Western Mediterranean Cruise: Embarkation From Genova, Italy

    On the morning of July 23 we left our apartment in La Spezia and drove an hour to Genova. I had planned for us to walk around downtown and see some of the sights, but it was raining when we arrived. So our second plan was to go to the aquarium. When we parked our car and were shuttled to the ship with all our luggage they told us we could check in early. We thought okay sure, let's get rid of our bags and then maybe we could go to the aquarium after. Well we didn't get our cruise card right away and were told we would get it when our room was ready at 1, so that threw our plan to visit the aquarium out the window. Since we were on the boat by 10:45, it was almost empty! We were able to walk around, eat lunch, and go swimming without hardly running into anybody.

 First peek at our home for the next 7 nights.

Cinque Terre Day 2: Monterosso al Mare, Riomaggiore, Manarola, andVernazza + La Spezia

    Our second day in Cinque Terre was busy, hot, and tiring, which was why we were done touring the villages by 5, in our apartment by 7, and in bed by 9. The day started with breakfast at a nearby cafe that was included in our nightly rate for out apartment. We were so happy because the weather was cool and breezy, which was just what we needed for a day of exploring.

Our apartment was on the 5th floor... so many steps. 

Cinque Terre Day 1:Corniglia and Monterosso al Mare

    As most of you probably know from seeing my Facebook and Instagram is that Aaron and I just got back from our 10 day vacation exploring Italy, Malta, Spain, and France. We had a wonderful time and now I get to share all about our trip with you guys over the next several posts. 

    Our first stop was Cinque Terre. Since moving to Italy, we have been told visiting these 5 beautiful villages surrounding the Cinque Terre National Park was a must. The villages are located on the Italian Riviera and are a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Seeing them in pictures is beautiful, but seeing them in person was absolutely amazing. 

    Our first day included driving 3 1/2 hours to La Spezia, a town right outside of Cinque Terre, and checking into our apartment. We decided to stay in La Spezia because driving around the city and parking our car would be much easier, plus it was just a short train ride away from the villages. After checking in, we walked up the street to the train station, ate McDonald's {so not my choice, but with a hungry toddler you eat whatever is available} and bought our train tickets for the day. Our first city to visit was Corniglia.

    Corniglia is the only village not located on the sea. Because of this we had to climb 385 steps after we got off the train to get to the town at the top of the hill. It was hot, and tiring, but the view was so worth it.

 That smile says it all.

4th of July

"This nation will remain the land of the free only so long as it is the home of the brave." - Elmer Davis

     Happy 4th of July all the way from Italy {where we have spent it 3 years in a row}! We had a wonderful time celebrating with friends at a small BBQ yesterday. Thanks Kels and Matt for hosting it, I think I gained about 5 pounds from eating so much delicious food.

Sunflowers

    Last night my good friend Kelsey took me on a little surprise trip to a sunflower field she stumbled upon during the week. She's been teaching me about photography, so she knew I would looooove to take pics of the sunset over this beautiful field full of sunflowers. We got there just in time, I'm talking minutes, before the sun quickly disappeared behind the mountains.