Tuesday, May 29, 2007

Kevin and Tracy at the Cinque Terre

Kevin and Tracy eating on the street at Vernazza
This past weekend we went to the Cinque Terre, along the Italian Riviera, to meet our good friends Kevin and Tracy. Kevin and Tracy were our neighbors at Fort Benning. We haven't seen them in four years. In that time, we've (combined) had three children, moved five times, and spent 42 months as separated families. We had a great weekend catching up and seeing the villages of the Cinque Terre.


We met at the train station in Milan, then took the looong way to the villages, where we had a difficult time finding rooms. Tracy and I randomly chose a village that sounded interesting. Our guidebook did not mention that this was the only village with a GIANT hill on the main walkway, which we walked up and down a few times just that first night. We ended up spending the first night in La Spezia (which is not part of the Cinque Terre), then went back to Riomaggiore for the next night.
View from our veranda in Riomaggiore
We walked and took the train to a couple different villages, then took the ferry back. Ashlyn loved it! She talked about the "boap" on the "wawer" CONSTANTLY, when she wasn't talking about the "choo-choos" anyway. We stopped for food and more food. I bought some pretty watercolors along one of the trails. I now want to purchase Italian pottery, in addition to the Polish pottery that I had planned when we moved here.
Considering that we just skipped her nap on Sunday, AND had her walking around, Ashlyn was awesome! She did end up having a meltdown, but not too bad. And, what a difference a couple of months makes. When we were traveling in March, Ashlyn would not go to sleep on her own. She had to be rocked to sleep, which we hadn't done since she was 6 months old, and she usually ended up in bed with us. On this trip, we made a pallet for her on the floor, and just said "night, night" and she just went to sleep. Amazing.

not sure which village is in the background, I think Manarola

Ok, apparently, I'm still tired from the drive yesterday, so I leave you with pictures from the trip!

Ashlyn, wearing Tracy's hat

Looking at the "wawer"

on Allen's shoulder

on Tracy's back

(even though we have all of these pictures of Ashlyn being carried, she really walked quite a bit)

Ashlyn and Kevin, walking over to look at the "boaps"

The only picture of the four of us, from Sunday night (Ashlyn was passed out in our room)

We drove back on Monday, with rain as we left, and rain the entire drive home, as well as today. I hope that it cleared up for Kevin and Tracy before they complete their trip.

9 comments:

Anonymous said...

Sounds like a fantastic trip! Its always great to catch up with old friends! I love the pic of Ashlyn on Allen's shoulder.

Katie said...

You are SO lucky to get to see all that beautiful European stuff! I am so excited for you! That is wonderful that Ashlyn is travelling so well. You will get to do a lot more that way!

Kim said...

Holy cow, that view is amazing. Old friends are so special, especially when you've been on the move.

...but I'm most impressed with Ashlyn's flexibility and sleep habits on the trip! You give me hope for Gracie... maybe I'll be able to imagine enjoying a trip WITH her someday. Right now, it just seems like it would be a huge stress. But someday...

Harrisonjoy said...

I SO WISH that I was traveling with you all....it just looks so beautiful!

I am very jealous...and hope that you get to go and see so many things while you CAN!

Ashlyn is sure growing into a little girl...I miss her!

Unknown said...

We may have to put Liv in her toddler bed to get her used to sleeping on her own. We want to travel this summer and she just can't sleep anywhere but her crib. She was a nightmare in Kodiak. You are so lucky!

Your trip looked amazing!

Sharon said...

How beautiful! Travel the world for us, since I don't see us getting to for at least another 20yrs! Loved all the comments on Ashlyn's day to day cuteness. Teach me how to text under my pictures, Angie. I just know how to insert pics before or after my text and then it places them where it wants...hmm. No time to figure this stuff out on my own.
Missing you guys!

Anonymous said...

You have done more since you've been there than I think you did in all the time you lived in Alaska. I'm glad you're having fun. Miss ya.

Angie said...

Oh, we haven't done that much yet, not near what we did in Alaska. There is a lot more that is closer here, though, so we can just go somewhere for the day or even just the morning.

I'm planning our next big trip now, though.

Smitty 1, 2 , 3 and 4 said...

IT WAS GREAT TALKING WITH YOU LAST NIGHT!!! Can't wait til you post again!! ;)