Stop #6: Pisa, Elba Island, Milan & Venice (Italy) 

Venice has always been one of my favorite cities <3

Just when we thought Italy couldn’t get any better, it did.  The day after we checked back into Genoa, we caught a train to La Spezia to meet two great friends of ours – Gianmarco & Katie.  Lorenzo has known these two from when they used to live in California and this is our first time visiting them in Italy. We were super excited to spend some of our travel time with friends, especially with friends who know their way around the country!

As soon as the happy couple picked us up from the train station, we went to get fresh focaccia (type of Italian bread).  It was delicious and a nice treat after a tiring journey.  Our next stop was to check out the leaning tower of Pisa. I’ve seen the monument long time ago when I visited it with my parents when they used to be together when I was a kid.  My fondest memories of my parents (before they separated) were when we were travelling.  Somehow, travelling as a family brought us closer, happier and livelier.  I don’t remember much from my childhood, but I do remember our travels throughout Europe, Canada and California.  Those were the good old days!

Pisa was nice and I’m glad that Lorenzo was able to see it.  Then we continued our car ride for a couple more hours down to a port, where we took a ferry to Elba Island.  This place was never on my radar before, nor on my travel list, but I’m so glad they took us there!  I realized that there are so many gorgeous places in the world that we don’t even know about, and we’d eventually die without ever visiting them or knowing of their existence.  This kinda makes me sad because I want to see everything before I pass (which is obviously impossible).  But at least I can see as much as I can while I am alive, healthy and well 😊

Gianmarco’s aunt has a gigantic house right on the water that sleeps 16 people.  There were only 4 of us, so we had plenty of space for the next few days.  The house itself was beautiful, but the best part is that it had its own private beach with a (flat rock) dock to chill on.  And the waters were so calm and clear that you could see straight to the bottom, it was paradise!  I can’t believe how fortunate we were to have this amazing opportunity.  Oh and I forgot to mention, before we got to this house, we spent some time at a big Italian festival which had excellent food and things to buy.  We went a little crazy with cheese tasting, prosciutto tasting, wine tasting, eating tacos and links… delicious!  It was an Italian smorgasbord. That evening we had dinner at a restaurant that was situated high up in the mountains, overlooking the main town.  The view and lights were extremely romantic, quite a sight to see.  And the food was absolutely delicious – seafood appetizer, steamed clams, octopus stew, fish tail, and fish egg pasta.  No wonder why we’re gaining weight!    

Private access to crystal clear blue water?  Yes please!

Our first day on Elba, we rented a speed boat to cruise around the island.  The waters were so calm I never got seasick (I always get seasick).  I never thought that the ocean could be so calm like smooth glass!  The temperature was not very cold, so swimming in it was just as fun.  One of the places we stopped at was at a shipwreck site.  Lorenzo and Gianmarco checked it out (and took some inappropriate pictures with various parts of the ship), and I got to take a glimpse at it.  Pretty cool 😊  Throughout the rest of the day, we enjoyed the views around the island and had a nice picnic on the boat which included cheese, prosciutto, tomatoes, focaccia bread and fresh cut veggies – a typical Italian lunch. Throw in a few beers and a bottle of champagne and it’s a damn good time!  That night we had an even better dinner, at a restaurant located right on the water.  I still couldn’t get over how amazing the ocean looked.  We enjoyed an evening of scallops, octopus, tuna tartar, stuffed pumpkin flowers, seared fish, crusted tuna, a giant ravioli, squid ink pasta and a deconstructed tiramisu for dessert.  Needless to say, dinner was orgasmic.

The next day was one of the best days ever.  It was by far the best mountain biking adventure I’ve ever had!  The group had the idea of renting electric mountain bikes, which I wasn’t fond of at first.  Isn’t it cheating to have electric bikes?  Turned out that these bikes are incredible and I really want one now.  By riding an electric mountain bike, you can go further and faster than ever before, and go on terrain that you never could on a regular bike (due to the steep slopes and difficulty).  We hired a tour guide who lead us all around the island and showed us the best views.  The ride was awesome.  I got to experience parts of mountain biking that I never experienced before – going up steep slopes, very rocky terrain, and most importantly, keeping up with the boys!  We all had the best time ever, I’ll never forget it.

Our last day on Elba were just as perfect as the first 3 days.  All we did was chill on the dock in front of the house, swim in the crystal clear water, work on our tans, and drink champagne and beer.  Life is damn good. It was a fantastic, relaxing day before driving nearly 4 hours to Milan. We got to Milan just in time to have an evening walk around the city and another delicious dinner. That was the last of our (amazing) time with Gianmarco and Katie, as we had to take a train the next day to Venice.  But before hopping on the train, Lorenzo and I got to take a quick tour of the city and admire the unique architecture, cathedral, fancy shopping centers, parks and plazas.  Milan was very nice, but we were eager to get to Venice.  It’s always been one of my favorite cities in the world!

A couple hours later we arrived in Venice.  We checked into our apartment which was perfectly located in the heart of the city.  Immediately we started venturing into the crazy curvy alleyways, getting lost in its mystery and beauty.  Everywhere you turn, there’s another squiggly turn or a little bridge to cross.  This place is definitely one of the most fun places to walk around!  I used to hate getting lost – it used to make me anxious and a bit upset.  But getting lost in Venice is incredibly fun, especially when you have the time to do so.  By getting lost, you’re full of surprises.  Every few minutes you run into something unexpected and usually pretty cool.  Anyhow, dinner was pretty good (beef carpaccio, Venice-style liver and local fish), but the night walk back to the apartment was even better.  I really think everyone should visit Venice at least once in their life!

The next day we decided to take a walking tour around the city so we could learn about the history and see places that weren’t on our list.  Overall, the walking tour was interesting and educational, and the gondola ride that came with it was very nice and romantic.  Throughout the day we witnessed a few marriage proposals which I thought were really cute and romantic, although the tour guide said it happens allll the time in Venice.  I still think it’s cute though! And on our last day in Venice, we took a ferry to a nearby island called Murano.  This island is very famous for its glass – “Murano Glass”.  The island was cute and the shops were very nice, but we kinda saw the same thing over and over again… all glass.  Regardless, it was a nice walk and a relaxing day.  That evening we enjoyed our last dinner in Italy.  We picked a delicious restaurant located on the water side, lined with beautiful flowers.  We decided to order the Venice liver again (so good!), as well as squid ink pasta (again).  The wine has been consistently delightful throughout our whole trip in Italy and it continued not to disappoint.  Another great dinner, and country, in the books!

Farewell Italy, its time for us to make our way to Croatia!

PHOTOS OF ITALY: PART 2