Our honeymoon in a (big, fat) nutshell: PISA and CINQUE TERRE

   After Bologna and Florence, we really wanted to see Pisa. When you think of it I bet you are already picturing the leaning tower and a lot of tourists posing with it, right? Something else? Nah, that's all there is in Pisa. That's what everybody believes! Litthe do they know what a gem this little city is! *daydreaming* Oh, my dear, gorgeous, little Pisa! I ADORED it! After the hussle of big Florence, Pisa was all I needed! So calm and quiet, wonderful and amazing! Wait till you see it by night! Simply breath taking! Just like a painting by Van Gogh!

   I remember being very impressed with our Airbnb room. It looked very romantic and cozy, perfect for a honeymoon retreat. Another reason to feel blessed and utterly happy in Pisa!

   We arrived in Pisa at 8 PM and I really think the timing was perfect because I absolutely loved walking around town in the evening! How else would I have been attracted to the Christmas lights of the best restaurant in Pisa? Again, just like in Florence we discovered it randomly but the food was absolutely addictive! So good I really wanted to go back the next evening and we left Cinque Terre without having seen Riomaggiore. It doesn't matter, I Santi was OMG! The seafood pasta taste still comes back in my mouth just thinking about it. Mmmmmmm, the place that finally showed me Panna Cotta (I wanted to try in earlier on the trip but couldn't find it) and made me want to cook it at home. 

   I'll never forget the happiness in my eyes when seeing the tower in the evening light, the magic between us two and how it resembled a cute giant smiling down and wanting a hug (so I tried to give him one) then laying on my back on the soft grass behind the tower and screaming how happy I was right there, right then at 11 PM on a random day in Pisa. Oh, Pisa, my love! How much happiness you brought me!

   They have a very cute little church and an absolutely amazing Blue Museum that makes you go back in time and feel like you're an important person of the city living between such gorgeous furniture and admiring very beautiful paintings (sorry, I wasn't allowed to take pictures inside, but you can imagine how beautiful it was if 90% of the visit I had my jaw dropped and I kept woooowing). 

   I know, we barely had 2 nights and a morning in Pisa to walk around and discover it (since we didn't know we'd love it so much) and yet I can't stop praising it, but I swear it's a MUST for everybody! I had absolutely no expectations of it and that's why I was so pleasantly surprised! Future lesson: after a big city always plan a small city! It works wonders!

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   We also chose to stop in Pisa because it was close to Cinque Terre, another dream of mine that I wanted to accomplish (besides seeing Tuscany), so, naturally, we planned one day only for that. What made me fall in love with Cinque Terre? I LOVE colors and the pictures of Cinque Terre I saw on the internet were overflowing with them (try for yourself): a splash of colors mingling on houses on a shore, somewhere in Italy. Simple as that. I remember staring at those pictures and saying "I WANT to go there, I really, really want it!" I knew I wanted to be there and experience that beauty with my own eyes. Of course, the pictures posted online are always edited and enhanced but the feeling should be great, I thought.

   I knew everything about the 5 villages. I did extensive research on them and I found out they would be VERY touristy in July so I mentally prepared myself accordingly, but even so, Manarola (the first village we visited) was still too much for Oli and I. Flooded by people. Even though the sight was exactly like in the pictures, you couldn't enjoy the small village properly with so many people around you. 

Manarola

   We chose to start in Manarola because we found a very good restaurant online that everybody was praising so we decided to have lunch there. Unfortunately, Manarola wasn't going to improve on that front either. I ordered a seafood pizza and I barely got some musles and 3 shrimps. So much for seafood. But Oli was happy about his starter and the craft beer he drank, so maybe I was too pick with my food?

     So let's recap: Manarola: minuses: way too many people, disappointing food (for me), the houses I saw in the pictures are definitely not as bright and colorful, BUT, the view is worth seeing :) Maybe just choose a different time of the year :)

Manarola

   Fate was on our side again, because the next 3 villages we saw would each be more and more to our liking. Monterosso was gorgeous but also full with people on the beach (not on the shore though), 

Monterosso

   Vernazza was unexpectedly calm and beautiful, exactly like in the pictures you find on Google Images and more!

Vernazza

   And Corniglia... well, Corniglia was the Best! We had to climb SO many stairs I thought we were going on a meeting with the Gods on Mount Olympos and we had no idea if it would be worth it. Oh it definitely was! When we went back down the same stairs I wanted to leave a huge message somewhere at the beginning of the stairs, saying: "GO, it's WORTH IT!" Why? The best ice cream in Italy - Corniglia honey ice cream- (otherwise I was let down by the gelatos in Italy) and the best sights around Cinque Terre! I kept telling Oli I expected Italy to be full with little empty paths between houses with flowers on the balconies or on the stairs and I didn't see that until Corniglia. That place was really everything you thought Italy would be visually.

Corniglia

   Pisa and Cinque Terre! Regrets? None! If I had to turn back time, I'd do it the same! Oh, wait! Maybe have lunch in a different restaurant in Cinque Terre. The rest, was absolutely memorable! 

Our honeymoon in a (big, fat) nutshell: FLORENCE and TUSCANY

   The second city of our honeymoon was Florence. Now everybody knows Florence and its beauty, so I had high expectations... and my expectations were met! We arrived in Florence on a very hot weather while every tourist was out exploring the city and I remember being very frustrated about that. I don't like crowds. That's the reason why I didn't like Prague. 

   Nevertheless, after resting "at home" for a couple of hours and going out when the temperatures dropped a bit helped a whole lot! I discovered my new favorite supermarket: Esselunga! Man, they have everything your heart desires and even that in 3 colors or types! Including a huuuge aisle of Barilla pasta! I was literally in pasta heaven! 😀 

   Later on we went to explore the city a bit. First we enjoyed a gelato and we watched the world go by. 

   I remember looking at Ponte Vecchio and expecting it to be overrated and full with people. It was indeed full of people, but the feeling I had on that old bridge I won't have again soon... it was the most relaxing typical Italian "dolce far niente" with a performer singing like and angel and playing the guitar and people sitting down around him to listen to him while basking in the evening sun and maybe enjoying a gelato. That is Italy at its best and I loved it! 

   The Dome was absolutely breathtaking and its sight on a soundtrack of orchestra playing in front of it when we arrived made it all the more majestique. We just sat down on the warm pavement and enjoyed the show as the sky got darker and darker. 

   On the second day we wandered on the streets of Florence in search of other beauties. That's how we ran into the Santa Maria della Croce square. What a beautiful church! Same style as the Dome, but fewer people around ;)

   Then we found the famous Piazza della Signoria, with its famous museums where you can see the real David statue by Michelangelo. The square was swarming with tourists so we didn't spend time there. We didn't go in the museums either because our host told us it's not worth it that time of the year. She recommended to come back in January or February and visit the museums at half price and no tourists at all :) Good tip, I'd say!

   At least we saw a fake David outside too :)

   After our short walk around town we booked a wine tasting tour around Tuscany during which I literally cried happy tears (because my dream of a lifetime came true) in front of a Tuscan villa taken out of Google Images. Our wine experts were hilarious and very good at their job! I LOVED both Castellina and Monteriggioni villages and their wines. I felt so good being able to understand the wine terms and the whole presentation! The memories of the Tuscan landscapes will always stay with me! Tuscany is SO gorgeous it's difficult not to fall in love with it. Its cypress trees, its green curvy hills covered in vineyards and a majestique sunset are all you need to reach peace of mind.

   When we returned to the city we went to Piazza della Michelangelo to look at the city from above, but we barely had room to squeeze in and take a couple pictures. So many people! Of course, it was a very touristic spot of the city. We left very soon even though the view was very beautiful... I still remember having a bittersweet feeling up there. Oh well... you win some, you lose some.

   On our last day in Florence we went to Fiesole, a little village on a hill surrounding the city and we ended up overlooking Florence in peace and quiet and no tourists at all (which was very unexpected) and just dolce far niente-ing. I still remember the relaxing feeling I had up there! Definitely worth seeing!

   All in all, even if touristy, Florence was a dream! I loved walking between the very old buildings and feeling trapped back in history! It's a city rich in culture and untold stories that lay between those old walls... as does a fake Mona Lisa ;)

Our honeymoon in a (big, fat) nutshell: BOLOGNA

   Ah... honeymoon... the long awaited time of celebration of the love story of two people who just became one! When you mention the word "honeymoon" most people think of a remote island with turqoise water and golden sand where you have nothing to do just be. It sounds amazing... if you are a sea person! But Oli and I aren't. So we decided to go visit cities instead! 7 cities in 11 days then stay in Zurich for 8 more days. I won't lie to you, it was CRAZY, but I loved it to bits! We saw mountains, hills and the seaside, we ate the most spectacular pasta, our Airbnb homes were really awesome (and so were our hosts), we walked around magnificent cityscapes that I always wanted to see and all this at our own pace. I definitely couldn't have travelled in an organized group. It would have been too stressful and/or boring for me. So we chose to do it our way. Let me describe the whole journey through the "eyes" of my emotions and my memories! It's going to be a LONG post, but bear with me and let's travel together! If I close my eyes and I try to remember how it all was I can already feel like I'm back there and the movie of the whole trip develops in front of my eyes.

   We started with Bologna. We chose it because we had a direct flight from Cluj, but I honestly didn't know what to expect of it.

   Everybody on the internet was praising it but I knew so little about it that I had to google it beforehand. The best part is that travelling there in person helped me find out things that I didn't read on the internet! Did you know that tortellini and lasagna were actually invented in Bologna? I guess that's partly why it's called the gastronomical capital of Italy!

   The Bolognese people are very proud of these inventions and they put them on all the magnets! :) We had no idea why tortellini was everywhere in Bologna but we found out by asking a waiter. I thought Pasta Bolognese was their thing. No problem, live and learn! :)

   I had the best gnocchi in my life on the small terrace of a cute restaurant in Bologna. We didn't even look it up beforehand, we were just THAT lucky to find Il Portico, and that luck kept perpetuating later on in our trip.

   I still remember my utter happy face while tasting those gnocchi, the joy of discovering cute arches, the famous towers of Bologna and other amazing buildings or squares all around the city... oh, and the big eyes in amazement in front of shops filled with big rolls of cheese and charcuterie that smelled so good!

   Walking on the gorgeous, narrow streets brought back beautiful memories from Venice. Talking of which, they have a small square window in the middle of the city overseeing the only canal in Bologna. Another Venice memory! :)

   I remember being proud about practicing my Italian in a bookshop, browsing through books and just loving the feeling of being surrounded by them. I liked the fact that Italians love their books!

   And then the "dolce far niente" began. Laying down on a bench and on the grass in 2 parks of the city, closing my eyes and just enjoying the sound of the cicadas (something new to me) and the feeling of being there and living my dream.

   Bologna was a dream! Small and utterly cute and delicious! I couldn't see a better beginning to our Italian journey and I definitely want to go back there!