...la dolce vita ...

Day 58 ... France --> Italy

Photos

1,2 and 3.  Private and public beaches at Monterosso

4 and 5.  Amazing gelato

6 and 7.  Closely followed by the best meal of the trip so far

8.  Tunnel driving

On Thursday we packed up our bags and said goodbye to Uzès. Because we weren't booked in to Italy till the next day we stayed at Frejus which is in France. The next day we left France for Italy. Going through millions of tunnels I don't think Grace was very happy because of what she was reading with. Mum managed to get a photo of the car lights in the tunnel. We are staying at a nice apartment on top of a restaurant. We had a lemonade down at the restaurant while Mum and Dad learnt about the walking tracks and things like that. For dinner we went to a restaurant recommended by a man sitting down at it. A lovely dinner of pesto gnocchi and seafood risotto(Jack had bolognese) we are all in heaven. 

That same day before dinner we went down to the beach to have a swim. The water was lovely for a hot day and Jack, Grace and I spent ages collecting stones. Despite Dad saying we could only take ten I managed to sneak one extra in. 

Lily 

Yesterday we drove from France to Italy. There were over a hundred tunnels.

We went to the beach and had a swim. In the water there was a small boat that had a slide on it. You climbed up some stairs and then slid down the slide into water.
After we had a swim me, Grace and Lily looked for interesting rocks.
Jack

Spain was intriguing. I loved France but I LOVE Italy more. 
The food, the people, the gelato .
I did not like the drive into Monterosso al Mare, the first of The Cinque Terre towns. It made the drive across the Pyrenees a breeze. One lane roads, sections of roads that had been washed away in 2011 floods exposing steep cliffs,and mad Italian drivers. I will never get Al to drive now!
We drove 300km from Frejus (near Cannes) to Cinque Terre and conservatively 10% of trip was underground (the great Europe tunnels). In the section from Monaco to Genoa there are 110 tunnels!
Have not inspired the kids to walk the trek between the 5 towns YET. They just want to swim in warm Mediterranean waters and eat ice cream!
Guess what Jack had for dinner last night?
David

On Thursday we packed our big red bags and off we drove heading for ITALY.  We stayed in Frejus which is near the border of France and Italy.  When we got the hotel we walked down to the pool.  I was the first to get in.  Lily and I were doing forward and backward flips off daddy's knees.  After we were doing forward flips off the edge................... it was really fun.  For dinner we went to Mc Donalds (Jack was really happy because he loves Mc Donald's). 

Yesterday we drove to Italy.  I was reading the sixth harry potter book on daddy's kindle but when we went though all the tunnels I couldn't read because I didn't have a light (I wish the tunnels weren't there).  After we finally arrived in Italy we walked down to the beach. When we got on the sand we realised the sand was really hot so we had to run down to the water.  After our swim Lily, Jack  and I started collecting little rocks.

Grace

Mad, fast French drivers have been replaced by completely insane Italian ones.  We were overtaken by approximately 62395 cars, 2439 caravans, 3111 large, looming lorries, more motorbikes and vespas and even (on a down hill stretch) a bike.  AND I had my eyes shut on the down hill goat tracks they call mountain roads....I'm never driving here!

Grace and I were both racing the dark tunnels to finish The Half Blood Prince (me with tears streaming down my face).  

The rewards for arriving in Monterosso are high though...a gorgeous apartment in the old part of town, the BEST seafood risotto ever, amazing gelato and those views!!  La dolce vita indeed.

A