Vacation Part II - Italy

After Paris, off to Italy, another lovely country...

1. Pisa: You know, the leaning tower seemed shorter, fatter, and less leaning that I expected...

2. Cinque Terre: My new favorite place in Italy (sorry Florence, I still love you too)

This was a magical place where one could hike, sunbathe, swim in the ocean, and eat delicious walnut ravioli all in just one day. Cinque Terre consists of 5 small towns located on the cliff side, each of which has its own unique feel, community, and charm. We were also able to meet up with another awesome friend, Erin Jensen, who was wrapping up her Slow Food program before heading back to Bellingham. Thanks for meeting up Erin!

3. Florence: Yes Florence, I still love you. Especially since you have some of my favorite paintings and sculptures - The Birth of Venice, and David. We also ate the best tasting Gelato ever and lots of wine and cheese. No seriously, one night we literally ordered a plate of cheese with honey and really good wine. My stomach and I had a love/hate relationship...

4. Venice: Another magical land (or lack of) where one can walk for hours, cross hundreds of bridges, and still remain terribly lost. But that's all part of the experience.

We forked up the money to go on a sweet gondola ride (when in Rome...) and had a lovely time with our gondolier Augustus, whose idol is Casanova. He claims to have a lot of girlfriends.

Finally, we were very lucky to be in town for the Regata, the annual ceremony on the grand canal. We saw a huge procession of gondolas in various shapes, sizes, colors, and splendor. Then we watched the excited races of gondolas, both big and small. It was a super awesome trip and a great way to spend our last day in Venice.

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Byron Yee

Peace Corps Volunteer - Senegal, 2009