Traveling Around 'n Up the Boot

Long time no post! We haven't exactly had WiFi in our last couple of places, which is why there haven't been any updates. Anyways, I am sad to say that our time in Florence has come to an end (sad face), BUT I am happy to say that we are now in Finale Ligure! Finale is a small beach town in the northern part of Italy, and as far as I know, Adam and I may very well be the only English-speakers in this town. Why Finale Ligure? Well, my cousin Paolo and his family lives here, so we thought it would be nice to visit for a couple days!

Because of the lack of posting, here is a quick recap of the past week:

Tuesday: Adam and I went on a bicycle tour through the Tuscan countryside. It was absolutely beautiful, and probably our favorite part of Florence! We also got to tour a castle (that is now a winery/olive oil facility), and meet some lovely (and interesting) people.

Wednesday: In the morning, we went to the Cathedral of Santa Maria del Fiore (best known as “The Duomo”). We only went into the church part (since it was free), but you can also go up closer to the dome, the crypt, and many other parts of the church. Honestly, the exterior of the church was more interesting than the interior, other than the dome itself, which was very impressive. We later re-fueled ourselves at Mercato Cenrale with some yummy food!

Later in the day, we hiked up to Piazzale Michelangelo to catch the sunset over Florence. The view was breathtaking, and we’re so happy we got to see the sunset over the city! Even though there were a lot of people, it felt like a unique experience, especially when everyone started cheering and clapping as soon as the sun went down. 

To add the cherry on top, we made a special trip to Rivoire for some delicious hot chocolate!

Thursday: Our last day in Florence! We began our day at the Uffitzi Gallery, which had beautiful Renaissance art, with works that included artists such as Da Vinci, Michelangelo, Botticelli, and Titian.

Da Vinci

Michelangelo

Botticelli

Botticelli

Titian

Our evening kicked off with a lovely surprise by Adam, who decided to take us to a rooftop bar for some cocktails and one last evening view of Florence. What a guy!

Later, we went out for a nicer dinner, where Adam got to enjoy Florentine Steak. I opted for a veggie dish, but I was impressed by the size of the meat!

Friday: We left for Finale Ligure at 8:30am, arriving here around 1:30. Paolo was nice enough to pick us up from the train station and drop us off at the hotel. After settling in, we went out for lunch and walked up and down the beachfront. It was a warm day, and we have our swimsuits, so we decided to go to hang out at the beach for a bit!

Later in the evening, we met up with Paolo, Alice, and their son, Riccardo at a medieval times festival in Finalborgo. It was very crowded, and we were told this is a huge event here in Finale. It was a lot of fun, had some great food, and saw some fun performances!

Today: We decided to sleep in today, which felt really nice! We’ve been going almost non-stop over the past couple of weeks, and will be going non-stop for quite some time. So having a day or two of good relaxation is what we need! After getting ready, all we’ve really done is stroll around Finale to do more exploring. It’s a small beach town, so we really feel like we’re on “island time”, which is a breath of fresh air. Perhaps after some trip-planning, we’ll head back to the beach!