16 Days in Italy....best trip ever!
Jul 7th, 2016, 04:35 AM
#22
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Day 8
Saturday, June 25, 2016
Again today was a day of no real plans. We had a boat tour scheduled later next week in Cinque Terre so we knew we would see the villages by sea that day. So this day we decided to see the towns of Cinque Terre by land.
We left our villa and it was about a 30 minute drive to the La Speiza train station. There we bought the Cinque Terre card that gave us access to the trains, the hiking trails and the buses. Since our boat tour was leaving out of Monterosso we figured we would explore that village that day first before the tour. So we took the train to Vernazza. Vernazza is very beautiful. I got some really great pictures of the village, the houses, the back alley ways (I have an obsession with all the alley ways in Italy….I’m odd), and the coast line. We had breakfast there and saw the main sights, the Church and climbed up the tower of Castello Doria. After that we decided that we would hike from Vernazza to Corniglia. I had done my research and knew this was a fairly long hike (2.5 miles and takes about 90 minutes) and I knew that DD was going to be cranky but DH and I really wanted to do this. We told her that we would take it slow, we could take as many breaks as she wanted to and there would be double gelato at the end. Yeah, we all needed double gelato at the end! It was a long, long walk. But totally worth it as the views were incredible. And DD only complained for half of the hike….the uphill half!!!
We got to Corniglia and sat in the shade for about 10 minutes to cool down and then went to look for gelato, and true to my word I let DD get a double! In Corniglia we visited the church and walked around town for a little bit, then took the bus to the train station and rode the train to Manarola. By the time we got to Manarola we were starving for lunch! We found someplace to eat, I cant remember the name and had sandwiches. Again we walked around Manarola, took some pictures enjoyed the town and the shops and then decided to call it a day. We knew that we were missing Riomaggiore but DD was starting to melt quickly and decided that our sanity depended on her sanity and that her sanity depended on swimming in the pool back at the villa!
For the life of me I cannot remember what we did about dinner that night, I don’t remember if we ate at the house or went out either way I’m sure it involved pasta and wine of some sort!
Saturday, June 25, 2016
Again today was a day of no real plans. We had a boat tour scheduled later next week in Cinque Terre so we knew we would see the villages by sea that day. So this day we decided to see the towns of Cinque Terre by land.
We left our villa and it was about a 30 minute drive to the La Speiza train station. There we bought the Cinque Terre card that gave us access to the trains, the hiking trails and the buses. Since our boat tour was leaving out of Monterosso we figured we would explore that village that day first before the tour. So we took the train to Vernazza. Vernazza is very beautiful. I got some really great pictures of the village, the houses, the back alley ways (I have an obsession with all the alley ways in Italy….I’m odd), and the coast line. We had breakfast there and saw the main sights, the Church and climbed up the tower of Castello Doria. After that we decided that we would hike from Vernazza to Corniglia. I had done my research and knew this was a fairly long hike (2.5 miles and takes about 90 minutes) and I knew that DD was going to be cranky but DH and I really wanted to do this. We told her that we would take it slow, we could take as many breaks as she wanted to and there would be double gelato at the end. Yeah, we all needed double gelato at the end! It was a long, long walk. But totally worth it as the views were incredible. And DD only complained for half of the hike….the uphill half!!!
We got to Corniglia and sat in the shade for about 10 minutes to cool down and then went to look for gelato, and true to my word I let DD get a double! In Corniglia we visited the church and walked around town for a little bit, then took the bus to the train station and rode the train to Manarola. By the time we got to Manarola we were starving for lunch! We found someplace to eat, I cant remember the name and had sandwiches. Again we walked around Manarola, took some pictures enjoyed the town and the shops and then decided to call it a day. We knew that we were missing Riomaggiore but DD was starting to melt quickly and decided that our sanity depended on her sanity and that her sanity depended on swimming in the pool back at the villa!
For the life of me I cannot remember what we did about dinner that night, I don’t remember if we ate at the house or went out either way I’m sure it involved pasta and wine of some sort!
Jul 7th, 2016, 05:08 AM
#23
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Day 9
Sunday, June 26, 2016
Again another day with no plans so we decided to take a day to relax at the beach. We knew that there were beach clubs that we would have to pay for an umbrella and chairs. What we were not ready for was how packed it was! We are from Miami so going to the beach does not require a reservation….but it does here! Our first pick of beach club was full, and our second one only had a few umbrellas left at the very back. We took it because it didn’t really matter where we sat. Beach days are always the same for us DH and DD in the water me with a book!
We spent the morning and most of the afternoon there. We had pizza for lunch and by 3-4 we were ready to head back to the house. DD went swimming some more (the cost of the villa was so worth it having our own pool, she got so much use out of it!) DH and I relaxed outside with some wine.
We went into Pietrasanta that night for dinner. We ate at Trattoria Gatto Nero. It was pretty good….but we found much better restaurants later in the week.
Day 10
Monday, June 27, 2016
Today was a day for DH. Its car day! Yay! We were headed to the Ferrari and Lamborghini museums. First we went to the Ferrari Museum in Maranello. DD found a nice place to sit and play on her tablet!! DH and I walked around the museum. Now even though I am not a car person this was really a good museum. It was fairly large and had a lot of great history of the Ferrari. It took us about 1.5 hours to complete the museum.
We went into the town of Maranello and found a shop that did balsamic tastings. Wow, I’ve had good balsamic before but NOTHING like this. It was incredible! We purchased the rest of our Christmas gifts from this little shop and some for us. I am already wishing I would have bought more! From there we wandered around the town some more and found a place for lunch.
After lunch we headed to the Lamborghini Museum and Factory. I had pre booked a factory tour before we left for Italy. We first walked around the museum. Not nearly as large as the Ferrari museum, but still very informative. Then we had our tour of the factory….wow….wow….wow! To see these beautiful vehicles being made completely by hand, its amazing! DH was a kid in a candy shop, and even DD was impressed! After talking DH off the ledge and convincing him that no we do not have a quarter of a million dollars for one of these cars….we left back to Pietrasanta.
We got back into town and went to a bar to catch the last of the Italy vs. Spain soccer game. None of us are huge soccer fans, but was really cool to be with the locals watching the game in a bar. We had a few drinks and had some of the massive amounts of food they were putting out! After the game we picked up some sandwiches for later and went back to the villa.
I wouldn’t swear to it, but I think DD went swimming that night!!
Sunday, June 26, 2016
Again another day with no plans so we decided to take a day to relax at the beach. We knew that there were beach clubs that we would have to pay for an umbrella and chairs. What we were not ready for was how packed it was! We are from Miami so going to the beach does not require a reservation….but it does here! Our first pick of beach club was full, and our second one only had a few umbrellas left at the very back. We took it because it didn’t really matter where we sat. Beach days are always the same for us DH and DD in the water me with a book!
We spent the morning and most of the afternoon there. We had pizza for lunch and by 3-4 we were ready to head back to the house. DD went swimming some more (the cost of the villa was so worth it having our own pool, she got so much use out of it!) DH and I relaxed outside with some wine.
We went into Pietrasanta that night for dinner. We ate at Trattoria Gatto Nero. It was pretty good….but we found much better restaurants later in the week.
Day 10
Monday, June 27, 2016
Today was a day for DH. Its car day! Yay! We were headed to the Ferrari and Lamborghini museums. First we went to the Ferrari Museum in Maranello. DD found a nice place to sit and play on her tablet!! DH and I walked around the museum. Now even though I am not a car person this was really a good museum. It was fairly large and had a lot of great history of the Ferrari. It took us about 1.5 hours to complete the museum.
We went into the town of Maranello and found a shop that did balsamic tastings. Wow, I’ve had good balsamic before but NOTHING like this. It was incredible! We purchased the rest of our Christmas gifts from this little shop and some for us. I am already wishing I would have bought more! From there we wandered around the town some more and found a place for lunch.
After lunch we headed to the Lamborghini Museum and Factory. I had pre booked a factory tour before we left for Italy. We first walked around the museum. Not nearly as large as the Ferrari museum, but still very informative. Then we had our tour of the factory….wow….wow….wow! To see these beautiful vehicles being made completely by hand, its amazing! DH was a kid in a candy shop, and even DD was impressed! After talking DH off the ledge and convincing him that no we do not have a quarter of a million dollars for one of these cars….we left back to Pietrasanta.
We got back into town and went to a bar to catch the last of the Italy vs. Spain soccer game. None of us are huge soccer fans, but was really cool to be with the locals watching the game in a bar. We had a few drinks and had some of the massive amounts of food they were putting out! After the game we picked up some sandwiches for later and went back to the villa.
I wouldn’t swear to it, but I think DD went swimming that night!!
Jul 7th, 2016, 06:20 PM
#24
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Lantis 7, thanks for your informative and interesting TR. Love Italy! It's in our sights for a repeat visit soon. We, too, would visit Rome sans car and rent one to travel north. Looking forward to your future posts.
Oct 5th, 2017, 01:50 AM
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Lantis 7, thanks for your suggestions.
After reading your post I have rented WiTourist this June and my experience has been fantastic.
I appreciated its customer care and the service, extremely helpful for my family. I saved a lot of money!
The witourist staff is working grandly... dozens and dozens of true reviews: https://www.facebook.com/pg/witourist/reviews/
Good guys!
After reading your post I have rented WiTourist this June and my experience has been fantastic.
I appreciated its customer care and the service, extremely helpful for my family. I saved a lot of money!
The witourist staff is working grandly... dozens and dozens of true reviews: https://www.facebook.com/pg/witourist/reviews/
Good guys!
Oct 6th, 2017, 03:45 AM
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Great trip report! Looks like you did some excellent research and made the most of your time in Italy. We just returned from a trip from the US to Rome and the Amalfi Coast. If you are interested in family travel advice and info please feel free to view my travel blog posts at https://wordpress.com/view/travelfam.wordpress.com .
This year's trip is tagged Italy 2017.
This year's trip is tagged Italy 2017.
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