This morning Alex and I slept in again, then promptly ate breakfast at the cafe on Porta Rossa by Strozzi. Feeling stresed and anxious about packing, we headed back to the hotel and got it out of the way so we could enjoy the last day of our vacation. Alex had been in Florence once before, but had never seen the inside of Santa Croce, so that was our first stop. We saw the church and the museum, then ate pizza margherita in the piazza. Next we headed across the river to the Pitti Palace. I was interested in seeing all of the paintings, as well as the palace apartments, fashion designs, and modern art installations. We loved it, but tired quickly from being on our feet for five hours. We walked by up to our hostel and took a quick siesta to prepare for our night’s plans. After our rest, we grabbed Chinese to go and a bottle of wine and took the bus up to Piazza Michelangelo to watch the sunset. We turned in early, as our plane left the next morning at 7:30 am.

Sleeping in this morning felt great, as it was the first morning in a long time we didn’t have to travel anywhere. Our first priority when we woke up was to buy presents for our families, because we only had two days left to do so. We found my dad a calendar at a book shop near our hotel, we found Alex’s dad a book that contained drawings and models of Da Vinci’s inventions, and Alex’s mom 2 cashmere scarves and a bottle of Limoncello from the San Lorenzo open air market. For lunch we ate at a kebab place near San Lorenzo. After shopping, we dropped our purchases off at the hotel, and headed to the Duomo to climb the dome. The line wasn’t too long, and the views of Florence were beautiful. We came back down and made a beeline for Zara and the open air market at Piazza dell’ Republica, where I splurged and bought myself a leather photo albumn. Exhausted from so much walking (442 stairs to get up to the top of the Duomo!) we went back to the hotel for a quick siesta. After our rest, the concierge of our hotel gave me directions to a Mexican restaurant called Tijuana. The restaurant, located near the Bargello, was really cute and I thought it’d be a great break from Italian food. I ordered enchiladas, and Alex ordered fajitas. Unfortunately, my enchiladas contained chunky sour cream, so I opted to drink margaritas for dinner instead. Alex’s fajitas were amazing. Go figure. After dinner we stopped in the Piazza della Signoria to listen to an orchestra perform, before turning in for the night.

Alex and I were both depressed that we had to wake up early and leave Capri. We wanted to hire a boat to take us to the Grotta Azura, but our train was scheduled to leave Naples at 3:45, so we made the decision to take a cab down to Marina Grande. We got on an early boat and sat on the top deck, and the views, sunlight, and water cheered us both up. Once we landed in Naples, we began the long walk from the docks to the train station. About half way there, I told Alex we had to stop and eat lunch, as the dirtiness, traffic, and general disarray of the city was bothering me. We chose the nearest restaurant, and it turned out to be a diamond in the rough: great food, great wine, and kind service. About an hour later we continued on our journey, and arrived at the train station with 45 minutes to spare. We took the Eurostar back to Florence, and I lost myself in Anna Karenin for the entire ride. We arrived at the Santa Maria Novella train station and walked to our hostel, which turned out to be located only 2 blocks from the San Gallo campus. Along the way we ran into Allison and Bob eating at a Chinese restaurant. We said a quick hello, then continued on our way. At the hostel we changed, grabbed a slice of pizza and a bacardi breezer from the Jolly Cafe, then headed to the Academy. Normally the Academy, which contains the famous statue of “David,” is crowded, and the line to get in wraps around several city blocks. BUT since I lived in Florence so long, I knew that it was open late on Friday nights, a little known fact to tourists. There was no line, and only about 20 people total inside the museum. Afterwards we went to the same Chinese restaurant we saw Allison at and ate dinner, then went to the hotel for bed.

This morning we woke up around 9:00 again, and I had another melt down. I checked my bank account at our hostel’s internet kiosk, and it was grim. Alex and I came to the decision that he would pay for everything for the rest of the trip, and I’d pay him back when we got home, because I didn’t have any more money left. We ate our continental breakfast, and headed to the docks to catch the boat to Capri. Once we arrived on the island, we waited for an hour and a half for the bus to Anacapri, a town on the other side of the island, where our hotel is located. The bus dropped us off at Piazza Vittorria, and we attempted to walk to our hotel. Unfortunately we didn’t have a map, and the directions we were provided with from hostels.com were no help. After about an hour, we gave up, walked back to Piazza Vittorria, ate lunch, bought a map, and finally found our hotel. We rested for about an hour, then consulted our concierge for how best to spend our night in Capri. Unfortunately, everything on the island closes at 5:00 pm, so our only option was to take the bus to Faro, the Southwest point of the island with a lighthouse, beach, and excellent views of the sunset. We hiked around the coast for an hour and a half, then took the bus back to Anacapri. We found a cute restaurant where we ate pasta and tiramisu by candlelight, then headed to the hotel for bed.

Alex and I woke up fairly early today, but got a late start, as I had somewhat of a meltdown first thing in the morning. I was upset because I absolutely hated my first impression of Naples, our hostel was disgustsing, and I was exhausted from our last two days of traveling. I finally got myself under control, we ate breakfast, then walked to Napoli Centrale to catch the train to POMPEII! We spent about 4 hours exploring the ruined town, and I loved every second of it, although Vesuvius is still looming in the background. After we took the train back, we showered, changed, and walked to a castle near the fishing docks that housed a myriad of outdoor restaurants. It was very relaxing and romantic, and we got to share a bottle of wine.

Continental breakfasts are the key to happiness when traveling. We ate a delightful breakfast in our hotel around 9:00, then hit the streets of Volterra for more exploring. Our first stop was the Piazza dei Priori, the oldest seat of local government in Tuscany. The building was used as a model for Florence’s Palazzo Vecchio, thus the two look extremely similar in materials and design. We also went to Volterra’s cathedral and baptistery, built in the 12th century, and containing frescoes done by Benozzo Gozzoli. Our third stop was the ruined Roman theater and baths, for a closer look than what we’d seen the night before. After exploring the ruins for about an hour, we went back to our hotel, grabbed our bags and a slice of pizza, then waited at the bus station for the 12:25 bus to Pontederra. Once in Pontederra, we caught the next train to Florence, where we unchecked our bags, switched our dirty laundry for clean laundry, re-checked our bags, ate lunch, and caught the 4:53 Eurostar to Naples. We bought our tickets about an hour before the train left, and didn’t notice two words that would change our upbeat mood: Posto Nongarantino, which means our seats were unassigned. Once on the train, it took us about 20 minutes to find seats next to each other. We settled in for the long ride, and I amused myself by watching Pirates of the Carribean on my ipod and reading Anna Karenin. Finally we arrived in Naples around 9:00, and hailed a taxi to take us from the train station to our hostel. We almost died literally 18 times on the drive, as their are no traffic laws in Naples. We checked in, went to a kebab place in the neighborhood for dinner, and fell asleep.

Somehow we woke up at 7:00, checked out by 7:15, and took the 7:40 train along the coast from Pisa to Cecina. Around 9:00 we arrived at the station, bought a croissant and a cup of tea, then walked  seven blocks to the bus station. According to Alex’s guide book, Lonely Planet, buses run from Cecina to Volterra approximately every half hour, but we soon discovered that Lonely Planet let us down. Big time. The next bus to Volterra wasn’t until 4:20. Extremely disgruntled, we took the train back to Pisa and consulted the tourist information booth. Our best option seemed to be to train to Pontederra and catch the bus to Volterra. Finally we arrived in Volterra at 2:30, 7 hours after we checked out of our hotel. We dropped our luggage at the hostel, and decided to take a 2 and a half hour siesta after our exhausting travel day. Once we woke up, we hiked around the medieval hill town, which is located a mere 29 km southwest of San Gimignano. Volterra’s economy is still based on a large alabaster industry, a legacy of the Etruscans.  In the 12th century, the height of the town’s glory, Volterra began to war with Florence, a conflict that lasted until the 15th century when the Medici finally gained control. Alex and I explored sites such as a ruined Roman theater, Roman baths, a fortress built by the Medici family in the 15th century, the city’s acropolis (which contained two ruined Etruscan temples), and the sunset. I also bought an Etruscan statue, and two memory cards for my camera. For dinner we ate more pasta and pizza, then went to bed fairly early.

Our day was off to a great start. We woke up, checked out of our hotel, and ate fresh fruit crepes at an open air cafe in Riomaggiore. We then took the train to PISA! Luckily our hotel was located 2 blocks from Pisa Centrale, the train station, so we didn’t have to carry our luggage far. Since we only had the afternoon to see everything, we headed straight for the main Piazza, stopping for kebabs along the way. At the piazza, I bought two silk scarves, and our tickets to the tower, Duomo, baptistery, and the cemetery. Only 30 people are allowed up the tower at a time, so we had three hours to kill before our scheduled tour. We decided to explore the Romanesque cathedral, built in 1064, first. My favorite pieces in the church include a sculptural pulpit located in the north aisle, designed and carved by Pisano, and a mosaic of “Christ in Majesty” done by Cimabue in 1302. Next we went into the baptistery, which contained a stone pool and beautiful views of the Piazza from the upper gallery level. Our third stop was the Camposanto, or cemetery, which housed sarcophagis of Greco-Roman origin and frescoes done by an anonymous artist in the 14th century. Finally we got to climb up the leaning tower, what we’d been waiting in anticipation for all day. Shifting soil has caused the tower to lean since the architect, Bonnano Pisano, completed the third tier, at an average rate of 1 mm per year. In 1998, cables were added to the third tier, and attached to A frames. This held the tower in place while workers removed small portions of soil on the northern side, creating a counter subsidence that corrected the tower’s lean by 40 cm. At present, the tower is 4.1 m off the perpendicular, thus it is safe enough for tourists to explore. I still had a slight panic attack on the first viewing level, as the lean made it feel like I was going to slide right off. I decided to not go all the way to the top, but Alex took the camera and got some great shots. I just clung to a column and prayed to get down safely. Once we climbed back down to the ground, we walked back across the river to our hotel for a siesta. We slept for about 2 and a half hours, then went out to dinner. I had bruschetta, pasta, pork, roast potatoes, and pinot grigio. It was a relaxing end to the day.

After a cappucino and croissant in Riomaggiore, we took the boat up the coast to Monterosso. Cinque Terre consists of five unique fishing villages that are both national parks and protected marine areas: Monterosso, Vernazza, Corniglia, Manarola, and Riomaggiore. The villages are connected by train, boat and hiking paths. Riomaggiore, the town in which we were staying, is the furthest South, and is best described as a mess of houses stacked one on top of the other. Monterosso is the furthest North and the most developed. There are a plethora of hotels, restaurants, and beaches, as well as cliffs carved with exquisite rock sculptures. Our boat ride gave us glimpses of all five villages, and I really enjoyed being out on the crystal clear water. When we arrived in Monterosso, we explored the town, and found a beautiful beach to swim at. After air drying on a rock, we got pizza, took the boat back to our hotel in Riomaggiore, showered, and laid down for a quick siesta. Since it was our last night in Cinque Terre, we decided it would be best spent walking along the Via dell Amore, or the Road of Love, to Manarola, the next village up. Manarola’s main highlights include Piazzale Papa Innocenzo the IV, Chiesa di San Lorenzo, a bell tower, and the scener. We ate dinner in Manarola and walked back to Riomaggiore at sunset. To our surprise, there was a concert in the Piazza next to our hotel, so we drank a bottle of wine on our balcony while listening to the music.

Alex and I woke up fairly early, as I had to be completely out of my apartment by 12:00 noon. I was angry from the moment I got out of bed because one of my roommates left almost all of her stuff scattered throughout the house. Her drawing supplies were out on the dining room table, her sheets were still on her bed, her bathroom products were left out in both bathrooms, there was a bag full of her dirty underwear, etc. It took me an hour to clean up all her shit. After, we stopped by school to turn in my keys and take down my drawing, then hit a cafe for breakfast. We also stopped at Monti to buy Birkenstocks for Alex and my Mom before heading out of town to CINQUE TERRE. We had to take three trains: Florence to Pisa, Pisa to La Spezia, La Spezia to Riomaggiore. We arrived around 4:00, and walked the short distance to our hotel, which is incredible. Instead of the typical European shoebox size hotel room, we’re staying in a bi-level apartment equipped with a bedroom, bathroom, 2 balconies that overlook the ocean, and a kitchen. We immediately dropped our baggage then hiked around Riomaggiore. The town is built into the side of a mountain, so our entire walk consisted of climbing hills and stairs, but the breathtaking views and beautiful pictures were worth it. Afterwards we ate a late dinner at a restaurant near our hotel. I had shrimp with caviar, gnocchi, tuna, and tiramisu.