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!