Ciao, Italia!

Me smiling under the rain in Pisa

Pretty masks which I was surprised to see in Pisa – aren’t they characteristic of Venice?

This lovely church named Chiesa di Santa Maria in Pisa dates back to 1230

A detail from the cathedral complex that is Basilica di Santa Maria del Fiore, located in Piazza del Duomo – one of Firenze’s hot spots

Ponte Vecchio, Firenze/Florence

More touristy memorabilia

If I am not mistaken, this set of statues is called the Neptune Fountain – it is located in the magical Piazza Della Signora

The beautiful Santa Croce, Firenze/Florence

God’s gift to women… a.k.a. David by Michelangelo

One cannot visit the Leaning tower of Pisa without taking an unashamedly touristy and stupid picture of oneself – most people choose to ‘push’ it, I simply chose to jump next to it

Italy – the land of art, culture, David, Pinocchio, mint vespas, pizza, pasta, ice-cream and possibly one of the sexiest languages ever. I had never been up until two weeks ago, after deciding on a (thankfully, wallet-friendly) whim to get away from London and have a three-day weekend away in this overwhelming country. It rained non-stop on the first day, but that did not make Pisa’s Tower look any less iconic. Florence took my breath away on the second day, which included me falling in love with Michelangelo’s David and getting to see so many things that were once no more than images in my school textbooks. How can one country have so much to offer? I can now say that I’ve had beautiful glimpses of Pisa and Florence, but there’s still Rome, Milan, Sicily… I now fantasize about learning Italian and spending as much time over there as possible, without real life getting in the way. A weekend was far from enough – but a very good appetizer indeed.