Cinque Terre

We got up bright and early to set off on a 13km hike through the 5 villages that make up Cinque Terre.  Most of the trails were high above the sea on very narrow rocky trails.  A very serious flash fool came through the area in October of 2011, so a lot of the area has had to be rebuilt.

 I couldn't even guess how many "make-shift" stairs we climbed, but it was A LOT.  The kids were so awesome.  Not even one complaint from any of them and it was a very hot day.  The distance between each of the villages was about 3 or 4 km with the reward of a plunge in the sea at each village.

 This was a home literally ripped apart by the flash floods.

 We stopped in Corniglia for lunch and then on to the next village for gelato.

 The Gelato here is made with all fresh local ingredients and we were told that it is the best in the region. 

 

 This is one of the many swimming areas.  Off of these rocks are very deep pools of water that the kids loved jumping in to.  It's just not something that we get to experience at home so the kids are taking every opportunity to take the plunge.

 

 The final stretch of the hike has a tunnel where people from all over the world have "left their mark".  We all found a little spot to leave a message.

 After the last village, we hopped on board the train and in about 6 minutes we were back to Montorrosso.

It was a long hot day on the trail, but oh so worth it!!!

Montorrosso, Italy

August 11 we arrived in Montorrosso, Italy.  It is part of the 5 villages that make up Cinque Terre.  It was about a 3 hour drive from France, and I am pretty sure we drove through at least 80 tunnels on the way. 

 This is our terrace at Villa Steno ~ the hotel we stayed in.  It is a beautiful village right on the sea and we were lucky enough to have this view from our room.

 It was about a 5 minute walk from our room to the sea and we went and enjoyed our first meal in Italy on a patio right on the water. 

 This is Evan twirling his first of many plates of Spaghetti!!

After lunch we hooked up with the Farnham's and went down to the beach to enjoy an afternoon of surf
and sun.  A man on the beach found this jellyfish in the water and brought it out for the kids to look at and touch.  They did see a couple of live ones in the water too.  YIKES!


 Rod, Jeff and the boys swam out to these rocks and enjoyed some more cliff jumping. 

 Later we all cleaned up and went down to the village for dinner.  It is really crazy how eating dinner at 8pm just seems normal to us already.  When it is still smokin hot at 7pm, why would you rush to leave the beach??  Dinner service really does start around 8pm and doesn't finish up around 11:30pm.

Rod and Jeff have shared a bottle of red every night with dinner and and Ang and I share the white.  We have yet to drink a bottle of wine that we haven't loved.


After dinner we roamed the streets.  Again, they are all closed off to traffic so it's great for the kids.  All the little shops are open late and the kids picked up a soccer ball and were playing with it in the streets while we enjoyed the rest of our dinner.  Certainly a lifestyle we all could get very used to.  So laid back, and no rushing the kids off to the next activity.  A welcomed change of pace for us all.

Vence, France

August 10 was our last full day in France.

We decided to take a 15 minute drive from Villa Clara to the Village of Vence.

 We toured around the village and decided to have authentic french crepes for lunch.

 We couldn't decide on savoury or sweet crepes so... we had both.  They were unbelievably delicious.  Jordyn said it was for sure the best crepe she has ever had ~ and I have to agree.

Couldn't resist taking a picture of this sign ~ it cracks me up!!!

 Since it was our last day at Villa Clara, we decided to spend the rest of the afternoon at the pool.  We all chilled out and the boys played a very intense game of Boulie Ball.

 After another dinner of homemade pizzas in the outdoor pizza oven, we walked to the village centre for an outdoor movie.  They were showing "Little Miss Sunshine" in English with French subtitles.

 Rod and I had seen the movie before and really didn't enjoy it.  Somehow in France under the stars in the Village of Saint-Jeanette it was so so much better.

 After the movie we played a game of Skipbo on the terrace. 

Great times had by all here and we are so sad to say AU REVOIR to France.