Wrapping up Italy

Well folks, obviously it has been awhile, but we have been on the move here recently. But, after returning from a nice family visit to the States, we are finally getting in our rhythm again in Strasbourg. I wanted to finish up our awesome trip to Cinque Terre, Italy before Whit and I started posting our highlights from this summer's France trip (which was absolutely great).

Cinque Terre was a tremendous location for enjoying some simple things in life that sometimes we just pass by, especially here in Europe. Here is Whit in front of some beautiful purple bushes on our way to dinner.

Walking back from dinner we caught a glimpse of a hungry fellow sitting in the window of a seafood restaruant. It seems as though he is about to make a play for someone's 35 Euro seafood platter.

The were plenty of colorful fruitstands that lined the small streets of our village. Apparently, this owner attracts tourists with this cute fellow. Unfortunately, you have to wake up pretty early in the morning to pull the old "cat in a basket trick" on this guy.

The fishermen still go out every morning and by late afternoon have returned and tied up, creating quite a peaceful scene on the Med.


In addition to the beautiful sights we did take in some sun and fun at the beach.


We rented three 2-man sea kayaks and ventured down the coast toward Vernazza where we found a little cove with a magnificant waterfall.




Of course meal-time in Italie is an event in itself. The dishes ranged from pizza to fresh seafood and of course to an absolutely delightful homemade Tiramisu.




And of course, we had to end at least one of our delicious dinners with the traditional Italian lemoncello after dinner.


Finally, since we flew out of Pisa, Italy we couldn't pass up one of Europe's most recognizable towers!

Obviously, the majority of you out there recognize this piece of Italian architecture from the movie Superman III: Superman vs. Superman, but the Tower of Pisa has been around since the 1100s.

After goofing-off too long on the lawn in front of the "Leaning Tower of Pisa", Whitney and I had to dash across the town of Pisa, Italy to make our Ryanair flight back home. Our flight took us to Germany where we took a series of buses that finally got us home. Oddly enough, when we showed up outside our house we found it had become the set of movie.

For the next several days, Whitney and I watched France's version of Hollywood in action. It was pretty cool, after I figured out that the old lady continuously crossing the street in the same direction all afternoon with her Yorkie Terrier was part of the film and not some crazy woman.



Thanks to the Insognas and the Selbies for an amazing Italian adventure! We loved having you guys here in Europe with us.