I am so glad I journaled each day while we were traveling. This is the only way I am able to remember the important details 3+ months later.
I wanted to quickly explain our route using this map. You are able to hike to each city. There were groups that flew in to do just that. They would backpack to a different city each day. Unfortunately because of the amount of rain that had just happened the day before, some of the trails were closed. We started the morning in Riomaggiore and then took a train up to Monterosso. We did a gorgeous, yet exhausting 2.5 hour hike to Vernazza. We then took a train to Manarola where we ended the day.
It was raining in Riomaggiore so it was a quick stop. I can't find any pictures, but the city can be seen in the first few seconds of our video where we light a candle.
Onto our hike from Monterosso to Vernazza:
The trail was beautiful. Steep and beautiful. There was a part where we winded back and forth through some vineyards on the side of the mountain (below).
And just as you are about to die, you get a peek of the city of Vernazza.
It definitely gave us our second wind.
As you make your descent through the mosquito infested greens, you start hearing accordion music! It was the perfect welcome into this beautiful Italian city. This picture is blurry but I love it because it shows the narrow run-down walkways and the busy small cafe where we ate lunch. It may have been because I was so famished, but it was the best pizza I had ever put inside my mouth.
It doesn't look appetizing, but oh it was. Pizza & Sprite. Basically my meal everyday in Italy.
Back to the train headed to Manarola!
This city got our vote for best gelato in Italy.
Manarola
just being a PDA fest
Blessings to the man in the University of Utah shirt who took a picture of us.
Our first picture without the selfie stick in days.
Then we took a train back to our hotel near Portofino. I don't remember this but in my journal I wrote "..got back to the hotel and went to bed EARLY. Hit my pillow and was out. I got a full nine hours of sleep. Party in the USA! Well, Italy." We struggled getting full nights of sleep on this trip, but SO worth it.
The blog posts are just stacking up! I have so much to write about. I am determined to finish Europe before anything else though. I did want to quickly break from the Europe routine and say Merry Christmas from my family back in Utah! Every year since I was young my Mom would think of creative dances to put to music. I wish we had record of all of them.
On day 6 our book closes on Spain and Italy begins! We get up super early and fly to Milan. In Spain airports, there isn't a system to board the plane. You just form a line. We got there early enough that we were maybe the sixth one in line (yeah we patted ourselves on the back for that one). A huge single file line formed behind us. Time passed and we hear over the intercom "the plane to Milan is now boarding" -then it happened. All of a sudden we were completely surrounded by people pushing up behind us breathing down our necks. I turn around and the line that was once formed is now a solid half circle. A complete mess. Shaun and I could not stop laughing. It happened within seconds. We almost yelled "THE ZOMBIES ARE COMING!" because we belonged in one of the movies where the rest of the human race crowds to board the one last plane.
I had to document that story so I don't forget that memory.
We land in Milan and take a train to Portofino.
There, the original plan was to catch a 25 minute bus to a vacation home that we had pre-booked with our friends. Our friends decided to stay an extra day where they were at so we were on our own. Once we got to Portofino, it took us a good hour to ask where the bus stop was. A taxi driver told us "down the hill that way, you won't miss it." We proceed down the long narrow alleyway road quite a ways like this one:
note the florescent running shoes, thanks
...and did not see it. Hiked back up the road to the taxi driver who then told us that a car was in the way so that is why we walked right passed it. We FINALLY got there and realized we had JUST missed this ghetto bus we were supposed to take. Shaun and I sat and waited for another 45 minutes for the 3pm bus. Well 3pm rolls around and we see the bus coming our way. We get up and wave at him. He looks us straight in the eye and drives right by us.
We have been up for 12 hours.
Slice of airport pizza was the only thing in our stomachs.
We smell.
Backpacks are heavy.
Feet hurt.
And just like that we were asking a taxi driver if we could use his wifi so we could book a hotel just down the street where we were at instead of trying to get ourselves to the villa. It was the best decision. The vacation home we got would have required us to take a 25 minute bus to where we wanted to be (that is if it would even pick us up!!!!!). This hotel was the perfect location and it was beautiful.
We put that half-day nightmare behind us and had an incredible rest of the day in Portofino. It was by far one of my favorite places thus far. It tourist-free for some reason so it was as though we had the place to ourselves!
Portofino is a small Italian fishing village.
The Castello Brown is also there. It was used in the 15th century for harbor defense. The book Enchanted April was written there and that movie made in the 90's was filmed there (shout out to Mama! Thank you for telling me about this remarkable haven that you love so much.)
You take a little bus from our hotel a few miles around a beautiful coastline. You eventually arrive at a small harbor where you can take the walk up to Castello Brown. Unfortunately it was closed once we got there but we were still able to enjoy the walk.
Views on the bus ride
The harbor once we got off the shuttle:
The Castello Brown behind me up on the hill
(The water was incredible! If you go in the summer you can swim in it! Next time..)
There was a walking trail along the route that the bus took so we decided to walk halfway back until a shuttle would drive by and pick us up. It was beautiful. It felt like a dream world or a town from a storybook. Along our walk we were soon taken back to reality when a father coming home from work walked up these steps to his house where his wife and two kids greeted him at the door. People actually lived their normal lives here?! It seemed so crazy to us.
The walk worked up an appetite so we ended the night with THE best pesto I have ever tasted.
(Yep, went here two nights in the row and ordered the same thing)
If anybody is wanting tips on great neck pillows for airplanes we know of some AMAZING ugly ones! Neck pillows don't really work for me and Shaun but the pillows we got for this trip attached around us like a seat belt and supported your head when it fell. It was super awkward trying to position them though as you can see in the beginning of this nerdy video of Shaun tightening it. But... #worthit
Yay Barcelona! We split up with our friends for a few days. Barcelona was on our list because of the beautiful Sagrada FamÃlia. Also, it's a place Shaun always heard of while serving but he never made it there. Our hotel room had these beautiful murals on the walls that I absolutely loved (I had some people ask about the hotels over there so I included footage in the video). The best part of the room was our view outside to the Sagrada FamÃlia. Unfortunately it was the construction side but we were still so impressed.
Excuse my gigantic pants I got in Granada. They are now my most comfortable item I own #worthit
Hands in the pockets again.
A Catholic church that is in use today.
The Sagrada FamÃlia is a large Roman Catholic church that was designed by the famous architect, GaudÃ. After 133 years of construction it is finally almost done! And by almost, I mean in about ten years. It's estimated completion date is in 2026. The picture of the final product looks incredible. We are hoping to go back and visit when it's totally complete. SO much detail on the outside of this cathedral.
The entrance to the cathedral depicts the birth of Jesus. It might be hard to see but he is in the center with Mary and Joseph and on each level you have the wisemen, shepherds, angels etc.
The tourists embarrassed me! We tried to be less obnoxious as some. It was hard when carrying a selfie stick though :)
I had an obsession with their staircases!
Then you came out the back and it is scenes from the crucifixion.
How cute is this little boy?? I barely understood what I was listening to/looking at so when I turned and saw this little guy it made me smile. So cute.
Shaun was getting money at this ATM right outside the Sagrada FamÃlia and I just remember having this huge feeling of joy and gratefulness. I could not believe where I was. I learned about this building and its architect in a humanities class once and here I was visiting it with SJ. It was surreal and I had to capture that moment somehow. So that feeling was linked to ATM's the rest of the trip (which we visited a lot....)
Park Güell
This is now a public park. The artist Güell was originally constructing it to be a housing site and pictured it as a huge town where people would live in these crazy looking houses and gardens. Only two houses ended up being built though. They were put up for sale and Gaudà (the architect building The Sagarada FamÃlia) bought it in 1906 and lived there with his family for 20 years. The house contains some of his work as decoration. It is now a museum and a beautiful park. The two houses built are behind us. Don't they look they belong in a Dr Seuss book?!
This was supposed to be the town hall
Another view of the houses. More like gingerbread houses..
We came back to the hotel after walking around the park. We were starving so we ordered room service and brought it up to the roof. The city was quiet. As we were eating, a firework show in the distance began. It was a great way to end the night in Barcelona! Side note: the song Barcelona by Queen was sung many times throughout the day...
