Last day in The Eternal City...

It’s really hard to express how I’m feeling here on my last day in Roma.  The only word I can think of is bittersweet.  I got knots in my stomach this morning during my run in Villa Borghese thinking about how it will be my last.  My eyes have been welling up a little bit each time I pass a familiar café, a restaurant where I first met new friends, or a road I got lost on during my first few weeks here. Saying goodbye to the people I have met has been a lot harder than I thought.  While the sadness is temporary, I do feel that I’ve made friendships that will last for years and years to come and I don’t doubt I will see them again in the future.

I’m so thankful for every moment I’ve had here in this beautiful city.  I’ve tried to soak up every last minute this past week and tried to do and see things I hadn't yet had the chance to get to.  From visiting the Church of Saint’Anslemo on Aventine Hill to listen to the Gregorian Chants just before dusk, to visiting the Galleria Nazionale d’Arte for the Andy Warhol Headlines exhibit, to seeing the Opera in the ancient and dramatic setting of the Terme diCarcalla (Baths of Carcalla) and to finally getting to a restaurant I’ve been trying to catch since I first arrived (Gran Sasso near Piazza del Popolo)... each experienced has deepened my love for this city.

With each visitor, I get to see this incredible city again through new eyes.  It makes me happy to see their equal awe and appreciation and I smile realizing that one day I too will be arriving to the The Eternal City again with new eyes.

Bittersweet is the perfect word to express what I’m feeling today.  One adventure is coming to an end, but a new one is just beginning as I’m on my way with my friend Marie to Cefalù, Sicily.  My aunt Sarina has been so incredibly helpful arranging with her family there in this lovely, medieval seaside city.  I’ve have no idea what to expect but I have a feeling I’m going to fall in love once again with another Italian treasure.

Lucca and Levanto - Due Nuovi Tesori (Two New Treasures)

Sorry this is coming so late!

After the band broke up at the end of an incredible week in Tuscany, Bobby, Joanna and Laura graciously drove Max, Sadie and I up to Lucca.  I’m not even sure where I first heard of Lucca but it’s been on my list of places I must visit in Italy for years and was actually one of the places I was considering moving to before I chose Rome.   Lucca did not disappoint. This beautiful city in Northern Tuscany is famous for its walls that surround the historic center.  For anyone looking for a Tuscan town with a historic charm, I would definitely recommend Lucca.

View from the top of Lucca.

I was in love with this great terrace!

View of the mountains surrounding Lucca.

As we arrived we found out there was a Nora Jones concert taking place in one of the main piazzas.  The receptionist at our hotel suggested we just go to any of the surrounding piazzas and you can hear the concerts as well as actually being in the main piazza.  So we stopped for a lovely dinner at Trattoria da Leo and had one our favorite meals of the trip.  Everything was perfect.  We gobbled up our meals before I could get a picture, but I did manage to sneak one of our dessert.  After dinner we walked over to the nearby piazza, found a spot to sit, and listened to the sweet familiar voice echoing through the piazza.  Most people in Lucca get around by foot or on bikes, so it was great people watching to see everyone come in and out of the piazza to have a listen.  Another magical night! 

Trattoria da Leo

Delicious!

In the piazza enjoying the music.

The next day we made our way up to Levanto, which was recommended by Claudio who greaw up going to this great beach town every summer.  Levanto is the very train stop above Monterosso (the northern-most town in the Cinque Terre). The moment we found our hotel and walked out onto the balcony, we all were in love!  You’re never quite sure what you’re going to find when you are traveling, but we felt immediately at home in this adorable surfer town on the Mediterranean Sea.  The only tourists here seemed to be Italian, which was a refreshing change. Our hotel was right on the main park and steps from the sea.  The little town came alive at night with families, kids, and lovers lining the benches and streets enjoying their holiday.

View from our balcony in Levanto.

Levanto

Max and I woke up early the next day to do the Cinque Terre hike of the five cities.  When we arrived, we learned the full hike was closed due to the floods last year.  Both of us had actively followed the coverage of the floods back in October, but I think we both forgot how destructive they actually were.  They've done a ton of clean up work and the trails that were open were as beautiful as ever.  I really do think if you are going to the Cinque Terre, the hike between the towns is a must.  Only this way can you get a feel for the dramatic coastline covered with vineyards and seeing each new colorful town on the horizon gives you a new appreciation for each individual city.

Starting in Monterosso - you end up somewhere down on those hills.

Looking back at Monterosso.

View of Vernazza from the trail.

Vernazza.

In addition to a few mud slide trails remaining, there were a few houses with very obvious evidence of just how intense the floods were.

Large board in town showing the destruction of the floods.

Looking back at Vernazza.

Manarola

Riomaggiore

After Max left for Perugia that afternoon, Sadie and I had a few days to hang around our beloved beach town and make our way up to Santa Margherita just an hour north and 15-minutes from Portofino.  We had talked about jumping on a bus to see Portofino, but views of the lovely beach, colorful marina, and lush green hills dotted with extravagant villas kept us in this beautiful town.  The Italian Riviera at it's finest.  

Santa Margherita

Santa Margherita

During our last few nights in Levanto, we discovered once again some pretty incredible restaurants and were both incredibly sad to leave our newly found gem.  I will most definitely be back to Levanto!

Levanto

Levanto

Levanto

Drinking wine overlooking the bay of Levanto at sunset!

Bella Toscana

I’m not even sure where to begin to describe my trip up north.  I do think the pictures do a pretty good job of telling the story so this post is mostly pictures.  I've updated my photo links at the top of the page as well. 

A little back story for this part of the trip... our friend from Denver, Colin Bunker, decided a few months back that it would be pretty amazing to see Andrea Bocelli perform a concert in Teatro del Silenzio.  This is an incredible natural amphitheater carved into the beautiful backdrop of the hills of Lajatico, Tuscany, where Andrea Bocelli was born.  Colin currently lives in Australia and being so far away from his friends and family has given him reason to travel as much as possible while he's there. He came across information on this concert, reserved a handful of tickets, found an incredible villa nearby and invited a group of his friends to join him.  I will never be able to thank him enough for organizing and basically hosting one of the most incredible trips I will ever have the opportunity to go on.  Grazie mille Bunker!!

The group of people could not have been more perfect.  Sometimes you never know how well different crowds will mix, but to me it felt like we had all been friends for years.  The group included: RJ (Colin's friend from Santa Clara) and Fernanda, RJ's wife (American and Brazilian and currently living in Switzerland), Bobby, (Colin's friend from Santa Clara), Joanna (Bobby's soon to be wife) and their GORGEOUS baby Laura (Polish and German, currently in Munich, Germany), Max, Colin (currently in Australia), Ashley and Evan (grew up with Colin, currently in Denver), me, Sadie (grew up with Colin, currently in Denver) and Claudio (Colin's friend from Santa Clara, Italian, currently in NYC).

Our leg of the trip started with Sadie and I taking the train up from Rome to Firenze to meet up with Bunker.  We picked a random cafe in the middle of Florence and somehow Bunker found us right on time. We explored the city a bit and met up with Claudio on Ponte Vecchio.  I received a recommendation from one of Rita's friends about this restaurant we had to visit in Florence so after a few texts with a woman, Elisa, whom I'll never meet, we found the restaurant and enjoyed some delicious pasta and wine and crossed our fingers Max would find the restaurant based on an email I sent him the day before.  He too arrived just on time - finally, something was going as planned!  We then loaded into the car and took off to the Villa in Montaione, Tuscany.

Ponte Vecchio, Firenze

Driving to the Villa, Montaione, Tuscany

Villa Fignano, Montaione, Tuscany

La piscina at Villa Fignano, Montaione

Baby Laura!! Quite possibly my favorite baby of all time.  She was ALWAYS this happy.

The band!  RJ and Fernanda (American and Brazilian, currently in Switzerland), Joanna and Bobby (Polish and German, currently in Munich, Germany), Max (Denver), Colin Bunker (currently in Australia), Ashley and Evan (Denver), me (currently in Rome), Sadie (Denver) and Claudio (Italian, currently in NYC).

Clearly the Villa was pretty incredible.  There were fields and vineyards for miles.  These are just a few pictures of the area surrounding our villa. When you didn't feel like walking around or taking one of the car tours, the beautiful swimming pool was readily available and where we spent most of our mornings and evenings.

How most of our mornings and evenings were spent - by the piscina.

Each day our incredible team drivers, Colin and Bobby, would take a few groups out to nearby towns to explore.  Colin was on the lookout for sunflower fields for me and we made a special stop at the one in the pictures below.  How can you not smile when you see those fields? 

Overlooking Tuscany from Montaione

Driving to San Gimignano, Tuscany.  We had to stop every few miles to take pictures.

San Gimignano had incredible statues throughout the village.  I loved this guy.

Wine tasting at the nearby vineyards.

Wine tasting at the nearby vineyards.

At night we would either cook at the villa or venture out to a nearby restaurant recommended by one of the locals we met.  We would all sit back and let Claudio order the 5-course meal and enjoy every bit of it.  The mix of atmosphere, location, food, wine, conversation and company made these some of my favorite moments of my time here in Italia. 

One of the most amazing dinners of my time here in Italy.  Ristorante Il Caminetto, outside of Montaione.

I love this picture of Ashley.

Some of the nights ended with a dance party back at the Villa... obviously.

Bocelli Concert

The drive to Lajatico insanely beautiful. We were a crew of 11 plus a baby, so every time the whole crew went along, a few people had to be "trunk people" for rides.  

Train of cars driving to the amphitheater.

This was Ashley and Evan's turn being trunk people.

Tailgating with wine and cheese before the concert.  Keeping it classy.

Some of the most incredible views I've ever seen.

This theater was built for Bocelli and these concerts - such an incredible sight to see.

Such a special moment.  Bobby out in the field rocking Laura to sleep.

This went on for miles and miles.  I'm unable to put into words the beauty of this place.

The concert begins!

Incredible!

None of us knew what to expect, but I have to say that I believe every one of us were blown away by this experience.  The talent of Bocelli and those he performed with, the venue and surrounding area, and the company of great friends made this an unforgettable night.

Unfortunately, all good things must come to an end and we all had to go our separate ways.  Bobby and Joanna graciously offered to drop team Sadie, Ali and Max off in Lucca on their way.  Bobby somehow managed to fit 5 people, a baby in her child's seat and all of our luggage into this car.  I'm still amazed. 

German efficiency at it's best!

The band is breaking up.  Our last day at the Villa!