Saturday – We did not rush getting up today. We arrived at breakfast with the majority of guests at 8:45 a.m. It was a great spread of eggs and tiny hot dogs, breads for toast, meats and cheese, fruit of every kind -chopped up and whole, pastries, yogurt, juice and coffee. We had our fill and headed out on the town.
Cinque Terre is known as the 5 towns, for fishing and hiking, or just general relaxation at the beaches. Many hikers will hike between the 5 communities. The town of Levanto is just past the 5 towns, but appears to have a larger city center. The smells of flowers, the many gardens people have, and the bakery shops with cakes and breads make each step closer into town just wonderful. The center has some butchers, a few pharmacys (farmacia), supermarket , liberia (book store), and many gelatorias, trattorias and ristorantes. There was even a park in the middle with kids playing on swings and a jungle gym.
We made our way out to the beach clubs. You pay a couple of Euro for a beach chair, etc. and you can lounge all day. There was a group learning to surf at one and children making sand castles at another. Again, it is a spot that Emma and Troy would have loved. We missed the ferry to get to the 5 towns, but thought we might just hike to Monterosso, the closest town with a great beach. We started out walking by a medieval castle, the sign said it dated back to 1156 [insert picture here]. As we continued, however, we thought it was going to be a bit too much and turned back. Good thing we did and you will find out later.
So, we headed back another way into town and made our way to the free public beach. Many people were laying out, cigarettes in hand. So many people smoke here, even the lifeguard was smoking. We stuck our feet in the Mediterranean and it was COLD! I got some video on the camera of the waves coming in. We headed back around to one of the Gelatoria’s where Matt had some chocolate gelato. I discovered the limonata, or lemon soda. This is the closest thing I have found to Australian "Lift." We started making our way back to the hotel and stopped for some pizza. The single slices seemed to be served on focacia bread, which was very good!
On the way back to the hotel is a church which has an amazing cemetary. This may sound odd, but wait until you see the pictures. The plots are like a hallway lined up with flowers, lights and various trinkets. The majority had pictures of the people on them and many were quite old. This seems to be a European thing, because we saw another larger version on the train into La Spezia the first day. At night, they were all lit up.
Now, the hotel we booked has a wellness center with a gorgeous pool. The center offers a variety of spa treatments, sauna, turkish bath, emotional shower (I will get to that), and just general relaxation. We made our way out to the pool to relax before the massages started. At the moment I wrote this, I was lounging next to my husband, with the sounds of a waterfall spewing into a gorgeous clear pool, with the most beautiful hills and scenery, and I am in Italy. Does life get any better?
I am about to go in for my massage, but the emotional shower is a walkway of sorts with 4 separate downspouts. You walk to the first one, in your swimsuit of course, and the water starts like a shower with the color purple behind it. The water is luke warm and emits an aroma. Then the water stops. The next spout comes on with a blue light and the water is a little colder with a different aroma. The water finally stops and you move on to the third, which has a red light and the water is much warmer with another aroma. Finally, the fourth starts with a green light, a little colder and a final aroma. Finito.
A few minutes in a turkish bath and that was enough for me. It is similar to a sauna, but with an aroma is my understanding. When you come out, you are supposed to put ice chunks on your skin. When all this was done we laid out a bit more to dry off and then came back to the room for a short nap before dinner.
We headed back into town and stopped at the Café Del Mar for dinner. We sat outside on their open patio and were able to do some people watching. The town is great with families just walking around, playing in the park or riding bikes. Some were wheeling around strollers. Maybe because the buildings are so close there is more of a togetherness? I don’t know.
For dinner, Matt and I share a caprese salad (there is a trend here), glass of wine for him and glass of Spumati – champagne for me. The tomatoes here are spectacular and the mozzarella, this country does not mess around with their mozzarella. We even saw ads for their mozzarella. Needless to say, we enjoyed it. For the main course, I ordered the fish of the day – Grilled Sea Brahm. They served it open faced with the tail included. It was quite good and fresh. Matt had the grilled swordfish and thought it was fair. Then for dessert, Tiramisu!! Scrumdiliocious! Matt had profiterols covered in chocolate, which he really enjoyed.
We soon left with good food in our bellies and continued to talk around town with everyone else. We came upon a side street that we had not been down before. This had the local cinema. The movie they were playing? Hangover 2, however, in Italy it is called “Una Notte de Leoni 2.” The translation is “One Night in Paris 2.” In the first movie, they are in Vegas. In the second movie, they are in Bangkok. So, I do not know what marketing did here. Anyway, we went in and the threatre was really neat inside. Matt bought the supersize popcorn (no refills) which ended up being the equivalent of a U.S. medium. Then with a couple of tall cokes, we proceeded to watch the movie in Italian, no subtitles. This was Matt’s second showing of the movie, so he helped me fill in the gaps. Otherwise, I think the language change made it funnier. I enjoyed it and Matt thought it was funnier the second time around. It was around 11:30 p.m. as we left the theater and the streets of Levanto were very lively. Like an old married couple, we called it a night.
Italy Trip - Day 2
Friday - We arrived at Schiphol Airport with visions of tulips everywhere! My favorite! We sat down at a cafe for a panini and hot chocolate for Matt, cappucino for me. We have seen many kids on the airplanes and at the airports, so Matt had an interesting question. "What would Troy do if he was here with this little boy who did not speak English?" Our answers were: "Are you speaking Spanish?" and "I don't know what you are saying (with his hands up in the air)." Either way, he would come away with a new best friend.
A charge up of devices and we were soon on our flight to Rome.
So, with a flight time of 1 hour and 50 minutes from Amsterdam to Rome, it is exactly the same time from Minneapolis to Pittsburgh to give you some perspective. I must say I am pretty impressed thus far with KLM services. So, as I am writing these thoughts down, I imagine we are at the top of the Italian boot and heading into Rome shortly. Matt is trying to catch some Zzzz's and I am practicing my Italian with my English to Italian dictionary. One of the many things I noticed flying in were all of the areas that had vineyards.
We were just given "Punselies" - Stroopkoekje - Crispy biscuit with caramel filling. The verdict on taste? Very yummy, especially with some tea. I might have to eat Matt's since he is asleep. I am very much a foodie, so do not be surprised by more descriptions of what we eat. My best meals have been in Europe, although Mum's lamb roast is a close third and in Australia.
For those who are interested - 1) Jules Verne - restaurant in the Eiffel Tower, Paris. That one came with a hefty price tag, but definitely worth it. Not only did you get the food, but you also got the ambience and a free visit out on the tower. 2) Chez George - Amsterdam. I still remember the lobster bisque they gave us before they even gave us our menus. With that in mind, we have A LOT to cover and many things to try.
So, we have arrived in Rome and we step off the plane to a Gelato Shop! I love it! We did not partake, however. The next interesting thing was the chewable toothbrush inside a dispenser in the bathrooms. I almost bought one just becaue I thought you would not believe me. Anyway, we made our way to baggage claim and the bags took awhile to come out. So long in fact, one gentleman walked up on the carousel to peer in and take a bag off. We think he thought it was causing the conveyor belt to stop. No luck.
We got our bags eventually and made our way to the train.
The train platform is quite interesting and just getting there is not an easy task. There are three main platforms, whereby you have to take a train to Rome Termino (Center of Rome). It reminded me of taking the train to Central in Sydney to get another train up and down the coast. That took us about 30 minutes. We then made our way on to the next train to Cinque Terre and it took almost 4 hours to get to our next stop. We were basically heading back north again, past Florence, past Pisa and into the curve.
To pass the time, Matt brought his HBO series "Rome" to watch on the computer. I thought it was a little cheesy, but it helped pass the time. The scenery was beautiful, except for the flood of graffitti that seemed to cover a lot of buildings by the stations. I love the clothes and sheets, however, hanging from the windows. I think I need more coffee.
There are quite a few business men on the train making me believe they work in the city during the week and go home on weekends. It is not a short treck to the first station. Pretty soon we saw the water and my gosh! Bellissimo! We finally made it to La Spezia, but had to get off for our last train into Levanto. This is much easier said than done. We had to get our tickets stamped, so had to get in a big line and ended up missing a train. Once we got to the platform, we got on a "finished" train thinking it was ours. Luckily, an Italian gentleman told us and we got on the correct one. Who knows where we would have ended up. After a quick call to the hotel, we arrived with the shuttle van waiting for us. We arrived at our hotel at 7:15 p.m. So, for those who are counting, it took us a long time to get here, but sooo worth it!
Just in the quick ride, I thought we were going to have an accident. The streets are too narrow for two cars to get through. Then, when you have a parked car to the mix, forgettaboutit! Matt talked about renting some scooters, which is the main mode of transportation around here, but I don't think driving on these roads is good for any type of transportation, especially since everything seems to be up a hill. Our hotel is way up and around quite a few bends.
We finally unloaded our gear and went down to the restaurant for dinner. In Italy, they do not eat until about 8 p.m., so we were right on time. We had our first pasta dish of the trip - tagliatelle noodles with squid. I thought it was a bit bland. Matt's lasagna noodles with pork was fair, he said. For the second course, I had salmon, which was fair. Matt had the lobster which was fair. So, not too impressed thus far with the cuisine. It was hard to stay awake any longer, so we called it a day.
A charge up of devices and we were soon on our flight to Rome.
So, with a flight time of 1 hour and 50 minutes from Amsterdam to Rome, it is exactly the same time from Minneapolis to Pittsburgh to give you some perspective. I must say I am pretty impressed thus far with KLM services. So, as I am writing these thoughts down, I imagine we are at the top of the Italian boot and heading into Rome shortly. Matt is trying to catch some Zzzz's and I am practicing my Italian with my English to Italian dictionary. One of the many things I noticed flying in were all of the areas that had vineyards.
We were just given "Punselies" - Stroopkoekje - Crispy biscuit with caramel filling. The verdict on taste? Very yummy, especially with some tea. I might have to eat Matt's since he is asleep. I am very much a foodie, so do not be surprised by more descriptions of what we eat. My best meals have been in Europe, although Mum's lamb roast is a close third and in Australia.
For those who are interested - 1) Jules Verne - restaurant in the Eiffel Tower, Paris. That one came with a hefty price tag, but definitely worth it. Not only did you get the food, but you also got the ambience and a free visit out on the tower. 2) Chez George - Amsterdam. I still remember the lobster bisque they gave us before they even gave us our menus. With that in mind, we have A LOT to cover and many things to try.
So, we have arrived in Rome and we step off the plane to a Gelato Shop! I love it! We did not partake, however. The next interesting thing was the chewable toothbrush inside a dispenser in the bathrooms. I almost bought one just becaue I thought you would not believe me. Anyway, we made our way to baggage claim and the bags took awhile to come out. So long in fact, one gentleman walked up on the carousel to peer in and take a bag off. We think he thought it was causing the conveyor belt to stop. No luck.
We got our bags eventually and made our way to the train.
The train platform is quite interesting and just getting there is not an easy task. There are three main platforms, whereby you have to take a train to Rome Termino (Center of Rome). It reminded me of taking the train to Central in Sydney to get another train up and down the coast. That took us about 30 minutes. We then made our way on to the next train to Cinque Terre and it took almost 4 hours to get to our next stop. We were basically heading back north again, past Florence, past Pisa and into the curve.
To pass the time, Matt brought his HBO series "Rome" to watch on the computer. I thought it was a little cheesy, but it helped pass the time. The scenery was beautiful, except for the flood of graffitti that seemed to cover a lot of buildings by the stations. I love the clothes and sheets, however, hanging from the windows. I think I need more coffee.
There are quite a few business men on the train making me believe they work in the city during the week and go home on weekends. It is not a short treck to the first station. Pretty soon we saw the water and my gosh! Bellissimo! We finally made it to La Spezia, but had to get off for our last train into Levanto. This is much easier said than done. We had to get our tickets stamped, so had to get in a big line and ended up missing a train. Once we got to the platform, we got on a "finished" train thinking it was ours. Luckily, an Italian gentleman told us and we got on the correct one. Who knows where we would have ended up. After a quick call to the hotel, we arrived with the shuttle van waiting for us. We arrived at our hotel at 7:15 p.m. So, for those who are counting, it took us a long time to get here, but sooo worth it!
Just in the quick ride, I thought we were going to have an accident. The streets are too narrow for two cars to get through. Then, when you have a parked car to the mix, forgettaboutit! Matt talked about renting some scooters, which is the main mode of transportation around here, but I don't think driving on these roads is good for any type of transportation, especially since everything seems to be up a hill. Our hotel is way up and around quite a few bends.
We finally unloaded our gear and went down to the restaurant for dinner. In Italy, they do not eat until about 8 p.m., so we were right on time. We had our first pasta dish of the trip - tagliatelle noodles with squid. I thought it was a bit bland. Matt's lasagna noodles with pork was fair, he said. For the second course, I had salmon, which was fair. Matt had the lobster which was fair. So, not too impressed thus far with the cuisine. It was hard to stay awake any longer, so we called it a day.
Italy Trip - Day One
From Minneapolis - Of course it is quite the accomplishment just to get out the door and not forget something. It was a big day since Troy was finishing Kindergarten and I was leaving my big case behind. However, that was all behind us as we closed the garage door and we started making our way down to Monroe. The treck down was uneventful for the most part. Then, we hit the Wisconsin Dells and the sky turned purple. We thought it best to stop at Becky's house, Matt's sister, to ride out the storm. It all worked out well that we could see her new house and her fiance, Mickey. Finally, at about 10 p.m., we headed back out on the road to Monroe to finish the trip. We arrived late and found Val waiting to make sure we were safe. Many trees were down from the storm and some houses were without power. Anyway, after a bit of drama from the kids, they were finally down and eventually so were the grown-ups.
Thursday - I got a bit of a sleep in, but woke up to the kids very excited to play with Grandma's toys, the new scenery and Grandma. After re-packing my bag and making my toiletries just so in the clear plastic bags, there was time to visit with Jen (Matt's other sister), our nephew Wyatt and our new nephew, Briar. The kids were very excited to see Wyatt, Troy especially. Troy and Emma both got to hold Briar. We then realized what we forgot - Troy's school called asking about his attendence. We forgot to call them to let them know he would not be there for the last day of the school year. Everyone else knew, but not offiically, I guess. I then got my own little cuddle with Briar and then we were off to Chicago.
The drive down to Chicago O'Hare was uneventful as was boarding the plane. The people-watching at airports is always quite entertaining, even more so when you add in different cultures and dialects. Matt and I sat in the aisle of different rows which worked out well so he was guaranteed the opportunity to lean back in his seat for adequate leg room. Movie choices galore - I chose the King's Speech again; great movie! We sat next to a group of 19 from Sparta High School, near La Crosse, Wisconsin. They were going on a treck from Spain into Italy.
My fortuitous thoughts of the food running out right before me came true, but since the nice girl next to me took the fish, I got the last chicken. Is this trivial? Yes, but we had a laugh because this always happens to me. After a bit of sleep, I encountered a language course on the in-flight entertainment. English to Italian was an option and I was able to go through common phrases and words with a quiz at the end! A pretty good and uneventful flight as Thursday wrapped up. We arrived at the Schiphol airport in Amsterdam at midnight, Central US time and 7 a.m. European time.
Thursday - I got a bit of a sleep in, but woke up to the kids very excited to play with Grandma's toys, the new scenery and Grandma. After re-packing my bag and making my toiletries just so in the clear plastic bags, there was time to visit with Jen (Matt's other sister), our nephew Wyatt and our new nephew, Briar. The kids were very excited to see Wyatt, Troy especially. Troy and Emma both got to hold Briar. We then realized what we forgot - Troy's school called asking about his attendence. We forgot to call them to let them know he would not be there for the last day of the school year. Everyone else knew, but not offiically, I guess. I then got my own little cuddle with Briar and then we were off to Chicago.
The drive down to Chicago O'Hare was uneventful as was boarding the plane. The people-watching at airports is always quite entertaining, even more so when you add in different cultures and dialects. Matt and I sat in the aisle of different rows which worked out well so he was guaranteed the opportunity to lean back in his seat for adequate leg room. Movie choices galore - I chose the King's Speech again; great movie! We sat next to a group of 19 from Sparta High School, near La Crosse, Wisconsin. They were going on a treck from Spain into Italy.
My fortuitous thoughts of the food running out right before me came true, but since the nice girl next to me took the fish, I got the last chicken. Is this trivial? Yes, but we had a laugh because this always happens to me. After a bit of sleep, I encountered a language course on the in-flight entertainment. English to Italian was an option and I was able to go through common phrases and words with a quiz at the end! A pretty good and uneventful flight as Thursday wrapped up. We arrived at the Schiphol airport in Amsterdam at midnight, Central US time and 7 a.m. European time.
HELLO FROM ITALY!!
I am going to try and cover part of our trip while we are away so I do not forget to afterward. This done mainly for my father who keeps reminding me that I only hae two days of my 10 day trip to Australia up from last year. (I still plan on getting to it, dad.)
The only thing you will hopefully have to wait for are the pictures, since I am not able to upload anything right now. So, just imagine what they may look as you read and I will repost them later when I get home. I promise! :)
The only thing you will hopefully have to wait for are the pictures, since I am not able to upload anything right now. So, just imagine what they may look as you read and I will repost them later when I get home. I promise! :)
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