Melby's Travels

A beautiful city filled with art. While many tourists visit (probably more than Milan) and while we mainly stayed in the tourist areas, it felt like there was life beyond that and that it was a generally nice place to live. The only problem was that it was also going through a long heat wave, along with many other places in Italy. DUOMO The colors are pretty different from the duomos I've seen so far - I wonder if it's the region or the time period in which the duomo was built. We didn't feel like waiting on line to go inside so we headed to the next destination instead. CAPELLE MEDICI The Medici family tomb. The colors are similar to the Duomo, so maybe it's a Medici family thing or at least their time period thing. Moral of this weekend is don't forget to look up MERCATO CENTRALE Just outside there is a leather market (think bags, jackets, gloves, wallets), where we attempted and somewhat successfully bargained for belts. Produce, bread, cheese, meat, fish, intern...

Situated on the Ligurian coast, a culmination of the beautiful sea and steep rugged cliffs. We mainly hiked around and spent time in 3 of the 5 towns: Monterosso, Vernazza, Corniglia Vernazza, viewed from Sentiero Azzuro (Blue Trail) - approaching from Monterosso Vernazza again, from a different angle - leaving towards Corniglia We mainly chose to visit Cinque Terre, since it had sub-100 degree Fahrenheit weather. So I was expecting the hiking to be pretty cool and easy. However, it was definitely humid and throughout the hike, I was constantly wiping my face with the back of my hand to keep my eyes from stinging from salty sweat. I was also not expected the steep elevation; a lot of the hiking consisted of going up and down irregular and sometimes slippery stairs. Monterosso from afar. Lots of rocks and grapes (?) on the hike It was pretty sweaty and kinda warm (at least compared to Florence the day before). After a relatively long bathroom break in Vernazza and pushing through the hi...

 DUOMO Stunning details - it was certainly a huge undertaking. We got a chance to see the sculptures that were submitted as applications to work on the Duomo, so there were definitely many artists involved. The inside was not as glamorous as St. Peter's Basilica (I would be surprised if anything could compare), but the intricate stained glass definitely caught my attention. Clara: "Does Jesus have goggles?" PANZEROTTI LUINI Panzerotti are typical of Apulia but popular throughout. Based on the panzerotti I've had in the past, I expected this to be like mini empanadas, but it was actually much larger and closer to the fried pizza I had in Naples. The outside of the dough is crisp and slightly flaky, pulling away slightly from the rest of the dough. Filled with mozzarella and tomato, but not very saucy- most of the filling is mozzarella brushed with a bit of tomato. Overall, fragrant and delicious. LEONARDO DA VINCI MUSEUM OF SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY Having gone to various...

So many cool historical buildings! (I almost became desensitized to it by the end of the weekend whoops...) Of course, there are the famous ones but there are also the ones that pop up when you turn the corner. In addition to admiring big ol' stones, we visited many churches with intricate paintings hanging on the walls and integrated into the ceiling. Framing these paintings were often lacey gold trim. DAY 1 ER BUCHETTO - A hole in the wall, cash only shop near the train station, known for their porchetta Many little bubbles in the crackly crust. I wanted a little bit more meat, but the pork was flavorful enough that it was tasty and filling. COLOSSEUM After seeing the Colosseum in Pompeii, this one was much larger than anticipated We also passed by the Palantine Hill / Roman Forum ALTARE DELLA PATRIA / PIAZZA VENEZIA This huge white monument really stands out in the city-scape. Dedicated to veterans of the First World War. PANTHEON TREVI FOUNTAIN Crazy to think how they made this...