Adventures In Italy - Day 8

Stop 19 - Pisa, Italy: After another rough night with Cooley, we dragged ourselves out of bed, back up the steep hill to our car and started on our way towards Florence. On the way, we made a stop in Pisa to see the infamous Leaning Tower of Pisa. Although the town was a complete tourist trap, the building really was an amazing sight to see. 

Stop 20 - Mercato Delle "Pulci," Florence: Our first stop in Florence was the Mercato Delle Pulci flea market. The market was a bit disappointing since many of the vendors' shops were closed but the walk to the market ended up being one of the highlights of our time in Florence. On the way to the market we wandered through the alleys of Florence enjoying the streets lined with gelato shops and tall buildings. Along our path we walked past a restaurant doing a pasta-making demonstration in the window. We stopped and watched for a bit as the chef ran the pasta through the machine over and over again. As we continued to walk, we also came across a carousel in the middle of a large plaza. We of course HAD to stop for a ride before continuing on our journey.

 

Stop 21 - Bartolucci's: Our next stop was at Bartolucci's toy store. Since Florence is considered the birthplace of Pinocchio, the wood toy shop, Bartolucci's, is often compared to Geppetto's wood shop. The kids loved seeing all of the wooden toys and getting to sit next to the large Pinocchio doll. The kids even got to sign the store's guestbook and Maeli made sure to draw her own Pinocchio in the book.

Stop 22 - Ponte Vecchio Bridge: After visiting the toy shop, we wandered past the infamous Ponte Vecchio Bridge on our way back to our car. The bridge really was impressive but was packed with people so we decided to forgo a stroll through the many high-end shops lining the bridge.

Stop 23 - The Oltrarno Neighborhood: As our last stop in Florence, we went over to the Oltrarno district for dinner. We had read about this area being a cool old-school Italian neighborhood and decide it was worth the stop. The neighborhood was unique with a large plaza filled with locals enjoyed the beautiful evening. We got some takeaway pizza at a well reviewed pizza place called "Gusta Pizza" and let the kids run up and down the stairs in the plaza while we ate.

Read more...

Adventures In Italy - Day 7

Stop 16 - Riomaggiore: The previous night, Cooley had an ear infection so he was up every half an hour to an hour. Despite our exhaustion, we ventured out to roam the town of Riomaggiore. The weather was overcast so we spent our time wandering along the seaside cliffs letting the kids climb on the rocks and watch the waves crash into the shore.

Stop 17 - Vernazza: Next we jumped on the train to see the town small town of Vernazza. We spent our time eating gelato as we roamed the colorful streets. The town had a small sandy beach where we let the kids play in the sand and throw rocks into the water.

Stop 18 - Monterosso: After Vernazza, we traveled on the train to the town of Monterosso. Monterosso is known for its large beach lining the coast. We unpacked on the beach and let the kids play in the sand. The water was choppy and would splash high into the air when the waves his some large rocks on the beach. Maeli and I went down to the water and enjoyed getting soaked by a few of the large waves. After the beach we walked over to a small playground on the boardwalk. While there, we ran into the local missionaries while on their p-day. They stopped and talked for a while and told us about some of their favorite places and things they've experienced Italy. We let the kids run wild and ended up staying at the playground for several hours. Once the kids were tired, we headed back to Riomaggiore for some pizza and gelato before bed. 

Read more...

Adventures In Italy - Day 6

Stop 14 - Riomaggiore, Cinque Terre: The next morning we got up early and drove to the town of Riomaggiore. We knew ahead of time that they don't allow cars in the city center but had no idea that the parking lot would be full and that there would be cars lined up on the hill waiting to find a spot to park. Luckily, we told the parking lot attendant that we have 3 young kids and he took pity on us and allowed us to park in the garage. After lugging our suitcases and kids down a steep hill and up hundreds of stairs, we settled in to our not-so-clean apartment for the next two days. 

   
Stop 15 - Guvano Beach, Corniglia: After getting settled, we ventured out to the town to begin our exploration of Cinque Terre. The weather was overcast but since our time was short in the area, we decided that we would still try to hit up the hidden beach we had read about online. After a quick train ride to the town of Corniglia, we asked a few locals for directions to the "secret" Guvano beach. After receiving vague instructions and having no luck finding it, we finally asked a local bartender who gave us more specific directions in the little bit of English that he knew. Getting to the beach involved taking a short walking path to the side yard of a home, going down a flight of stairs, along a row of homes, cutting back behind the homes, and then walking a 1/2 a mile through a pitch black abandoned train tunnel. After exiting the tunnel, we still had to walk another 1/2 a mile along a cliff, through another small tunnel, and then hike down the cliff side to the beach. Before entering the long train tunnel, we ran into a local who told us to make sure we had flashlights. After entering the tunnel and realizing that we couldn't do it without flashlights, I ran back to the local mans house (who spoke no English) and asked him if we could borrow a light. He understood what I was asking and gave us a couple flashlights for the trek. He told us to just use one at a time so that if one of them ran out we would still have a backup to light the way.

When we finally arrived at the beach the conditions were less than ideal. We hiked most of the way down the cliff to the water but decided to turn back after realizing the danger of the combination of rain, a high tide, and huge waves. We sat on the cliff for a bit watching the waves crash into the shore before turning back and starting our trek home. Once we returned through the tunnel, we stopped at the local mans house to return his flashlights. He was super friendly and offered the kids some gelato for our walk back. We accepted his request and the kids skipped home happily with their ice cream in hand. Once again, our experience with a local Italian left a huge impression on us and became one of the highlights of our trip.  

Read more...

Adventures In Italy - Day 5

Stop 11 - Milan Cathedral: After exploring Lake Como the day before, we got up in the morning and drove to the city of Milan. We visited the Milan cathedral and let the kids run free chasing pigeons in Piazza del Duomo in front of the cathedral. 

Stop 12 - Trolley ride: After the cathedral we jumped on the trolley and the kids enjoyed their first trolley ride. The kids thought it was fun getting to stand up and hold onto the pole while the trolley would stop and go. After the trolley we checked into our hotel and let the kids play in a park nearby. 

Stop 13 - Bosco Verticale: After the park we ran over to check out the Bosco Verticale building - a building that has over 1,000 plants growing on it. We finished our day off with our favorite meal in Italy which was pizza at the restaurant "Pizza 40" in downtown Milan.

Read more...