When we were researching for our trip to Cinque Terre, we decided to get off the much beaten footpaths between Rio Maggiore and Monterosso to see what else was to be found in the area.  While those are the most famous, we knew there had to be finds that at least could give us more great gelato.  So after the good workout the first few days, we decided to spend the last few days of the vacation finding our sea legs on the ferries.

One auspicious evening in December, we headed out to join the Texas Exes group for a game watching. We were new to London and trying to find our place in the wild jungle of a city that we now call home. Luckily for us, some London veterans and UT alum decided to come as well. Just like trying to set-up a date, we chatted and exchanged numbers.

Little did we know what that exchange would lead to. We loved getting to know the Houses, becoming fast friends and exploring everywhere from the restaurants of London to Ben Nevis and Copenhagen.

So, when after 4 years in London, their time was up, we knew we needed to send them out with a big farewell. One of the places remaining on their bucket list was Cinque Terre and as I can never say no to Italy, the decision was made.

Hiking with the Houses

Perched on cliffs, the five villages of Cinque Terre and all the surrounding vineyards dot the rugged landscape. The contrast of the blue waters of the Mediterannean take your breath away. The area is famous for its coastal walks in more ways than one. Not only are they known for their beauty but also because of the tragedy that struck in 2011. During heavy rains, mudslides in the area caused 9 deaths, so following that, the paths were closed for several years. Supposedly, they were set to open again for the summer season in 2014, making it the perfect time to visit.

After arriving in Manarola, we set out to explore only to find out that this wasn't in fact the case. Additional rains meant that 75% of the coastal paths were closed, including the famous Via Dell'Amore. So instead, we hiked upwards through the hills and vineyards, through barely identifiable paths marked with red and white stripes every so often to let you know you hadn't gotten lost (yet).

While we weren't right on the coast, the views were still beautiful. Our first day, we started small and hiked from Manarola to Rio Maggiore. We rewarded ourselves with gelato, then took the train back to enjoy dinner and a sunset at Marina Piccola.

The next day, we hiked the other direction, from Manarola to Monterosso al Mare. Again, two of the coastal paths were closed, turning us to the hills. We first hiked to Volastra - all uphill - and decided that exertion meant it was time to reward ourselves with some wine. We tried a flight from a local vineyard (mostly whites which are common to the area) and a sweet sciacchetra. With wine in our system and smiles on our faces, we felt ready to tackle the downhill walk to Corniglia, continuing on to Vernazza and Monterosso al Mare.


Our approach to each village awarded us with fantastic views, small colourful cities with the blue backdrop. We had a little time to explore each city, and of course eat. We had a goal to try gelato in each town, as well as the foccacia that is so well known in the area (for good reason). Even after 7 1/2 hours among the cities, I could have spent more time in each of them wandering the hidden alley ways and discovering their secrets. Each city had it's own personality.

Riomaggiore, perhaps the gateway to Cinque Terre as the main train stop;


Manarola, my favourite of the villages filled less with tourists and more with locals enjoying gelato and foccacia bread;


Land-locked Corniglia perhaps was the most remote, perched on the hill giving you a look over everything below;

Picturesque Vernazza with it's hidden beach and secluded harbour;

Bustling Monterosso is the largest, and most crowded with tourists and locals flocking to their beaches.


13 miles later, we found our way back to Manarola to finish off the evening with even more food and another beautiful sunset. While we had explored the villages of Cinque Terre, our time in the coast wasn't quite done yet, but that will wait for another post.

Manarola by night

Everyone loves taking photos during the day. The sun is shining, the birds are chirping, everyone is happy. But come nightfall, the lens caps go on and the cameras slink back into their purses, bags and backpacks.

However, over the last couple of months, I have decided I love night photography. It all started with our midnight segway tour in St. Petersburg. Sure, I need a good tri-pod to make mine a little prettier and a lot less blurry in many instances.

Nighttime photos just seem to have a little je ne sais quoi - everything seems a little nicer, a little cleaner, a little more romantic.

This was certainly true in Rome. In our first night in the city, we had to explore in the dark and it was my favorite time in the city. It's when the atmosphere picks up and that fantastic European practice of relaxing on street cafes picks up. Plus, at night, you don't have to fight off the other tourists for that perfect shot.

Here's the best of Rome by night:

Parthenon - I love slow shutter speeds when there is movement. You have the unmoving object and the funny blurry people walking by.

Piazza Navona

Trevi Fountain - water is lovely lit up at night

National Monument to Victor Emmanuel II - has lots of lighting, almost looks like day with the green grass

Colosseum - biggest challenge? Finding a good spot without all the spectators! Even at night, there were lots of visitors and street 'salesmen' here.

Curious to try it? Many cameras have a night setting, but beware! This setting usually uses flash. In my (very very amateur experience), this is best without flash. So, pull out the tripod, find a place to set your camera, or do as I do and use your husband/friends shoulder as a make shift tripod. Hopefully you'll capture something frame worthy.

After a couple days in the car around Italy, our final pit stop was in Roma! I think this was the city I was most excited about. To me, it was the epitome of why I love Europe. So much history around you, mixed in with the European lifestyle of cafes and lounging around public fountains and parks.

With all our other stops along the way, we really only had one full day and the night preceding it. I was worried we wouldn't fit in everything we wanted to see. Then, when I thought about it, I didn't even know where to start with sightseeing! What were the must sees? The Vatican (and therefore the Sistine Chapel). The Colosseum. And? With some of the pressure off, we got a map and highlighted the must sees.

And then we got to our walking. When you read that you can walk pretty much everywhere in the city, I laughed and thought, ya right. But really, you can walk almost anywhere in the city! Other than the Vatican which is a bit farther away than we cared to walk, we walked almost everywhere around the city.

Our first stop was the Vatican - and it is a city within itself (literally!). After some online research, we went in long pants and with a cardigan for me to cover my shoulders, as you are required to have 'respectful' dress within the Basilica and Sistine Chapel. My advice to others going - yes, they do make you cover your knees if you are in shorts (as a female), but I did see several women in dresses just above the knees with shoulders covered. Perhaps they were lenient because of the summer, but we did see people turned away. My motto on the whole thing - better safe than sorry!

We got their first thing in the morning and NO LINES!

First off was the St. Stephen's Basilica. It is huge, vaulted ceiling, with little rooms or worship areas along the whole length of it. We also went down to visit the tombs of the popes below the chapel itself and above to see the view from the top of the cupola. 335 steps didn't sound like so many before going up, but man, was it hot and the stairs were narrow and winding. It was worth it though for the great views from the top.

Inside the St. Stephen's Basilica

View from the top of the St. Stephen's cupola - you can see the Vatican courtyard in front of us

Next up was the Vatican Museum. You could probably spend a whole day here if you knew what you were doing. But, as I've said before, museums aren't really my thing and this is like a museum on steroids. I don't know how many thousands of pieces are there, but there is something old and historical in every square inch of the place. After following the signs to various exhibits, we decided to finally give up and let ourselves be corralled towards the Sistine Chapel. Needless to say, along the way, you can still enjoy the art, paintings, tapestries and unique architecture, we just did it on a fast track kind of pace.

Inside the Vatican Museum - I was more interested in the architecture than all the art

After gazing a few minutes at the giant portraits in the Sistine Chapel, we were off again, this time headed to the Colosseum (of course after a change into shorts and some lunch). We bought the Roma Pass before seeing the sites, and it was worth it. After using our pass to skip the lines of tourists waiting for tickets, we wandered around the Colosseum. It was certainly multipurpose over the years. From what everything thinks of with Gladiator and fighting, to aquatic shows & circuses to stalls for animals and street vendors, it certainly has a unique history.

Once we had explored enough of the Colosseum, we wandered next door to the Roman forum. This is an area with tons of Roman ruins it, from the Temple of Saturn, to the Arc of Septimus Severus. Like the Vatican, it was a bit overwhelming and there is not much information on the site itself. So, we were content to force our tired legs to carry us through, admiring the ruins and take lots and lots of breaks to admire the views.

Colosseum - no animal fighting for us though

Colosseum from the outside - avoiding men selling umbrellas, light-up objects and other knick knacks

We made a quick stop at the Parthenon to sit down, stare up at the ceiling and wonder what things were like back then, then ended our evening on the Spanish steps with, what else, wine and Italian food!

Not the Spanish steps, but the even MORE famous Trevi fountain

Quick History
- Is there such a thing as a quick history of Rome?
- Ancient Rome was thought to have more than 1M people at the height of its power.
- Founded in the 8th Century BC, Ancient Rome first first ruled by kings, then the senate as the Roman Republic and finally (and most famously), the Roman Emperors
- When Julius Cesar took Rome and appointed himself dictator, he helped Rome to become an empire. After he was murdered, Augustus became the first emperor

What to See
- Vatican - get there early and give yourself plenty of time to enjoy if you do like art. Be prepared to be herded like cattle along with the hundreds (or thousands?) of other visitors. There are two separate entrances to St. Stephen's basilica and the Vatican Museum.
- Colosseum - there is lots of information here for those who want to do self-guided tours. If not, purchase an additional ticket package and you are given more parts of the Colosseum to see on a guided tour.
- Roman Forum - this is definitely worth seeing, but don't do this and the Vatican & Colosseum in one day. I would also recommend getting a guided tour for this. There are poor signs and information, so often times you do not know what you are looking at.
- Piazzas - there are many many piazza (or plazas in English) around Rome. The most famous ones are Piazza Navona (with lots of street artists here), Piazza della Rotunda (in front of the Parthenon), Piazza di Spagna (or the Spanish Steps) and Piazza Fontana di Trevi (difficult translation to Trevi Fountain). While these were all great, I don't think you can go wrong at any piazza. There's usually restaurants, street vendors and lots and lots of people
Tip: if you plan on seeing the Colosseum and the Roman Forum, get the Roma pass. It pays for itself with those two attractions, you can skip all the lines and ride public transit for free. 

When you drive through Tuscany, there are so many small, quaint looking little towns along the way. Some are just a few houses on the side of the road, others are bigger towns set-up the edge of a hill. I wish I could claim to have stumbled upon this little gem of a town, Montalcino, all on my own, but luckily, a friend of a friend had given us the idea to stop in on our way to Rome.

We almost skipped. it. After a morning of walking around Siena a bit more, we were ready to get to Rome. But, our stomachs didn't want to wait until Rome to eat and as we know, wine goes great with lunch, so we figured, why not eat lunch in a wine town? So, with that in mind, we stopped in Montalcino on our way into Rome.

The city was a cute medieval town (do those two words even go together?) It had a fortress and lots of little winding streets lined with shops with fabulous culinary finds.We sampled amaro, grappa and my personal favorite - chocolate liqueur.

After a delicious lunch, we decided to check out one of the local wineries on our way in to Rome. Paul and I had been to Napa before, but I have to say that this doesn't even compare. In Napa, you have these giant vineyards and wineries that you stop in for a tour and tastings. They're great. I mean anywhere you can drink wine all day is great, right?

Vineyards and olive trees are everywhere

But there was just something special about these little vineyards in Montalcino.

The vineyard we stopped at was called La Fornace - it was run by a family. They have 11 acres for both grapes and olives and produce 18,000 bottles a year. While that is still a lot of wine, it seems like a whole different affair than what you see in Napa. We did our tasting in a special room in their home. We got to walk along the vineyard and try the grapes themselves. And we enjoyed hearing their story of how the farm all started. I loved it - and even better, I loved the wine. We made it home with a couple bottles to enjoy for later on!

Paul testing out the grapes. They will be harvested early this year to the unseasonably hot summer

Grapes! They are used for the wine, then the leftover skins from the wine making are used to make grappa

If you are interested in trying a wine from this region, the two main varieties produced are Montalcino Rosso and Montalcino Brunello. Our favorite was the Brnnello, but I think a wine tasting is in order for everyone to pick out their favorite.

When we planned our Italy getaway with our friends coming in town, we were ambitious. We decided on a road trip, stopping in Florence and Pisa, staying overnight and then hitting up Rome. In 3 days.

It seems that I not only forgot that there are only 24 hours in a day, but I also forgot that I hate car trips.

Once we arrive in Rome, pick up our rental car and make it out of the perilously cramped and teeny parking lot, this fact finally hits me. I realise that I do not, in fact, want to spend at extra 4 hours in the car that day to pose for a picture with the Leaning Tower. Florence? Eh, we will hit it up next time. All I could think about was getting out of the car and getting some Italian food into my stomach. At this point, the trip goes from action packed to relaxing and possibly lazy.

Best. Idea. EVER.

We arrived in Siena around lunchtime and checked in to the hotel. After an indulgent feast, we were ready to hit up the town. I really hadn't done much research before, and all I knew from a brief googling the night before was that we needed to check out the Duomo.

Luckily, the town is small and everything is in walking distance. After a 5 minute stroll to the Duomo, we promptly spent the next 3 hours (with a gelato break) investigating all the different parts of the cathedral.

First is the cathedral itself. The marble work inside is amazing, with multi-colored columns and intricate floor patterns. It is breathtaking, and leaves you wanting to tip toe around, not just to achieve respectful silence, but to avoid stepping and leaving a mark on the beautiful floors you are walking on.

What did I learn in Italian this week? Duomo is not actually the name of this particular church. Duomo means cathedral. So, we saw lots of Duomos on our trip.

Vaulted ceilings inside the cathedral

Intricate marbling on the floor

Next, is the Museum which includes access to the walls of the "new" church which they never quite finished. This offers panoramic views of the city and was worth the climb in the unusual and not exactly pleasant Italian summer heat.

Typical Italian countryside. I plan for my next (or first) summer home to be here in Tuscany.

After this, I was tired. Enter the first of many many gelato breaks on the trip.

Now we are re-energised and ready to go. On to the crypts! No, there are no dead bodies here, but it is interesting to see the old frescoes in here.

And last, but not least, is the baptistery. It reminds me of Istanbul's Chora Church with the ceilings depicting out stories from the Bible. The Duomo was smart enough to leave some mirrors around so that you don't have to crane your neck either to get a good look at the ceiling.

Beautiful tiled ceilings - each triangle tells a different story

Baptismal Font - this is dedicated to John the Baptist

After having conquered the only sight-seeing item we knew we had to see, we set out to roam the streets. We stopped in little art stores to find some local art, checked out pottery and finally ended up at dinner with more Italian food.

Siena was a perfect little Italian town to start our vacation in - just enough things to see, plenty of things to eat and lots of time to mosey around and relax.

Next stop - Montalcino.

As soon as the plane landed in Italy, I had food on the brain. Yes, even at 9 am I was planning out our lunch full of pasta, fresh tomatoes, parmesan pizza, bruschetta, vino, and all the rest of that wonderful Italian deliciousness.

I love Italian food, although what we get here in Turkey (and most of the time in the US) isn't REAL Italian food. Still delicious, but it can't compare to the real deal.

So, for 3 days during our vacay to Rome and Siena, I overloaded myself with carbs in the form of delicious Italian. I had tons of my favorites and still didn't have enough time for all of it.


I had meals where I was "brave" and randomly picked off the menu using my (almost inexistent) knowledge of Italian. This ended up with delicious spiral pasta, meat sauce and fresh basil.

Fresh basil is extremely underestimated. As is a glass of wine at lunch.

I had gnocchi and gnocchetti with various, but equally delicious toppings, including pesto.

Pesto=basil=awesome

We sampled pizza, where you paid by the kilo. Best part? You could sample several different kinds of pizza. Our tray includes proscuitto, mushroom and tomato and potato. The eggplant and zucchini version of pizza bits were equally wonderful.

You pay by the kilo! I still love that idea.

And after we crammed our stomachs full of pasta, we always saved a little room for dessert. The only problem? I was too busy eating to remember to take a picture!



So while my pants may be a little snug for the next few days, despite our crazy amount of walking, I can never say I regret it because there is no such thing as too much Italian food.