Personal: Northern Italy

The final series in my documentation of my Europe adventure!
Click here if you would like to see Croatia or Barcelona blog posts.

I was the most excited for Italy on my 3 week trip,
but I had insane, amazing, blissful experiences
in Croatia and Spain that Italy had A LOT to live up to!
Every country has pro’s and con’s, as does every city in a country.
I only spent time in Florence and Cinque Terre, so of course,
I have a lot more of exploring to do in Italy!
It also didn’t help that the top restaurants we wanted to hit up were closed
due to Italians vacationing for the entire month of August.
I am proud of them, but really, it cramps picky tourists plans. haha.
I spent 4-5 days in Florence with my sister (one day in Cinque Terre)
and we felt like it was too many days for the size of the city.
It’s pretty small.
On the contrary, 5-6 days in Barcelona and was too short…
So my advice for length of stay, keep in mind the size of the city or activities you would enjoy in the area.
In Croatia, we beached it every day for a week, so we had a constant activity if we were tired of touring,
same with Barcelona, the beach is always an option.
Florence isn’t on the water, so we didn’t have that option.
Cinque Terre was as AMAZING as it looks…. all the villages on cliffs on the sea!
But each town is super super super super super tiny.
SUPER TINY.
Portovenere is the largest town. There was a cruise ship in its port.
(Technically it is not a part of Cinque Terre, which is comprised of five villages along the coast)

Another suggestion is to figure out what type of traveler you are-
are restaurants/food your priority, or the beach, museums, tourist hot spots, biking, wine tasting?
I didn’t step foot in one museum during my three weeks, because thats not my priority.
Travel the way YOU want to.
If your travel companions priorities are opposite than yours,
compromise will have to happen… good luck : )

If you are madly in love with bread, pizza, and gelato,
Italy is for you!

I think this is a bar haha

Menu was listed inside really cool magazines!

Ditta Artigianale completely changed how I think of coffee and how I like it…
It’s technically a “third wave” coffee shop that specializes in v60, chemex, cold brew, speciality beans, etc.
The type of coffee equivalent to US brands of Intelligentsia, Stumptown, Blue Bottle, etc.
Their coffee began my coffee quest of finding the absolute best beans, roasters, and cafes in every city I travel to.
now… I am the ultimate coffee snob.

We took a train a few hours to the coast to visit Cinque Terre!
This is Monterosso.
For anyone who has visited Croatia, Spain, or Italy,
I put the photos on my Vienna Glenn Print Shop
so you can enjoy the photographs in your home!

Chunks of bread are their meals. It’s pretty crazy to see for this gluten-free, vegan gal.
But when in Italy, eat as the Italians do: )
Cinque Terre had THE BEST PESTO EVEEERRRR

Our favorite part was riding a ferry for a different view!