SALVE BLOG!
Weather Logbook: Thunder, Lightening and Rain!
Exchange Rate: 1 American Dollar = 1.42 Euro
LEGS and I have decided to travel to ITALY.
After asking around we heard of this Coastal Region called Cinque Terre (Pronounced Cinca Terra). The Cinque Terre is a rugged portion of coast on the Italian Riviera. "The Five Lands" is composed of five villages: Monterossa, Vernazza, Corniglia, Manarola, and Riomaggiore.
Over centuries, people have carefully built terraces on the rugged, steep landscape right up to the cliffs that overlook the sea. Part of its charm is the lack of visible corporate development. Paths, trains and boats connect the villages, and cars cannot reach them from the outside. The Cinque Terre is a very popular tourist destination.
In order to take this trip, I had to make arrangements for my garden and for Karmella. My neighbor Mariannae, agreed when I requested (in German) that she watch/water my garden. And, my dear friend CHOLO agreed to take Karmella. Its been a very long time since I left Karmella and I was having extreme anxiety over it. We dropped her off the night before we left due to the early hour of our departure. That night, I called for her to come to bed, forgetting that I had dropped her off. LEGS and I had a very hard time falling asleep because we were so excited, I mean, we were going to ITALY!!!
It was too much to ask for a clear complexion wasn't it? I woke up with the biggest zit on my face, and it would be present in all the pictures of our trip to Italy.....
We left on our adventure bright and early at 630am. I am not a morning person, but for ITALY, I was the happiest, brightest girl in the Universe. We decided driving would be the most time efficient way to travel, and began our journey through Germany, Austria, Switzerland, and ITALY.
Growing up reading in books, and hearing about in history classes, you see pictures of places all over the world, and you either think, that places don't really look like that , or when you see them you think, MY GOD, the pictures don't do it justice. Since I have embarked on this Adventure to Europe, I have come to realize that all the pictures are true, but they don't capture the place in its entirety.
Switzerland, really is the most beautiful place on earth. Its like ALASKA on STEROIDS. The mountains are very similar but more dramatic, the pastures are greener than any green I have ever seen, they are filled with wild flowers, and little cabins......I saw fireweed! The water is clear, and looks exactly like the glacial blue of ALASKAN waters.....LEGS and I drove through Switzerland with our mouths open.
The change in country was not as apparent as I would have thought. Some parts of Austria looked like Switzerland, parts of Switzerland looked like ITALY, etc. etc. There was no WELCOME TO signs like in the States, and the borders were open, we never even showed our passports to anyone. We were stopped once on the way back and that was to pay 40 Euro to travel through Switzerland.....
It was cloudy and rainy when we first realized we were ITALY. I was nervous that our whole weekend was going to get rained out, and I didn't pack anything but warm clothes, because nice weather was forecasted. LEGS had to keep telling me that we were in the mountains and not even near the coast yet.....
Once we arrived, we were in awe. The imagined picture of the Italian Riviera was by far surpassed. We checked in at the tourist office and were guided up the hill to our flat by a woman on a vespa. (Side Note: While the BOYZ checked in at the tourist office, J LO and I went into a local wine shop to score some local wine and Limoncello....we had our priorities!)
Our flat was located high up on one of the hills on the coast, and was by far much more then we needed.
Because we were unable, on short notice to find lodging in one of the Cinque Terre villages, we stayed in another town very nearby called Levanto (pronounced LAH- VAHNTO).
First things first, a bottle of local wine and a toast to ITALY!
It was time to explore Levanto, and score some PASTA/PIZZA!
We ate a open air 'bistro' in the heart of Levanto. Cocktails, pizza, pasta, brushetta. We enjoyed live music, did some people watching, and took the kids on the playground at town center.
While, at the playground, I met an Australian woman, who is was in ITALY vacationing with her Italian husband. We chatted it up for a few minutes, about Australia, Italy, Cycling and children. She added me on facebook, and I CANNOT wait to continue our brief friendship, long distance!
I got a ride in an APACHE.
I noticed many ITALIAN women ride their bikes with heels on, and are drop dead gorgeous.
At sunset SPIDER MAN and I went running into the ocean.
We hiked back up to our flat and laid the kids down to bed.
We spent several hours drinking wine, laughing, and talking......
As I drifted into a wine induced coma, cuddling with LEGS......my heart was smiling.......
OVER & OUT
Just another day in the life of an unlikely military wife.....**
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