Adventures in Italy - Day 9

Stop 24 - Chianti Region: While staying in Florence, Maeli came down with the flu and was up half the night throwing up. Despite the fact that she had a rough night, she was energized and ready to party the next morning. As we began our drive to Rome, we decided to take the scenic route through the Chianti region near Sienna which is know as Italy's wine country. The area was beautiful and reminded us a lot of Spain. Our only regret was that we didn't plan our trip to allow more time to stop and explore the region. 

   
Stop 25 - Vatican City: After our drive through wine country we continued on to Rome. Once we arrived in Rome we dropped our gear off at our apartment and headed to Vatican City for the afternoon. We started with a walk through the Vatican Museum where we were able to see the famous Sistine Chapel. Afterwards we headed over to St. Peters Square to let the kids run free. Once our visit to Vatican City was complete, we headed to a local pizza joint called Pizzarium for dinner. The restaurant serves all kinds of unique pizza that they cut to your size requests when you order. All of the pizza's were great and would rank at the top of our list for favorite pizza in Italy.  

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Adventures In Italy - Day 8

Stop 19 - Pisa, Italy: After another rough night with Cooley, we dragged ourselves out of bed, back up the steep hill to our car and started on our way towards Florence. On the way, we made a stop in Pisa to see the infamous Leaning Tower of Pisa. Although the town was a complete tourist trap, the building really was an amazing sight to see. 

Stop 20 - Mercato Delle "Pulci," Florence: Our first stop in Florence was the Mercato Delle Pulci flea market. The market was a bit disappointing since many of the vendors' shops were closed but the walk to the market ended up being one of the highlights of our time in Florence. On the way to the market we wandered through the alleys of Florence enjoying the streets lined with gelato shops and tall buildings. Along our path we walked past a restaurant doing a pasta-making demonstration in the window. We stopped and watched for a bit as the chef ran the pasta through the machine over and over again. As we continued to walk, we also came across a carousel in the middle of a large plaza. We of course HAD to stop for a ride before continuing on our journey.

 

Stop 21 - Bartolucci's: Our next stop was at Bartolucci's toy store. Since Florence is considered the birthplace of Pinocchio, the wood toy shop, Bartolucci's, is often compared to Geppetto's wood shop. The kids loved seeing all of the wooden toys and getting to sit next to the large Pinocchio doll. The kids even got to sign the store's guestbook and Maeli made sure to draw her own Pinocchio in the book.

Stop 22 - Ponte Vecchio Bridge: After visiting the toy shop, we wandered past the infamous Ponte Vecchio Bridge on our way back to our car. The bridge really was impressive but was packed with people so we decided to forgo a stroll through the many high-end shops lining the bridge.

Stop 23 - The Oltrarno Neighborhood: As our last stop in Florence, we went over to the Oltrarno district for dinner. We had read about this area being a cool old-school Italian neighborhood and decide it was worth the stop. The neighborhood was unique with a large plaza filled with locals enjoyed the beautiful evening. We got some takeaway pizza at a well reviewed pizza place called "Gusta Pizza" and let the kids run up and down the stairs in the plaza while we ate.

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Adventures In Italy - Day 7

Stop 16 - Riomaggiore: The previous night, Cooley had an ear infection so he was up every half an hour to an hour. Despite our exhaustion, we ventured out to roam the town of Riomaggiore. The weather was overcast so we spent our time wandering along the seaside cliffs letting the kids climb on the rocks and watch the waves crash into the shore.

Stop 17 - Vernazza: Next we jumped on the train to see the town small town of Vernazza. We spent our time eating gelato as we roamed the colorful streets. The town had a small sandy beach where we let the kids play in the sand and throw rocks into the water.

Stop 18 - Monterosso: After Vernazza, we traveled on the train to the town of Monterosso. Monterosso is known for its large beach lining the coast. We unpacked on the beach and let the kids play in the sand. The water was choppy and would splash high into the air when the waves his some large rocks on the beach. Maeli and I went down to the water and enjoyed getting soaked by a few of the large waves. After the beach we walked over to a small playground on the boardwalk. While there, we ran into the local missionaries while on their p-day. They stopped and talked for a while and told us about some of their favorite places and things they've experienced Italy. We let the kids run wild and ended up staying at the playground for several hours. Once the kids were tired, we headed back to Riomaggiore for some pizza and gelato before bed. 

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