have such plain labels. The wine at the Di Vaira Vineyard tasted much better!

Montepuciano

o   Very clean

o   Confusing city

o   Needed a map

o   One hour was not long enough to see all of the sights

o   Several tourist

o   New moon brought new interest

o   The churches were pretty- not too over decorated

o   The city looked small but was on a hill and lots of walking involved

o   Must take a panoramic picture of Tuscany

Pienza

o   The view was beautiful

o   The people were nice

o   More of a tourist town than expected

o   A small city where all of the locals knew everyone

o   Very clean

Cinque terre

This was my first view of the beautiful Cinque Terre. Cinque Terre is one of the must see destinations of Italy, it is a collection of five remote villages. There are only two ways to get from village to village. The first is walking paths, at times these paths are not accessible due to landslides. The walking paths are the most beautiful way to see the five cities. The second way is a metro. The metro also has beautiful views but go through mountains. The metro goes too fast to take pictures.

Riomaggiore was the first of the five cities that I visited. The city is connected to Manarola by the Via dell Amore. This walking path took around thirty minutes. This is the easiest of all of the walking paths. Throughout the walking paths they have locks everywhere. Couples around the world put locks as a symbol of their love.

The water in Cinque Terre is amazingly clear. I have never seen water so clear. I could see through the water from the walking trail.

The mountains were beautiful. In this picture you can see the walking path, it was a flat walking path.  It was the easiest walk of all and a grand way to stay out the day to prepare for the rest of the trails.

The panoramic views are nothing like I have ever seen before. I would recommend Cinque Terre as a day trip for anyone in the area.

Monica and I took a path down the mountain to get closer to the water and do some more exploring. The path on the way down was scary because the stairs were so steep and there was no hand rail but it was well worth it!

This is a picture of the two of us! We could not have asked for a more beautiful day to explore Cinque Terre.

I would recommend Cinque Terre as a day trip for anyone in train distance away. The train ticket from Florence was only twenty euros round trip. It Is also helpful to buy the Cinque Terre pass, a pass that allows access to all of the trails and the trains. The Cinque Terre pass cost ten euros and can be purchased at the train station.

While down on the rocks there was a man scuba diving who caught an octopus! I would have never guessed people caught them with their hands.

More locks!

This is what Riomaggiore looks like from Manarola. We had to take the train from Manarola to Corniglia because the path was closed due to a landslide.

Once in Corniglia we walked down to the beach. It was a good work out going down and coming back up!

I couldn't take enough pictures of the beautiful scenery. I am surprised that with so many tourist the water is still so clean. It shows how much respect there is for Cinque Terre.

The first time we got our feet wet in Corniglia, Cinque Terre! This area had a dock where locals rented boats. Locals bring their own motors to run these boats.

We walked all the way down to the bottom! This was a the view from the top of the cliff.

In the mountains of Cinque Terre they have vineyards. A majority of the wine they make is red. The best of the towns to buy it in is Manarola.

We stopped at a little restaurant along the way for lunch. They only use the freshest of products to produce the items on their menu. I had this special drink made. It was a passion fruit and mint drink made with different types of rum. The drink was so good I had him give me the recipe!

Pisa

o   Difficult to find the tower and tourist area without asking

o   Not as many people spoke English

o   Mostly tourist in the area but

o   Charged to go to restroom

o   Charged to go into church

o   The shops near the tower were less expensive than the ones near the train station

o   The bus was difficult to figure out

o   Residents seemed bothered by visitors

o   The vendors were pushy

o   The area was beautiful

o   Best taken care of monument and area that I have been to in all of Italy

o   Able to climb to top- 15 euros

Pisa

The leaning tower of Pisa! This is one of the places I was most looking forward to going to while in Italy. I would have thought it would have been taller, but it is only about eight stories tall!

This is the baptistry in Pisa. The actual city of Pisa is very different than it looks in these pictures and in this part of the city. The city itself is actually not very touristy. Most of the population does not speak or understand English.

The classic picture that is a 'must do' in Pisa! I had to act like I was knocking over the tower. I think most people try to hold it up but oh well!

Monica pushing the tower down and me trying to keep it from falling. Getting on the posts and attempting not to fall was a lot harder than it looks.

Justine, Monica and I in front of the tower and the Cathedral.

We decided to go into the Cathedral before we went up the leaning tower. I was not dressed appropriately because my shoulders were not covered. The gave me a cloak to put on. This is the first time I have seen this while being here. The other churches turned the people who were not dressed appropriately away and would not let them in until they were dressed appropriately.

The view of the Cathedral and baptistry while walking up the tower.

Finally reaching it to the top after 296 slippery marble stairs . It is so interesting to think about Galileo potentially having done some of his experience on gravity from here.

A view of the baptistry and the Cathedral!

These are the stairs! They have been worn from the amount of people climbing them. They were so slippery I had to take my shoes off to go down to ensure that I would not slip.

A view of the city from the top.

Being at the top of the leaning tower of Pisa at sunset is a once in a lifetime experience. I am so glad that I spend the €15 to go. It is a truly unforgettable experience.

I love how well all of the architecture flows here. The building go so well together. I think it makes Pisa all that more beautiful.