Sea to Seine

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.

 

Five trains and many walks, we ended at our ‘Cozy Apartment’ in the historic part of the city of Pari, just a few blocks from the Seine River!  This area in the 1^st Arrondissement seems to be up and coming or just popular.   There are lots of restaurants, café and many, many people.  There is a lot of energy here which invited us back out for a walk to see the lights of Paris.  Beautiful!

One excited girlie about this city!        One tiny apartment with a loft bed.

Beauty and Fun

Yesterday we did a little grocery shopping so that we could stay in this morning and cook breakfast.  We had eggs, ham and baget with outstanding olive oil!  Oh, plus fresh peaches that would almost rival Georgia!  Almost!  The 9AM wake up was good for all of us!   Our friend was back downstairs chatting away again and smoke wafting up to our room! 

After the slow start, we decided to get a boat ticket for the day so that we could see the coastline and the other towns.  Our first stop was Portovenere, just past this castle on the cliff!   It’s a larger town in a harbor area where cruise ships can dock, at least smaller ships, along with several other amazing boats.  It’s mostly flat and very touristy.  We had a little snack and did some tourist shopping.  

Boat from the movie Sahara!  

Next we rode the boat back to Cinque Terre.  It stops at each town except Corneglia because that town doesn’t have water access; it’s high up on the hillside.  The final stop is Monterosso which is also a more flat area.  Right away we saw a school bus and the boys argued about whether it was actually a school bus. :). Kids were walking home from school and parents walking their children.  We stopped here for another snack and a swim.  The snack – we made a rookie mistake and put ourselves in the corner.  The fun part of that rest stop was watching a family with water guns have a battle in the square in front of us!  The beaches are supposed to be nice.  They were actually still rocks but smaller and easier to walk on.  The four of us went swimming in 69 degree water!!!  It took me quite a while to do it but I had to get in and swim once before catching the last boat back to Riomaggiore.  

Back at ‘home’ as the kids said, we all showered to go out for dinner.  Our destination was to be the same place John and I went the night before.  Turns out, they were closed and we had a feeling they just weren’t busy and decided to close for the night. ;).  Instead we opted for a place called 1857.  Again, the food was outstanding.  Being in a coastal town, we have to take advantage of seafood.  The octopus is abundant as well as fresh fish and prawn.  The down side is they don’t remove the shrimp heads.  I opted not to order that again because I didn’t like having the heads, antenna and legs on my plate.  Some things I’m use to, I’ll just stick with!  After dinner, there was time to walk down for the end of sunset.  Carter, with his keen eye, found two sets of baby seagull on the cliff yesterday.  He was able to hear them again tonight and see the parents bringing in food as we watched the darkness fall.   After dinner we all opted for one last gelato since we are going to be in the land of crepe and chocolate croissant tomorrow!

Riomaggiore!

That amazing restaurant below us!  Not sure what time they close but it was Saturday night and they were having a blast until who knows when. J  Our air-conditioning is not working so we are subject to whatever is happening outside in these narrow alleyways of stair cases.  It’s amazing how they built this city on the hill just however they could fit things together.   Before 8AM, the chef with her red hair and raspy cigarette voice was back sitting at the table below our window and talked non-stop for hours it seemed.  All morning!  John said she was holding court!  We walked around, had some breakfast, did a little shopping and when we came back, she was still have a great morning chatting with people.  Mostly on the phone.  

Stairway to our place

It was such a relaxing day staying in Riomaggiore!  We wandered the streets, walked along the cliffs to the “beach.”  The beach is actually a bed of rocks and pebbles.    We all put our feet in but the rocks make it somewhat difficult to walk.  Plus, the water is freezing!  On the way back into town, we got so lucky and grabbed and empty table at a café by the water.  We really just chose it for the view but the food was incredible!  We occupied our table for quite a while savoring a refreshing drink before ordering food and then ordering desert after.  

Fueled by lunch, we climbed to the top of the city to see the castle where the clock rings across the city every hour to let us know the time of day.  It chimes two minutes early. J   Evidently I didn’t take a photo of clock but did take one of this pretty little church way up the hill! The shops here are very inviting and the merchants don’t hesitate to invite you in!  They are eager to sell you something but so friendly either way.  

                                                            A little shopping to have food in the room.

Mid afternoon, I went back for a nap and John took the kids swimming in the freezing cold water with the rocks!  Carter was a good instructor of what to do if you get in trouble in the water; sharing his knowledge!   In the evening, the kids opted to stay in while John and I trekked back up the hill to a small restaurant we didn’t expect to be busy.  It only has 10 tables to it was more full than expected.  We ordered a drink to stand by the wall and enjoy the view.  Eventually we got a table, a small snack to share and ordered a pizza to take back to the kids.   One last outing to see the sunset before going to bed.  We don’t get a clear shot from here and there were lots of clouds but still, it’s gorgeous!  It was a beautiful day!  <3 

Baby sea gulls spotted by our animal lover!

Three days in one?

Day two and last day in Florence.  This was a really quick visit.  We packed immediately when we got up this morning in order to leave our bags at the hotel until after our Ufuzzi tour.   Standard hotel breakfast is still meat, cheese, yogurt, bread and coffee or juice.  I’m starting to want some nuts, oatmeal and more vegetables.  We have had some nice salads at restaurants.  What we do get of course is very fresh.  

We strolled back to the river this morning a little way down from the Ponte Vecchio bridge to the Ufuzzi entrance.  The crowds are much lighter that early in the morning.  I’m not sure how large the museum is but we just did the fourth floor art that took us from to Raphael with the guidance of Rick Steve audio.   The art progressed from the focus being on Giotto: Madonna and Child and Fabriano: Adoration of the Magi into the Renaissance and the Botticelli: Birth of Venus.  The Medici during the Renaissance period started the self reliant period, stepping away from the protection of the church. You can see it as the art progressed.  Later Renaissance from DaVinci, Michelangelo and Raphael returned to Adoration and Holy Family.  Raphael’s Madonna painting of Mary with baby John (the baptist) and Jesus depicted such a sweet moment for the three.  It was fun to see the colors expand as time progressed!

On the way back for our bags, we grabbed some ‘take away’ sandwiches and stopped at a supermarket for extras like chips and we found more produce.  We brought along apples and carrots.  This is a big deal to us because we have not found markets with this variety!   We arrived early at the train station and decided to hop on the next train to Pisa!  Haha!  We ended up rushing back off because that train was going to take three hours to get there.   Our correct train took us 50 minutes to Pisa.  We checked in our bags at daily storage and did the 1 mile walk to the leaning tower!  Passing right through this city, we had to do it and take the required holding the tower up photo!  It really is worth the view with just a quick few hours stay in Pisa.  

One mile back to the train and the kids decided they needed a taste of McDonalds for comfort food although we NEVER eat that at home!  J  Fortunately our next train was right on time as well. Another 50 minutes to LeSpezia and and then switch to a short 10 min train ride into Riomaggiore.  Outside this second train ride, to the east the mountain rage has some incredible high peaks and rocky faces.  The view is stunning!    

 

Just a funny note:  Just after leaving the Tower, we walked by a row of trash cans and there was a man knocking on the side speaking something over and over.  We weren’t sure what to think; it seemed a little strange.   A couple of seconds later his co-worker came from the other side of the cans looking back nervously!   He stepped out to reveal that he was trying to make her think someone was trapped inside.  They laughed and we laughed.  It made the walk for us!

 

This day felt like two or threeJ  After three days of rest in Tuscany, we thought we would be fully refreshed.  That hasn’t really felt like the case though.  Two days into site seeing again and we are wiped out!  As with any site seeing trip, it requires some hurry up and wait moments.  We have been so fortunate to have on-time trains, catch the correct train and make it to where we need to be.  God has gone before us.  Diner tonight was served to us just below the kitchen window of our BNB.  It was phenomenal!   Being right on the water is going to have privileges!  The BNB is cut and completely unique.  There is a faucet sticking out of the wall and a clay sink on a pedestal on the wall in the sitting area.  I’m not sure if water will come out but afraid to try; it looks like it would shoot water at me!  The back of the place is wider than the front because of the placement in the hillside.  When you walk the tiny narrow streets of this town, there are just doorways and alley everywhere you turn.  Each one up or down steps.  This will be a fun couple of days!

Wish us luck with this!