Week Thirteen: Day trip to Lucca

May 1st is an Italian national holiday. It's la festa del lavoro - the equivalent of our labor day - and we had no school. Instead of traveling the weekend, I took the off day and went to Lucca with some friends. Lucca is a relatively small Italian town, and it's popular to rent a bike for the day and bike on top of the wall around the city.

Here we are. Ready for biking. 

Christina, Juliet, Emma, and Melissa. 

Here's my friend Christina again.

Then we biked through the city, stopped for a coffee, and took a couple more rides around the wall. 

Leaving Lucca behind was difficult. It was so fun and energizing. 

Week Twelve: München, Deutschland

Ich liebe Deutschland. Ich liebe München. Ich liebe dich. Und ich liebe frühlingsfest. As my final large weekend trip for the semester, I went to Springfest in Munich! Now, I may just be the only person in my friend group who took German as a language in high school, so it was with great anticipation that I traveled to Deutschland. 

Munich is a relatively metropolitan city. It's fairly industrial, so not the most "picturesque" European city, but it has a couple of architectural treasures hiding within its walls. 

We first went to this quaint market, where I fell in love with everything there. 

Afterward, we went dirndl shopping. Then we went on a bike tour of the city. 

 Here's the opera house. 

Der Glockenspiel.

And this building:

This was a church built solely out of limestone.

This building was almost entirely destroyed in WWII - only the center remains. As you can see, the glass construction on either side is a reconstruction of the original building. 

And Springfest! This is the inside of one of the beer tents - the Hippodrom. 

This is me trying a beer that's larger than my face. 

At the festival, I saw this poster of the American flag with the Springfest icon - two children, a girl in a dirndl, a boy in lederhosen with a beer, a pretzel and a Munich heart cookie around their necks.  

On Saturday, we took a day trip to Neuschwanstein, the castle of the mad king Ludwig II - who stole money from the government to construct his castle. Neuschwanstein is also the castle that inspired Disney's Sleeping Beauty castle - and understandably so. It's absolutely gorgeous. 

And the area surrounding the castle is simply stunning. There's this lake surrounded by hills and mountains.

This is the view from the castle. 

After Neuschwanstein, we got ready for the second night of the festival. This time, I tried Weissbier - "white beer" - which is absolutely amazing. 

On Sunday, we went to the Dachau memorial. It was an incredibly sobering experience. The gate to the camp contains the words "Arbeit macht frei" - translated work makes freedom.

This wall reads, "May the example of those who were exterminated here between 1933-1945 because they resisted Nazism help to unite the living for the defense of peace and freedom and in respect for their fellow men."

These are the reconstructed barracks. 

One of the two crematoriums.

This is the entrance to the gas chamber. It's a large room with a couple spouts on the wall. Above the door is "brausebad" or "shower room". 

At the edge of the camp - a trench and a barbed wire fence on the other side. 

After the memorial, we hopped back onto our eight-hour bus back to Florence. 

An amazing weekend spent. Munich is a gorgeous city, Neuschwanstein was absolutely incredible, and Springfest was so much fun. Dachau, such a sobering memorial, was insanely informative. Words can't suffice to explain what an experience it truly was. 

♥ Em 

Week Eleven: Cinque Terre

Italy is a beautiful country. When the lush, fertile rolling hills of Tuscany meet with a painted clear blue sky, my soul flies. I love being caught between the soaring peaks of the Apennine Mountains and the Mediterranean Sea. It's a captivating country. But I can easily say my favorite part of Italy is Cinque Terre - a set of five small towns right along the northern coast in the region of Liguria. 

Because the towns lie so close together, it's a single train ticket to travel from the first town, Riomaggiore, on to Manarola, Corniglia, Vernazza, and Monterosso al Mare. All of the cities look like they've been etched out of a very colorful stone. The colorful houses that are built into the cliffs overlooking the Mediterranean are perfectly picturesque. 

We went first to Corniglia and climbed a set of 368 steps leading up to this view over the sea. 

After Corniglia, we headed to Vernazza and explored the town a bit. We settled for a lunch spot in Vernazza. Cinque Terre is best known for pesto, seafood, and focaccia bread. 

In Vernazza we also took some photos on the edge of the shore. Monterosso al Mare is really the only one of the five towns that has a physical beach, but I loved the jutting rocks of the other towns.

After Vernazza, we headed to Monterosso al Mare and my group split up. Because my friend Alyssa and I were looking for more of a climbing experience, we headed back to the first two towns, Riomaggiore and Manarola. Riomaggiore's hiking trails were closed because of recent mud slides, so we headed on to Manarola. 

This is Riomaggiore:

Manarola was exactly what I was looking for. Even though the physical hiking trails were closed, we found a couple beaten semi-off-limits trails that gave beautiful views of the village. 

It was easily my favorite. 

After climbing up and above, we snaked down and around the village to see this:

Finally, we settled on a couple rocks and watched the ocean for an hour before heading back to Florence. 

I couldn't have been more pleased with visiting Cinque Terre. My only complaint was my lack of time. I could spend an endless amount of time exploring each of the towns! 

♥ Em

Week Ten: Venezia Again!

What's the best way to see Venice in two days? Camp outside of the island, in a little cabin with bunk beds, mosquitos, and old camp stories. I ventured back to the island, the little piece of paradise on earth, and fell in love with it all over again. 

Juliet, Me, Emma, Christina, and Melissa

Venice is just so gorgeous. When we arrived, we set off for the Rialto Bridge and San Marco. San Marco is so picturesque. Below you'll see the church and the bell tower.  

Then we walked to the water's edge. 

As we continued to explore, we stumbled upon a fruit market - on a boat. I want to get my produce off a boat. 

We took a side trip to one of the more picturesque Venetian islands - Murano. Murano and Burano are two small islands right next to Venezia. Murano is the source of the infamous Murano glass. Burano is famous for lace. We visited Murano - and upon arrival, got to watch glass blowing. Absolutely fascinating! I purchased a couple Murano glass pens, because they're gorgeous.

And another photo of Murano:

Adventuring through Venice:

The second day, Juliet and I toured Teatro La Fenice, one of the most famous European opera houses. It's simply stunning. The original theater burnt in 1774. Rossini, Donizetti, and Bellini all produced productions there before it was destroyed yet again by a fire in 1836. After its restoration, Verdi premiered numerous productions here. 

The weekend was filled with wonderful memories. 

Sunset on the Grand Canal. 

Dancing through Europe,

♥ Em