We left our beautiful villa hotel in Chianti Tuscany and headed to Pisa early in the morning. Now, Italy the country wasn’t always the Italy we know (and love) nowadays. There wasn’t the idea of “country” in the region in Southern Europe until the unification in 1861. There were self-governing entities scattering around the economically strong cities, and Pisa was one such city. The day was cloudy and a bit chilly. Like many of the tourist destinations, the entrance to the Duomo and Leaning Tower are lined with street vendors selling souvenirs, many of whom speak Mandarin! We took the traditional tourist photos propping against the leaning tower. Ohh, I asked Ri to look “scared” that the tower is going to fall on top of him, and this is what he did. Goofball, that one. :) And of course, it isn’t completed without one of my jumping shots.
We head to La Spezia, one of the main Italian military and commercial harbours and host of arsenal of Italian Navy, because the next destination can only be reached by train, called Cinque Terre and a UNESCO World Heritage Site. A collection of 5 small fishing villages along the coast line starting in La Spezia. We planned to go 2 or 3 villages, however, because of train delays, we only made it to Riomaggiore with color houses on the side of the cliff. It is wonderfully lovely, and one of my most anticipated destinations. There are only roads along the side of the cliff (there are fences), and we spotted this cute little old lady sitting on the side of the bench and pointing to the hotel that she is managing. One day, one day, I’d really like to stay there breathing the sea air and living on the edge, literally. Ohh, and this little town has a place in my heart also because I found this orange tuxedo cat who is not afraid of the camera. :)
Next stop: Milan. Our driver, Luciano, this 70 something year old old Italian gentleman with his oldest son in his 40s and a baby boy who is only 6 years old, has severe road rage. The highway leading to Milan has always been a mess, and Luciano curses his way through the 4 hours journey from La Spezia to Milan. It’s really quite hilarious to watch, he murmuring to himself “why do you have to put Milan on the schedule, you should just strike Milan off!” We got there just before it got dark, and after dinner, we went the the third largest cathedral in the World Duomo di Milan! It is spectacular, especially in the dusk light. We brought my new tripod which helps tremendously! We didn’t get to the hotel until late like almost 11pm, but it saved us time from entering Milan the next day morning, and that makes Luciano very happy! Hahaha!
And the picture below is one of my favorites in this whole trip! :D
