Buckle up, boys and girls, cuz this one's a long one :)
Last year, we decided to skip Verona and head straight into the mountains, so this time we were just so close we HAD to stop and explore a little bit. We immediately found ourselves at Castelvecchio Museum, built in 1354.
From there, we just wandered around town and their Roman Arena which they still use for plays, events, massive operas, and concerts.
After dinner, we walked through the castle and across the river and watched the most beautiful sunset.
From there, we set the GPS to take us only on back roads through the Tuscan countryside towards the Mediterranean coast. We passed through tons of tiny little towns that weren't used to tourists, which was really nice. We also found that every single hill has an adorable little Medieval village complete with a perfect little church and ruins and after stopping and exploring the first 900, we just started passing them up. Hopefully we didn't miss anything good ;) We got a few strange looks from the locals, like "You guys must be lost". The sunshine was a lovely treat and lit up the hills so beautifully and the wildflowers and poppies were out in all of their glory. We even almost got stuck in mud, so that was fun.
Eventually, we were back in the mountains. That evening, we found ourselves in Barga. After exploring the ancient city within it's walls, we had the coziest dinner and most delicious tiramisu.
It was pretty incredible to check out all of the churches along the way. There would be tiny little village built five or six hundred years ago with the most beautiful church in it's center...perfectly preserved.
Our next stop was Pisa.
We continued east to Florence...the capital of Tuscany. After 9 days of not showering or having warm water, we decided to get a room at a hostel that was in a converted old Monastery right in the city and within walking distance to all of the major sights. It was definitely a nice break from the camper. We checked in and hit the streets to see what Florence had to offer. We were even climbing the bell tower when the noon bells rang, which was pretty cool, if you ask me :)
The Florence Cathedral is the 4th largest church and has the first and largest brick dome in the world.
We continued East towards the Adriatic.
We found a random little castle ruin on a mountaintop and hiked up to check it out. From there, we could spot San Marino on the horizon...that little fin out there is it's own country!
We both loved San Marino. The old town felt like a movie set or something and everything was super cheap! We'd hiked up to every single other hilltop village until this point, where there was a gondola that only cost $4 to take up and back (a welcome relief from the $25-$70 that Switzerland charges). The day started out warm and sunny...
...and then the rain rolled in. It was really cool because there was a mist that shrouded the town and it got so quiet and still right before the rain hit. Talk about ambiance! We just hung out for a couple of hours, eating $3 Caprese with Grapefruit beer and gelato with cappuccinos.
We turned back north and made a pit stop in Bologna before dropping off the camper van in Venice and then catching the train onto the Island. We found our hotel right off the bat and then Brian took a nap while I ventured out on my own to explore. It was pretty much exactly as I'd always pictured it in my mind...and not nearly as crowded as I was expecting (with the exception of St. Mark's Square). We ducked in and out through narrow alleys and over canals all afternoon and evening.
Venice isn't huge, but it's really easy to get lost. Naturally, I'm always trying to get away from the crowds, so I got pretty turned around. After a bit, the rain cleared up a tad and I made it back to the hotel and grabbed Brian to explore with me.
Naturally, the Flooded Crypt of San Zaccaria was flooded and closed (go figure)...
Our last day, we covered all of the famous spots including the thousand year old St. Mark's Basilica, which was absolutely insane. Rather than paintings on the walls and ceilings, the entire church was covered in the most gorgeous dark blue and gold mosaics and every nook and cranny had some intricate detail. I was bummed that we weren't supposed to take pictures because the place was absolutely overwhelming visually, but I managed to sneak a couple anyways (the light was wonky and I was trying to be discreet, so that's why they all look so crappy). As far as I'm concerned, once they start paying taxes, then they can tell me not to take pictures, but I digress. My pictures really don't do it justice...maybe just Google it because it was unlike anywhere else I've ever been before. We've noticed that most churches that are really elaborate and fancy on the outside are generally more plain on the inside, and vice versa. St. Mark's Basilica, however, proved to be super fancy on both the interior and exterior. Also, most of the original pieces from these massive historical places are kept in museums and what you see before you on location is actually a replica. We found this to be true in Greece and also in the major cities of Northern Italy. Statues, paintings, artifacts, and doors are often copied to avoid vandalism and theft and to preserve the originals. The 4 horses from the front of St. Marks were also replicas and the originals were kept inside. I think that those horses were my favorite part.
From there, we continued on to many other sites, including the Bridge of Sighs, the old prison, courthouse, and various museums.
Tuesday morning we caught a ferry back to the airport and made our way home. It's currently 41 degrees and snowing outside, so the weather everywhere is totally crazy. I'm excited to be back and running and snuggling my kitties. I don't have anything else planned yet and I'm kind of liking it that way for now. But, if I can find a deal to the Dolomites this summer, that could most definitely change ;)