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Europe for Christmas and Wyatt
  • Rita Boyd

Europe for Christmas and Wyatt

A 14-day adventure by Rita Read more
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  • Trip start
    December 21, 2017
    Rita BoydEurope for Christmas and WyattRita Boyd

    LAX

    December 21, 2017 in the United States ⋅ ☀️ 16 °C

    Entertainment while waiting for flight to Milan! (First stolkholm then coppenhagen then Milan😉). Full day!

  • Rita BoydEurope for Christmas and WyattRita Boyd
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    B&B in Milan

    December 22, 2017 in Italy ⋅ 🌙 1 °C

    We have Wyatt in our grasp! Marco our Airbnb host has breakfast for us ready for tomorrow! He is so sweet. Apartment is so cute! Heading to 🍕.

  • Rita BoydEurope for Christmas and WyattRita Boyd
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    Aosta, Italy

    December 23, 2017 in Italy ⋅ 🌙 7 °C

    Beautiful quaint town in Italian Alps. Went for a hike to peak in Aosta Valley to get a lay of the land(couldn't find snowshoes to rent so had to rough it😀) 4 injured due to snowball fight 😉. Walked all over the town, drank coffee, ate pizza. Airbnb amazing again. Vineyard view is from bedroom window! Weird to see all the grape Vines covered in snow. Found humongous grocery store. Didn't think those existed in Europe. Too many cheeses to choose one. Will have to move here😀 Also cheese on pizza really good... something s different about it. Can't figure it out😀 also pepperoni is not pepperoni..it's red bell peppers😀 Visited Roman ruins too. Apparently almost as many in this Valley as in Rome.Read more

  • Rita BoydEurope for Christmas and WyattRita Boyd

    Aosta day 2

    December 24, 2017 in Italy ⋅ 🌙 8 °C

    Spent the day in Gran Paradiso national Park and the beautiful town of Cogne. We hiked in pretty deep snow for a few hours for some amazing views. Brought our own lunch to small village of Gimillan where the hike ended. We ate sausage, cheese, bread and fruit right outside someone's house on a tiny street with a view of some Italian Alps. From there we headed back to Cogne for more walking, cafe, crepes and sweet breads. Wyatt ordered hot chocolate and literally got a small cup of pure melty chocolate...super thick. We all poured it all over our breads. Mine had a pretty strong liquor center...yippee😀..who knew. If you look carefully at the cafe pic there are literally 4 old Italian men sitting around playing cards. It was too stereotypical. We all had to laugh. Stopped at a castle too😀. Midnight mass on the agenda. Merry Christmas Eve to you all.🎄❤🎄❤🎄❤Read more

  • Rita BoydEurope for Christmas and WyattRita Boyd
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    Aosta to La Spezia

    December 25, 2017 in Italy ⋅ 🌙 9 °C

    Midnight mass last night in Aosta turned out to be a trip to a really cool cemetery instead😀 Apparently not all Catholic churches have a midnight mass. Who knew? Today started with a full Christmas breakfast at "home" then the trek to LaSpezia began. It's about a 4 hour drive. We stopped in Genoa on the way. That city is big (6th largest in Italy). We walked down narrow streets and ended in a marvelous Piazza with coffee and chocolate. I was the only one really in love with it.. apparently the narrowness of it all caused the hair on Donn and Wyatt's back to stand on end. I could only think of Sherlock Holmes and dark alleys of intrigue. The next stop was Camogli And...well.....WOW...the pics say it all. Italian Mediterranean coastal city. The newest Airbnb place is beautiful. Every Airbnb has been beyond expectations. FYI driving in Italy is challenging! Donn has used much colorful language today. We are on navigator #2. How long will she last?😀😀 Merry Christmas to all!Read more

  • Rita BoydEurope for Christmas and WyattRita Boyd
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    Cinque Terre

    December 26, 2017 in Italy ⋅ 🌧 10 °C

    Got up early to catch the 8:15 train from here in La Spezia to the Cinque Terre towns. We started at the one farthest north called Monterosso. We played around there a bit before jumping on the No. 2 trail to Vernazza. Ok it was pretty tough on the uphill part. It took about 2 hours but we were rewarded at the end with charm and food! I loved that the cook/owner/everything man was a native of Vernazza. He said he's one of about 350 that live there in the town. Savannah was not feeling well😔 and the rain had really started so she and Donn took the train "home.". The boys and I decided to take the train to the next town (Corniglia) and hike the 21/2 hours up up up then down down down to Manarola. We caught sunset. We are beat! No family game of spades tonight. 😀The pics say it all. The towns/hikes are even more amazing than described by books and google.Read more

  • Rita BoydEurope for Christmas and WyattRita Boyd
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    Cinque Terra day 2

    December 27, 2017 in Italy ⋅ 🌧 7 °C

    We spent our last day in the area visiting the last 3 Cinque Terre towns we missed yesterday. We began hiking the Corgnilia stairs to the sweet little town with it's beautiful churches (yes plural). I've been lighting candles in every one 😀. We went as far to the marina as we could before the trail was shut down. The rain has shut many of the trails down and a crazy mudslide in 2011 shut down a bunch more. We got soaked and were finding creative ways to stay warm and dry. Many "I swore this was waterproof" could be heard amongst our bunch😘. We were brave and all made it to Manatola via train. Lunch happened in a small deli where we all learned American focaccia is all wrong! It is such a cool little town. The boats are parked the streets and all you can think is "Who the heck settled here...how amazing were they?" Savannah Donn and I bailed on the last town but Gabe and Wyatt visited in the cold rain and got coffee to boot. They loved the harbor there. Savannah and I spent a few hours at an indoor mall where we scored a few after Christmas deals😀. Awesome homemade dinner complete with pesto, gnocchi, fish, chicken, carrots and wine! We are all happy and grateful beyond words.Read more

  • Rita BoydEurope for Christmas and WyattRita Boyd
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    La Spezia to Mira

    December 28, 2017 in Italy ⋅ ⛅ 4 °C

    Today started with a trip to downtown La Spezia (a short walk from our apartment). The daily Farmer's market is awesome and the waterfront definitely has an old school charm to it. Most of the day was spent on the road to Venice (actually Mira...about 20 minutes outside of the city). There was fresh snow on the pass...thanks Donn for driving!!! We stopped in Parma for another lunch of cheese and meat and fruit and crackers. Parma is the home of Parmesan cheese so of course we bought some of that! A tad more shopping occurred in the little town. Every Italian dresses up around here, seriously 😀 The day ended with dinner out in Mira recommended by our darling Airbnb host. It did not disappoint. Love to all❤❤Read more

  • Rita BoydEurope for Christmas and WyattRita Boyd
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    Venice

    December 29, 2017 in Italy ⋅ ⛅ 7 °C

    Our day was spent in this incredibly unique city. At the end of the day everyone expressed that it was nothing like what they expected. We logged 8 miles! We tried to follow Alicia's advice and get lost 😀. There were so many people and the more we got off the beaten track the happier we were. It was cold (in the high 30's) so we chased the sun over literally 💯 bridges, sat dangling our feet of the canals and eating as we warmed ourselves. The "streets" are so narrow. There are zero cars because sometimes a bike doesn't even fit. The window shopping is extraordinary. Murano glass, mardi gras type masks and leather dominate and the displays are sometimes breathtaking. We did wind our way to Piazza San Marco. The bascillica was cool and the VIN brule (mulled wine) warm. It was a perfect combo😀. Dinner at "home" was a crazy assortment of left overs. Since we are taking a sleeper train to Munich tomorrow night we decided not to drag any food along. I am eating and drinking like there is no tomorrow. We all are..or so I tell myself. Wish I could slow down time. Oh....and Wyatt left our train tickets for Munich in Munich but luckily they arrived today while we were out. Thank God for his friends and overnighting packages.Read more

  • Rita BoydEurope for Christmas and WyattRita Boyd

    Venice part 2

    December 30, 2017 in Italy ⋅ ⛅ 0 °C

    Another glorious day in Venice (after a surprisingly easy car rental return but not so easy task of finding a place to stash bags😋). Today we only logged 6.5 miles. 😉 We went to the last two districts we had not visited yet. Cannaregio is in the northern part of the city and has wide canals, even wider streets and few tourists. Eventually the streets and canals got narrow and we found ourselves in Castello where churches, bridges, postcard canals and dead ends abound. We went through the military “arsenale” and stopped for pizza, cheese, salame, gelato, crepes and cappuccinos as often as we could. Castello is at the far eastern end of Venice. The boardwalk there on the Grand Canal is huge. It also boasts the widest street in Venice. At this point we parted ways. The kids went shopping and filmed some crazy funny videos. It was so awesome to see them laughing really hard and walking down streets with their arms linked. Donn and I stumbled across an old arboretum turned cafe and had mojitos and this orange wine spritzer I've been seeing everywhere. We hung out there for an hour and got WiFi 😀 It was freezing outside! After watching the sunset we caught the water bus back to the station. The 45 minutes through the entire Grande Canal at night is not something I'll not soon forget. It was like being in a huge Disneyland with lights and bridges and little brick roads. My camera could not capture the coolness of it. Blessed and we know it! We will awake in Bettina land😀Read more

  • Rita BoydEurope for Christmas and WyattRita Boyd
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    Munich and Obergriesbach

    December 31, 2017 in Germany ⋅ ⛅ 10 °C

    The sleeper train was quite an adventure😀 We had a German bunkmate named Ute😀 that actually reminded me a ton of Tina's friend Ute. She was super sweet but snored up a storm. Thank God for ear plugs. Those bunks are comfy but when someone figured out how to keep the sheet in place let me know😀 We had to kill a few hours waiting for car rental...then off to Obergriesbach. Wow what a beautiful German country town. And the Airbnb is unbelievable here. The down side is it's 45 min out of the city. We spent a few hours here in the house before heading off to the concentration camp D a c h a u. We spent a few hours there and it was very powerful. Everyone needs to visit at least one such place in their lifetime. From there we finally got to see where Wyatt lives and plays. Everything was closed but we finally found a place for pizza and groceries. After eating we went on a walking tour of downtown Munich. That is such a beautiful city! Hundreds of people were out on the streets since it was New Years Eve. After that Donn and I headed back here to our airbnb (yep..and got lost) while the kids were going out on the town. I was a little nervous but finally I did get a text saying they made it home about 1:30 safe and sound. Donn and I stayed here and had a wonderful evening with our wine and beer and fireworks over the countryside. Happy 2018 everyone! We love you all.Read more

  • Rita BoydEurope for Christmas and WyattRita Boyd

    Tegensee

    January 1, 2018 in Germany ⋅ 🌙 -2 °C

    Today Wyatt took us on an awesome but really hard hike up to the top of a ski resort in the darling beautiful town of Tegensee. Its about 1 hour south of Munich. We dragged up sleds that only cost 5 euros each to rent. It was 31/2 miles straight up in snow. Unbelievably we caught the little restaurant at the top 10 minutes before closing. We all had amazing soups and breads and Bavarian pretzels. Then we sledded all the way back down the mountain. Donn came in too hot around a corner and crashed right into Wyatt's sled at one point. Wyatt bailed right before impact but Donn had to hike down a huge steep hill to get the sled. The boys all liked to get as much speed up as they could. 😀 We dropped Wyatt off in Munich on our way "home" as his 3 buds from Cal Poly are visiting for the next few days. We will have to share him😔. Oh and by the way New year's Eve in Munich for the kids was fun! They were downtown in all the craziness and watched people lighting up pretty big fireworks. They sometimes landed in trees and shot sideways at people or into storefront windows etc. Freaked me out to hear about. Glad everyone safe😌 happy 2018 everyone!Read more

  • Rita BoydEurope for Christmas and WyattRita Boyd

    Munich day 3

    January 2, 2018 in Germany ⋅ 🌙 2 °C

    What a beautiful city. We spent the morning here in Greisbach lounging, grocery shopping and eating breakfast
    We were then off to watch the Glockenspiel in the Munich town center. (“The Glockenspiel in the tower balcony of the Neues Rathaus--city hall--is world famous and worth seeing. Since 1908, figurines representing stories from Munich’s history twirl on two levels daily at 11:00 a.m., 12:00 p.m.”). Donn cringed at the out of tune bells, the kids wondered what the fuss was and I thought it was marvelous😀 We then went to the Farmer's Market in downtown (the Viktualienmarkt is a daily food market and a square in the center of Munich, Germany.
    The Viktualienmarkt developed from an original farmers' market to a popular market for gourmets. In an area covering 22,000 m2 (240,000 sq ft), 140 stalls and shops offer flowers, exotic fruit, game, poultry, spices, cheese, fish, juices and so on). We bought tons of fresh food to cook for dinner as we heard tale that the Cal Poly boys and Wyatt we're gonna make it for dinner. We attempted to find the Asam church but parking and freezing cold rain made it hard. So...off to the beer hall we went. Beer Halls are basically breweries with these huge long tables and huge indoor spaces. They are beautiful. We went to Augustiner Keller and feasted on beer and pretzels. We then made our way “home” and cooked for the 8 of us. Donn picked up Wyatt and buds at a nearby train station. They had been on a hike. We feasted and then played spades and pictionary until 1:00 am. There was lots and lots of funny moments😂. I've missed my boy.    Read more

  • Rita BoydEurope for Christmas and WyattRita Boyd
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    Last day in Munich

    January 3, 2018 in Germany ⋅ 🌧 4 °C

    Our last day in Munich. I tried so hard all day not to already miss being with Wyatt and just enjoy every moment. We all had a big ole breakfast together. Then the 8 of us headed to the Deutsches Museum for 4 hours since it was cold and rainy out. That is quite a place. It's a huge science museum and we each found something to love. There was a math hall for Donn and Wyatt's darling math major, roomie friend Adam. The pharmaceutical/health/medicine section had Savannah's interest for a few hours. Gabe loved renewable energy and I got lost in nanotechnology. 😀 Wyatt's friend Kyle had to double back to energy..I think so he'd have something cool to say at his upcoming interview for a real job...he just graduated mechanical engineering from SLO in December. Congrats!! Wyatt's last bro Phillip is a sophomore at SLO and seemed to like it all. No one got close to getting through the whole thing. All Wyatt's Bros are awesome kind hearted fun living humans. We enjoyed their company so very much. We ended the day at a beautiful beer hall Augustiner Braustubun for straight up German food and beer. I cherished every second😀It was with a heavy heart we said goodbye to our baby. 😓Ok...8 months..I got this😘Read more

    Trip end
    January 3, 2018
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