...and finally, Levanto.

I guess it's high time I wrap up talking about our June trip to Levanto, Italy, now that it's almost August, huh? Yeah, probably a good idea.

Our trip to Levanto (and Vernazza, Cinque Terre) was a short one, but it was so worth it to get away for a few days. Levanto is such a gorgeous city in the Liguria region, and we'll definitely be returning. We rented a huge-for-us-apartment in the new part of town, but were able to explore the old part of town on our last day there. The Old Town felt like something straight out of a Hercule Poirot movie...you know, the ones where Jane Birkin plays a simple and ugly girl (as if!), but then actually ends up being some sexy femme fatale who was behind the murders all along? 

(I honestly feel like that happens in every Hercule Poirot movie. Or maybe I've just seen the same one a million times.) 

In Levanto the cliffs are steep, the beaches are a combination between sand and rock, the mansions in the old part of town are massively impressive...

...and the water was just exquisite. The Mediterranean is typically a cold body of water, but it was certainly the warmest I had ever felt it to be on all of our past dips.

Both the private and public beaches were really nice, and each came equipped with lifeguards, which doesn't always happen on free Italian beaches. We found Levanto to be a really family friendly city, and there were kids playing soccer (everywhere) and fishing off of the rock getty.

There was also one particular babe getting her first taste of the Italian Riviera.

She loved it. I swear.

We were there just before high season, so it wasn't overrun with people yet, which was nice.

Next time I hope we can stay for a longer period. Maybe for forever. I kid, sort of. I'd love to stay long enough to get a few lazy beach days in, and still be able to hike in Cinque Terre. We hiked on our first trip back in 2010, but didn't get very far as the trail was closed between Corniglia and Vernazza. Maybe we'll even try to start in Levanto, as there is a trail that takes you to Monterosso, which is the northernmost of the five villages.

Until then, I'll just keep looking back at our pictures and daydreaming about the views and foccacia. 

A la prochaine Levanto! We miss you so!

Honey 

The Road to Levanto

With our car packed with the essentials, we took off on Friday evening for our big Italian Road Trip. This road trip not only marked our first time back in Italy in almost 2 years, but Oswin's first to our favorite european country. If you're keeping track at home,this brings our little adventurer's total to five countries by just over 8 months old (with her first four, in order, being Switzerland, France, Germany, and the United States.)  

Since we were leaving in the evening, we decided to split the 6-7 hours of driving between two days. This would allow us to check out a new town in either Aosta or Piedmont, before heading to our final destination of Levanto in Liguria. 

{Oswin approves of the Mediterranean}

Dan found us an adorable little B & B called "Lo Teisson," which translates to "The Badger." "Lo Teisson" was located in the small town of Pollein, which sits in the Aosta Valley region. Funny thing about the B & B? Apparently it was named after the pet badger that the family who runs the B & B once had as a pet. Badgers aside, the B & B was really cute, in an old chalet at the foot of the moutnains. We didn't have a lot of time in Pollein, just enough time to take a walk and admire some of the locals gardens, and grab some pizza at a local restaurant. Oswin was a trooper and hung out like a perfect little dinner guest, until far past her bedtime. 

In the morning we had breakfast at "Lo Teisson," and it reminded me how much I love how Italians do breakfast. There were cookies and yogurts and cakes and fruit and cappucino and jams...delicious. That may actually sound a lot like a french breakfast, but french pastries are much more butter based, where I find that Italian baked goods tend to be a bit heartier and nut based. We had our breakfast, checked out of the Badger, and off we went towards Liguria, Levanto, and the Cinque Terre. 

After about 3.5 hours in the car, and about 45 minutes of that driving a roller coaster ride route up and down the cliffs that line the small towns of the Mediterranean, we pulled into Levanto...a litlte bit on the car sick side. I don't usually get car sick, but driving along those cliffs really screwed up my equilibrium. I knew a little beach time would make everything better, because in my mind there's not much that the sand and sea can't cure. We got the keys to the apartment that we were renting, dropped our bags, and headed down to the beach. 

One thing that immediately jumps out to me about Levanto? Jasmine. Holy Jasmine aroma. Jasmine grows everywhere in Levanto, to the point where if you're a bit car sick it might be a bit much to handle. Once my vomitus feelings passed however, I found the aroma to be lovely. I've never been to a place that grew so much or smelled so of the pretty flowering plant. The smell will now forever be linked with the lovely streets of Levanto for me. 

After about a ten minute walk, we made it down to the beach. I felt any stress or cares that I had before melt away. There really is nothing quite like the Italian Riviera. 

As much as we love Cinque Terre, the only one of the five towns with a real legitimate beach is Monterosso, which happens to be just south of Levanto, and can be reached by either a 4 minute ride on the train or about a 2.5 hour hike. I was happy to find that Levanto's beach was sandy, as opposed to a lot of the rock beaches we've come across while in Europe. Still no shells to be found, but a lot of little sea weathered pebbles, sea glass and terra cotta to be collected as treasures if you wish (I did). There were several private beachs with the matching umbrella and chaise lounge deal going on, but we opted for the free beach on all of our beach time this trip, as the free beach was really nice. There was a lifeguard, room to spread out, and a pier topped with a bar, at your service. 

We had picked up some foccacia bread and 2 Birra Moretti's on our walk down, because we were famished and thirsty. It ended up being the best focaccia bread I've ever had in my life. Oswin enjoyed it too, as we let her chew on the crusts to help those little teething gums of hers. 

I have this problem with any body of salt water. I can't resist getting in. Whether it's June or January, Dan knows that I will either stay in for an hour, or at least semi-submerge myself (cough:cough: January in Riomaggiore 2012 cough:cough). The water was warmer than I had ever experienced the Mediterranean to be, almost like tepid bath water. It was unbelievable. Having spent half of my life at the beach I knew that meant a storm was coming. 

We spent about 2 hours on the beach that first day, which wasn't bad since we didn't get down there until about 5:30 PM. On the way home the clouds started rolling in. We were exhausted, and knew that we shouldn't try to push Oswin too far by going out for dinner that night, so we picked up a bottle of wine and some snacks to have in the apartment after she went to bed. After all, that night was to be Italy's first game for World Cup, so we needed game snacks. 

As we approached our apartment for the next three days, it begin to lightly rain. By the time we got inside, we could see the lightning over the ocean. Within minutes the thunder began to boom and the rain poured down. We were so happy we left the beach when we did. We welcomed the storm, as what better way to spend your first night in an Italian apartment then with a nice bottle of Chianti, the sound of a sleeping baby, and thunder and rain coming down? For us there was no better way. We needed to sleep and recharge, as we had a busy day ahead of us the next day. We'd be going back to Vernazza, Cinque Terre for the first time since January 2012, and we needed to rest up! But after just one more glass of wine of course...

A la prochaine friends...

Honey  

A long awaited return to Cinque Terre

This weekend may have been a bit of a bust, but we kind of needed it. All of our plans falling through forced us to stop, slow down, and rest. I woke up this morning bright eyed and bushy tailed, and ready to take on my morning run. I hope to keep up the good vibes and momentum, as we're taking a much needed and long awaited road trip this weekend...

...to Cinque Terre.

I'm trying to not freak out about it, but...

...CINQUE TERRE!!!

Longtime readers of this blog know, this is kind of a big deal. 

This is my Disneyland.

It's my ultimate happy place. 

It is seriously heaven. 

{Vernazza}

A heaven where campari and soda is a staple, amazing gelato is available at every turn, where pesto and foccacia were invented, fig trees, lemon trees, and orange trees are everywhere, seafood was caught thirty minutes before it was served to you, the water is blue as can be, olives groves are built into the cliffs, sea urchins and their terrible spines guard the rocks, and Birra Morettis are drunk on the beach. 

Heaven.

My favorite of the five towns is Vernazza, as it stole my heart on our first trip there back in April of 2011. We've been back three times since, but haven't gotten back there in almost (gasp!) 2.5 years. Blasphemy!

{The view once you've crossed over to Italy}

{April 2011}

And if you've never taken an Italian road trip, I highly recommend it. Coming from SwitzerFrance we drive through the Mont Blanc tunnel, which always leaves life open to adventures, like possibly going on a hike before crossing over to Italy...

{January 2012}

....and the occasional avalanche warning. 

{My first Italian Espresso}

When you come out the other side of the tunnel, at which point Mont Blanc becomes Monte Bianco, you find yourself in the gorgeous Aosta Valley and Courmayeur. You also find your first Italian espresso. 

It is basically a requirement of crossing the border to stop and have a cup.

{Piazza Marconi, Vernazza}

The drive is gorgeous, with more castles and mountain tunnels than you can count along the way (we've tried). As you drive towards Liguria on the coast, you pass through several regions in Italy, such as Aosta and Piedmont, and it's amazing to see how much the scenery changes as you drive through each region. 

One thing that doesn't change however? The rest stops in Italy have better espresso than any we've had in fancy cafes in France or Switzerland. Italian rest stop espresso is seriously where it's at. So much so that I worry for Dan's health by the end of our road trip, because between my tiny bladder and his love affair with espresso, many more cups are consumed than should be by any person in a single day. And that's before we even get to our first cute little Italian cafe wherever it is that we are adventuring to. 

{Monterosso}

As for Oswin, girlfriend is really upping her jet setting status with this trip. Crossing over into Italy will mark the fifth country she has been to in just over 8 months of life, and what we haven't told her yet is that it's pretty much our favorite country. She'll get to stick her little toesies in the Mediterranean Sea, play in the sand, and maybe get a small taste of gelato. In my eyes it'd be a crime to bring her to Italy and not let her have a little taste of gelato. 

{Sunset in Riomaggiore}

But really just a little taste, because Mama doesn't share well. 

{Riomaggiore}

This trip will be a little different than our others to Cinque Terre, in that we won't be staying in one of the five villages. The apartment that we've stayed in a few times was already booked, and so was apparently every other apartment in the Cinque Terre. We found an apartment in nearby Levanto, which is right above Monterosso, the most northern of the five villages. Levanto is about 4 kilometers from Monterosso, and is on the train route that connects the five towns. At first I was a bit bummed, but this works as a natural compromise for Dan and me: he likes to explore new towns, and I do as well, in theory, however when given the chance I will always say "Let's go to Vernazza...and Pisa." This way, we'll be checking out a new town, and can still hop on the train to hang out and eat at our favorite restaurant in Vernazza.

{The beach in Vernazza}

I can't wait to share our trip with you guys, as Italian road trips have been some of my favorite experiences during our time abroad. We've found ourselves in everything from freak blizzards on the Mediterranean Coast, to earthquakes in Pisa, train strikes, avalanche warnings at the foot of Mont Blanc, and "stranded" for an extra night at a monastery-turned-spa due to earlier stated freak blizzard. We've been so fortunate to see so much and experience so much on those road trips, and I'm eager as can be to get started on this one.

Cinque Terre is such a special place for us, especially Vernazza, and it's a place we wish everyone could see at least once in their lifetime. We also feel so lucky to be able to experience Vernazza and Monterosso again, as the last time we visited it was shortly after the two towns had been virtually annihilated by flash flooding and landslides in October of 2011, and Vernazza was in ruins. It brought me to tears to see the shops and homes of the kind people of the village crumbling and uninhabited, and I cannot wait to see, in person, how the restoration efforts have worked out. 

Until then I'll be clearing old pictures off of memory cards, researching Levanto, and planning our road trip picnic menu. Check back here tomorrow as I'll be sharing some of our road trip essentials! 

A la prochaine friends...

Honey 

P.S. Need some more Cinque Terre in your life? Here are some of my previous posts from our earlier visits to the happiest and tastiest place on earth! 

Italian Road Trip April 2011

Italian Road Trip April 2011 First time in Vernazza

Church bells in Vernazza

Ode to: Cinque Terre

Ode to: Cinque Terre (Part Deux)

Sunset in Riomaggiore, Cinque Terre

Lunch in Monterosso, Cinque Terre

After the Floods: Vernazza Part 1

After the Floods: Vernazza Part 2

After the Floods: The Beach in Vernazza

Travel Tuesday: My First Trip to Cinque Terre