Cinq Terre. Cinq Etoiles.

It's hard for words to describe how stunning this place is. From the imposing mountains, dropping off into the sea, to the tiny, gorgeous villages carved into the rock, the terraced vineyards, the more recent construction marvels (the train line that spends something like 90% of its time in tunnels, the roads, foot paths) - it's all quite breathtaking. We decided to jump on a ferry from our base (Portovenere) & head up to the 5 towns. This being italy, they scheduled something like 4 boats to arrive & leave at the same time. Chaos, shouting, but eventually everyone seemed to make it on the appropriate crafts.



Leaving the port, the first thing you see is the wonderful striped church with the fort (C.16th) further up the hill.



After 30 minutes of nausea inducing cruising (some of our party were affected) we came to the first of the 5 towns.



With only small natural harbours (our boat performed some exotic maneuvre to disgorge its passengers. Bad choice of words) its really quite amazing that the towns grew to be the size they are (or were, back in the day). The local inhabitants were really quite industrious. Nowadays, of course, the towns are prized for their character, location & downright cuteness.


After disembarking at the first town, we walked up the coastal path (the Via dell Amore). The local custom is to take a padlock & leave it one the path, locked to some convenient stanchion. I guess the hikers are locking their love - the kids spied one padlock with a pacifier...how cute! Its a terrific coastline. It being a Sunday, the local inhabitants were out in force, enjoying the sun & the sea. We even spied one couple taking the name of the path literally. Move on, children.



Quite a special place.

Ciao Italy!

You have to love a country where artisanal cold-pressed virgin olive oil is sold in the gas stations.

We're in Portovenere now--the port of Venus--playground of the Romantic poets (Byron and Shelley at least) back in the day. Wi-fi here is limited to the lobby and, to be honest, it's hard to tear myself away from the views over the Mediterranean and the Golfo di Poeti to do some posting. I'll make this quick.

Philip did manage to secure the rental car, but only after he was abused (for nothing, of course) in French by the manager who didn't realize he knew the language (particularly the unsavory parts of it) very well. Anyway, after leaving Nice, we lunched in Monaco, a Disneyland for the uberwealthy and a strange, anomalous place that makes Easthampton look a little bourgeois. Lots of hairy-chested dudes on cells with skinny blondes in heels both smoking and in sunglasses that cost more than private school tuition in Brooklyn. It was fascinating--the palace on the hill benevolently overlooks things as if to ensure that all below is suitably spit polished.


We drove from there to Portovenere (through Genoa and La Spezia) across some stunning landscape with occasional glimpses of the sea and through dozens of mountain tunnels. Portovenere (the port of Venus) is aptly named--its beauty is extraordinary and its position on the peninsula protected by three little islands gives it a cozy atmosphere. You can see why the Romantic poets loved the area (and in fact Shelley drowned not far from here)--it must have stretched their already considerable abilities to describe beauty. But it's also easy to see how Shelley drowned--the sea can rage a bit, and Isabella and I suffered a bit of mal de mer (again!) today on the boat trip to the Cinque Terre. We considered ourselves lucky given that others had their heads in bags.

The view is calling me back now, so I'll leave the Cinque Terre to Philip to describe.

A Conversation with Clare

Clare, what did you think of Nice?

It's beautiful; the color of the ocean is very pretty and, while the rocks aren't comfortable, they're still cool.

How are you coping as a vegetarian on this trip?

Fine; some places are better than others. Like the Nice hotel only had two vegetarian options on the menu.

What's been the worst city for a vegetarian?

I'm tempted to say Tewkesbury (in the Cotswolds of England). Because when I told the waiter I was a vegetarian, he made a crossing sign with his fingers and said, "ugh."

What's been the most fascinating thing so far (now that we're halfway through)? I have to say Stonehenge.

What about in France? I really like Rodin's sculptures, because he made so many in so little time and they are carved out of stone, and they are some of the most beautiful works of art I've ever seen.

What was your favorite work of art in the Louvre? Winged Victory because it was made so long ago and it's so big and the cloth she's wearing is so detailed--the movement is so amazing.

What books have you read on the trip? Anne of Green Gables, Outliers: The Story of Success, and I'm currently reading Quantum Theory Cannot Hurt You.

How do you plan to compensate for missing school during the rest of the trip?

Reading my book, drawing, and writing reports on what I have seen every day. Also learning Italian and playing Hangman on the iphone.

Would you like to give a big hello to anyone? Finnegan and all my friends.

Trouble in Paradise

I'm sitting here in the lobby of the wonderful Palais de la Mediterranee in Nice getting increasingly desperate texts from Philip who has run into some snags getting the rental car. PK organized this car ages ago, checked and double checked that all was in order...even so, sometimes merde happens.

Before the children wrench the computer away, I'll put in some photos that probably should have made it in before. Hope everyone at home is doing well. We're looking forward to hearing the details about the first day of school!

These are all from Paris. This last photo is of the statue of Joan of Arc near our hotel. Oops, it's mostly of her horse.

So Nice

The pictures say it all.
Oh, OK, comments to follow.





Loved the rest and relaxation in Nice, but nothing really blogworthy to report. I got seasick in that bloody kayak, and both PK and I went to the gym (major newsflash, that). The kids had a blast swimming in the cerulean blue Mediterranean and didn't seem to mind the rock beach. There's great people watching here where tanning is a 9-5 job.

We forgot to mention that we were robbed of a wad of cash in Paris (not too much, but enough to bum us out a little--funnily enough it was all in British pounds and Aussie dollars). And Clare lost a tooth...we're hoping the toothfairy brings her our missing money.

Pretty Nice Birthday

Emmett turned 7! He spent his birthday in Paris in the morning and Nice in the afternoon and evening. Not bad! (Note to Julian, Emmett got an itouch and some playmobil for his birthday).

Taking the TGV (Train a Grande Vitesse (even I can translate that) from Paris, we screamed down to La Cote D'Azure and wound up in Nice. In a moment of madness, we changed our hotel to one on the beach, Le Palais de la Mediterranee, and are spoiling ourselves in this magnificently restored Art Deco hotel (photos here from our room balcony). It was Emmett's birthday after all. With a pool and private beach access, we are in heaven.

Following the news from home, though, we are monitoring Hurricane Earl very carefully. Hope everyone stays safe and secure, especially our friends on Long Island.

Paris, troisieme jour

Today was our last full day in Paris, so we hit the Louvre hard--Mona Lisa, check; Venus de Milo, check; Winged Victory, check. We were complete Philistines focused only on the museum's greatest hits. With three kids, and one of them not yet 7, we had to be realistic, so we limited things. Still, what an experience to be in that gorgeous former palace surrounded by exquisite paintings and sculpture. The beauty was all rather heart-breaking, but we found time to be silly as you can see from the photos.




After the Louvre, we walked through the Tuileries, discovering some wonderful play areas including a trampoline playground, and wound up a La Place de la Concorde, a spot with some baaaad karma. That was where the revolutionaries tore down the statue of Louis XVI and replaced it with the guillotine. In a single month, they beheaded something like 1,300 royals and aristocrats. Later during the German occupation of the city, the Nazis used the plaza's buildings as headquarters. Shivers. Concord over discord--they chose the name well.


From there we took the metro to the Arc de Triomphe and strolled over to Philip's former stomping grounds. His old apartment still looks lovely. We returned to the hotel for a much-needed rest. By dinnertime, we rallied and went to Montmartre for dinner and a final long look at the City of Light.


Clare and I had an adventure returning to the hotel--I told the taxi driver "Rue des Pyramides" but he heard "Rue des Pyrenees" (and I thought my French was improving). We ended up in a very dodgy neighborhood with graffiti and abandoned buildings. We set things straight and eventually made it back to the hotel, 30 Euro later. The driver couldn't have been nicer or more apologetic. It was ma faute!