Livin' La Dolce Vita in Tuscany

"The Creator made Italy from designs by Michaelangelo."  - Mark Twain


(I know we are dragging these trip posts out for-ev-er.  But can you blame us?  With each one we get to relive a little piece of our trip all over again.  Just one more post after this and the blog reverts back to Eva-Sophie land.)

We spent a night and a morning in Florence.  Just enough time to wander, shop, eat gelato and take lots of huggy pictures. 

Florence is one of my favorite cities in Italy.  I love the size, the buildings, the bridges, the shopping.  A torrential downpour chased us out of town mid-day. Running through the streets of Florence in the pouring rain made me giggle like a little girl.  I loved every second. 

The gelato was amazing, of course. Check out the US location of the local favorite, Grom, in NYC if you get the chance. 

Because of the rain we opted for a more car-friendly afternoon and headed to the beautiful Tuscan hill town of Siena. 

Bona fide Italians playing soccer (il calcio) in the tiny streets. This is Devin's favorite picture from the day.

And this is my favorite picture from the day. 

This church, with its white, black, pink and green marble facade, was so incredibly beautiful. 

Daaaaaaa boyz.

Piazza del Campo.  Sight of a yearly horse race & the most charming public square in Italy.

Leave the gun. Take the cannoli.

Incredible drive through the Tuscan rolling hills...

Skyline of San Gimignano.  Kind of like a medieval NYC. Once upon a time there were 72 towers, only 15 remain.

The next morning we made a quick stop in Pisa for some leaning tower pictures.  I desperately regret not taking a picture pretending to hold up the tower. I also desperately regret not purchasing a long, lost family heirloom brought back from a trip here when I was 11- a replica leaning tower lamp that lights up from within. That classy piece graced my bedside for many a happy year.  

 

That night in Genoa (after our Cinque Terre hike), we met up with one of Devin's mission companions, Fabio Torriti.  He has three cute little boys and a little girl on the way.  He took us out on the town (with a wild ride through Genoa that I will never forget) with two of his boys. It was fun for Devin to see him again and catch up. It wasn't easy to make it happen (public phones are nearly impossible to find these days in Italy) but well worth it.