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Anna and Becky in Hawaii: Day 8
Yesterday was our last full day in Maui, and we used it as a beach day. We started by driving into Kihei, the area we stayed at in 2016, and snorkel at Kamaole Beach Park III. We hit up a couple of other beaches in the area before returning no our room and making a feast out of our remaining food.
We’re sitting in the airport now waiting for our flight home, but I wouldn’t be surprised if we came back again someday. There is just so much to do here!
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Anna and Becky in Hawaii: Days 6 and 7
Yesterday was our big snorkeling trip on the Quicksilver! They took us to Lanai island, but slowed down partway there so we could see a pod of dolphins that we came across. My parents took a snuba class once we arrived, while Kevin, Becky, and I snorkeled around the bay. We were back on the mainland by 1, but we took the rest of the afternoon to relax after getting up so early.
Today was mostly a beach day. We did some more snorkeling on our own, and then went back into Lahaina later in the afternoon. We ended up eating dinner at Fleetwood’s on Front Street, but sadly Mick Fleetwood wasn’t around to perform for us. Still, the food was pretty good.
Here are some photos from the last couple of days, some of which were taken by the photographer on the Quicksilver.
Dolphins!
More dolphins!
Lenai island
Becky and I under water
Kevin and I under water
The sunset from the beach
Live music at Fleetwood’s
Downtown Lahaina
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Anna and Becky in Hawaii: Day 5
It must have rained last night, because we woke up to a rainbow this morning!
Once we all got ready, we drove into Paia for a food tour. We got to try samples from all over the town, including smoothies, a zesty breakfast burrito, and even fresh fruit in a local grocery store. It was tasty!
Afterwards, we drove part of the Road to Hana looking for the bamboo forests and Twin Falls. We never really found the forest, but we did hike the Waikamoi Nature Trail that we found instead. Afterwards, we continued on to the waterfalls and saw some bamboo groves there.
We then returned to Paia for some more sightseeing before going back to our room.
We had a breakfast sampler at Charley’s
Willie Nelson owns this guitar
Chickens along the trail
Quiet … Trees at work
The Twin Falls of Maui
A bamboo grove
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Anna and Becky in Hawaii: Days 3 and 4
We spent the last couple of mornings snorkeling at Kapalua Beach. We saw a bunch of fish swimming in the rocks, and a sea turtle even surfaced a few feet away from us! I wish I had an underwater camera to get pictures of everything.
Monday night we attended the Royal Lahaina Luau, where we ate some pretty good food and heard a few stories from the Myths of Maui. My dad even volunteered to go up to the stage for a basic hula lesson!
Tuesday was our zipline day, and we spent the afternoon zipping through the trees at Northshore Zipline. We stopped for dinner in Makawao and took an hour to explore the town before driving up to the Haleakala summit to watch the sunset. It was a busy day, but lots of fun!
We ate this pig!
My dad learned to hula
Becky above the clouds
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Anna and Becky in Hawaii: Day 2
We drove into Lahaina yesterday, and spent most of the morning and afternoon exploring the town. They have a bunch of neat shops in the main downtown area, but we also got to see the Jodo Mission and the Banyan Tree on opposite ends of the town.
We ended the afternoon with swimming at Hanakao’o Park.
The view from our balcony
Lahaina!
The Big Banyan Tree
$6 Mai Tais!
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Anna and Becky in Hawaii: Day 1
Yesterday, May 19, was our first full day on Maui! We took a few hours in the morning to settle in, and then spent the rest of the afternoon relaxing on the beach and exploring our side of the island!
We spent a few hours swimming around on Fleming Beach before moving on to see what else was in the area. We met some chickens, took in the scenery, and even stopped for smoothies. Here are some pictures from throughout the day:
I’m pretty sure that’s Becky’s knee on the right …
I don’t know what this tree is actually called, but I call it a spaghetti tree
The smoothie truck!
View of the ocean
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Anna in Italy: Day 7
Today was our last full day in Italy, and we spent it on another all-day guided tour in Tuscany.
Our first stop was at Oliviera Sant’Angelo, a small olive oil mill in Crete Senesi. Olive season is from October to early December, so unfortunately we couldn’t see the machines in action. Instead, we got a walk-through of the building, and we had a chance to sample the various grades of olive oil that they produce.
Next, we visited Podere il Casale. They are a small farm and restaurant that tries to be self-sufficient as much as possible. This farm has a small herd of goats and sheep that they used to make cheese, including the Pecorino cheese that Tuscany is known for. Lunch at the farm included a salad right from the garden, pasta made with wheat from their fields, and a sample of their cheeses. It was all really delicious!
The last stop was in Pienza, a town in the mountains overlooking the farm. Our tour guide grew up just outside this town, so he was pretty excited at getting to show us around! Not only did we get to look around the town cathedral, but we also saw a palace owned by Pope Pius II. We had some time to wander the streets before our guide dropped off back at our hotel.
This machine is used separate the olives into solids and liquids.
This machine separates the olive liquids into water and oil
A display of the olive oils that they produce.
Sheep on the farm, hiding inside from the sun.
Goats excited about getting a treat!
Pecorino cheeses of various sizes aging on the farm.
We had a sample of cheeses during lunch
The clock tower of Pienza
The Pienza town square
The San Francesco cathedral in Pienza
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Anna in Italy: Day 6
We were back in Florence today, this time for a walking tour of the city.
Our first stop was at the Gallery of the Academy of Florence. This art museum is best known as the home of Michelangelo‘s David sculpture, but they also contain several of his unfinished sculptures and some other Renaissance paintings. The David sculpture was initially constructed to sit in front one of the palaces in Florence, but it was relocated in 1873 and replaced with a replica.
Our second stop was a tour of the Florence Cathedral, called the “duomo” by the locals. This cathedral was started in 1294, but it took until 1436 before somebody figured out how to build the giant dome. Our tour group took a walk through the main floor, and the tour guide mostly focused on its construction, artwork, and use as a meeting place for non-religious events.
Our last stop was to the Uffizi, one of the largest art museums in the entire world. Its collection includes paintings from artists such as Michelangelo, Botticelli, Raphael, and Leonardo da Vinci. We walked through almost the entire art museum and learned some of the history of the various paintings and exhibits.
Here are some of my photos from throughout the tour:
The famous David statue
A partially completed Michelangelo sculpture
A fake David statue outside the Palazzo Vecchio
A scale model of the Duomo of Florence
The ceiling of the duomo’s dome
The main entrance to the duomo, with a 24-hour clock.
Dukes of Urbino, Piero della Francesca
La Primavera, Sandro Botticelli
The Birth of Venus, Sandro Botticelli
Doni Tondo, Diameter, Michelangelo
The view of Florence from the Uffizi
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Anna in Italy: Day 5
Today was wine tour day! We went to three wineries in the Chianti region, and sampled a total of thirteen wines throughout the day.
Our first stop was at Castello di Radda, a fairly new winery that has been operating since 2009. We toured their facilities, and then tried five of their wines.
Our next stop was for lunch in Volpaia, a city that was built in the 10th century along the Florence and Sienna border. We didn’t tour any wineries there, but we did get to try one wine made in the city.
Our third stop was in Castello di Brolio, the second oldest winery in the world and the place where Chianti wine was invented. We had a tour of the grounds and learned the history of the castle before moving on to the wine tasting. They had three wines to sample, all either Chianti or Supertuscans.
Our final stop was Cantalici. This winery was converted from a 6th century kiln, and uses organic wine making techniques. We had a tour of the grounds before trying four of the wines and some of their olive oil.
Here are some pictures from throughout the day:
Approaching the Castello di Radda winery
Barrels in the basement of Castello di Rada
We had our lunch at La Bottega Ristorante Di Carla Barucci
Outside Castello di Brolio
The castle’s private church
The oldest tree on the castle grounds. It was hollowed out by a grenade in World War 2
The view from the castle walls
The Cantilici brewing tanks
This building used to be a kiln, and is now the winery