Italy
Chiappa

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    • Day 7

      Hiking from Riomaggiore to La Spezia

      October 12, 2023 in Italy ⋅ ☁️ 20 °C

      Well today was our day off, no planned tour, until our guide made the suggestion for a hike 12km with 500 Altitude. Twelve from the 19 decided to make the trip. We started at Bonassola and took the train to Riomaggiore. We then walked through the town of Riomaggiore before starting the accent to the chapel Santuario di Nostra which was the have way Point from our accent. The rest of the journey to the village of Biassa went through forest and vine yards. After the village it was all down hill but through a very wild countryside on very small paths with thorn bushes and very steep paths . After arriving in La Spezia we then took the train back to Bonassola. We were all exhausted but it was a great and very interesting hike. Let see what tomorrow bringsRead more

    • Day 5

      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

    • Day 6

      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

    • Day 7

      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

    • Day 7

      03.07.17: Vandretur i Cinque Terre

      July 3, 2017 in Italy ⋅ ☀️ 25 °C

      I dag var dagen for vores Cinque Terre hiking-tur. Det går ud på, at man vandrer en rute mellem 5 bjergbyer langs den norditalienske kyst. Det skulle være en flot men lidt hård rute, så vi sørgede for at få spist os et godt morgenmåltid, for at blive så klar som muligt. Jeg (Joe) havde hentet morgenmad hos det lokale supermarked. Derefter tog vi afsted med toget til Monterosso (den første by) sammen med en masse andre turister. Det var lidt svært at finde starten af ruten, men det lykkedes endelig, og så kom vi afsted. Positivt og overraskende var det, at der faktisk ikke var så mange turister på selve ruten. Stykket fra den første til den anden by, Varnazza, tog omkring en halvanden time. Vi fandt også ud af, at vi skulle betale for et trekking pass; 15 euro for os begge, så det var ikke så slemt.

      De to første byer havde en placering helt nede tæt på vandet, og når man skulle gå fra første til anden by, skulle man først ind i landet og få noget højde, for derefter at gå ned ad bakke ud mod kysten igen. Vi sad ned og fik frokost allerede i anden by, samtidig med at vi nød solen og den flotte udsigt fra havnen. Fra anden by til tredje by tog det også en halvanden time, og den tredje by, Corneglia, havde virkelig en flot placering. Hvis man forestiller sig bjerget som et kæmpe stort skildpaddehoved, som peger ud mod middelhavet, så lå byen direkte oven på det hoved. Det var virkelig flot! Vejen fra Corneglia til Manarola, henholdsvis 3. og 4. by, var ikke lige så nem at finde. Generelt var hele vandreruten mellem de fem byer markeret med et rødt og hvidt flag, men på denne strækning formåede vi alligevel at fare lidt vild. Mellem de to byer lå en lille bitte landsby, Volastra, på et meget højt punkt, så først gik det ekstremt længe stejlt op ad bakke, og da vi havde passeret Volastra, gik det stejlt nedad. Begge dele er hårde på hver sin måde. Op ad bakke er hårdt for konditionen, hvor nedad er meget hårdt for fødder og ben. Vi holdt faktisk betydeligt flere pauser ned ad bakke.

      Endelig kom vi frem til fjerde by, og det var endnu en havneby. Her tog vi også et pitstop for at få en vaffelis og hvile benene. Det var svært at fornemme præcist, hvor mange kilometer vi havde gået, men det var tydeligt at mærke, at vores ben var godt brugte. Så der sad vi på en bænk klistret ind i sand og sved, og for Charlottes vedkommende solcreme, og samlede kræfter til turen mod femte og sidste by, Riomagiore. Vi havde jo allerede været i Riomagiore morgenen før, hvor vi fik set solopgangen, gået en tur i byen og taget en masse billeder, så der var ikke den helt store spænding i den del af det. Klokken var 18 da vi fandt kræfterne frem til at gå videre, men så fandt vi ud af, at stykket mellem 4. og 5. by var lukket for hiking. Vi tog derfor toget direkte til La Spezia og fandt vores hotel og fik verdens længste brusebad.

      Aftensmaden blev nydt på en fin lille restaurant på gågaden i La Spezia, hvor vi begge bestilte to forskellige retter med rejer. Sammenlignet med gårsdagens restaurantbesøg, var det ikke specielt godt, men selve rejerne smagte rigtig fint. Vi fik søgt frem på ’Google Maps’, at vores ømme fødder havde tilbagelagt en rute på 26 km, så nu skulle de få lov at slappe af. Vi kom derfor tidligt i seng og gik ud som et lys.

      I morgen er det rejsedag. Vi tager til Torino, hvorfra vi vil tage en endagstur til Schweiz for at se Matterhorn; et stort bjerg, som ligger tæt ved grænsen til Italien. Vi har booket et værelse via AirBnB, hvor vi skal bo hos ”Faisal”, så det er vi lidt spændte på. Det har vi ikke prøvet før.
      Read more

    • Day 27

      Somebody Sick! Day Off 2

      May 20 in Italy ⋅ ⛅ 66 °F

      DeDe threw up so many times. Emptied her system so Day Off 2

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