Leaving the Mediterranean. We are going to miss this funny little apartment and the ability to walk down to the shore.
Our first train is about an 8 minute ride back to La Spezia. One we got on the larger train to Turin, it took us right back through the towns of Cinque Terre. One last glimpse of the sea!
As we left the coast, the land turn to flat farm land. Lots of varieties of crops including two large fields of poppy! Red poppy has been a consistent since we arrived in Italy. As has been jasmine which reminds John and I of our wedding day. The church garden, in Boca Grande, had a large arch of jasmine in full bloom that day! The farm houses look very much like most structures in Italy, continuing the terra-cotta roof and clay theme. However, there is some white paint splashed in on some facade. In a small town north of Cinque Terre, I spotted an old home with massive twin sets of stairs leading to an impressive entrance. Grass and small shrubs were growing in the stairs and it for sure looks deserted. It just makes me wonder who that belonged to and why is now deserted. In Genoa, Italy which is a large coastal town, massive building after building all looking similar to one another. I’m not sure what all goes on here, if it’s all housing or business…. Looks very overwhelming to me!
OK – the train ride through Italy was so beautiful but the mountains riding through the Alps. I remember this being overwhelming and my favorite part of the world when I was 17 was Switzerland! Every time I travel to new places and see the variations in creation it reminds me of how big God is! I look out one window and there are aspen trees, pale blue snow melt in a stream, a little green in the midst of dark stone cliffs and snow capped peaks in the distance. Out the other window are light sand stone faced cliffs and more trees. The further we travel, the wider the river gets. We passed what appeared to be a power source using the water flow. I’ve seen several lifts up the mountains in these towns but really no slopes yet. When we crossed into Switzerland, there was a passport check; two people were actually escorted off of the train for not having documentation. Yikes!
As we continued, being in the shadow of rock cliffs makes me feel so small in this world. Yet, a song comes to mind! On Christ the Solid Rock I Stand. We have been traveling through the mountains for two hours and it feels like a half. It’s ever changing scenery just keeps us viewing. GraceLin keeps feeling sorry for me because I want to grab a photo and a train will come between me and the mountain or suddenly, we are in a tunnel. It’s comical! The architecture first became a blend of what you would imagine in Switzerland combined with Italy. We passed through a really large valley filled with farms, a medieval looking castle on a hill as well as a village that looked to be medieval times construction. Living in America, we just keep being awed by the age of many things here!
I could tell right away when we entered France, the hills became covered in grape vines and the architecture was clearly French. Looking back into the mountains, we see more snow caps that when we were in the midst of them. The peaks are not as high here and many remind me of being in the western United States with the rock faces rising straight up from the green foundation. The countryside is filled with farms and beautiful rolling hills!
I can’t not comment on the fact that every long stretch of transportation on this journey, we’ve shared the space with a crying or screaming young child. Looking back on our flight over, and trying to sleep, there was a fog of half wakefulness with a constant screaming from one of the two babies right next to us. It’s become comical and everyone is prepared to grab a headset when needed.
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