7/27 -- Cinque Terre

I woke up this morning with very sore calves (I think from the downhills more than the up), and a hip feeling like it did before my injection.  Fingers crossed it’s just soreness from yesterday, although if this is what lots of stairs feels like I’m now a little nervous for climbing the Tower of Pisa tomorrow.  But at any rate, we didn’t have much on the agenda today except hitting the beach so we told the kids they could sleep in (and it was midnight before we went to bed last night after our long hike).  I even managed to sleep until 6:30!  Then I read in bed until the boys woke up sometime after 8.  Julia and Jourdan were in the second room, and she slept until after 9.  We got up and had breakfast and then rented chairs at a beach club for the day.  The “sand” was rocks but the water was perfect.  Blue-green and the perfect temperature and amazing.  We spent about 5 hours at the beach.  Watching the kids ride the waves in and laugh was intoxicating, and I created a new, very challenging pilates move:  sit in a teaser just inside the water’s edge and see how long you can hold the pose while waves hit you (I was good for like 3 waves, tops.). One thing that is a definite is that we found some amazing rocks to take home.  I mean, at home we can’t walk around the block without finding rocks to take home, so obviously we would find some on a rocky beach in Italy!  Also, a benefit of a rocky beach is that the rocks aren’t quite as pervasive as sand after you leave.

After the beach, we decided we had to finish the Cinque Terra hike (ok, I decided for all of us), so we boarded the train for Manarola and then hiked to Riomaggiore.  This one was short, just over a mile, much easier than yesterday’s with only a 700 foot elevation gain (per my Garmin, up 85 flights of stairs), and we didn’t start until 7:45 pm so it was not as hot.  In Riomaggiore we went straight to the train station and headed back to Monterroso, for dinner at the restaurant next door to our apartment, Ristorante Al Carigio.  So far the kids are not loving the food here.  They have tried, and have been pleasantly surprised by a few things (Russell loves spaghetti carbonnara and Owen loves just about anything with pesto), but overall they miss the comfortable food at home.  I suppose world travel takes some getting used to.  They do love the Fanta (“it’s different here, mom”) and the Limonata (basically carbonated lemonade), though.  (Jourdan and I, however, had pretty much loved everything that we’ve eaten.). But tonight’s dinner was a hit for everyone.  Julia and Owen got gnocchi with pesto sauce, Russell got gnocchi with bolognese sauce, I got the fish of the day (I couldn’t understand what kind of fish she said it was, but it was delicious), and Jourdan got ravioli filled with spinach in a cream sauce.  Then we got dessert at the restaurant (panna cotta with fresh berries), and then also had to stop for gelato — obviously.  I had peach that tasted like biting into a fresh peach and was maybe the best flavor I’ve had so far.

Then it was home, shower (because even though our hike was short, we were still super sweaty and stinky), and bed.  We leave in the morning for Florence, with a stop in Pisa on the way.  






Fun on the beach!










Evening hike from Manarola to Riomaggiore


Monterroso at night






Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Utah August 2025 -- Jourdan Family Reunion

Image
  A family reunion with Jourdan’s family has been about 2 years in the making, and finally arrived.  We are planning to spend time in Zion National Park in Utah with Jourdan’s uncle David and aunt Gayle and their grandkids Halle and Kohen; his brother Todd (and his family: Christie and Xander); his cousin Katie (and her family: Cory, Luke, Victoria, and Grace); and our niece Sydney (and her family: Steve and Charlotte). Monday, August 4 Jourdan, Owen, and Julia left in the camper van on Saturday to take the drive in a couple of days — Russell had to go to drivers ed this morning so he and I stayed behind and flew down today.   The camper van folks stayed outside Salt Lake Saturday night and then at a place in the Utah desert Sunday night that was done up to look like Tatooine (a planet in Star Wars).   They said it was pretty cool, although the van — both outside and inside — accumulated a layer (or two or three) of dust from driving through the sand. Drivin...
Read more

8/5 -- Pompei/Rome

Image
We got to sleep in a bit this morning, as our train wasn’t until 10:20.  Packed up to move hotels for the last time this trip, grabbed a croissant for breakfast, and then headed to the train station to go to Pompei for a few hours on the way to Rome.  I think Pompei was the thing the boys were most excited to see going into this trip, other than The Colosseum for Russell. And it lived up to expectations.  The city is so well-preserved, it is hard to believe the structures were built 2000+ years ago.  Of course being buried under ash for 1600 years was helpful for preservation, but when it seems like very little is created anymore with the intent it will last more than just a few years, so to see so many old, well-built things, WOW. We retrieved our luggage and took the train to Rome, our last train ride of the trip.  Jourdan hasn’t loved the trains (at least not the ones in small towns) but I think it’s such a great way to get places.  We arrived ...
Read more

7/23 -- Venice

Image
Busy day in Venice.  We started with a Grand Canal cruise via vaporetta (a large boat that is essentially Venice’s city bus), going from one end of the grand canal to the other.  We ended just past St. Mark’s Square and then walked back to the square to see the Doge's Palace, which was built in the 1100s and was the residence of the Doge of Venice, the authority over the Venice Republic.  We had booked the Secret Itineraries Tour, which gave us access to the jails and torture chambers of the palace, including the jail cell of Cassanova.   Each room in the palace seemed more incredible than the last; the artwork on the walls and ceilings was unbelievable.  When we finished the tour, we all were hot and Julia was nearing a breaking point, so we headed back to the hotel for a nap.  A couple hours later we headed back to St. Mark’s square for a late lunch (at the place our hotel receptionist said had the best pizza in Venice — the pizza was indeed qui...
Read more