Weekend in Italy

We just returned home from Tuscany. We spent a wonderful Labor Day weekend in Pisa, Cinque Terre, the beach near Camp Darby, and Lucca.

Jack and Eli were impressed with yet another Little Einsteins landmark... "Wow Mommy, the Leaning Tower of Pisa really IS leaning!"

From Italy

We headed straight for the Field of Miracles from the airport and enjoyed the site, a nice dinner, and our first of several gelatos. Camp Darby is then only a 10 minute drive away. This is a small Army post in a great location. We were lucky to get a room given there was a big softball tournament going on.

Saturday was Cinque Terre day. We made the 50 minute drive in the morning to La Spezia to catch a short train to the first town of Riomaggiore. From the first glimpse of the Mediterranean Sea down the rocky cliffs,

From Italy

we knew we were in for a beautiful day. From Riomaggiore, we walked the Via dell' Amore along the Sea. The views are spectacular. Story has it that teens from the neighboring towns met along this path, and so many people (not us, though we have our own lock story coming) place padlocks along the path to seal their love. A 30 minute walk took us to the second town Manarola.

Manarola has a small "swimming" area. The boys had fun watching the cliff divers and others trying to battle the waves to get back onshore. We ate lunch here in a tiny trattoria, sampling local specialties Spaghetti Batti Batti and pesto ravioli. We first ordered Pasta with shellfish, but was informed by the waiter that the sea was too choppy that morning to bring in any shellfish. Nothing like fresh seafood. There was even a grape delivery man that handed us a bunch right off the truck after Kristy snapped a picture of the basket. After lunch we headed UP UP UP on a hike thru the vinyards above Manarola. While above the town, Jack spotted a playground out a small peninsula overlooking the town. We hiked back down, padlocked the stroller and played. Unfortunately upon returning, the lock on the stroller was jammed! After asking around (and not knowing the Italian word for BIG wire cutter), we had to train it back to town #1 and find the only hardware store in Cinque Terre. When we first looked in the store, we were worried by what was called a hardware store. It was one aisle about 15 feet in length! At first the girl tried to sell us a lock. Then, I spotted a cutter for some chain link that they sold in the corner the corner of the store. I said, "No, I need something like that." She said, "You bring it back??" So I took the wire cutters and trecked back. Stroller saved.

We then boarded a train which took us to the last town of Montorroso. Here we found a rocky "pokey" (a la Eli) beach, but it was the boys first taste of the warm Sea water. They even played European style... in underwear!

Finally, another train back to town #4, Vernazza. This beatiful harbor town glistened in the sunset. We ate pizza on the breakwater and Mommy had a small heart attack as Daddy carried the boys out onto the rocks. More gelato and another playground finished a long, fun day in Cinque Terre.

Sunday, we played at the beach in Tirrenia just a few minutes from Camp Darby. The weather could not have been better. Sun, waves, and just the right heat. The boys made some friends and loved the sand & surf. At dinnner that night, there was a Italian entertainer/magician/balloon artist. The boys had a blast following all the other Italians around the restaurant grounds.

On Monday, we decided to take in the town the Lucca before our evening flight. This was a last minute decision, but it turned out to be a good one. The town is surrounded by a Renaissance wall that you can walk atop. Of course the boys spotted a playground as soon as we entered the town gate. Lucca was also close enough to Florence for Kristy to find a new leather purse! Lastly, we have two new chefs in the house, thanks to great personalized Chef hats.

Now, if only they can duplicate all the great food we ate throughout the weekend.

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