seven (revisited)

A little less than a year ago, I wrote a post on my seven favorite places in the world. My dear friend, Maddy, tagged me to write seven things about myself, so I thought I'd redo my list after traveling much more. This time, my list is limited to my favorite international cities, but it was still a difficult list to make. It's hard not to fall in love everywhere I go.

7.

Nauplion, Greece

It's hard to forget the first city that showed me Greece's magic. It was the first time I saw water so warm and blue.

6.

Assisi, Italy

Other than stories about St. Francis of Assisi, I didn't know much about the city before I went. It's magical. The lovely little pink city is at the heart of the Umbrian hill towns and it's so peaceful and relaxing. From almost any spot in the city, you can see for miles and miles around you.

5.

Bath, England

(or any tea house, really)

Even though I spent most of my time in Oxford, Bath was the perfect little getaway... especially since all we really did was sit in a tea house for hours and eat bath buns with clotted cream. The town isn't as overwhelming as London and it doesn't seem as small as Oxford. I wish I took more pictures and spent more time there.

4.

San Gimignano, Italy

When I first came to Italy, I asked my host dad what his favorite Italian cities were. He told me San Gimignano, a small Tuscan hill town, was "meravigliosa." And he was right. The little town with 14 medieval towers is quaint and marvelous.

3.

Munich, Germany

I know I wrote about Munich recently, but it still holds a special place in my heart after going there last summer. I love Germany and all of the cities I've been to (Frankfurt, Cologne, Berlin and Potsdam) but Munich has a different feel to it. Maybe it's because it was summer or maybe because it felt like a miracle, but Munich was such a wonderful experience.

2.

Salzburg, Austria

The fairytale city I never expected. Even though I chose to go because of my love affair with The Sound of Music, it was really wonderful beyond that. Quaint. Surrounded by the Alps. Beautiful pastel colored buildings. And gigantic cinnamon sugar pretzels. I wish I could go back and bring my whole family with me.

1.

Florence, Italy

The one place abroad I never feel like I need my family with me, because my family is already there. Florence is the reason I fell in love with Italy and the main reason I want to go back everyday. My host family was one of the best matches I could have imagined. I love that I have a favorite gelateria and salumeria, and that I know the streets well enough to take shortcuts to get where I want. I love that it was my first real experience abroad and I love that I have family to visit whenever I go back. Mi manchi, Firenze (anche tu, babbo!).

Lastly, I'm really terrible at tagging people so I'm going to leave this open-ended. If you have seven things you'd like to share- things about yourself, favorite places, things you couldn't live without, anything!- please blog about it and leave me a link to visit!