Tag Archives: Castè
Italy Road Trip

Change of Plans

By on Thursday, March 1, 2018

This morning we woke up to a winter wonderland up in the little medieval village. The forecast had snow overnight but we were very surprised by how much stuck, about 10 cm by 7am when we first opened the shutters. It was going to be an interesting ride out down the hill to the highway.

As Dave was warming up the car we got a message from our Airbnb host at a farm in the hills above Lucca. They were completely snowed in and their road was impassable, a big snow storm like this really is out of the ordinary here and so they offered us a refund and recommended we stay in the city where the roads would be cleared. We decided to head straight to Florence and called the hotel where we had booked the weekend. They said no problem the room was ready so we said good bye to the little medieval village and started the drive down the hill.

Luckily Dave has lots of snow driving experience as the road was narrow, twisty and unplowed. We got about halfway down before we hit a small uphill section and couldn’t get traction. Unfortunately the chains the rental agency gave us did not fit the car so we had to go without. It took us about 30 minutes of trying to get up the small, steep incline without sliding accidentally off the side and down into the valley but we made it. After that it was pretty mellow down to the autostrada and then once we got on that it was really easy, everything had been freshly plowed and the road was completely clear as if it hadn’t snowed at all.

It took about 2 hours to get until Florence (a much easier experience than getting into Genova even with the weather.) All the schools are closed and a lot of offices so everyone was out and about playing with sleds and getting in snowball fights. Our hotel is very close to the historic center but has a private parking lot. The room is nice and comfortable with a pretty view of the hills.

We had a boatload of laundry to do so we found a laundromat and had a very nice lunch around the corner while we waited for everything to finish. Lunch was at Trattoria Cantinetta Allegri.

Now we are back at the apartment resting and warming up before heading out this evening to see some sights and have dinner.

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Italy Road Trip

One if by land, two if by sea

By on Wednesday, February 28, 2018

Today we write this post from a park bench facing the ocean at a train station in Cornglia, one of the 5 lands. It’s very peaceful and although chilly, the sun is shining on us.

Last night Dave came down with a cold so we cooked in our medieval Airbnb and went to bed early. It was very peaceful and relaxing even if the hot water was a little lacking. This morning we got up and decided that because it’s cold an Dave isn’t feeling great that we’d take the train in between the Cinque Terre rather than hike. A very short drive down into La Spezia and we jumped on the regional train that stops at each of the villages. It’s quite well organized, you buy one ticket that’s good all day and you can get on and off in both directions at any of the 5 villages. We decided to take the train to Vernazza, the second to last village and then work our way back.

Leaving La Spezia, the train goes immediately into a long tunnel. Everyone on the train gasped in awe as we exited the tunnel on the Riomaggiore side with the water directly to the side of the track.

It’s a very beautiful and dramatic ride along the coastline. In Vernazza we got off the train and explored the town which is very pretty.

Most of the shops and restaurants were closed for the season, it was nice to have the place mostly to ourselves but it must be fun in the summer too.

After walking around a bit we decided to grab lunch at what looked like the only place open as it is off season called Blue Marlin Di Basso and catering mostly to the workmen doing renovations around town. If they eat there it must be good we figured. We had a seafood antipasto, pesto pasta and a local dish that is made of anchovies and potatoes layered like a lasagna.

It was all quite good and very full we jumped back on the train to Corniglia.

Corniglia sits up on the hill and from the station it’s a bit of a walk. The view is incredible with all of the jumbled wine terraces, olive groves, Cyprus and lemon trees. We ambled around the village a bit and then made our way back to the train station, luckily because there are only two trains left for the day, each an hour apart. All in all a wonderful day in a gorgeous place.

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Italy Road Trip

A Riveria Lifestyle

By on Tuesday, February 27, 2018

This morning we woke up early to try to get a quick run in before breakfast. It was about 28 degrees F but with all the Italian food we have been eating, we wanted to make sure to keep in shape after all of the good skiing.  We ran for about a half hour and decided that we had enough.  After running, we headed back to our place and took quick showers and packed up our stuff.  We headed out on the town one last time to get some croissants and focaccia and a coffee for Sara from one of the small cafes.  We tried to get pesto crossiants, but couldn’t find any.

After we had breakfast it was time to hit the road.  If you recall from yesterday, getting in to town was a big pain and parking even worse.  Turns out where we parked was 41 euro for the one night.  When Dave tried to pay, it turns out that anything over 25 euro needed to be paid with a 50.  After getting about 30 euro in the machine in bills, the machine stopped accepting.  Dave had to hit the cancel button which ended up working like a slot machine spitting out many coins to make up the 30 euro.  After getting the car out of the garage, Dave pulled the car up illegally in one of the squares and we loaded up.

Today was Sara’s opportunity to drive.  Being a Tuesday morning, traffic on the streets of Genoa was quite congested.  Once we got out of Genoa, the view was spectacular.  We weren’t able to check-in to our Airbnb until 4pm so we decided to take the back roads instead of the toll road (autostrada).  The road winded through the coast from sea level to high above the cliffs.  At one point we crested a pass of 800 m, a far cry from the Alps where we were driving near 3000 m.

As we approached La Spezia, both Sara and Dave were starving.  We found a small restaurant on the side of the road and decided to stop in.  The sign on the place indicated it was food like your mother would make.  Dave had the Tagllini with Pesto and Sara had Raviloli with Walnut sauce.  Surprisingly, it was one of the best meals we have had in Italy yet.

After getting a bit of shopping done in La Spezia, we headed up the hill to Caste where our Airbnb was located.  Gianluca and his parter met us and showed us our new digs for the next two days.  They even provided us a bottle of wine made by their neighbor.

A 13th century village that consists of about 15 people.  The apartment is all stone and quite beautiful.  We didn’t take many pictures today but promise we will get some up tomorrow.  It is stunning.

Tomorrow, weather dependent, we hope to get some hiking in on the 5 Terre.

Here is a video of our drive today:

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