This quaint little danish town is full of a tourist’s delights with adorable shops, beautiful architecture, and amusing things all over town. We began with a short stop at an OStrich and Emu farm which sadly was closed. We were able to sneak a couple of shots from the highway.

After our brief moment at the ostrich farm we headed to the mission outside of Solvang called, Old Mission Santa Ines. The view over the valley was very nice and we had a lot of fun exploring the interior and exterior gardens surrounding the Mission.

Solvang itself is really cute with criss crossing streets covered in adorable stores built with Danish architecture.

Next stop was a short hike to Nojoqui Falls. We drove down a really enchanting road with giant trees dripping with spanish moss.

Walking into Florence is like entering a labyrinthe of colored houses, narrow alley ways, and open market places. There is so much to see here that is just simply astounding.

Everywhere you walk is something new and beautiful to look at; every corner beholds a new and interesting facet to this city.

We visited the Palazzo Pitti and the Boboli gardens which were beautiful.

And took a much needed break from the over bearing sun in the shade of the garden.

Italy is a place of bikes where the alley ways and streets are filled with both bikes well loved and abandoned. Some are tagged with graffiti, while others are dainty and clean. Some are simply left abandoned, down a dark alleyway for someone else to find.

They are so interesting to look at with the a thousand different backdrops from different city walls. The city changes but the bikes stay the same. They are a monument to mobility that mark the streets without mercy.

Any who… The movie was really good, a few loose ends but a decent movie indeed. To get what you all are waiting for, Johnny Depp. I lurked in the back row with my telephoto lens to get these pictures.

He was exactly like what I imagined. He was the same as all his interviews, movies, or anything he every does, he was just Johnny Depp.

He was so nonchalant, but not in an arrogant way, very down to earth. It seemed like an altogether likeable guy. I really enjoyed his outfit. He had on like four necklaces, five rings, and a few bracelets as well as glasses. I feel like every interview I have ever seen him in he is wearing that hat. Not that it is bad, it is just sort of funny.

I really enjoyed his mannerisms. He was very expressive in his hand motions and altogether interesting to listen to as well as watch.

He talked a lot about Hunter and his relationship with him which was very interesting. Oh and he tried to take his jacket off and the interviewer that has there basically jumped to try to help him take it off. Johnny Depp gave him the funniest look, and started to laugh. So awkward and so funny.

P.S look at his tattoos, they are so interesting. I wonder what they mean.

Overall, a fun night. Very interesting to meet and see a celebrity. I wound up leaving a little early because I thought I was going ot either be kicked out or have my camera taken because we were not supposed to have “professional grade” equipment. So after I got to hear him talk for a little while and get a couple of good shots, I was outta there. Very cool, I hope to do this again some time soon.

Before even entering the magnificent city of Florence we are greeted by a grand overlook of the entire city underneath a replica of the David statue. Besides, the overlook from the Campanile in Venice, this was one of the coolest city overlooks I have ever seen. All of Florence lays before you, you can see Il Duomo, the Ponte Vecchio, spires from cathedrals, and all the wonderful components that make up the glory that is Florence

It is so very strange how different this city is than any I have been to in the United States. There is such a grace and splendor that emanates from this city that is not present elsewhere.

You can feel the Renaissance as if it happened yesterday. You can feel the presence of some of the greatest minds of all time, living here. Walking the streets that they once walked. Seeing the sights they say as part of their daily routines. This is the city of minds, of rebirth and discovery.

The Ponte Vecchio, a bridge that is full of artisan splendor, with jewelry shops hanging from the sides of the bridges and on either side the main fairways of Florence.

This is a city that cannot only be seen from an overlook and enjoyed because the real life of the city can be found walking through the streets between works and houses of the greats. Once you enter Florence, it will never be the same.

In Florence there is a tradition called the Florence Lover’s Locks. It is said that in Florence that if you and your true love take a lock with your names written on it and lock it somewhere in FLorence your love will last forever. As we explored Florence, all over the city we discovered these locks. They are only allowed in certain sections of the city and in all other places they will be cut down. Because of this people have had to get creative and lock them in impossible to reach and obscure places. It was amazing to look all over the city in random unfathomable places that had locks hanging from it like of the bottom of a bridge or incredibly high on a wall. This romantic symbol hidden all over the city is just one note of charm to introduce the beauty and splendor of Florence.

The difference between Venice and Tuscany is dramatic. Escaping from the lovely hurried bustle of life that is Venice for the countryside where time seems to pleasantly crawl by. Everything moves so much slower here and make so much more sense. The simplistic beauty in overlooking acres of vineyards and Tuscan homes is astounding. I felt like I could breathe here, life here, and experience beauty in its most basic form, right here.

During our search for our hotel we stopped in a tiny Tuscan village for a quick stretch break. We found this gigantic monastery, or church at the top of the tiny village that was just marvelous. There are so many flowers here and so much greenery, it just makes everything seems so much more vivid and full of life.

Tuscany just makes me sigh with wonder every time I see the rolling green hills and the beautiful brick houses with laundry lines hanging from windows. It is so peaceful here. Coming from Venice where life is loud, robust, fast, and complicated, Tuscany is a well needed breath of fresh air. Not to say I didn’t enjoy Venice, because I very much did, it was just so refreshing to see two very different lifestyles in Italy that are in such close proximity with each other.

Our hotel was amazing! Hotel Salivolpi was a tiny little farm-house with many little rooms that were so quaint and relaxing, it really felt like a vacation. I could have stayed there for weeks. There was a pool, gardens and all centered right next to vineyard that really was the quintessential feel of Tuscany.

There was even a separate little building to eat breakfast in down a beautifully sloping grassy hill.

It was so nice there, I really hope to go back someday. Not only was the building nice but the people were so kind. Even though I could not speak their language or they mine, there was such a welcoming feeling that it felt like home.

What is Tuscany without its fields of sunflowers?

We stumbled upon a field of sunflowers (that we actually had to hop some fences to get to) that was beyond glorious. It just lit up the whole area like its own personal sun.

What else can I say? I love Tuscany and I can’t wait to go back.

Right on the Grand Canal is the Accademia, a magnificent ancient religious art museum full of grandeur and mystery.

Hall after hall, room after room, filled with old representations of faith and religion. It is an interesting representation of faith through the ages through creative images. The paintings range from angelic to gruesome and simple beauty to intricate creativity. It is sort of overwhelming the amount of faith in one building. To think that each one of these paintings was made by a person that was so moved by faith and so dedicated to what they believed they had to share it with the world.

After we left the Accademia we had a quick lovely lunch in a campo where I had a ratatouille that was amazing. On our way to walk around we noticed a contemporary glass art show right near by us. So we decided to try it out and it was so much fun!

The first piece was a glass emu constructed of large glass marbles. It made for some very fun photo opportunities.

There were all sorts of other exhibits we had fun looking at and playing with for a while.

Outside was another strange exhibit, the Narrow House. A House that is incredibly narrow, maybe five feet wide.

We got to go inside and it has everything a normal house would, everything is just very skinny. There was a skinny phone, a skinny toilet and all sorts of other things. Oh and a tiny closet.

It was really fun just going and around and exploring odd parts of Venice like this. Sadly we had to leave Venice that next day and continue our journey onward to Tuscany.