October 17, 2010: Siena From Every Angle

Today was supposed to be rainy almost all day, but we lucked out with mostly blue skies and spent the day exploring more of Siena. We hoped to get up early so we could get some pictures of the duomo and the Il Campo piazza without a lot of tourists in sight, but this plan didn't exactly work out since we were up late trying to get all the Cinque Terre blog posts up. This didn't seem to be a a problem though - even though we didn't make it out of the hotel until after 9 AM, both areas were still void of tourists and we got some good pictures in.

Then we got on line to climb the tower at the City Hall, located at the Piazza Il Campo. Only 25 people are allowed in the tower at a time and its closed if there is a chance of rain. We hedged our bets and lucked out - we were the first ones to get to the top of the 400-step tower (all the hiking we've been doing has really paid off). We got some amazing views from the top - all the red roofs and picturesque valleys in the distance.

We walked around the back of Piazza Il Campo and took a tour of the Siena Synangogue. Luckily it was Sunday - the only day its open to the public. The woman there gave us some great information about the Jewish ghettos in Italy and in Tuscany. We got to see the main sanctuary, which is hidden from sight: its on the second floor of a nondescript building - up a flight of stairs, around a corner, behind curtains and a set of doors. It wasn't until the French and Napoleon ruled this place that the Jews were given freedom to practice their religion even though the sanctuary has probably existed since 1600.

From the synagogue, we made our way across town to see the Church of San Francesco - a deceivingly large church for what it looks like on the outside. Unfortunately it was Sunday (this day is a mixed bag) and mass was taking place, so we had to come back later to get a picture. We walked across town in another direction next to check out the fort on the northwest corner of the city. Its just a public park now, but there were some good views of the duomo from afar. Near the fort we saw the Church of San Domenica.

Back in town, we grabbed some pizza for lunch and then hit up the Duomo Museum. (side note: it turns out that the Sienese actually wanted a much bigger cathedral than they have now to one-up their rivals from Florence. What is now the nave they wanted just to be one of the short sides, and they started to build what would eventually be the much longer nave off to one side. When the city was hit with the plague they saw it as a sign that they were getting too greedy so they canceled the project. You can still see the foundations for the new columns, and what would have become the new facade/entry wall still stands. The rest of the building that the Sienese started now houses the Duomo museum). The museum holds most of the original statues that we saw in the duomo yesterday. Most importantly we were able to climb up onto the top of the wall that was built but never finished to get some more great views of the city.

Afterwards, we crossed through the piazza and went to visit Santa Maria della Scala. This building across from the duomo was the first hospital in Italy (or maybe Europe, we can't remember). Now its a multi-purpose museum. At ground level, it holds a modern art museum, a church (that claims to have on of the holy nails from Jesus' cross), and several rooms full of frescos. In the first basement, there are several oratories used by some of the Sienese fraternal organizations. Then, in the second basement (we're on a hill, remember), there were what felt like miles of underground passageways that house the archeological museum.

We had some gelato for our walk back to the Church of San Francesco, visited another oratory, and then walked back through town to our hotel to relax before dinner - making it just in time before the rain started. A while later we made our way to a small family-run restaurant where we had another great meal - some of the local pasta, called pici, with a pesto/meat sauce, penne with spicy tomato sauce, and Chicken Cacciatore. Dinner here can be a great experience - now that its cooler out, the heartier dishes are really delicious, and up north where the wine is cheaper, always helps dinner taste better. Both restaurants in Siena have been serving sweet wine/alcohol after dinner which is a tradition we wouldn't mind bringing home with us. A small drink of Ameretto makes any meal a success!

Gelato Gusti per il giorno:

Mike - Cooky e Stracciatella and Stracciatella e Pistacchio

Aviva - Menta e Fondente (dark chocolate)

To see pictures from our day, click here.

October 16, 2010: Arrived in Siena

We arrived in Siena today and our apartment has WiFi, so we have uploaded a week's worth of posts about our stay in Cinque Terre and first day in Siena. You can scroll down to read the posts or click on one of the links below to choose a specific day:

October 11, 2010: Oh, This is What Fall Feels Like

October 12, 2010: Stair-Masters

October 13, 2010: Cinque Terre Bonus Cities

October 14, 2010: Three out of Five Ain't Bad

October 15, 2010: Genova - Pazzo Per Palazzo. And, A New Favorite Gelato Flavor!

October 16, 2010: Siena Looks Good in Stripes

October 16, 2010: Siena Looks Good in Stripes

This morning we left Vernazza and started our four-train journey to Siena. With our first train leaving Vernazza at 8:20 AM, we finally arrived in Siena at 12:45 PM after brief stops in La Spezia, Pisa, and Empoli. Even though it is draining to do that much traveling and transfering with our heavy bags, it was a perfect day to travel since it was gray and drizzly.

Once in Siena we took the bus up the hill from the train station and then walked through town to get to our hotel. Our hotel used to be a tower (according to the guy who works here) and we're staying on the top floor. This means a lot of steps, but we have pretty good views out our windows, and if you stick your head out far enough you can see the Duomo bell tower. After staying in a small one-room apartment in Vernazza, this place is a welcome change - we are basically staying in an apartment with a big kitchen, big bedroom, hallway, and bathroom. Its too bad we're only going to be here for two nights - its really comfortable.

After checking in our first objective was getting some food in our bellies. We found a nearby restaurant and got some pizzas to satisfy what seemed like starvation, and then started our tour of Siena. Even though we'll only be here for two days, there aren't too many things to do here, which means we feel less pressure to squeeze the most out of every minute like we did yesterday in Genova.

The first site we saw was actually on the way to our hotel - the Piazza Il Campo. This fan-shaped piazza is the center of town and is where the nine competing districts of the city met, which is why it is divided into nine pie-pieces. Its just a great place to walk around - there are people eating and drinking at all the cafes around the perimeter, and today the piazza was filled with college students hanging out and laying on the ground. Every year here on July 2nd and August 16th there are Palio horse races with representatives from 10 of the 17 neighborhoods (each with their own colors, flags, representative animal, outfit). The horses race around the perimeter as everyone fills the center cheering on.

We had a little sample of the neighborhood spirit today - outside our hotel there was some kind of award ceremony for all the young kids who are representing their neighborhoods (and will likely grow up to be riding in the Palio races one day). All their family members were also there cheering them on, including all the older siblings that were once in the younger kids shoes. Each neighborhood was represented by three to four little boys, all decked out in their respective costumes - one or two drummers, the others with flags. It seems everyone got some acheivement award, and then they marched down the street in a small parade of sorts. Given how ridiculous some of the outfits were, it was really amazing to see how everyone was really excited about their neighborhood and the kids who were representing them - no one was making fun of anyone, and none of the boys seemed embarrassed to be walking through the streets wearing tights.

Our next stop was the duomo - I'd say its one of the best cathedrals in Italy. Inside and out, its full of black and white marble stripes. The floors are almost entirely inlaid marble designs, and the ceiling is painted with an optical illusion in the dome, and like the night sky for the rest of it. The best I can do here is point you to the pictures we took (and they really can't even capture it). The staff at the cathedral really want you be quiet and respectful while you're inside, and they remind you of their request every ten minutes with an annoucement over the loudspeaker. Seemed a little counter-intuative...

We went around the outside of the duomo and in through a side door to visit the crypt. The crypt wasn't really exciting (every display case said "work in progress"). But what was interesting was that some of the frescos on the walls were only discovered about ten years ago. Additionally, from inside the crypt you was easy to tell that there was a whole church underneath the duomo that we were just visiting. You could see all the brick arches and even the marble facade that once faced the street (no pictures allowed...).

Our last stop for today was down some steps from the crypt, behind the duomo. Here we saw the Baptistry, which was essentially built only because the area was so hilly and they wanted to make the duomo bigger and needed something to prop up the overhanging edge. This was another great building full of painted ceilings.

After our short tour, we went back to the hotel to plan out our time before getting dinner. The guy at our hotel recommended a place nearby that was great. Since this is really the first much cooler, rainy day, the restaurant provided the warm and cozy atmosphere perfect for dinner. It smelled great inside and we geared up for a tasty dinner. We had some local dishes - vegetable and bread soup, tagliatelli with wild boar, and an almond cake with custard creme and a side of sweet wine. It was a perfect comfort-food meal.

Since it wasn't really raining after dinner we walked around the city for a while and got some good night-time shots, especially at the duomo.

Gelato Gusti per il Giorno:

Mike - Pistacchio e Cioccolato and Amarena

Aviva - Menthe e Stracciatella and Menthe

To view pictures of our day, click here.

October 15, 2010: Genova - Pazzo Per Palazzo. And, A New Favorite Gelato Flavor!

Since we've basically seen the Cinque Terra, we put aside today to go check out Genoa (or Genova, in Italian). We started off with a tasty pastry breakfast with the Sicilian brothers and then hopped on the train. We had misread the schedule yesterday - the train we had planned to take only runs on weekends - so we took another train and transfered a few stops later. Almost three hours later we arrived in the bustling city of Genova and started on our whirlwind tour that Mike had planned out with the map we bought yesterday.

Genova is a great city - and our opinion of the city doesn't have anything to do with the fact that we've had a little metropolis-withdrawl ever since Palermo. Since we probably covered about ten miles today, I'll just briefly summarize some of the highlights.

• There are a lot of churches here. Only one of them was actually open when we were passing by, but many of them have really great architectural features. The San Lorenzo Cathedral had the similar black/white stone concept as the duomo in Siena, and some people believe that one of the items in the church's treasury is the Holy Grail (Mike busts into Indiana Jones music). Sant' Agonstino had an amazing tiled steeple, and the Santissima Annunziata del Vasato had some great columns - some people say this is Genova's most beautiful church.

• For every church, I'd guess there are at least 20 palaces. This place is palace-crazy. Several streets are just lined with palaces from the big-time money-making days in Genova. There are a pair of streets - Via Garibaldi and Via Cairoli - that are on the Golden Register of the UN World Heritage Sites. These streets are lined with palaces that were the first "hotels" in Europe from the 16th and 17th centuries - the noble families owned the palaces and were used as hotels by Kings, Queens, and other royalty visiting Genova. Today several of the palaces operate as musueums, banks, and commerical areas, but many of them seem to be part of the university.

• In addition to churches and palaces, there are many other great buildings and remnants from history. We randomly found a galleria (which are always great to walk through), we saw a war memorial that is very similar to the Arc d'Triomphe, and we saw some old towers that provided access through the old city walls - one that was near a seemingly out-of-place cloisters that is in the same neighborhood where Christopher Columbus was born.

• Genova, like most big cities, has a strong sense of ethinc diversity. There were Asian markets, Senegalese markets, a big exposition of French food and crafts, and a lot of middle-eastern/kabob restaurants. We sort of "broke the rules" and had falafel for lunch today. It was one of the best falafel wraps we'd had and it was nice to have something different.

• Given the importance of sea-trade, we went to see the old port area. Turns out that Genova has the largest port in Italy and the largest aquarium in Europe. Mike was most excited by the pirate ship. While we were walking along the waterfront we got to see a team of artists building a mosaic.

• Lastly, the Genovese like to shop. For clothes, food, books, games, etc. The streets were filled with stores ranging from super high class to the vendors selling cheap bags and sunglasses. There was a large public food market (about a square block), and hundreds of restuarants, bars, cafes, etc.

• We definitely give Genova two thumbs up and agree that we could easily spend more than one day here. Its a great city to walk around even though its deceivingly hilly. There are clearly some similarities to Palermo - some small narrow streets in the Medieval old town are places you don't want to be after dark - but during the day we felt comfortable every where we were.

Now, for the gelato update: on our way back to the train station, we stopped off at a gelateria and I saw a light purple gelato - something I'd never seen before. It was called "Viola". I got a small sample - it tasted exactly like I wanted to it to taste. Mike and I have been trying to figure out what that taste is, but the best we can do is that its sort of like candy with a really subtle grape-ish taste. I asked what the flavor is, and essentially they take the essence from Violet flowers. It was a hit!

We took the train back to Sestri Levante and got there just in time to catch the sunset at the beach. Where we also found another gold-mine of sea glass. I think we picked up two pounds of sea glass tonight...

We sat down for dinner at 7 PM. There was a train back to Vernazza at 8 PM and then next one wasn't until 9:15 PM - and the nearby gelateria closed at 8 PM. Since we didn't want to have to kill an hour, we had a marathon dinner and raced over to what turned out to be the best gelato place ever - free upgrades to waffle cones, free whipped cream, a free Nutella topping, and a mini piece of waffle cone for decoration - and two flavors for just 1.50 euros. And the icing on top - they had the Viola flaver I had discovered earlier in the day. Mike and I both got the new flavor, and high-tailed it to the train station, five minutes to spare.

We walked back through Vernazza to our room, took some last pictures of Cinque Terre, and called it a day.

Gelato Gusti per il Giorno:

Mike - Amarena e Stracciatelle and Viola e Cioccolato Bianco

Aviva - Viola and Viola e Cioccolato

To see pictures from our day in Genova, click here.

October 14, 2010: Three out of Five Ain't Bad

Today was the last day our Cinque Terre cards were valid and we made good use of them by hiking to visit the remaining three cities we haven't seen yet: Corniglia, Manarola, and Riomaggiore. We got up early to get a head start on the day, stopped in some shops in Vernazza to stock up on fruit and water, and grabbed some pastries for breakfast. We started our hike to Corniglia and it was just perfect weather - a nice cool fall briskness, but still sunny and warm (especially after climbing up steps for 20 minutes). This trail was different than the one we took to and from Monterosso - it was wider, more stone steps and less dirt trail, and a lot of the path took place through olive orchards (groves?) which was really nice. Since it was also early in the day, it was also much quieter - we only saw about three other people.

About 75 minutes later we arrived in Corniglia. This is the only city of the five Cinque Terre that is not on the water; instead it sits on the hillside. At the entrace to the city we saw a sign that said the trail to the next city, Manarola, was closed. Based on the train schedule, we had about an hour to explore Corniglia before catching a train to Manarola. An hour was the perfect amount of time for this little city (fewer than 250 residents). There were some small piazzas, several shops, and some great lookout points. Then we had to climb down about 400 steps to get down from the hillside to where the train station was located. There were so many switchbacks on the stairway that it almost looked like a weaving pattern. It was also fun to watch all the people going up and down the staircase; everyone's movement made it look like an escalator in motion.

We caught our train to Manarola (a 45 minute hike transformed into a four minute train ride) and decided to visit Riomaggiore first, and then come back to see Manarola. To get between the two cities there is another "hiking" trail, which actually just a paved path along the cliffside also known as the Via Dell' Amore. This "lover's" path was one of the first real connections between the two cities and was a meeting point for inter-city couples. It still has some romantic significance for many people - there is a lot of graffiti of couples declaring their love for one another and on many railings and fences couples place a padlock (our guidebook says its a current craze).

We arrived in Riomaggiore, which feels like the biggest of the five cities. We had some tasty focaccia with pesto for lunch and went to check out the city. We saw a few churches and oratories and climbed up to the top of the city for some great views. We made our way back down to the port where we had some well-deserved gelato and then walked around the sea wall where we found a small pebbly beach.

From here, we walked back to the start of the Via Dell'Amore and walked back to Manarola. During lunch time the Via Dell'Amore was much less crowded which was a nice change from our experience earlier in the morning, when it was bombarded with tour groups. In Manarola, we saw the main piazza, climbed through the town, took a stroll through a vineyard and ended up at a public park with great views of the town. All the Cinque Terre are really photogenic, but its not always easy to figure out where to get them on camera - all the streets are curvy because they cover up rivers that used to flow at ground level. Add to that the buildings on the hillsides, and you end up with a limited number of vantage points from which you can get a comprehensive photo that looks like the postcards.

Before leaving Manarola we grabbed another quick snack to help gear us up for the hike back to Vernazza. We took the train back to Corniglia and climbed the 400 steps back to town and got on the trail. Even though our legs were experiencing some serious burning sensations, we made it back in pretty good time with some more great views. We had a second serving of gelato on the way back to our room, got out of the stinky clothes we were wearing, and went back to the train station to catch a train to Sestri Levante for dinner.

In town, our first destination was a bookstore (there are none in any of the Cinque Terre), to get a small guidebook/map for Genoa. We'll spend the day there tomorrow, but needed to get some information about the city first. We had a great dinner in town, walked around for a bit (but once the sun goes down it gets really chilly really fast), and caught a train back to Vernazza.

A couple of general observations about the Cinque Terre/northern Italy/Liguria:

• I forgot how much I love pesto. I haven't really had any since I've been in Italy because it hasn't made its way on to many of the menus. But here, its a staple. And I've made it part of almost every meal.
• I also forgot how much I don't love hole-in-the-floor toilets. For all that people say about Naples, Sicily, and Southern Italy - I didn't have to use any hole-in-the-floor toilets until this week. They might be free to use, but whether that is worth it is up for debate. (Actually, they are really not that bad but why can't they all have a handle on the stall wall or something to hold on to while you are doing your business? That would make things easier - especially for those of us who are "squat-challenged".)
• Southern Italians also knows the best way to serve gelato. Two flavors side by side. It seems as though people here didn't get the memo - they serve one flavor on top of another. Its not as easy to be brave and try something new when you might get stuck with it on the bottom. Side-by-side serving is the best. Speaking about gelato...

Gelato Gusti per il Giorno:

Mike - Banane e Stracciatella and Amarana e Marzapane

Aviva - Banane and Cioccolato e ACE

To see pictures from our day of hiking, click here.

October 13, 2010: Cinque Terre Bonus Cities

Since we've arrived in Vernazza we've realized five days here is a bit more than a person needs to spend here - there just isn't that much to do! So today we ventured out of town to visit two other cities on the coast. Our first stop was Sestri Levante, a couple of train stops to the north of the Cinque Terre.

Once we got through the not-so-interesting train station area, Sestri Levante quickly rose high on our list. It was a bustling little city without a lot of tourists, two nice beachfront areas, and several pedestrian-only areas - generally, it felt more like a functioning city than a tourist destination. More importantly, there were an abundance of pastry and gelato shops. We stocked up on some snacks for the day, took a stroll through the town, and then returned to the train station to check out another city to the north, Santa Margherita Ligure.

We arrived in Santa Margherita Ligure and walked down a long stairway to get to the waterfront. Like Sestri Levante, this city was more down-to-earth, although you could tell in the summertime that this place is more like a beach resort town, like Monterosso al Mare. We walked through the town and saw the harbor, fish market, a glitzed out church, and really nice public park. In the pedestrian area downtown, we saw a gigantic pumpkin at a fruit stand and then had one of the best lunches we have had on this trip at a small cafeteria-style restaurant (roasted chicken, potatoes, and carrots with a side of string beans - its the first time I've had chicken during this entire trip).

At this point, it was only 1:30 PM (there really isn't a lot to do in these cities except eat, drink, and walk around). We were pretty close to Genoa so we thought we could take the train there and spend half a day checking out the city. Once we got to the train station we realized the train schedule wasn't really in our favor, so instead we took the train back to Monterosso al Mare.

We walked down to the beach area and played cards for a while and then found a small bar to have drinks and a snack before dinner. We walked around the town some more and then had a great dinner of two typical dishes from the area - trofie with pesto sauce, and pansotti con noci. Trofie are a type of pasta made with flour and a little potato. They are about 1.5 inches long and three times as thick as linguine - it sort of had the texture of a clump of Israeli couscous. Pansotti are basically the same thing as ravioli with ricotta and spinach filling, and the dish is typically served with a walnut cream sauce (which was delicious).

Besides eating tasty food, we learned something interesting at the restaurant tonight. As usual, we were playing cards while we waited for our food to come out. As soon as the waitress saw what we were doing, she rushed over and told us we needed to put the cards away. We assumed that this was because its not really very polite to play cards in a restaurant, but she told us that its actually against the law and if a police officer were to walk by and see us playing cards, we would get a ticket and the restaurant owners would get a ticket too. She said the law exists because people playing cards usually means that some sort of gambling is going on. While we consented and put the cards away, I don't understand two things: why no one has ever asked us to stop playing cards before and why it would be illegal to gamble when it is not uncommon to see slot machines in local bars.

We made our way back to the train station to catch our train back to Vernazza. Tomorrow will be another big day of hiking as we go to visit the last of the three Cinque Terre towns - Corniglia, Manarola, and Riomaggiore.

Gelato Gusti per il Giorno:

Mike - Banane e Pistacchio

Aviva - Mela Verde

To view pictures of our day, click here.

October 12, 2010: Stair-Masters

We set aside today to do the most challening hike between the Cinque Terra towns - from Vernazza (where we are staying) to Monterosso al Mare. We started out with a quick visit to the church that is across a piazza from our apartment and then went in search of some fruit and pastries for breakfast. Tuesday is the "market" day in Vernazza so we were hoping to catch a glimpse of it as we walked through town. A glimpse is all we got because there were only three vendors - maybe it picks up during the summer season?

We started on our way to Monterosso and after climbing about 50 steps we realized we forgot to buy the mandatory "Cinque Terra Card" - purchase required to use the hiking trails. So we made our way back through town to the train station and then restarted our hike. It turned out to be a perfect day for hiking - blue skies, sunny, and warm. We made our way through the hills on the narrow trail with great views of vineyards, gardens, the sea below us, and the towns of Vernazza and Monterosso. There was a long climb up many steps until the path plateaued a little. Finally we started our steep descent to Monterosso where we passed many people on their way to Vernazza. The steps up from Monterosso seemed to be killer (many people seemed to be suffering) - it looked like the hike back home this afternoon would be a little harder.

Once we were in Monterosso, we spent some time checking out the town which is divided into two parts - the old town and the new town. In the old city we wandered through all the streets and visited a church with the black and white striped marble (when we realized I was dressed to match), an oratory, and then climbed the hill that separates the town to see another church and the town cemetery. From here we went to see the new town where they have a really nice promenade by the beachfront where we had lunch and granites. If we had known it was going to be such a great day we would have brought our swim gear - the water here looked great and it couldn't have hurt to squeeze in some more beach time. After relaxing a while to build up some energy to hike home (Mike took a short nap on a bench and then we had gelato), we started our hike back.

It was definitely a harder hike going south - we probably climbed over 1,000 steps today. We saw many people on the trail and even though we were all sweaty, nearly everyone was smiling which made it a better experience. It was amusing to see how different people prepared for these hikes, however. There were people with walking sticks, full backpacks, serious hiking boots, special clothes to wick away sweat, etc. Then there were people just wearing sneakers and jeans, and then there was the other extreme - one woman was carrying a leather jacket, others were wearing dressy/button down shirts.

Back in Vernazza we climbed onto some of the rocks by the harbor and read for a while, dipping our feet in the water. At it was starting to get cooler we walked over to the castle where we checked out the vistas, climbed the tower, and took pictures of the very photogenic town. We walked through the town a couple of times until we found a good place for dinner that is run by twin brothers from Sicily. We had a great meal and one of the best cannolies we've ever had, and then headed back to our apartment.

Gelato Gusto per il Giorno:

Mike - Amarena e Cioccolato Bianco

Aviva - Menthe e Stracciatella

To see pictures of our day in Monterosso, click here.

October 11, 2010: Oh, This is What Fall Feels Like

Today we got up really early to catch our flight from Sardinia to Florence. We packed up the car and checked out of our hotel. Before heading to the airport, we grabbed some breakfast to go from our hotel. For as dingy as the hotel was, it had the most deluxe breakfast spread - fruit, pastries, juice, eggs, meat, etc. During the two minutes we were in the dining room we got a quick glimpse of who the other hotel guests were: about 40 German lumberjacks. And these guys took breakfast seriously - four to five egg and ham sandwiches each!

Our flight to Florence was pretty uneventful. We appreciated that we could board/alight from the front and back of the plane, which is not only efficient, but was convenient for us as we were seated in the last row of the plane. As soon as we stepped off the plane we realized that it was not tee-shirt and shorts weather anymore. The tempurature dropped quite a bit and we're officially in Fall now. Everyone got off the plane and boarded a bus to take us to the terminal. About two seconds later we arrived - the plane was about 15 feet from the terminal. It was like the scene from LA Story where Steve Martin gets in his car to drive down the block.

Our travels for the day were not quite over yet - we still had to take the train to the Cinque Terre. We took a bus from the airport to the main train station. Here we realized that we are not the only people traveling in Italy. The train station was a complete madhouse of tourists - the line to speak to a ticket agent was at least 100 people long. To avoid waiting in line we used the automated ticket machine, where there were only about five people waiting. There was definitely a sense of comradery at the automated machines, everyone supporting each other as they navigated through the computer screens. With our tickets in hand, we made a quick run out of the train station to get some paninis for lunch and then got on our 2.5 hour train ride to La Spezia. There we transfered to another train to Vernazza, one of the Cinque Terre towns where we are staying.

The train ride from La Spezia to Vernazza was pretty exciting - every so often the train would emerge from a tunnel and you'd realize the tracks were just on the edge of a cliff next to the sea. When we arrived in Vernazza it was a zoo - there were mobs of people waiting to get on the train at every door. We navigated through the crowds (not so easy with big backpacks), and made it to the main street where we met the person from whom we're renting a room for the next five nights. We settled into the very simple room (with a great view of the main piazza right by the water), and although we wanted to go check out the town, we had a much more important mission: laundry.

We went straight to the town laundromat and got comfortable. A few minutes later, a Canadian couple from Whistler, BC joined us and we spent the next 1.5 hours with them. They had just come from Lucca and Florence and shared some of their experiences, and since they were headed to Sardinia next, we gave them some recommendations and passed along our guidebook. We also bonded as we tried to translate the instructions for the dryers (in German only). I mentioned it might be helpful if my mom was there since she spoke Yiddish, and it turned out that they were both Jewish, spoke Hebrew and the woman's mom lives in Tel Aviv. They told us about a great Jewish bakery in Rome that we'll have to hit up (the best cheesecake she's ever had...).

With clean clothes back in our room, we ventured out to see Vernazza. Its a pretty small town so we saw most of it already - we walked through the quaint main street, climbed up a hill at the back edge of town for some views, and checked out the harbor area. For dinner we went to a local bar where the "hip and young" crowd hangs out. We had some pizza, wine and beer, played cards and listened to music before heading back to our room. It seems that for all the madness at the train station early this afternoon, the town is pretty dead at night (it might just be that its later it in the season and a little chillier out). None of the gelaterias were open, so we made a mental note to make sure we have gelato before dinner from now on.

To see pictures from today, click here.

October 11, 2010: No Internet, Part Deux

We arrived in Cinque Terra this afternoon after a plane, train, and a bus (not in that order). Unfortunately, we don't have internet at our hotel again, so we expect to make our next post October 17th.

October 10, 2010: Mother Nature-1. Sardinia- 0.

Today was our last full day in Sardinia. After breakfast we packed up the car and went on our way to visit one last site near Cala Gonone, the Grotta di Ispinigoli. This is one of the two caves out of 200 in the area that is open to the public (the other is one of the caves we saw in the cliffs that meet the sea - its only accessible by boat). This cave is famous because it has the world's second tallest stalagmite, at 38 meters (over 100 feet tall). The world's tallest, for those who want to know, is in Mexico, and is only two meters taller.

We arrived 30 minutes before it opened, so we hiked the short staircase to the cave entrace and waited for the guides to arrive. Just as they opened up the ticket booth a group of about 30 Italians arrived, and all of a sudden the noise level skyrocketed. They were all talking at the same time, so obviously they just had to talk louder than one another to be heard. On top of that, their outfits were crazy - some wearing heels, others with lots of glitzy shoes and jackets, and some with pearls. I mean, come on. We're going into a cave!

Inside the cave was pretty amazing, although very different from the other cave we saw in Sardinia (unfortunately, we weren't allowed to take pictures in the cave. If you're curious what it looked like, you can click here). The section of the Grotta di Ispinigoli that we saw is a dead cave - there is no water in it, so its not "growing" any more stalagmites or stalactites. We decended down over 500 steps to a depth of 50 meters - and the 38 meter stalagmite really steals the show. The tour guide informed us that the grotta actually goes another 60 meters down, where the cave is alive - there are nine underground rivers flowing and the cave system is 15 km total. Additionally, the whole mountain used to be under the sea, and is therefore made of limestone. Several million years ago there was a lot of movement of the tectonic plates which created the mountain, and then the flow of the rivers helped create the cave.

After the tour we got back in the car and started our way back to Cagliari along the roads on the east coast. The intention was to take the scenic route rather than criss-cross the island on the main highway roads.

Things did not go according to plan.

First of all, we made it about 20 minutes when a thick fog set in. For about 50 to 60 km (30-40 miles), visibility was about 30 feet. We were driving 15 mph. We couldn't even see walls of tunnels as we were approaching them, and cars seemed to appear out of no where. Finally, we decended from the mountains and the fog cleared for about 20 km.

We thought we were "in the clear", when an unbelievable downpour started. For about the last 80 km of the trip (about 50 miles), it poured thick sheets of rain. Sometimes it was so bad it was nearly impossible to see out the windshield. Luckily, there were several really long tunnels that gave us a break from the rain. That is, until the ground got so saturated that things started to flood. One of the last tunnels we drove through had some really bad flooding - the dirt from the side of the road and the from above the tunnel flooded one of the lanes in the tunnel. Once we got out of this particular tunnel, the car in front of us drove in the opposite lane to avoid a huge puddle in our lane, when his car stalled - not a good place for a traffic jam.

Here is a video of right before things started getting really bad:

At this point, we started to get nervous. We were seeing more and more flooding, and bigger and bigger rocks in the road. We even had to drive the opposite direction through a roundabout because one of the sections was totally impassible. It was hard to decide whether we should pull-over and wait it out, or just push forward as long as no one flagged us off the road. We were a little worried that if we waited things would only get worse so we kept on our way.

Finally we arrived in the city limits of Cagliari. The rain had pretty much stopped at this point and we made it to our hotel for the night. Mike was totally wiped out from driving so we relaxed for a bit and packed our bags for our flight tomorrow before heading out to the downtown for dinner. It was kind of interesting to be back where we started our Sardinia trip a week ago, and to think about what we've seen. Sardinia is an incredible place - a small island with so much to offer.

Tomorrow we're off to Cinque Terra!

Gelato Gusti per il Giorno:

Mike - MARS

Aviva - After Eight (Mint)

To view a few pictures of our rainy drive, click here.

October 9, 2010: Misty Mountain Top

Today is the first time there isn't much to report on, which is good because we're pretty beat. After breakfast we got in the car to check out the Gola Su Gorruppu (the Gorruppu Gorge), known as the Grand Canyon of Europe. We drove for about an hour to get the trail head, and then hiked for about an hour and a half to get to the mouth of the gorge. It was a great hike - with the Flumineddu River full of large rocks and boulders on one side and the huge cliffs on the other. We saw two rams fighting in the woods, a snake, and some natural springs. We also got lucky - even though the weather report said there would be rain all day, it was just cloudy and misty.

Finally, we arrived at the mouth of the gorge. The river flows underground at this point and the steep canyon walls begin. Its a pretty unbelievable place - the gorge is about 5 meters wide, with 400 meter high walls. (Although, I have to admit - the most amazing thing that we saw when we arrived was a group of about 20 mountain bikers. I have no idea how they could have gotten here or how they were climbing around on the slippery rocks with their clip pedals!)

At this point, there was a small kiosk where we had to pay an entrance fee. Normally the fee also includes a guided tour of the gorge, but because it was so misty the rocks and boulders were all slippery and they deemed it too dangerous to provided the guided tours (entrance was at our own risk). But given our river/rock hiking experience with Joe and Becky, we felt this was pretty doable. First, we got a quick overview of the area. Some points of interest include:

• the gorge was caused by the shifting of tectonic plates and then the years of the river flowing through the area.
• there is one point in the gorge where there is water seeping from the walls, and here there is a flower that grows. This is the only place in the world that it grows.
• you can "easily" hike about 500 meters into the gorge. After that, it is a little more difficult but you can hike an additional 200 meters in. After the 700 meter mark, you will see a siphon - from this point you need special climbing gear to get around the siphon and to negotiate the much larger boulders.
• you can't yell or shout because this might scare the animals in the area, and when they run away they might cause rocks to fall.

We hiked nearly to the 700 meter mark, but didn't get to see the siphon because the rocks were getting way to big and were just to slippery. It was really fun navingating our way and checking out the cliffs in either side of us. Then we hiked back to the mouth of the gorge and got back on the trail. It was about five hours of hiking and we didn't bring much food with us so we drove back to Cala Gonone and looked desparately for some place that was open. At 5 PM the options are limited, but we finally found a panineria and sucked down some sandwiches.

We spent the next two hours trying to find a laudromat that was open and also functioning, so we could wash some clothes. It was a serious failure, so we hope to find one tomorrow before flying back to the mainland.

Gelato Gusti per il Giorno:

None. We had creme caramel for dessert instead. Still good...

To see pictures from our day, click here.

October 8, 2010: Mariner Mike Hits the High Seas

Today was potentially the only sunny day of the next three so we chose to spend it visiting the beaches in the Golfo dei Orosei, also known as the Blue Crescent. While we're not really excited about our Lonely Planet guidebook, it does say, "if you do nothing else in Sardinia, you should try to make an excursion along the Golfo dei Orosei by boat". We thought they might actually be right about this, so after breakfast we walked down to the port to find out what kind of boat excursions were available. Making the excursion by boat because none of the beaches along this coast are accessible by car (you can hike to some of the beaches, but the hikes can be up to two hours each way).

Given that we're getting near the end of the tourist season, the larger group excursion company told us they might not take a boat out today - they need a minimum of 15 people. So instead, we found a place that rents "gommone", or a small motorboats. Initially, it seemed like a crazy idea to rent a boat to anyone (no license needed) and just let them loose. Especially to us, two pretty un-seaworthy people. But it was the option that gave us maximum flexibility, and if they trusted us, then we must be able to figure it out.

Next thing you know, Mariner Mike hit the deck and we were on our way. We decided to start at the furthest site, about 25 kilometers south, and then boat slowly up the coast checking out the various beaches along the way.

First of all, this place is crazy. It is immediately clear why you can't drive to these beaches. They are at the bottom of steep granite and limestone cliffs which are filled with caves and caverns. Secondly, the water is out-of-control blue and clear. Even hundreds of meters off shore, we could see all the way to the sea floor.

Our first stop was Cala Goloritze, the only national monument along the gulf. It was immediately clear why it is a national monument - the rock formations are amazing, including a 100 meter tall granite pinnacle. Rock climbers love this place and we saw some tiny people climbing up what seems like the impossible. So now came the tricky part: we're on a boat, and want to go to the beach. You can't motor-in to the beach, so you can turn off the engine and paddle the boat to shore, take out all your stuff, paddle back out to between 200 and 300 meters from shore, drop the anchor, and then swim to shore. And you have to do all those steps in reverse when you're ready to leave the beach. And then you have to do that every time you want to go to the beach. Some of you know that I have what you might call a "background" in paddling, but that was just too much work for me just to go to the beach. So we just dropped the anchor at about 250 meters from shore, left everything on the boat, and both swam to shore. We spent some time at this beach admiring the scenery, but it just wasn't very sunny (partially it was cloudy, and partially the sun kept getting caught behind the huge national monument), so we swam back to the boat and went to check out the other beaches, hopefully to find one with more sun.

We traveled to the next spot, Cala Mariolu - supposedly one of the most sublime beaches of the group. Just as we were going to swim to shore, Mike saw several jellyfish around the boat so we continued on our way. We boated (is this the right verb?) past several other spots including Cala Biriola and Cala Sisine, and then finally stopped at Cala Luna where we found the sun. We actually did the whole paddle-to-shore nonsense at this beach because we planned to stay for about 3 hours and wanted things like our food and the camera.

Cala Luna was pretty amazing - on the shore there were four large caves to walk into, some bright white rocks to climb on, and not many people. In fact it was mostly just some rock climbers exploring all the nooks and crannies on the cliffs above our heads. We relaxed here for quite a bit of time until the sun completely disappeared behind the hills, and then got back on the boat to make our way back to the Cala Gonone port.

We showered up and then went out to check out the town before it got dark. First, we took a quick detour and got Mike his first haircut in Italy. It came out fine, but he misses his hairstylist from Oakland (where he would get to drink with her while having his hair cut)...From there, we walked to what we though was the north edge of town. At the end of the road we found a trail that looked like it continued quite a ways up the coast, but since it was getting darker we only walked part way before turning back. But it was still fun to walk around a bit after all driving and boating we've done over the last few days. And there were more amazing rocks to see - shapes, contrasting colors, etc.

We had a simple dinner at "Il Banjo" and then the worst gelato (oximoron, I know) we've had (it was just too old). Afterwards we walked around town a bit before calling it a day.

Gelato Gusti per il Giorno:

Mike - Stracciatella

Aviva - Caffe

To view pictures of our day on the high seas, click here.

October 7, 2010: Coast to Coast

Today we started out on the Sinis Peninsula just west of Cabras, where we spent the night. There are a couple of sites here, and the first thing we did was visit the town of San Salvatore. This place is so tiny - we missed the sign on the road to get to the town which probably has about 75 houses. Except for about 10 days a year this place is pretty much deserted - people have little homes here to host the pilgrims that come into town for the Feast of San Salvatore that takes place in August. The only highlight for us was learning that this place was used as the set for a spagetti western in the 1960's.

From here we traveled towards the southern tip of the peninsula to see Tharros - a historinc site that was populated first by the Nuraghe, then over the years by other civilizations until the Romans got a hold of the land and built their city (seems like the Roman city planners might have had a short checklist they were working from - temple, check. thermal baths, check. residential neighborhoods, check. paved roads, check....etc.). There weren't much left of the ruins to see, but it was a cool site to see, since it was on a peninsula and there were good views from all sides. Adjacent to the site was tower that we climbed up to and were rewarded with great views of the Spiaggia di San Giovanni di Sinis.

We drove around the west coast of the peninsula to visit the "famous" white-sand beaches (they have problems of too many people stealing the sand, so there are signs all over the place that say, "Friends, don't take me away!"). After driving on unsigned dirt roads for about 45 minutes (we didn't cover much ground - this peninsula is really not that big) we reached the Is Arrutas. The sand (actually, little round pebbles and shells) is really amazing - it looks really white from a distance but actually has little bits of color from shells, sea-glass, and rocks. We explored some of the rocks for a while and swam in the slightly chilly water before getting back in the car to check out one more spot on the peninsula. In the north area of the peninsula, there is a large lagoon (Stagno Sale Porcus) - where flamingoes flock in the winter. Unfortunately its not really winter yet, so we didn't get to see any more flamingoes.

Our next stop was the major city of Oristano. We arrived during the middle of the day which meant that almost everything was closed, but luckily we found a few restaurants open and we had our first lunch in three days (we've really be in the middle of nowhere lately, and there are just no places to stop for lunch!). Afterwards we walked around and checked out the historical part of the city, which consisted first with a stop for gelato (it was 32 degrees Celsius today!). The center of town is pretty small, but had some interesting towers, cathedrals, and buildings to see.

With a long (2.5 hours) drive ahead of us, we got back in the car and began our trek to the east coast, to a city called Calagonone. We drove on the main highway for about 100 km to get to the major east coast (really still inland) city of Nuoro. Here the landscaped changed completely and we saw huge mountains in front of us. We got off the main highway and took some smaller roads to get to the mountain town of Dorgali (they had roads with red pavement!) and finally down the other side of the mountains, where we found Calagonone.

We'll be staying in this small but resorty town for three nights since this area has the most impressive beaches, caves, and gorges in Sardinia. Since we arrived around sunset, we just checked out the town, had dinner, and called it a day.

Gelato Gusti per il Giorno:

Mike - Amaretto, Amarena, e Cannoli (all at once! there was a serious miscommunication but Mike was thrilled with it)

Aviva - Liquirizia

To see our picture from today, click here.

October 6, 2010: Body Surfing, Body Body Surfing

Just as we had hoped today was sunny and warm. A perfect day for the beach.

We left our hotel in Guspini with a quick stop at the supermarket to pick up snacks for the day and then traveled west to the Costa Verde, or Green Coast. This area of Sardinia got its name from the green-covered hills (the landscape here changes drastically as soon as you climb over a mountain, so the green hills really stood out compared to other areas we drove through). The beaches along the coast are only accessible by small curvy roads (sometimes dirt) and are therefore in relatively undeveloped areas and not very crowded. While this is a great selling point, it also means that it takes a long time to get from one beach to another, so we spent more time driving than at the beach.

Our first stop was Spiaggia Scivu, and as we approached the beach we knew it would be a great spot. Once we parked, we climbed down a 70 meter sand dune to get to the beach which extends down the coast a pretty long way (about a 30 minute walk to get from one side to the other). The beach front and water are down below the dunes and sandstone rocks, which came in a variety of great shapes. We walked along the beach that had creme-broulee sand (cracked under your feet) for a while to admire the beautiful water and then jumped in for a 45 minute body surfing session (or body beatings). The waves were great and pretty much non-stop. We spent the morning enjoying this place.

We hopped in the car for about two hours to get to some beaches further up the coast. We made a quick stop at the beach in Funtanazza (which was really deserted and not what I would call a "fun" place), and then stopped for a while at the Marina di Arbus. This spot was a little too rocky for swimming, but the rocks were amazing so we climbed around a bit before getting back in the car.

Our last beach stop was at the northern point of the Costa Verde, at the Spiaggia Torre dei Corsari. There were more enormous sand dunes that backed the beach here. We spent some time enjoying the last hours of the sunny day and jumped in for a quick dip before we were on our way to find our hotel for the night. We're staying in a small town called Cabras which is just 5 km away from one of the biggest cities in Sardinia, Oristano. We had to drive through Oristano to get to our B&B, and it was a little weird seeing so many people and cars after being one of the only cars on the road for the last few days.

Tomorrow we're going to explore this area a bit and then drive across the island to to the east coast. According to our book and some people we've spoken to here, the best is yet to come!

Gelato Gusti per il Giorno:

No gelaterias found. Instead, we split a cioccolato semifreddo for dessert at the restaurant where we had dinner. Still good!

To see pictures of our day, click here.

October 5, 2010: Caves, Cows, Cork, Castles. Crazy!

Editor's Note: Today we are posting two days back to back. Last night we stayed in a room on a beautiful vineyard located in the country side, but we had no internet. To check out yesterday's post scroll down or click here.

Today we had a crazy day. We started out with a lovely breakfast at the vineyard and then hopped in the car. Since it rained last night and it was still overcast and misty, we decided to change our plans a bit and see some things that were inland, and save the coast/beaches for tomorrow.

Our first stop a site near a town called Fluminimaggiore (what a cool name). We took a long a windy road and on the way we saw signs for ancient temple ruins, so we took a quick detour. On the side road to see the temple, we nearly ran into a cow (with horns??) and a baby calf walking down the middle of the road. Not sure who was more freaked out, to tell you the truth. I snapped a quick picture and then we drove a couple of feet to the entrance to the Tempio di Antas. This temple has been here since the 3rd century AD, and was only discovered in 1967. At the base of the Roman temple there is are the remains of a second temple from the 6th century BC. Up a short hill we were able to see the Roman quarries where they got the rocks to build the temple. Probably the best part of the visit was that we were actually able to get up close and personal with the temple, unlike those that we saw in Paestum, a few weeks ago.

Our next top was a show stopper. Just down the road about 10 minutes, we arrived at the Grotta de Su Mannau. We had to kill about an hour before the tour started, but was totally worth it. We climbed up a hill and then entered a huge cave - 8,500 meters long, and we took a tour to see 500 meters worth. It was incredible. It looked like it went forever and the stalagmites/stalagtites were amazing. I tried to get some pictures that can't really capture it, but they are probably better than any description I can try to make. Take a look at the photo album by clicking the link at the end of the post.

From the grotto, we drove through some amazing countryside, where I noticed something that I thought was really exciting. (Short digression: the reason we came to Sardinia in the first place is because last year I found a "learn to speak Italian" TV show on a public television station. Each episode taught some grammer concept and then showed a video of something about Italy. One episode they had a segment on Sardinia, and everything they showed looked incredible, so I made a mental note that I wanted to visit this place. One thing they showed was people harvesting cork from cork-trees). So, as we were driving along, I noticed a lot of trees with the bottom half of their trunks cut off. I thought that these must be the cork trees. We found a spot to pull over, and it was! The bark of the tree is actually cork - and feels just like a cork - has some give to it. I pulled some off of a tree to keep.

We drove through several tiny towns, which pop up out of nowhere. During the middle of the day everything seems like a ghost town - nothing is open and no one is out....Finally we reached the third site of the day - called Nuraghe Su Nuraxi. The Nuraghe are the ancient people of Sardinia, and they built about 80 towers all over the island for defensive purposes. The tower/site we visited today is the only one that is completely excavated so is the most impresive. Its from 1500 BC, and had a village built around it from about the 8th to 6th centuries BC. Ever since about 300 AD the site was abandonded and covered with dirt, so it looked just like a hill. In 1951 it was excavated and several parts, including one of the towers on the site, were in perfect condition. We had a great tour guide and basically got to go all over the towers, inside and out. Its just so hard to imagine people living here 3,500 years ago.

From this site, we drove just five minutes to get to the next site, which is the La Giara di Gesturi, a high basalt plateau with great views of the landscape below. The main reason we wanted to go here is because it is the only place in Sardinia where the wild cavallini live - mini horses. Who doesn't want to see that?? Well, we didn't get to see the mini horses, but on the way to the plateau we had a classic movie experience. We were stuck behind a herd of sheep in the middle of the road. Mike tried to get them to move out of the way by driving up behind them, but they seemed to just assume he was herding them up the hill, so we weren't getting anywhere. Finally I decided to get out of the car and see what I could do. I still can't believe what a good sheep herder I am (check out the video below)! Those sheep got out of the road so fast it was unbelievable. I guess its in my blood?

We drove back through several towns to get to our hotel for the night in the small town of Guspini. Luckily, this place had a restaurant and a gelateria (although everything did shut down around 9:30 PM). We're typing up the blog and getting ready for some more beach-hopping tomorrow!

Gelato Gusti per il Giorno:

Mike: Amarena e Stracciatella

Aviva: Too much food for dinner....though that didn't stop Mike.

To see pictures from our crazy day, click here.