Originally we planned to leave Paris for the majority of June. I wanted to get
back to Spain (I have been twice now, but not to any major cities and not with
Luke) and we also wanted to get to Italy. It seemed silly to us to live so close to
such an amazingly rich culture and not go and experience it for ourselves!
Thanks to Ryan air, we booked 8 euro flights to Milan and therefore indulged in
hiring a car to get around- we still came in under budget for our transport costs!
train and seeing a boat go by was so surreal- as was the whole experience. We
spent the afternoon with a map in hand, navigating our way through the less
touristy areas of the city, preferring the back way to the main tourist attractions
than following the guided tours. It was the best afternoon I have had in a long
time- I loved being with Luke in this beautiful city, wandering around, sometimes
lost without realising it, taking photos, being in awe that such a place even
exists.
The next day we drove to Florence- we were staying just meters from the Duomo, an
incredible church made totally of white pink and green marble. We wandered around the city,
visited the usual touristy places and then crossed Pont de Vecchio to find a secluded pizzeria
recommended to us by a friend who lived in Florence. It was the best pizza we’d ever had!
The humble margarita was incredible, as was the proscuitto and rocket.
We crossed back over the bridge after taking in the sunset, and then had the best gelato of
our lives at another little place recommended to us by the same friend, this really took the
hard work out of being a tourist.
The next day was the sort that makes marriages great- a day of compromise and
cooperation. Leather hand bag shopping in the morning (again, something that has been on
my list for the whole year- buy a decent new hand bag that doesn’t break in a few week (as
all vintage ones tend to do)). After many stops, many tries, many sales tactics, and much
pressure to buy, I finally found the perfect one-and for a bargain price!
That afternoon we drove through the Tuscan countryside, stopped at a little family run
restaurant and had fantastic pasta and risotto. We kept on going until we reached out
destination, and indeed the purpose of the entire Italy trip; the La marzocco factory! Italians
seem to be a race of artisans; they make a lot of great things, from Ferraris, to handbags to
gelato, to coffee machines. The latter is what we had come to see.
The staff at the factory were so delightful, they took us on a tour of the coffee machine
museum and of the factory floor. I myself am not that into coffee machines, but Luke was
beside himself with joy.
Next stop: Cinque Terre! Riomaggiore to be exact. These are 5 incredible villages that are
literally built into the cliff overlooking the Mediterranean, and have been on my list ever since
some friends travelled Europe and said that Cinque Terre was their favourite place. I hadn’t
heard of it until then, and I am glad that they told me about it, because it was breathtaking!
Driving up through the mountains and then popping over the top of the cliff was incredible, to
see the coastline as it was and then to see these beautiful colourful building literally built into
the side of the cliff!
We did the famous via dell armour walk between Riomaggiore and Manalora. We tried three
times to find the walking track that linked Manarola with the three remaining towns, and failed
3 times to find said walking track. Walking in the heat, uphill, with no purpose was getting me
down – surely it was time to replenish the carbs? We turned in on the idea of a huge hike,
and instead enjoyed the best pasta I’ve ever had- with mussels and clams. Luke also had an
amazing meal of pasta with basil pesto- so simple but absolutely amazing, and so cheap too!
We haven’t had a meal that good, that satisfying, and that well priced in a long long time. To
follow, I had gelato even better than in Florence, and cheaper again! 1 euro for 1 scoop-
that’s unheard of! We lazed the afternoon away by the Mediterranean, swimming, reading,
and enjoying pretending to be Italian.
Saturday was spent driving to Pisa. I remember learning about the learning tower back in
primary school, and similar to the pantheon in Athens, the little girl inside me was desperate
to see it and compare it to the imagine I had of it in my mind. It was worth the extra drive-
even though it is smaller than we expected, it is in a really beautiful little area, and is quite
amazing to look at. It really is leaning! We took the obligatory tourist photos, had our last
taste of Italian pizza and pasta, and headed back to Paris. One lesson that I relearned sticks
out in my mind- we really do make a good team of adventurers.
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