July 3
This morning, the crane outside our bedrooms made its presence known. Monday morning construction. A guy is moving rocks. Loudly.
We made breakfast at home. Yogurt, COFFEE, raisin cake and melon (which turned out to be too ripe) and bananas.
Jon has a new nickname. Ellen gave it to him..."Zumo." From his zoom lens. It has stuck this morning so it will be there forever now. Cool.
This morning we tried to figure out the Italian word for balls. I think it's stuggots, but I am not sure and don't have internet to find out.
Jon surprised us with his obscure knowledge againCherylyl Crow and Lance Armstrong are or were going to be married. Wow, Jon, The things you know....
03 July, 2006
I'm King of the Frickin' Sea!
July 2
We started the day with a pastry and delicious coffee at a bar in Riomaggiore. Here is Gibson with his blood orange juice.
We did a little shopping, (Hi mom! I found you something great!) and then we set off. We walked the gorgeous and easy Via di Amore between Riomagiorre and Manarola and then we continued onto what I will remember as the Via di Hate. Let’s just say the trip between Manarola and Corniglia was a steep and exhausting one. We walked for a good two hours and a lot of that was in the blazing sun. It’s probably 88 or 90 degrees and there was very little shade for a big part of it. There was a long hike on a rocky footpath and then about thirty thousand stairs again.
Ellen went up ahead and got some cold water and Jon poured it down my back and over my head. It helped – I was still exhausted, but and we made it into Corniglia for a great little lunch and a few ½ litres of vino bianco. I ordered a "salad cake" not knowing what it would be. It was delicious spinach and garlic filled pastry dough. Ellen had a mixed salad and the corn in it was canned. Well, you can't have it all...
We returned to Riomagiorre on the train. Ellen’s quest for water was finally fulfilled when we walked to the beach and swam in the Ligurian Sea. It was calm and warm and everyone there looked like they had baked in the sun for their whole life. Not us…but who cares! I took some photos of us on the beach, but you don't want to see then. Trust us. It was pure heaven. Jon’s quote from the beach: “I’m the king of the fricken sea!” We could have bobbed in the gentle waves all day...
On the way home we shopped at a few little markets and got ingredients for dinner. Pesto, pasta and spinach salad with ripe, juicy tomatoes and crostini with cheese. Here’s a picture of the meal and the view outside our kitchen:
(photo coming soon!)
We sent the evening sipping limoncello and eating strawberries on our porch. Pure Heaven.
Jon and Gibson’s quotes of the day:
Jon wowed us with his obscure swallow facts: If you throw a swallow, it will come back to you.
Gibson’s was observational: Italians love graffiti.
We started the day with a pastry and delicious coffee at a bar in Riomaggiore. Here is Gibson with his blood orange juice.
We did a little shopping, (Hi mom! I found you something great!) and then we set off. We walked the gorgeous and easy Via di Amore between Riomagiorre and Manarola and then we continued onto what I will remember as the Via di Hate. Let’s just say the trip between Manarola and Corniglia was a steep and exhausting one. We walked for a good two hours and a lot of that was in the blazing sun. It’s probably 88 or 90 degrees and there was very little shade for a big part of it. There was a long hike on a rocky footpath and then about thirty thousand stairs again.
Ellen went up ahead and got some cold water and Jon poured it down my back and over my head. It helped – I was still exhausted, but and we made it into Corniglia for a great little lunch and a few ½ litres of vino bianco. I ordered a "salad cake" not knowing what it would be. It was delicious spinach and garlic filled pastry dough. Ellen had a mixed salad and the corn in it was canned. Well, you can't have it all...
We returned to Riomagiorre on the train. Ellen’s quest for water was finally fulfilled when we walked to the beach and swam in the Ligurian Sea. It was calm and warm and everyone there looked like they had baked in the sun for their whole life. Not us…but who cares! I took some photos of us on the beach, but you don't want to see then. Trust us. It was pure heaven. Jon’s quote from the beach: “I’m the king of the fricken sea!” We could have bobbed in the gentle waves all day...
On the way home we shopped at a few little markets and got ingredients for dinner. Pesto, pasta and spinach salad with ripe, juicy tomatoes and crostini with cheese. Here’s a picture of the meal and the view outside our kitchen:
(photo coming soon!)
We sent the evening sipping limoncello and eating strawberries on our porch. Pure Heaven.
Jon and Gibson’s quotes of the day:
Jon wowed us with his obscure swallow facts: If you throw a swallow, it will come back to you.
Gibson’s was observational: Italians love graffiti.
Va Bene
As I type, Gibson and I are sitting on the veranda of our hotel, Villa Argentina. The view, as the hotelier said in an email to us before we got here, “From there is something to see.” That is such an understatement of the century. The view is mind-blowing. Here’s a picture:
When Jon and I arrived last night we had been traveling for about 36 hours. We met an old man in the street walking his dog and we asked, “Dove Bar Centrale?” I pronounced it like ‘sent-ralay.’ This is where we are to meet Gibson and Ellen and we need to get there – we’re about 40 minutes late due to the Italian Train system not being what it used to be. He asked me, “What is Bar Centrale?” “A bar – restaurant?” “OH! Bar CHEntrale!” He says and bemused. He explained in the simplest words how we could find it.
We came upon Gibson and Ellen – sitting in Bar Centrale watching football and drinking a fantastic bottle of vino bianco…Local grapes, chilled cold and refreshing…
We watched some of the world cup football game where someone was playing someone else to the equal delights and horror of people around us.
We caught up with each other’s travel stories and ate some nice pasta. Gelato on a hot summer evening is just about as good as it gets.
The walk to the hotel was up up up up about 30 thousand stairs (trenta mille for those playing along). But when we got here, we are ready to forgive this little town for all its maddening stairs and thank it for the view.
When Jon and I arrived last night we had been traveling for about 36 hours. We met an old man in the street walking his dog and we asked, “Dove Bar Centrale?” I pronounced it like ‘sent-ralay.’ This is where we are to meet Gibson and Ellen and we need to get there – we’re about 40 minutes late due to the Italian Train system not being what it used to be. He asked me, “What is Bar Centrale?” “A bar – restaurant?” “OH! Bar CHEntrale!” He says and bemused. He explained in the simplest words how we could find it.
We came upon Gibson and Ellen – sitting in Bar Centrale watching football and drinking a fantastic bottle of vino bianco…Local grapes, chilled cold and refreshing…
We watched some of the world cup football game where someone was playing someone else to the equal delights and horror of people around us.
We caught up with each other’s travel stories and ate some nice pasta. Gelato on a hot summer evening is just about as good as it gets.
The walk to the hotel was up up up up about 30 thousand stairs (trenta mille for those playing along). But when we got here, we are ready to forgive this little town for all its maddening stairs and thank it for the view.
28 June, 2006
The Propositions
We delivered The Holubs to the airport Sunday morning. Gibson was drinking coffee. What? Gibson doesn't drink coffee. "It's a mocha, so it doesn't count." He said, already jittery. They had a 10 o'clock flight to LA and then over to Madrid. We are meeting them in less than a week in Italy.
We've each come up with 2 things we have to do while we're there...kind of a scavenger hunt or a challenge to ourselves to seek out interesting things while we are there.
The lists are in:
Jon: Try some Absinthe and take photos of interesting toilets (not necessarily at the same time.)
Gibson: Leave a copy of 30 Days in Red Pants in a bathroom somewhere and all of us must try Cynar.
Ellen: Eat___________over the Ligurian Sea (we'll fill this in later) and find the weirdest gelato flavor in Italy.
Alex: Play cards with a local and get a picture of one of us kissing a dead pig hanging in a window of a shop or deli or wherever.
Wow...I think Italy will be glad she met us....or will she?
We've each come up with 2 things we have to do while we're there...kind of a scavenger hunt or a challenge to ourselves to seek out interesting things while we are there.
The lists are in:
Jon: Try some Absinthe and take photos of interesting toilets (not necessarily at the same time.)
Gibson: Leave a copy of 30 Days in Red Pants in a bathroom somewhere and all of us must try Cynar.
Ellen: Eat___________over the Ligurian Sea (we'll fill this in later) and find the weirdest gelato flavor in Italy.
Alex: Play cards with a local and get a picture of one of us kissing a dead pig hanging in a window of a shop or deli or wherever.
Wow...I think Italy will be glad she met us....or will she?
17 June, 2006
Genesis
So we're sitting at Top Pot last year -- we had just had drinks or dinner or something and we were rounding out the evening with one of their fantastic donuts. I mentioned that I thought it would be a fun thing to think about going to Italy all together...Jon and I travel. They travel. They responded that they were planning a trip to Italy. "Next Summer!" they said. It really was as simple as that. Now we're leaving in two weeks. The Holubs are leaving in one. We're meeting in Cinque Terre -- Riomaggiore -- on July 1.
This little blog will have an ongoing narrative of our exploits - sights, sounds, meals and people we meet. To our friends and family -- please comment! I hope we can update it daily -- or at least every few days.
The cast of players will include:
This little blog will have an ongoing narrative of our exploits - sights, sounds, meals and people we meet. To our friends and family -- please comment! I hope we can update it daily -- or at least every few days.
The cast of players will include:
~~The Holubs~~
Gibson:
and Ellen:
~~& The Allreds~~
Jon and myself:
Wait -- that's actually me and R2D2...
Here's Jon:
(That's actually a full sized beer mug.
He is a giant. )
Next up: Our lists. Each person comes up with two crazy things we have to accomplish in Italia. Gibson's might include pit hair...oh dear...
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