After a wonderful two days in Venice we packed up our backpacks and hopped on the train! On our way down to Rome, we stopped in Firenze to see the famous Basilica di Santa Maria and were blown away! The exterior architecture could have captivated us for hours! It is so detailed and so colorful! We were absolutely amazed! 

Oh those bronze doors!  

The day was so so SO hot, so we admired the exterior, looked at the line that must have wrapped around the cathedral twice over, and decided to get pizza and gelato first. To our complete surprise, when we were done with our delicious, hand tossed pizza, the line for the cathedral was completely gone and we just walked right in! What luck!

At the center of the interior labyrinth. We felt like true pilgrims in Italy carrying all we had on our backs and talking about the meaning of life as we walked from town to town. 

The gorgeous ceiling. It was really hard to get a picture of it with the crowds inside. 

After visiting the Basilica we spent the afternoon walking around Firenze and enjoying the beautiful character of the streets. We held hands and talked for hours as let ourselves wander. We didn't want to look at a map at all during this afternoon. We had spent so much time getting from place to place that we just needed some time to "be" in a place enjoying the moment and not being afraid of getting lost. It was perfect! So calming and rejuvenating before hopping on the next train!  

We made our way over to a center square filled with statues and I really liked the grandeur of this one. We sat for a while in the square and people watched. Observing so many different cultures in the tourists as well as soaking in Italian lifestyle, we talked again of what from these other cultures we wanted to take back to our lives in America.  We decided gelato and wonder were on that list. 

Around the corner from the square was Pont Vecchio. 

The bridge was remarkable! Like walking into a time capsule! Rough stone streets and walls held up opposing rows of shops, with a perfect arched outlook in the middle. 

And just past the bridge we watched this amazing artist do 3-D chalk art! 

Happy Saturday!

Love, 

The Finters

Venezia Day 2

Our second day in Venezia was a true vacation - relax, relax, relax! We got up early to catch the ferry to another island close by called Lido. On our way we saw this funny sign and had to snap a photo. 

And then well we passed by the gelato place and got some...

We must have gotten the camera wet on the ferry ride over because it had this blurr in the center of all our photos afterwards. But here are few that aren't too bad!

View of Venezia on our way out. 

Lido reminded us a lot of our honeymoon in Virgin Gorda. It has a very island style and life seems pretty slow there. It is completely different from Venezia because it is not a pedestrian city - cars and buses all over. We got off a stop too early and had a nice walk to the beach. Here Landon is gazing into the island's cemetery. 

And then there was the beach! On the Mediterranean Sea! Lines and lines of beach bungalows you can rent for the day and beach umbrellas everywhere! Everyone was vacationing!

The only towel we had with us for the trip was our small camping one. So this miniature was our beach towel for the day hahaha! 

The water was absolute heaven! As warm as bath water and completely clear! We swam for hours and hours! While swimming Landon got bitten twice on the toe by these little black, fast crawling crabs and after that we never let our feet touch the ground! 

For dinner we treated ourselves to a Rick Steve's recommended restaurant and had raviolis and gnocchi. So delicious! 

Pan Seared Mahi Mahi

One night I was feeling particularly chef-like and made this fish dish. It is the best thing I have ever cooked and really quite simple. I am trying to put recipes here that you can throw together with ingredients usually found in your home (I get so frustrated looking through cookbooks and finding nothing to do with the food I actually have in my house not the amazing things you can find in a cooking studio). However this recipe calls for white wine which may or may not be a staple in your home. 

Mahi Mahi

Thaw your frozen meat or pick up a fresh cut. Sprinkle with cracked peppercorn and sea salt. 

Lightly glaze a grill pan with lemon and olive oil (Or use this amazing Meyer Lemon Olive Oil)

Throw the fish on the grill and let them sear nicely until they are cooked through.

Dressing

In a saute pan, heat white wine (about 1/4 cup) and butter (about 1 tbsp) until alcohol cooks out. 

Add a teaspoon of pesto, salt, pepper and 3/4 of a lime's juice.

Pour dressing over fish and enjoy! 

Venezia Day 1

Making our flight out of Poland to Italy was a crazy experience! We left Auschwitz on a late bus and everyone at the airport said we had missed our flight. Well, were determined to make it so we checked our bags nonetheless and we ran as fast as we possibly could to the gate. Luckily, when we got there the flight was delayed and we had time to grab some dinner. Whew! 

On our flight south, we caught a magnificent glimpse of the Alps from our window. 

We spent our first night in Bergamo, Italy before heading out to Venezia. And with our 24 hour whirlwind tour of Krakow, we were so exhausted. We didn't get to sit together on our train and so Landon managed to catch some of this immense fatigue. It's so good that you can't see that my mouth is completely open!! I was too tired to hold it shut! 

We were rewarded with our first taste of Gelato in Milano where we would catch the train to Venezia the next morning! Exhausted but in love with Italy already!

The next morning we felt refreshed and alive again! Ready to start our seven day adventure in Italy. Italy was the only country we decided to do a train pass in and so we knew we were going to be in for a hard travel experience. Driving was impossible though with the country being so large and well the driving being ridiculously crazy! So we had our Eurail pass and went from town to town enjoying the view of the countryside along the way. We actually really enjoyed the train experience. The car was so special because we had a "home" base from which we would go exploring. But the train was so relaxing once we caught it because we didn't have to worry about how to get from place to place. 

Landing in heaven. Venezia is known for having the most supreme, pure light of anywhere else in the world. It is the main reason why so many of the greatest artists chose to paint here. This photo has no filter or editing. It shows how true and rich all the colors are because of the incredible light. 

I think Landon was the most excited I had seen him when we pulled into Venezia. We stood with our faces pressed against the train windows and he squeezed me so hard saying he was so happy we decided to do this trip. Gosh, it was so amazing being able to be with him when he saw this part of the world. There is nothing like it anywhere else and to see his eyes opened to it's beauty and uniqueness was amazing. What really amazes me is how much my happiness is tied to Mr. Finter's. All I want in life now is to see him fulfilled and happy. 

 

Venezia is such a romantic city. No cars, little noise and such beauty. You feel so detached from the bustle of modern society as you wander the windy streets and canals. And windy is an understatement. Even with gps you have to expect to get lost for about 15-20 minutes every time you walk. 

Here we are at a dead end. Ummm... I think we need to be at that bridge. Do you think we can swim?

We stopped to get pizza before heading to our hostel and coming straight from the stone oven it sure was hot! 

As we ate, we watched these three men carry the remains of a fallen building out to a boat on the canal. It was incredible to see how some parts of life in Venezia stand still in time without modern improvements.

We caught an afternoon sprinkle and I loved the way the droplets fell across this photo. 

Another dead end. 

Dusk was such a beautiful time in this city. We wandered the streets for hours our first day enjoying street performers and the beautiful architecture. 

We watched the sun set over the city after we ran through all the pigeons at the Piazza San Marco. 

Then we had dinner on the banks of the major canal by Pont Rialto and had some delicious raviolis.

We spent the walk home talking about how beautiful it was to be on this trip together and have all this time to be in each other's company. I went on and on rambling about how we need to live in Europe and have babies with accents and eat chocolate and bread all day. And Landon just pulled me in closer and kissed the top of my head saying "Nina, you really are my best friend. I want to share every day with you no matter where we are." 

I remember a good friend of mine saying she knew she was going to marry the boy she was dating because date after date she still wasn't sick of him. hahaha! Well, day after day married I still find myself counting the minutes before he walks in the door home from work. 

Our time together never seems to be enough.