Fasser Family Blog

Day 14 was one of my favorites of the entire trip. I was up early and wanted to explore an idea that Michelle had mentioned “wouldn’t it be great to rent a boat and cruise around to the different villages?”. After my morning cash withdrawal and coffee I inquired about boat rentals from the guys in harbor. He had an open bow, 5 person motor boat available for a four hour cruise for 80 Euros plus gas – done!

We left the harbor around 11:30am after grabbing lunch items, swimsuits and cameras for a four hour cruise. There is no motoring in the harbor so the guy who rented us the boat had to row us out. When his partner came to pick him up, he rammed the motor of our boat and put a big gash in the casing! How italian! Anyhow, no harm and we were off cruising South towards Corniglia, Mannarolo and Riomaggiore. These towns were all built high off the water into the cliffs so there was no opportunity to land for wine (poor Michelle). We found a cove past Riomaggiore and pulled in for some swimming and lunch. Afterwards, we headed North past Vernazza to Monterosso and then all the way to Levanto. Levanto seemed like a nice large town with a big beach that was part sand and part gravel. We cruised back in style by punching the gas and doing some ocean donuts – the kids loved it.

One of my favorite moments of the trip was cruising back to Vernazza with one hand on the boat wheel, one hand around Michelle’s shoulders, the kids on the bow bouncing up and down to the waves and Shirey chill-axing in the back seat. Great day.

Another early morning for me for cash and coffee. Michelle came with me and we checked out a cafe I saw the day before called Il Pirata – a Sicilian bakery/cafe with incredible ricotta pastries and smoothies. We made reservations to come for dinner later.

We went to Monterosso and spent the day at the beach there. The beach was made of small, but annoying stones and was hot to the feet. The water was beautifully clear and a wonderful temperature but the people managing the first set of chairs we went to were a pain in the ass. We didn’t get what we wanted, got our money back and went to a different set of chairs which was much more to our liking.

At the end of the day, Michelle and I hiked the ~2 miles or so back to Vernazza along the Cinque Terra trail. It was still very hot and a major climb up stairs to reach altitude. I guess we gained 1,500 – 2,000 feet in a pretty short time (see the pictures). This was the hardest stretch of the trail between the five towns on the coast due to length and vertical climb. However, it was also the most beautiful with incredible vistas, structures and a lemonade stand in the middle run by the grower of the lemons – Fantastic!

Dinner was as Il Pirata and was magnificent in it’s simplicity and flavor. Another winner!

I woke up earlier than the family to wander up and get my daily allowance of Euros from the cash machine to pay for our room (cash only – nice). I grabbed a cup of wonderful espresso and parked my can in the harbor to watch the town wake up. Truck drivers with permits coming in and out with fruits & vegatables, picking up the garbage, delivering fish and getting boats into the water. A guitar player was strumming in the courtyard and the old guys were chatting it up. I love mornings like this.

We spent the day at the beach playing in the water, reading, playing cribbage (Lindsay is getting good!) and having a pizza picnic. In the evening we cleaned up and went to Monterosso for dinner. Michelle had read about a restaurant that we wanted to try and we wanted to get a peak at the town to see if we wanted to hang there tomorrow. The lobster pasta, sea bass and steak were all wonderful. Great meal and then Jackson passed out as he was so tired. Another day in paradise.

Big transition day today with a train to Pisa, a few hour lay over and then off to Vernazza for five days at Cinque Terra. Pisa was a tourists dream with four important buildings to the locals in one square and merchant stalls all around. The square in Pisa holds the bell tower (leaning tower), a domed church, baptistry and cemetery. It was fun to go and take the obligatory pictures and see the tower, but a short stop to be sure.

Upon arriving at Vernazza, we were blown away by the quaintness and beauty of the small village on the side of the cliff. We loved the harbor and water and looked forward to hanging out here for many days to come. The evening found us at a fancy restaurant in the harbor called “BelleForte” or beautiful fort. Delicious seafood, light pasta’s, Cinque Terra wine and fish eyeballs (Lindsay at one for $10!).

Michelle added more entries to the journal to get us through the first full day in Cinque Terra and I added in an index to easier find the individual days. Click here to enjoy!

We spent a great day in Florence on day 10. The weather was a bit more mild, we saw some new parts of the city including the Ponte Vechio and spend several hours in the Ufizi museum. I’ve always wanted to go to the Ufizi as it houses a huge amount of Renaissance art including Botecelli, Michaelangelo and more. It is a truly magnificent place to visit as the building itself is quite extraordinary. I only wish our kids had more patience and we had more time with a guide .

After the Ufizi, we spent some time on the most famous bridge in Florence, the Ponte Vechio. During Florence’s heyday, this bridge was the spot for gold and silver merchants. There is also a private walk way above the shops for city leaders, popes and princes to cross without mixing with the citizens. Enjoy!

Day 9 was a little sad as we had to be out of the villa by 10am (the morning AFTER a wedding!). I was up around 8am and finally rousted my family at 9am to get some breakfast and pack. Everyone was sad to leave the villa, leave Soanha and get on the road.

We packed the Alfa Romeo tight and headed out about 10:30am. The drive was twisty and turney per usual and no one was appreciating the road trip. Our original plan was to drive to a town along the coast and stay there for a few days, but once we got to Florence – we decided to return the car, get a hotel and check out this beautiful city. We stopped in a hotel near the train station (hotel Adler) to ask for directions and ended up liking the concierge (gold keys) and decided to stay. I went to find gas, return the car and we took the recommendation for a place for lunch. We had a wonderful lunch in a family restaurant.

After naps, we just spent time walking around Florence. We checked out the Duomo, saw some Hare Krisna’s, rode on a carousel and ate at an outdoor pizzeria. All in all, a lovely transition day and evening in Florence.

Another beautiful day in Tuscany. With the wedding scheduled for later in the evening when it cools off, I took the opportunity for a morning run through the countryside. The first set of pictures are from my run as I saw country architecture and archways delux.

Later that morning – Michelle, Barb, Stuart and I took off again for a drive through the country. A winemaker had recommended a restaurant in Londa for wonderful regional food. We drove there (about 30 minutes from the Villa) but they were closed. We kept going to another town and recommended restaurant in DiComano. The restaurant was Roberto’s and was fantastic. Clearly run by a husband and wife team with the husband back in the kitchen and wife running the front of the house.

The wedding was in the evening and was fantasy like. After mingling around in the courtyard with everyone snapping pictures, Tim and I were put on video camera duty and recorded the entire nuptuals. The first segment took place in the small chapel with the photographers climbing all over the pews and around the service like Paparazzi. The second piece of the service took place in the area next to the church covered in Wysteria. The evening finished off with a wonderful meal and lots of toasts and drinks.

Michelle and I connected with Barb and Stuart to head into Florence for the day on the train to do some sight seeing and shopping. Florence is a really magnificent city and we only saw a little bit of it between the Duomo and the big public market.

In the evening, Greg and Lisa had a special meal planned with meat and grilling coming from a very well known local butcher. It was a lot of fun for me to watch a couple of pros work the grill and slice the meat. We at near the lower pool which has a spectacular view of the valley. It turned in to another late night by the pool with a water volleyball game and running around.

On Day 6, we spent the entire day hanging out at the villa. Michelle was up late making new friends with Dara and Deb the previous evening and rolled into bed around 3:30am. I got up earlier than her and went into town to get some birthday desserts for the dinner/party in the evening. Michelle eventually woke up and went into town wit Soahna to shop. They cooked in the kitchen the rest of the afternoon. Dara provided a magnum of Chianti for the dinner while Barb and Stuart provide bottles of Proseca as a toast. I laid by the pool most of the day and played with the kids. Enjoy!