Pretorio Palace

How did we come to this? We were at Pietra Santa, some 50km from La Spezia, for Flora’s first Crossfit competition. In Italy. Probably the most random thing we’ll be doing on this trip. The competition area was already set up on the sandy beach and it looked amazing!

With the mountains for our backdrop, and no clouds to shield the sun, it was going to be a marvellous day. The first two workouts were scheduled for the morning and a third in the afternoon. There were log bars to throw overhead during the second workout – something Flora has never done before. There was also a beach sprint, which Flora thought she’d smash. Well, it went something like this: swing off the pull-up bar like a monkey, throw some heavy stuff, lift some heavy stuff, and shuffle along on the sand like a geriatric.

Wow. It sucks being sick and unfit. Just as Flora thought it was all over, she was told she had to come back again the next day for a last workout. If she makes it, there will then be a semi-finals in the afternoon. There goes the visit to Porto Venere!

That night, we took a walk along the streets of Marina di Pietra Santa. The main street was bustling with street stalls. For dinner, we headed into the main town of Pietra Santa, a small town but big on character. Beautiful old buildings with tables and chairs spilling out into the narrow streets. We picked a restaurant to have our dinner and was rewarded with the best pasta Flora has ever had. Can’t remember what Aaron had but Flora’s pasta dish of spaghetti with clams and fish roe was mind-blowing. What a surprise from such an unassuming little establishment. Our entree of duck carpaccio was also demolished in a matter of seconds. Amazing.

We packed our bags early the next morning and headed to Pietra Santa again for the final day of the competition. Flora made it to the semi-finals (surprise!) to lift more heavy stuff. It was a weekend to remember for Flora. New friends, electrifying atmosphere set in a beautiful location and Flora’s first ever Crossfit competition. Truth be told, Flora just really likes lifting heavy stuff.

We sadly bade farewell to everyone from Crossfit La Spezia and headed off to Rome at 4pm. Aaron’s got a long drive ahead of him.Read more