Jackson woke up and we had breakfast and headed out. We lost his camera battery and I was sick about finding it. I knew that having a camera made a huge difference in Jackson's engagement in the trip. We searched high and low and couldn't find it. so we moved forward in going to the 5 cities perched above the Sea. Jackson was understandably upset and I was worried about how the day would go. We found a parking spot and started in the first city, Riomaggiore. The colors and the way the city is built right into the hill is spectacular. We went to the castle first and then got lost in the narrow hallways (staircases) trying to find our way to the train station. It is really an amazing place to have a city! We finally found the train station and headed to the last city.
Here the train dropped us off right at a beach. There were hundred of smooth flat rocks so the boys had a great time trying to skip rocks. I walked over the to sandy part of the beach. We originally planned to spend some hours playing on the beach, but it was much too cold for that, so we just walked on the beach and climbed a huge boulder for a great view of the ocean and part of the city.
We walked into the town. Jackson and I loved the souvenier shops. We ate Brusheta and paninis at a little shop (Jackson had a hamburger) and it was amazing... one of my favorite meals. We headed back to the train station and the next city. Vernazza was even smaller than the other 2.
We spent most of our time trying to find the hiking trail (a very small turn up a narrow walkway between 2 tall buildings). We grabbed a gelato and started our 4 km hike. We wanted to hike a shorter portion, but it was closed. I was worried about Jackson lasting long enough to do this hike without ruining it, but he was AMAZING... always 50 steps ahead of us and still running at the end. The hike was a beautiful hike along the cliffs down to the sea. The whole time we got different gorgeous vantage points of the next city Corniglia. It was quite the experience. We met a family from France with a kid Jackson's age. They were really nice and it was cool to see another family.
looking back on the city of Vernazza
Finding the train in Cornglia was challenge (100s of steps zigzagging down from the city to the train), but after another gelato we made it.
Walking back to the car Jackson had finally hit his limit and complained like crazy. Getting in the car was a welcome relief, except for the ticket we had waiting on the windshield... apparently it was a 3 hour parking spot and we were there 6.)
We headed back to the hotel so Jackson could play with the ping ping table and little playground (what he loved most about the hotel). I looked up hotels and finally found a cheaper one a bit outside of Florence. We then headed to Pisa. Driving through La Spezia I was so glad we decided not to stay there and to stay in the hotel we did (Campo di Borgi). We could park for free there and it was gorgeous! (And it had a loft room, kitchenette and play place for the kids). La Spezia was just another bigger town, while our hotel was in the middle of no where looking over the ocean. I love hidden gems.
We then headed to Pisa. We found the tower just before sunset. The leaning tower was so much more amazing than I thought it would be. It is so much larger than I expected and the leaning was scary! Walking towards it and away from it was just astounding! It was $20 to hike up the tower and for all 3 of us, we just couldn't stomach paying that much, but we strolled around the square, a guard kindly let us into the cathedral despite not having time to get tickets. The whole square was really gorgeous. We found an outdoor eatery and ordered pizza and pasta for dinner. Jackson ate all my four cheese penne pasta and asked for it the rest of the trip. I enjoyed his 4 cheese pizza instead of what I ordered. I'm just glad he found things to eat. We were thankful we didn't get a ticket for parking on the street (we couldn't tell if it was legal or not).
We drove another hour to Florence in the dark. Jackson loved having unlimited tablet time in the car (although he also listened the audio books and comedy sketches I put on an ipod). We found our hotel in a sketchy part of town (comes with the price I guess). But we parked and headed to our room. We scored a room with a queen bed AND a twin bed. Perfect for our traveling group.
As Dave and I were researching what to do in Tuscany the next day, I came across an article about the "speed traps' in Italy and how they can send you a ticket in the mail and it can be 1000s of dollars in fines. We read more and more and found out that they have booths that clock your speed and can send a ticket in the mail up to 1 year later. Also, driving into the town square pedestrian zones can cost a ton of $. We had accidentally driven into a couple of pedestrian lots AND had sped a bit on the roads. We were so sick to our stomachs trying to think about how much $ in fines we had just spend (not to mention how we were trying to save on our vacation in ways like this ghetto hotel). Both of us did not sleep well. I finally thought of all my blessings. If $$$ were the only trial I had, I am ok with that. I said prayers of gratitude for my family, my kids, our financial situation, our health, etc. Dave woke up tired and angry. Unfortunately, it was a morning of trying to regain our composure and Jackson rocked the boat. Dave really wanted to go home today and looked up flights out of Florence. Luckily, he softened and gave Jackson a hug and my heart melted because I love the moment of forgiveness and love that comes from Dave. He is an amazing husband and father. His willingness to love and forgive is amazing.
Getting there Day 1 Venice Day 2 Italian Alps Day 3 Cinque Terre Day 4 Florence Day 5 Rome Day 6 Vatican
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