Blossoming Seoul: Bella Italia

Three weeks ago I returned from an absolutely spectacular trip to Italy--my birthday gift to myself in celebration of my entry into a new decade of life. Although this was my fifth visit to Italia, I decided to spend the bulk of my time in two familiar places, Firenze e Venezia.

Florence is an incredible city, filled with art and culture. Armed with a laundry list of things to do and see, I hit the ground running and packed my six days full of wonderful sightseeing and doing. I walked, photographed, biked, cooked, read, studied, and sweated in this treasured Tuscan city. Here are just a few of my photos from Florence...

The Dome of the Duomo...one of dozens of pictures I took of this church

The front of the Duomo without the Dome

No photos of Michelangelo's David in the Accademia are allowed, but this is a reproduction outside Palazzo Vecchio

There are no shortage of artists in Florence

Ghiberti's famous bronze doors of the Baptistery--if you look really closely you can sneek a peek of what's inside

The mosaic covered Baptistery ceiling--this was one of my favorite finds in Florence

The height of the flooded Arno River in 1844 at Santa Croce

Palazzo Vecchio

Ponte Vecchio--the bridge lined with gold shops

A black and white close up of some of the window shutters on Ponte Vecchio

Santo Spirito in the Oltrarno area of Florence--a stark contrast to the other churches in the city

Just for gross factor, this is Galileo's finger in the science musuem

An early periodic table in the science museum

This is what you see before a fresco is painted. This was in San Miniato Church over looking Florence, a true gem

Amazing frescoes in San Miniato illuminated

A grey evening in Florence, but a beautiful overlook of the city from Piazzale Michelangelo

The Baptistery, Duomo, and Giotto's bell tower at twilight

I managed to squeeze in two fabulous day trips--one that took me out of Tuscany and into Liguria for a visit to the Cinque Terre, and another to see Siena and San Gimingiano. The Cinque Terre trek (yep, that's a hike) just about killed me and I was sore for days, but the five towns and spectacular views of the sea made the pain worthwhile. See what I mean...

I love the beautiful terra cotta, yellow, and rose colored houses built into the cliffside

It was a grey morning, but the water still sparkled in different shades of blue

Soon these olives will be ripe and ready for harvesting

Proof that I survived the trek from Corniglia to Vernazza

Terraced landscapes

The five towns...

One of the beautiful beaches

Boats, boats, boats...and old guys sitting around talking about boats (out of frame)

The famous lover's lane, and the only paved part of our entire trek

Siena and San Gimingiano are quintessentially Tuscan. I'd heard quite a lot about Siena, and had recently watched a documentary on it's famous Palio horserace that is held each July in the campo, or town square. Each district enters a horse and rider and it's a battle to the death...okay, not really but it's pretty darn dangerous riding a horse bareback on sand-covered brick and an odd shaped track! Sadly, I missed the race by a few weeks, but I did enjoy wandering about Siena and people watching in the campo. San Gimingiano is known for its towers...and its gelato. I enjoyed the latter more!