More Gelato!

We spent our final week in Europe traveling around Italy.  Italy is one of our favorite places, so we had a really wonderful time.  

We started out with a day in Venice.  Caitlyn LOVED being near the canals and wanted to spend lots of time looking out over the Rialto Bridge.

Caitlyn was enamored with the gondolas, so we took her on a short gondola ride across the canal.  It only lasted a few minutes but she loved it.  Next time we are there, when she is a little older, maybe we will spring for the full hour-long tour.

Can you find Caitlyn peaking out from the rungs of the bridge?  (Look for me in the purple shirt.)

Caitlyn also LOVED chasing the pigeons in St. Mark's Square.

One of the best meals we had in Venice was from Alfredo's, a little pasta stand.  They were making fresh pasta and sauces for 5 euros each.  This, and a gelato, were the perfect meal!

After Venice, we traveled to Rimini, a beach town on the east coast of Italy.  The tourist season had not yet started, so it was relatively quiet, but we still had nice weather and enjoyed relaxing on the beach for a few days.

Our hotel, Hotel Stressa, was perhaps the best hotel in which we have ever stayed.  Upon our arrival we were greeted with a hug and some cookies and tea, and we felt like we were visiting family, not a business.  In addition, the breakfast was amazing!  There was so much fresh food, and it was really delicious.  They even had gelato.  For breakfast!  The breakfast was so good that each morning I went for a run on the beach just to increase my appetite!  They also had a bike with a trailer that we used around town.  The accommodations were so great (and affordable) that we ended up staying in Rimini an extra day.  It was well worth it.

Although we spent most of our time in Rimini on the beach, we did explore the town a little.  Here was some of the best gelato we had in all of Italy.  They even had a chocolate fountain, and they would fill the bottom of the cone with chocolate sauce before adding the gelato!

The Rimini Arch of Augustus:

Bari's street!

Playing on the beach.  Last summer Caitlyn did not like sand, but this time she loved it!

Next up was a drive across the country, eventually to Cinque Terre.  But we stopped in a few places on the way.

First we found a little hill town that we saw off of the road and decided to check out.  (I don't even remember the name of the town--it was clearly off of the beaten path).  The town was tiny, and the only restaurant there was closed for the afternoon.  But it had beautiful views across the valley.  We also stumbled upon this 12th century church:

We also stopped in Lucca, a Tuscan town with a cool wall that encircles the city.  We walked around, and ate some pizza and buccellato (a raisin bread that is native to Lucca).  Walking on top of the wall was cool.

Finally, we made it to Cinque Terre.  We stayed in the 5th town, Monterosso, but went to all five of the towns during our time there.

Here was the view from our hotel room:

We hiked from Monterosso to Vernazza, which is the hardest part of the hike (but the only part that was open).  The hike along the cliffs was very steep at times, but beautiful.  Caitlyn hiked almost half of it herself.  The other half she spent like this:

The cinque terre towns are breathtaking and charming, and we definitely want to go back.

As for food, in addition to gelato (of course), Caitlyn really liked the pesto pasta:

On our last night we watched one of the most beautiful sunsets I have ever seen, in the first town, Manarola.  We sat along the cliffs and watched the water crash into the shore.

Then the sunset began...

We finished the evening with delicious gelato.  My favorites were dark chocolate and hazelnut.  Bari liked the dark chocolate.  Caitlyn was a fan of the fruit flavors, especially raspberry, strawberry, and mango.

We had a little time before our flight out of Pisa, so we went to see the Leaning Tower of Pisa.  I was impressed at how much it is really leaning!

The obligatory touristy photos "holding up" the tower:

Playing on the lawn at the Leaning Tower:

Italy is perfect for the kind of vacation we like:  amazing food, great historic sites, a vibrant modern culture, and gelato!  Caitlyn also says that Italy was her favorite place to visit (especially Rome and Venice).  I can't wait to go back.