Italy — Florence and Day trips!
After a cold five days and four nights in the northern part of Italy, i took a train that afternoon straight to Firenze, or more known as Florence. spend four days three nights in Florence, the weather is a bit warmer than Venezzia but it is chilly in the night. I spend my first two days in this city exploring the city from the touristy place to the alley, local book shop and eating spots where locals mostly spend their time in town, the city itself is beautiful as it holds many important art by the famous Michaelangelo.
While stunned by the beautiful layout of the city and artistic building in the city, i manage to found the best pizza spot I've ever eaten in Italy yet, and its in Mercato Centrale, its not a pizzeria but a local market with a food-court on the second floor which offer various food choices from meat, vegetarian, pasta pizza and many more. There is only one food stand who sells pizza , you couldn’t missed it because they are the only one who’s selling pizza, they only offers choices of pizza but unfortunately i don’t remember all of them but i did order the Pizza Margarita for 6.00 Euro which is cheap if your looking for a very delicious pizza with this price. The pizza is so fresh and the tomato basil sauce is INCREDIBLE its so delicious and the juicy taste of the tomato is amazing, you should definitely check this place out!.
I spend the third day on a day trip to Cinque terre in La Spezzia just a two hour train ride with a transit at Pisa and it only costs around 16 euro for round trip. I went to Pisa first early in the morning rushing to the station as I am almost late for the morning train but manage to barely arrived on time, took a 3 hour transit in Pisa just to see the not so straight tower of Pisa, what i found more interesting is to watch all of the tourist doing their “Pisa” pose, its so funny watching those people trying to push, grab or even kick the tower. After spending 3 hour in Pisa i went to the station and took the 13:10 Train to La Spezzia and again I barely made it one minute before the train doors closed.
Cinque Terre is not just a one city as many people imagine, it’s a five small coastline cities within the area of the Cinque Terre National park as the name said , Cinque means five and Terre means city. After a one hour train ride to La Spezzia , i took a 2,75 Euro ticket ( All of the ticket price within the Cinque Terre Area are the same , 2,75 Euro single trip) to the nearest Cinque Terre City from La Sepzzia called Riomagiorre, my first though when i see the sea by the this tiny city is “woah, this is the exact view of what i saw from google image” and yes i was stunned by the beautiful view of the ocean and city, it’s a small city by the ocean filled with colorful houses facing towards the ocean , luckily the weather was super sunny although its in Mid-December where most tourist avoid going to Cinque Terre because its supposed to be very rainy but it turns out great plus there are barely any tourist around so its peaceful , but most shop are closed so don’t expect to do some shopping here during Winter time.
After a wonderful time in Riomaggiore , i decide to go on a trekking to Manarola which is another coastline city within the National Park with just a one hour walking distance from Riomaggiore. The path to Manarola is hilly and because i have to cross the hill filled with grape yards , the path is not build for relax walking, its a dirt path with no handles so do this only if you have a pair of good hiking or trekking boots or at least a decent running shoes because it can be dangerous and dont’t forget to bring water and pack light!. Although its only one hour but it is pretty exhausting because your going up non-stop until your reach top of the hill, and remember to oblige the rules and signs along the path if its said that its a private property do not break through! , only follow path with official National Park marking on it.
After an hour , i arrived in Manarola it is bigger than Riomaggiore with a bigger harbor area , you can walk by the cliffs with path along the sea cliff at the other side of the cliff you could see the other city. The sun starting to set the time i arrived there and the view was just stunning , the city bath by the light of the sunset as the twilight creeps in, the sun by the horizon slowly swallowed by the vast ocean, and i stand there by the cliff along with the locals and some tourist enjoying this tranquil moment as the sound of the wave crashes and soft evening breeze swept across my body, i close my eyes and absorbed this moment.
Exhausted by walking and trekking, i end the day on the last city i visit that day in Cinque Terre which is Vernazza, this city the only city in Cinque Terre that has proper harbour due to its long history of Fisherman Village. The city was quite and almost empty, i can only see some locals going back to their home with their groceries and some people sitting by the harbor. i didn’t spend much time in Vernazza since the air is getting colder and most of the shop are closed , so i decide to sit by the harbor facing the city and enjoy the city light.
