Thursday - Vernazza to Milan

We spent the first half of today in Vernazza starting with a chilly breakfast on the deck ( I am wearing down).  We hadn't yet visited the Parish Church of Santa Margherita di Antiochia which goes back to the early 1300's so we took a look at it. It is a simple church set right on the tiny harbour with a bell tower that was part of Vernazza's defense system. We also peeked into a few shops selling local delicacies, such as ham, olive oil, and wines. We had our last meal in Vernazza at the Gianni Franzi Restaurant which belongs to the hotel we stayed in. Spaghetti with seafood - delicious! We travelled to Milan by train via Genoa and Pavia. Milan Centrale was jam packed so we were happy to escape to the serenity of our hotel, a stone's throw away, and watch the opening ceremony of Milan's 2015 Expo on TV with performers Diana Demrau, Andrea Bocelli, Marco Armiliato, Francesco Meli, Lang Lang and others with the La Scala Orchestra. We liked the tributes to Verdi, Puccini, and Rossini. The free nibblies at the hotel happy hour served as supper and the bar tender is trying to get us opera tickets for La Scala tomorrow night. I am thinking our stay in Milan is off to a great start!

Vernazza - Wednesday, April 29

It was overcast when we arrived in Vernazza yesterday midday. However, today we awoke to sunshine and very mild temperatures. Breakfast is served on the same terrace as our wine tasting last evening, the Mediterranean looking particularly aqua green this morning. We were told that the boat connecting the Cinque Terre villages would not be able to dock today as there were swells in the ocean. We had the choice of tearing from village to village by train or staying here and enjoying Vernazza which has been termed the "jewel of the Cinque Terre" We chose the latter and spent most of this morning at the Castello Doria which gave us beautiful views of the town, the coastline, the ocean, and the terrace of our own little room at the Gianni Franzi Hotel. We had our main meal of the day around 2 PM this afternoon at Ristorante Belforte, an amazing eatery perched on top of a rocky cliff jutting into the ocean. There we are the best risotto ever (see picture) followed by sea bass baked in sea salt. When the waiter presented the whole fish before cutting it up for us, it looked like a fish buried in a mound of ice pellets. Unfortunately, he whisked it away before I had a chance to snap a photo. This was the sea salt. The fish reappeared as shown and was served with a delicate olive oil with a touch of oregano. This meal left us very full and in need of some exercise so we found the pathway to the cemetery high above the town and a perfect lookout for views of Vernazza and the surrounding terraced vineyards. We found ourselves at a higher elevation than the hiking trail that comes in from the neighbouring town so we felt very pleased with our success inlocating the best view in Vernazza. After our descent along a very steep path followed by a short detour under a rocky arch opening to a beach, we enjoyed a spritz in the town square and watched the local men haul one of their boats out of the water. 

Tuesday - Florence to Vernazza

Wally and I were up early to get organized to leave Florence on a train for Vernazza, a town of the Cinque Terre, hugging the Mediterranean coast west of Florence.  We will stay here the next two days before heading to Milan as our trip starts to wind down.  At the same time as we headed for the coast, Kevin left for Rome and David stayed on in Florence.  We arrived in Vernazza at 1:45 PM and found our delightful hotel where I had requested a room with a view. There are many steps to reach it, but we like the room and are happy to be looking out over the Mediterranean from this charming location. We settled in, had some seafood pasta, walked out of town on one of the trails to get a view back towards the town, tried the local gelato, and did some wine tasting on the hotel's terrace overlooking the sea while sampling anchovies in locally grown oregano mixed with olive oil from Liguria. Life is good!!

Florence - Monday

Yesterday's birthday party for David was a great success and everyone was feeling pretty happy as we gathered for breakfast at Anne's. Everyone did their own thing this morning. Kevin took the train to Pisa to see the leaning tower. Anne spent the morning with Sahjo. Anne -Catherine and Jean-Daniel explored shops, and David, Wally and I had a close look at the Church of Santa  Maria Novella.  You will see a stained glass of the Madonna of the Snow in the pictures of the day plus a photo of the cloister. David wanted to go to the pig market which features leather products so you can see him patting the nose of the famous bronze pig. Then we (except for Kevin) met up for a 2 PM feast of Bistecca Florentine at the famous Antico Fattora.  The six of us the walked to the house where Elizabeth and Robert Browning lived their entire married life. They had a huge apartment with rooms which are furnished just as they were when they lived in Florence in the middle of the nineteenth century. There was a grand piano in the bedroom and David entertained us with a piano solo. Apparently a person can rent the premises for a personal stay ( at considerable cost) as long as you are willing to have the rooms open for a few hours three days a week. We met a delightful British couple in their eighties (big Browning fans) there to celebrate their 50th wedding anniversary and staying in the house for three nights. Afterwards David, Wally and I walked home via the English Cemetery where the Brownings are buried. You can see that Wally was taking most of the photos today. Let me assure you, he was present!

Sunday - Florence - David's Birthday

Today is David's 70th birthday, and it was a day of surprises for him.  We started the day with breakfast at Anne's. Anne and I went for a walk with Sahjo, her dog, to Fabbricotti Park which houses an elegant villa where Queen Victoria slept and Napolean's sister died. On our way home Anne and I picked up the ingredients for David's birthday lunch: lasagne, chicken, vegetables, and wine. Meanwhile Wally went with David to  a horticultural show. We met up at Fabbricotti Cafe for a pre-meal spritz. There David was very surprised by the arrival of friends from his Lausanne days, Anne-Catherine and Jean-Daniel. David had just ordered his spritz when he looked up and saw his nephew, Kevin wander in. David knew nothing in advance about Kevin's plan to attend the birthday so was totally amazed When he saw him. The seven of us ate the birthday meal on Anne's terrace overlooking Florence. I think David was quite thrilled with the celebration.  Even the weatherman cooperated, bringing us sunny skies on the terrace, waiting to cloud over for a shower until we finished our meal.