Today we began our adventure! I am trying a new travel blog app.
Check out my full story ‘Europe 2023’ at https://www.polarsteps.com/TammyCraik/7281449-europe-2023?s=B57133C7-7DFF-4D0B-B2FC-BA823A1B00B9
We loaded up the car this morning with only the essentials. Each of us had a limit of 1 carry on bag and 1 backpack so we made sure not to leave packing until an hour before leaving (like we normally do). We left the house at 10:00am and started our journey down to Seattle. The border crossing went smooth and we were happy we still had our Nexus passes.
When we arrived in Seattle, we dropped of the car at the Park and Ride and took a bus to the terminal. We had some time before our flight boarded so we went straight to the lounge and filled up on cookies and pop. Our first flight was just a tiny hop to Portland. We departed at 4:20pm.
We are now in Portland. We have about an hour before our flight departs. We are in the lounge enjoying a meal before preparing for the long flight to London.
As a parent of 3 amazing individuals, I can honestly say that parenting is the most difficult, and most rewarding job I have ever had. As any parent, we have ambitions for our children to be successful, but what does that mean? My husband and I define “successful” as “being happy with one’s self while being a productive member of society“. When our children embark on college/university I consider them to be young adults who have the ability to make their own decisions.
Our oldest is 17, and is in the process of applying for university! The only involvement I have had to date was to pay his entrance fee for the BC schools. I recently attended an online parent session for a BC university. Throughout the presentation, young students were referred to as “adult children”. I was surprised to discover how this term affected me. It triggered deep emotions of anger, frustration, and disappointment, which is why I chose to write this blog post. I would like to address the problem I have with that term, how it came to be appropriate, and my views on what needs to happen in order to change it.
Let’s begin by defining the term “Adult”. According to Google, an adult is a person who is fully grown or developed. According to recent science, in most humans, the brain does not fully develop until 25 years of age. In the US you can’t drink alcohol until 21. In BC (and 5 other provinces and territories), 19 is the “age of majority”. However, most of the US and half of Canada have declared that 18 is considered an adult. BC Ferries deems 12 and older to be adults but that is a different blog post altogether. So why does it matter what the age of majority is? There are many government restrictions in place that prevent our children from behaving like adults until they reach this arbitrary “age of majority”.
Several years ago, a parent told me, “I am not raising children, I am raising young adults.” (Thanks for the inspiration Melissa!) This statement has always resonated with me, as it is the core foundation of the parenting beliefs I share with my husband. What this means is that we encourage and guide our children from a young age to manage their schedules, take ownership of their education, and be aware of the value of a dollar. One of the best ways to learn about time management and money is to get a job.
Our government passed a law in 2021, that discourages employers from hiring employees under the age of 16. That means that our society believes you shouldn’t get your first job until you are in grade 11. Myself and my husband were both in grade 8 when we got our first jobs. Our eldest got his first job at a local restaurant when he was 15 years old. By 16, he had 2 jobs and was working 30 hours between 2 restaurants while maintaining a full course load in high school. As loving (and concerned) parents, we let him know this was not advisable and if it affected his grades we would have to intervene. It did not affect his school work. He is now 17, working 30 hours a week, still getting top marks in class, and has saved enough to cover his first 2-3 years of university on his own. Our daughter got her first job at a local retail store when she was 14 (her employer didn’t realize her age until two weeks after she began working). She works 3-4 days a week and is able to maintain a healthy school / work balance. Our youngest is only 12 and is already thinks he is doomed and won’t be able to find a job until he is 16.
I don’t believe all students are ready to work full time while going to high school. However, entering the workforce at a young age, as little as 1-2 days a week, is a great way for young adults to learn work ethics, responsibility, time management, and money sense. It is also a great introduction to taxes and Employment Insurance deductions! The first purchase that both our son and daughter made when they got a job was a cell phone plan. They both did this on their own without any help from us. Though mainly inspired by the limitations we set on their Internet access, it has taught them that phone plans cost money and they have learned to budget accordingly. It is also a great opportunity for them to start building their credit. As parents, we feel that if you want to spend money, you first have to earn it. In the beginning, our daughter took this belief literally. She had her pay cheques planned before it entered her bank account. She has been working a year now and I am proud to say that she has developed healthy savings habits. This is an important skill that will help her when she is older. By allowing these young adults to seek employment at an early age, we can guide them to make smarter decisions. It also allows them to make mistakes and fail in a safe environment. Learning proper spending habits at a young age is something our government should support, not limit.
This brings me to another limitation with age of majority… banking! Our son made himself a bank appointment last week to set up a GIC savings account and a credit card. His purpose was to invest his hard earned money while building his credit score. Also, he recently learning that if you want to be a student you need a credit card to pay for parking, parking tickets (I’ll get to this in a bit), and university entrance fees. He was completely deflated when he was told that he did not qualify for either because he was too young! Yes, it’s true. A student who is working full time and has more money in the bank than the average Canadian (Statistics Canada said the average Canadian household had an average net savings of around $9,972 for the 2021 year.) does not qualify to open an investment account or get a student credit card.
https://www.canadianrealestatemagazine.ca
Although most banks offer a student credit card, it is only available to students who have reached the age of majority. In BC, that is 19 years (2nd year university). Why are there no exceptions to this rule? What more does he need to prove that he is a responsible adult? I have phoned several banks and I get the same response every time. The only option in BC (until he is of the age of majority) is for our son to hand over his hard earned money to an “adult” to invest it on his behalf. The expectation is that parents invest money on their student’s behalf. Even worse, parents are expected to apply for a credit card and hand it over to the student. What is this teaching our young university students?
By allowing students (who have jobs) to apply for a student credit card, it provides an opportunity for them to practice healthy spending habits and practice paying monthly bills. Even if the limit is only $100, they can learn about minimum payments and compound interest while they are under the safety umbrella of their parents. By forcing parents to take on the risk, it teaches children that they cannot fail. This false sense of security leads to lack of ownership, lack of responsibility, and lack of understanding. These “adult children” of today’s society are not being provided the tools that will help them in the real world.
THESE LIMITATIONS NEED TO CHANGE! It is okay to have guidelines, but their needs to be room for common sense. By not allowing young adults to have responsibilities (such as managing a credit card) until age of majority, our society is setting them up to fail! There are so many inconsistencies as well. For instance, our son got a parking ticket while attending an Orientation at a BC university. He tried to pay for parking on campus but his debit card was rejected and he had no cash. The only form of payment they accepted was credit. WHAT?!? Obviously, he got a parking ticket (not a terrible learning lesson). When he went to pay the parking ticket, he couldn’t because it too had to be paid by credit. I had to pay his parking ticket and he e-transfered the money to me. Then, I had to pay his entrance fee to apply to the university because I suppose it is the expectation that parents should be applying for university on their “adult children’s” behalf?
No debit option even though 1st and second yr students don’t qualify for creditNo option to use debit to pay for parking ticket online
As a parent, it is also my duty to pay for my child’s s education. I do not agree with this expectation because I believe that students are more accountable for their education when they pay for it themselves. Every student should have access to student loans, regardless of the household income. They need to learn about debt and interest, and how to pay back loans. When are students expected to learn this? When they apply for their first mortgage?
An arbitrary age should not determine when resources become available to young adults. Our society needs to change so those who are ready to learn life lessons early can have access to tools that best help them succeed. Rather than holding them back, we need to help young adults become productive members of our society!
There needs to be a better solution to the BC Ferries routes between Vancouver and Vancouver Island
Like many others, I live in the Lower Mainland while most of my family lives on Vancouver Island. There was a time when I used to travel on the BC Ferries between Horseshoe Bay (Vancouver) and Departure Bay (Nanaimo) weekly. However, now that I have a family of my own I hate to admit that I rarely cross the Strait to visit my family. It is not because I don’t like visiting my family, just that I HATE traveling on BC Ferries and I can’t afford to fly. This is a very strong statement and in order to understand how it got to this point I decided to examine the issue.
The Problem
BC Ferries, specifically the Horseshoe Bay – Departure Bay route, is an extremely poorly managed and dysfunctional operation.
I have often stated that a grade 3 class could probably do a better job of managing the operations. Anyone who has ever attempted to travel from Vancouver to Nanaimo on a long weekend, or in the summer, will understand and probably agree with my bold statement. The question is WHY?
The Evidence
You can’t make a statement like that and not back it up with evidence. Here are a few reasons why I dislike the BC Ferries (specifically the Horseshoe Bay – Departure Bay route):
The Reservation System: For an additional cost, you can reserve a spot on an upcoming ferry. Keep in mind that you must arrive at the ferry terminal between 30-60 minutes before the SCHEDULED sailing or your reservation will not be honoured. Therefore, you want to give yourself lots of time to get to the North Shore in case of traffic on the bridge so you can pull off to the side of the road and wait for your reservation window to open. If the ferry is 30 minutes late you now have to arrive 60-90 minutes before the ferry actually leaves which means you paid a lot of money to sit in line and wait an hour. NOTE: The reservations for some long weekends can sell out a month or longer before the sailing. I often don’t like committing to the trip until a few days before as it is about a $275.00 return trip (without a reservation) for my family which is barely worth a long weekend visit, especially if someone is sick. For this reason I try not to visit family on long weekends or holidays but sometimes it can’t be helped. THE FEE: The fee is a tiered system which can save you money if you plan your trip several days in advance.
$10.00 reservation fee is applied to bookings more than 7 days in advance
$17.00 reservation fee is applied to bookings up to 7 days in advance
$21.00 reservation fee is applied to bookings made for same day travel
$5.00 change fee is incurred each time you make a change
Purchasing the Ticket: You can ONLY purchase a ticket at the terminal. Many people have trying to convince me that the reservation system works and that it is comparable to the airport where it is reservation system only. Here are my problems with that comparison:
Airlines pre-sell tickets online. BC Ferries Does not. You do not pay an extra reservation fee to allow you to jump the queue at the airport and buy a ticket. Could you imagine if the airlines operated like BC ferries? Why can’t you purchase a ticket before you get to the ferry?
Airlines don’t stop you from entering the terminal 60 minutes before scheduled departure. If you arrive before your reservation time you should not be turned away or your reservation forfeited!
Have all the ticket booths open! The ticket booth is the only place to purchase your ticket. There are several booths at the terminal but very rarely have I ever seen all of them open at the same time.
Provide Facilities for passengers on both sides of ticket booth. If BC Ferries can’t provide a ticket, they should atleast provide toilets, water, snacks, parking, etc. outside the terminal for walk-ons. If car reservations aren’t honoured more than 60 minutes before scheduled sailing, there should be a safe place to park with facilities before the ticket booth.
The Wait: A 1-sailing wait is roughly 2.5 hours. It is not uncommon for there to be a 2-3 sailing wait. You do the math! Yep, that can easily be 7.5 hours. Sure this might not be bad if you could get out and go for a 3-hour hike in the beautiful mountains but no, not the case. The terminal can’t handle this amount of traffic so the ticket booth closes and they stop selling tickets after the first ferry is completely sold out. This leaves you in a parking lot far in the middle of nowhere without any facilities while you wait to purchase your ticket. Once you do get a ticket you line up on the other side and wait for the next ferry to leave so they can move your car again. Therefore, someone has to be with the car 30 minutes before each sailing. PERSONAL EXPERIENCE: It is Friday afternoon of a long weekend. The reservations sold out weeks ago and it was just decided yesterday we are going across. We pick the kids up from school and arrive at the terminal at 3:30 aiming for the 5:45 ferry. There is 1 extra sailing at 7:30pm (30 minutes before the 8:00). After 10 minutes of waiting we finally talk to someone who asks if we have a reservation. Since we don’t we are told to wait in a long line. After 10 minutes the ticket booths open and cars slowly start moving forward. Finally, after 60 minutes of waiting to buy a ticket we finally arrive at the ticket booth where we are told there is a possible sailing wait and we will probably be on the 7:30. We pull into our lane in the terminal and after another 15 minutes cars stop arriving in our lane which means they have stopped ticket sails. I run to the village to buy dinner for the family as everyone else stays with the car incase we get one. As the 5:45 gets loaded our car moves but we don’t make the ferry. We are now in a new spot closer to the village and we have another 2 hours to wait. But wait, due to heavy traffic, the 7:30 ferry doesn’t leave until almost 7:50 which gets us to Nanaimo It basically took us 7 hours to travel the 60 km across the Georgia Strait (50km from Tsawwassen to Crofton). The poor people who arrived at 5:45 probably didn’t even leave until 10:45 if they made the ferry at all. The 8:00 sailing in this case would have left late and not filled simply because the tickets can’t get sold fast enough and the ferry is already behind. Everyone left behind will be on the 10:40 which will probably be 30-45 minutes late. A perfect example of a simple scheduling problem.
Assured Loading Tickets (ALT): BC Ferries have had assured loading since long before I moved to the Island in 1994. The difference is that back then it wasn’t a scam. You could purchase a book of 10 for a reasonable price. You were essentially paying for 10 tickets upfront and the tickets didn’t expire. That is far different from the system today. You still must purchase 10 at a time. The cost of a car and driver today is $74.70. Plus you are charged an additional $80.30 convenience fee for a total of $155.00! The convenience fee is more than double the initial cost. Plus the tickets expire after 2 years, at which time you have the option of using the unused credit to purchase another 10 tickets at the new rate. It is so expensive that it truly is only available for large corporations or wealthy families. It doesn’t even make sense financially for small businesses’ such as my husband’s. What a joke!
The cost: As I mentioned before, it costs us roughly $275.00 return. It costs almost $60 for the car alone. BC Ferries allow children 0-4 years to travel for free which is great but mine are ages 9, 12, and 14. Children between 5-11 years get a discounted rate of just under $8.60. However, once you are 12 years old you are considered an adult and must pay the full $17.20! That’s right, you can’t drive , you can’t stay home alone, with your siblings, you can barely ride a bus unsupervised, but according to BC Ferries you are old enough to ride a 2.5 hour ferry without parental guidance. NOTE: If you actually try to send your child on the ferry alone without an adult, you are sometimes treated as though you are an unfit parent for allowing your child to ride unaccompanied on the ferry. My kids are quite independent and I trust them but not all 12 year olds are ready for this responsibility. I take full advantage of this opportunity though for sending the kids across to visit family.
The workers: Very few people working at the BC Ferries (Horseshoe Bay Ferry Terminal) know what is going on!
Terminal Attendants: The first people you see at Horseshoe Bay are standing under the well-marked signs that state which lines are for which ferries. They give you a coloured piece of paper and direct you to an appropriate line. They usually tell you to go in the shorted line which is usually where we are headed anyway. They do not know which ferry you will be on and recommend that next time you make a reservation. In Departure Bay they have to close down the entire highway into Nanaimo as they use it as their overflow parking lot. However, there is nowhere else go so I am guessing that without these people “guiding” cars I think they could figure it out. Think of how much BC Ferries would save if they could use signs or something to guide passengers.
Ticket Booth Agents: The are the people selling the tickets, however, they cannot tell you if the ferry is full. You are better off monitoring the website.
The staff onboard: The staff are usually busy doing their jobs. I try not to interact too much with them.
The Chief Steward: It’s not often but sometimes I have a question about schedules, fares, or Assured Loading Tickets. I have learned that if the Chief Steward’s office is open, they often don’t have any information about the ferry operations and I am guided to the website. Shouldn’t thins person know what is on the website? Shouldn’t they have the knowledge and tools to assist passengers? In my experience… No.
Traffic between the routes is not equal: The majority of traffic, especially weekend traffic, tends to go one way. For instance, it is not uncommon on a Sunday afternoon to have a 2 sailing wait from Nanaimo while the vessels leaving Vancouver are only half full. It is not cost effective to run more ferries and it is providing a negative experience for the majority of travellers trying to get home.
No passengers on the bottom deck: All passengers on the bottom deck are required to leave their vehicle during the voyage for safety reasons. I understand that it could be dangerous if the ferry sinks and I am trapped below. However, it angers me that it is not my choice. This is especially frustrating when you have sleeping children who just waited 5 hours at the terminal to board a vessel at 8:00 which is late and not scheduled to arrive until 11:00. All the passengers on the top deck get to stay in their vehicles but if you are on the bottom you are herded upstairs. You get the added benefit of having cranky, over-tired children. Yay!
BC Ferries is NOT pet friendly: I didn’t learn this until we got our dog last year. If traveling with pets “it is recommended to make a reservation”. Without a reservation you are usually on the bottom deck and although your pet can stay in the car, you cannot. Instead, on the upper car deck they have 1 or 2 cold metal rooms large enough for 1 or 2 dogs. There is a metal kennel that you may put your pet in if you need to use the facilities upstairs. However, you must bring your own locking mechanism and ensure your animal cannot harm others if you leave them unattended. If you stay, there is a metal bench for you to sit with your pet. The rooms are equipped with heaters, a water hose, and sometimes poop bags and paper towel. There are no beverages or vending machines on the car deck so a coffee is out of the question unless you leave your dog in the kennel or the car.
Ferries don’t run in wind storms: If there is a wind/snow storm, ferries are cancelled and people are left without any means of getting between Vancouver and Vancouver Island. With the technology we have available today, this should not happen.
A Solution
I believe that it is pointless to complain unless you have a better solution. There are ways to improve the operations of the BC Ferries but due to increasing traffic, the best solution is to find and different solution! The existing model no longer works. Below are my suggestions both short and long term:
Replace the Reservation System with Online Ticket Sales: Airlines have been doin this for years! Don’t charge an extra fee to purchase tickets ahead of time! Tickets can still be purchased at the terminal for tourists and others who may not frequent the ferries, but the majority of passengers should be able to determine which ferry they will be on before they leave their house! This will remove the lengthy line ups before the ticket booths and reduce the overhead as BC Ferries will not need to hire as many attendants to manage the “parking lot” outside the ticket booth. Instead of having 1 booth specifically for reservations, have that 1 booth for ticket sales and the remaining booths are “checking in” vehicles.
Rates: Have incentives to encourage people to travel in off-peak times all year round! The cost of the ferry increases each year and as families are growing they find themselves not being able to afford to travel to Vancouver Island. It is supposed to be an extension of Hwy 1 and it is considered an essential service. It shouldn’t be available only to those who can afford it. A few incentive ideas:
Have a family rate: Have an incentive for families to ride the ferry. It is so expensive right now that families like mine are deterred from visiting Vancouver Island. Instead, BC Ferries should be encouraging families to come.
Sunrise/Sunset rates should be year-round: In the past 2 years we have taken advantage of the discounts on the first and last sailings. It may only save us $30.00 but that $60.00 savings was the only reason we considered going to Vancouver Island to visit.
Extend the age of child fare or have student discounts: Children should be 5-15 years old. By 16, they are old enough to drive a vehicle and are old enough to be traveling without parents. At the very least, there should be student discounts available.
Build a Tunnel!: Have an alternative method for crossing the Georgia Strait. This will remove pressure from the BC Ferries which clearly can’t handle the existing traffic. The population is increasing and the amount of traffic is only going to increase with time. A bridge is not a viable solution as there is so much traffic on the water. Although it will take years to build there are many long-term benefits:
Job Opportunity: It will create jobs for many people during the several years of construction and even for the maintenance once it’s built.
Environmental Impact: Since it will be dug under the ocean, it will not impact any of the animals in the ocean. It will also decrease the ferry traffic which will reduce the amount of fuel used by the ferries dramatically.
Time Efficiency: Once built, a 3-9 hour commute could be reduced to 30 minutes. It will be accessible 24 hours a day and increase the flow of traffic both on and off Vancouver Island. Traffic travelling one way will not impact traffic going the opposite direction.
Weather: The tunnel will not be impacted by storms.
Cost: A toll system could be easily implemented to help recover costs and pay for ongoing maintenance. Instead of paying per person, there would be a fee per vehicle. Individuals will be encouraged to register their vehicles for quick and efficient invoicing and frequent commuters could apply for discounts. Out of province tourists could be charged a higher rate for using our infrastructure but it would still be cheaper than the BC Ferries.
Impact on BC Ferries: BC Ferries would still have routes to accommodate commercial drivers and tourists who enjoy the experience of riding a ferry. The traffic will be manageable and they will be able to run a more efficient operation.
There are so many reasons why I would love to see Elon Musk’s Boring Company take interest in a project like this one. Everyone who travels on the BC Ferries between Vancouver and Vancouver Island knows that something needs to change. Purchasing more ships is not the solution. The model doesn’t work and we need to come up with a new plan sooner than later!
Today was bitter sweet when we woke up. It was a beautiful sunrise with a great view of Rome. Instead of going down to have breakfast without the kids, Tavis and I decided to go find a geocache close by the hotel. It was a nice short walk and the temperature was perfect. It was also a quick find. By 7:45 we were waking up the kids and getting ready for our last breakfast buffet. From the buffet we went straight to the pool and enjoyed our last 90 minutes relaxing in the sun, swimming in the refreshing water. It’s funny, the pool did not have the slightest hint of chlorine on the skin. As a matter of fact, it made my skin and hair feel clean. The birds were even drinking and bathing in the pool! At 9:30, we handed in our towels for the last time and went back tot he room to shower and pack our final items.
At 10:00 we checked out and caught a taxi to the airport. It was a quick and our smoothest ride in Italy with only 40 minutes. I am really going to miss the chaos of Italy. Not so much the traffic (although a little scary) but the parking! Cars just park anywhere and everywhere…it was not uncommon to see cars double parked blocking in other cars and motorbikes at the same time!!! I would never want to drive in Rome, that is for certain!
We arrived at the airport with plenty of time to go through security. There was literally a 2 minute wait (as posted on the screen), though I don’t even think it was that long! The only bag that got pulled out was Tavis’ because of the cork screw that the Concierge gave him. We then went to the British Airways Lounge to wait to for our gate to be posted. I also discovered that we have trained our kids a little too well to seek out and take advantage of free food. Everyone filled up on snacks and beverages before getting on the plane.
When we were seated on the plane Ari managed to sit next to a pretty girl. I feel really bad for her because Ari had turned on the charm and was talking to her the entire time. By the end of the flight I think the poor girl learned more about airplanes than she ever thought she would. I heard a lot of laughter though and the flight attendant made a point of telling us how wonderful and polite our children were. It makes me happy to hear those compliments. I enjoyed my window seat as it was a beautiful view of the islands and coastline as we flew toward London. The water is absolutely gorgeous even from the plane.
We arrived in Heathrow around 2:45 and had to get through security again before making our connecting flight which was scheduled to board at 3:15. We had to dump out the water from our water bottles that we had just filled on the plane. It was a bit frustrating as we just went through security before we boarded and haven’t left the airport. The line up for security was long and slow. At 3:20 we were still waiting for 2 backpacks to get manually checked. They told us we had too many bags of gels and liquids (Even though there were only 3 bags for the 5 of us). In the end those were the only things that held up our bags which we took out and had separate to begin with. It didn’t help that we thought we were going to miss our connecting flight to Chicago.
By the time we received all of our bags we went straight to a screen and learned that our flight to Chicago was delayed. It was rescheduled for 5:20 so we had time to visit the British Airways lounge. Atleast we got to enjoy the snacks and beverages while sitting in nice seats as we waited for our flight. Ari enjoyed the kids gaming area!
We were delayed a long time but we finally boarded an Airbus A380 just before 5:00. I think we left closer to 6:00. Our seats were upstairs and when we walked onboard we were all very impressed! I’ve never seen such a big plane. The seats were incredibly comfortable and the care packages were really nice. My favourite was the actual duvet (not a blanket). The flight was 8 hrs and 11 minutes. Ari charmed all of the flight attendants in his usual fashion. He even went on his own tour of the plane and introduced himself. One of the flight attendants took his personal information and said she would pass it along to the captain. During the flight we were able to go into the galley and help ourselves to snacks. They had the best salt and malted vinegar kettle chips ever!
At the end of the flight we were all invited into the cockpit. Ari got to sit in the captain’s chair and wear his hat! He even gave Ari the flight plan and a personalized card! We have a very happy little boy and the whole flight crew helped make the journey home a memorable experience. We were in with the captain and co-pilot too long everyone had departed the plane. The cleaners and flight crew were waiting for us before they could proceed but everyone was very kind. We ended up leaving with the flight crew but had to say goodbye at the parking lot.
We had to wait 20 minutes before catching our shuttle to the Hilton hotel. It was nice but nothing compared to our last one. Unfortunately by the time we arrived it was too late to go for a swim. John, the hotel attendant was awesome though! He joked around with the kids, gave everyone a water and a snack. He even offered to have breakfast to-go packages made up for us since we are leaving before the buffet opens. When we got to our room we organized the bed situation. Ayva slept on the pull out couch, Ari and Addison shared a Queen bed and tavis and I took the other queen bed. I think everyone was sleeping by 11:00pm.
Our alarm went off at 3:30am and we were all up and ready to go at 3:55. As we were leaving the hotel at 4:00 we were each given a to-go breakfast package which included a muffin, apple, granola bar, and an orange juice. We arrived at the airport around 4:20 and made our way through security. It was so nice to be TSA approved and everything went smoothly. We arrived at our gate about 45 minutes before boarding.
At 5:15 the boarding process began. We found our seats and the flight was not too full. Tavis and I had an empty seat between us which gave our family the entire row. As we were on the plane we realized it was raining. Our weather luck this trip has been amazing! The plane departed at 6:00am CST and the 4.5 hour flight went quite quickly and uneventful. Our economy seats weren’t nearly as impressive as the crazy beds in our last flight but the seats were still large and comfortable. Before we knew it we were landing in sunny Seattle just before 8:30am PST. We made our way to the area where we caught our shuttle to the Park N Jet lot and our vehicle was waiting for us. We then made the 3 hour drive home and arrived at the house just before noon.
When we got home we quickly unloaded the car. Tavis and Addison had a bit of a cough and we didn’t have much in the house so I made soup for lunch and put in the laundry. Then the kids each went to school by 1:00. While the kids went to school, Tavis and I went to Costco and bought groceries. We got back the same time as Ayva and Ari and I picked up Addison from school at 3:30. Then I mowed the lawn while Addison went to a friend’s house. At 6:30 we had KD and hot dogs for dinner and after that I laid down for a short nap. I woke up at 11:0, got ready for bed, and fell back asleep until 4:30.
What a crazy 24 days. I think it will take a bit of time to get caught up on our sleep and for our internal clocks to adjust. Although it was an amazing vacation, it is nice to be back at home.
This morning was a beautiful sunrise. Tavis got up early and tried to capture it in a photo. Then he went back to bed and I got up and had a wonderful bath. At 8:00 we went downstairs to enjoy breakfast. Just before 9:00 we woke up the kids and took them downstairs to eat. Since everyone finished eating just after 9:30 we went back tot he rooms to relax and get ready for our day.
Packed with our water bottles we caught the 10:30 shuttle downtown which got us there right at 11:00. Tavis had quite the walking tour planned. We started by visiting the Spanish Steps. After taking some photos we walked down the stairs and tried to find the Aquaduct Ruins which turned out to be a museum so we skipped that but saw a McDonalds across the street. I used the free washrooms. Then we saw the Spanish Embassy. Our next stop was the Trevi Fountain which was much more busy this time fo day. After getting a quick photo we squeezed through the crowd and made our way to the Pantheon. We took some photos outside before going in. There was a window in the top which cast a neat circle on the wall. This was another amazing structure with a high ceiling and lot of detailed art. Next we filled our water bottles and slipped into a door that took us to Piazza Navona. We then went to the Alter of the Fatherland. Here we took a 30 minute rest while Tavis checked us into our flight home.
Next we began our long hike home because the bus service did not run between 1-4 and we wanted to see a few sights along the way. We walked over St. Angelo Bridge toward Castel Sant’Angelo. There were a lot of street vendors on the bridge who were relentless. We decided not to go into the castle because we had already toured a few in Switzerland and we wanted to get back for a swim. We walked past Vatican City and up the hill to the hotel.
We arrived back to the hotel just before 2:30. Our room was getting cleaned so we quickly got our bathing suits and and spent an our relaxing at the pool. At 3:30 Ayva and Ari wanted to go to the Kids IT Club so I took them upstairs to get dressed before dropping them off. Addison decided to stay in his room and have some quiet time and Tavis had a nap aswell. I went to the pool and enjoyed relaxing in the sun for 2.5 hours!
At 6:30 Tavis and I decided to walk down to the store to buy him a 5 euro bottle of wine and some cheese. We also bought some carbonated juice for the rest of us and Tavis and I aimlessly walked the streets looking for a good restaurant to bring the kids to when they finished with the Kids IT Club. The one we were hoping to go to was no longer there but we did find another pizzeria. We made a reservation for 8:00 and came back tot he hotel.
When the kids arrived back at the room they were completely wired from all the Nutella and cotton candy they ate. Ari also brought back 5 packages of cookies for the flight home tomorrow. They met lots of new friends, played lots of video games, and enjoyed yoga and gymnastics. There was a 4 yr old girl who Ayva enjoyed entertaining the entire time. She took some photos of her new friends and was sad that we have to leave tomorrow. We gave them a few minutes to relax before walking back to Ristorante Al 384 which specialized in Gourmet Pizza for dinner.
Dinner was amazing! One of the waitresses spoke English which was nice. We purchased 3 pizzas. The crust was delicious and even the margarita pizza was good. We also got one with meat and another spicy one that really was spicy! The staff was super nice, food was quick and the price was quite affordable. There were a lot of locals that arrived after us so we chose our last meal well! I would highly recommend this restaurant to anyone staying at Rome Cavalieri who would like a good meal without the huge prices.
Now we are all sad to be packing our bags in preparation for our departure tomorrow. We had an amazing vacation and none of us are ready to go home. All good things come to an end though. In a bit we will sit outside and enjoy our Italian grapes and juice to the sound of live music on the patio. Tomorrow we go home and begin the 2 day journey of traveling. We will be leaving our hotel around 10:00 AM and spending the night in Chicago.
This morning we slept in until 7:30. Tavis and I went to eat breakfast on our own. When they seated us they asked if they could bring us drinks so we ordered our usual… 1 cappuccino and 1 hot chocolate. When our drinks finally arrived we figured there was a breakdown in translation because my hot chocolate was actual hot chocolate! A cup of liquid chocolate. I went and got a glass of milk to add but it was still too sweet for me… and that is a first. When we finished, we woke up the kids and brought them down to the buffet (I told them to skip the hot chocolate). While they were checking out the pastries one of the women in the kitchen came out with cotton candy for each of the children. The kids were in their glory!
Everyone finished breakfast around 9:00 and we went down to the pool until 11:30. The kids found their friend from London at the pool and spent the entire time conversing with her. As it turns out she is staying 4 rooms down. It was a perfect morning and we were cooled off and ready for our walk down to Vatican in the hot sun.
Vatican City
We walked down the hill toward Vatican City. We only got a little bit lost and arrived right at 12:30. It was not as crowded as I expected. One thing that stood out is that the area was definitely organized for tours. Those of us who chose not to do a tour were left lost wandering the walls will very little signage or explanations of what we were looking at. It was very interesting and the buildings and artifacts were impressive but there was just so much.
We first went to a courtyard and wandered outside. Then we went down into a huge cellar area filled with old carriages and cars that were gifts for the various Pope. This was one of my favourite rooms. Then we made our way to a room filled with art from the 1200s. From what I could see, nobody wore clothing back then so they either only did art in the summer or the climate was warm all year long. We walked for 2 hours through various museums. There were hundred of rooms all dedicated to different things. I think we walked through 6 rooms dedicated to urns alone! There were several rooms with coffins, statues, coins, stamps… and of course art. The tapestry was incredible! There were pieces that must have spanned 20ft x 40ft! The detail was insane!
When we finished going through the Vatican Museum we were excited to follow the secret tip we read about to get us into the Sistine Chapel. There is a secret hall that is used by tour groups to go straight through instead of doing the 30 minute walk all the way around to line up again. We did exactly as we read and we sat around admiring the art work. When the next group came through we did our best to blend in and we mingled in with them. I think many many people do this though because we didn’t get stopped despite our terrible efforts of blending. It was just our luck that the tour group that came through was an Asian tour!
The Sistine Chapel was much smaller than I expected. We were herded in like cattle and there were strict rules to follow:
your clothing must cover your shoulders and knees
you must not take any photos
you must not not stop anywhere other than the middle of the room
It was incredible to see the detail in the artwork. Along the sides there were curtains painted. Above the curtains all around the room were various paintings. The ones on the ceiling were so impressive because they had so much colour and detail from muscle definition to body proportions. They looked like they were jumping out at you. There was definitely a difference between the ceiling and the murals below them.
After leaving the Sistine Chapel we filled our water bottles and went to St. Peter’s Basilica. Wow! This was incredible! I understand why it is called the greatest church on earth. The statues are humongous. Even the lettering around the top are huge. We were trying to figure out how large until we saw people on the top floor that looked like ants compared the letters below them! Everywhere we looked there was an impressive statue or painting. I sadly admit that I don’t appreciate the artwork as much as I should but it was very interesting and I was glad to have experienced all that we saw today.
We left through St. Peters Square and they had the chairs set up for their services. I have never seen so many chairs and large screens in such a big area. I can’t imagine what this square looks like when it is full! The photos just don’t capture the size of the square.
We started our way up the hill to the hotel. By this time it was almost 4:00 and we thought it would be better to eat before going to the hotel as the $28 burgers were a little out of our price range. We stopped at a few places but couldn’t agree on anything so we ended up at McDonalds. We then walked the rest of the way to the hotel in the hot sun and went for a well deserved swim in the huge freshwater pools.
The main pool at the hotel is 11.5ft deep in the deepest end. The kids have also learned that the pool has goggles and flippers if you ask for them. We all enjoyed a swim and Tavis and I relaxed for an hour while the kids stayed in the water. At 6:00 we decided to get the kids out so we could check out the kids area so we could leave Ayva and Ari while we took Addison back into town to see the city at night.
When we walked into the kids area the kids were all in heaven. I don’t even think Ari hung around to see if it was ok to play. He was already playing. I signed the kids in and gave permission for them to leave when they wanted. Technically we were supposed to be on the premises so Tavis informed them that he was planning on being by the pool or in his room and that the kids were to return to the room when the club ended at 7:30. We then made a quick dash to the shuttle pick up area and caught the 6:30 shuttle.
We walked down to the Trevi Fountain which was very crowded. We then made our way to the Alter of the Father Land (aka the big white building). Then we walked around the Colosseum to see it in the evening. It was stunning as we walked toward it during sunset and the pink sky behind. By the time we got close enough for photos the sun was down though. We took some photos and continued on to the Circus Maximus which was a large oval that once served as a chariot racing oval. It was pretty much just an open field with a bunch of ruins on one side. On the other side there were people taking down a huge stage that was apparently set up for concerts earlier in the day. It was getting late so we quickly started making our way back to the bus stop. We walked fast enough that we had time to stop for Addison and I to enjoy a gelato and Tavis picked up some wine and snacks. We made it to the shuttle stop 5 minutes before the last shuttle of the day took us back tot he hotel at 9:00.
While we were out, Ayva and Ari had a blast in kids club. They played with the other 3 kids who also spoke English. Ari made up a game where he wore a ridiculous wig and went out to greet poor guests as they walked by. The leaders decided to dress up all the kids and walked them through the hotel. Ari greeted everyone he saw and in the end he was given a bunch of candy and other prizes for being such a good participant. They also started watching Star Wars and they can’t wait to go back tomorrow.
I think tomorrow we will go out with the kids after breakfast so we have time to get back and go for a swim before Kids Club starts at 2:30. Today was another perfect day. We are now sitting on our patio enjoying our snacks and listening to live music coming from the pool deck. What an amazing night! I can’t believe tomorrow is our last day! We’ve been away from home for 3 weeks. I miss Shadow and everyone at home but I am really not ready to go back yet. I guess that means it has been a successful vacation.
I can’t believe we have already finished day 20! We didn’t get to sleep last night until after midnight so we decided that the kids needed a good sleep in day. Tavis and I got up at 6:30 and ventured down for breakfast. We discovered that breakfast didn’t start until 7:00 so we walked around the property. It was a beautiful morning and there is a nice trail around the hotel property with stretching stations throughout. We also got good look at the pool area.
At 7:00 we ventured back to the breakfast area and chose to sit outside by the pool. They offered to bring us drinks as we checked out the buffet. I preferred the buffet in Munich better but this one was definitely bigger with much more variety. The fruit and pastries were amazing! I did not do a good job at pacing myself and left a bit overstuffed.
After breakfast we spoke to the Concierge about purchasing a Roman pass for the family so we could tour the city and see a few museums. She was great! She talked us out of it and gave us a map with a bunch of suggested sights to see. She also informed us that the hotel has a complimentary shuttle downtown. She even offered to help us purchase tickets online to any museums we would be interested in seeing. We went to our room and did some brainstorming to see what made sense to do with the kids. We decided that The Colosseum and Vatican City were our top 2 choices and we didn’t want to book too much. We also did a bit of searching online and expected that it would cost us about 150 euros for the family to do those 2 items alone.
Just before 9:00 we went back downstairs to purchase our tickets and and we were beyond impressed with the service we received from Anna. Vatican tickets weren’t available until Tuesday so we decided to do The Colosseum today. Anna got us “Skip the Line” tickets at 12:50 for 28 euros and she called to confirm that we did not need to purchase tickets for the kids! There is no charge for children under 18 accompanying their parents but this is not portrayed on their website. Next, Anna was able to get us “Skip the Line” tickets to Vatican on Tuesday for only 78 euros! With the amount of money we saved on the free breakfasts and not needing a bus pass we were quite happy with our selections.
At 9:30 we finally woke the kids up so they wouldn’t miss the breakfast buffet. Tavis and I also enjoyed a few more bites of food. Everyone enjoyed their breakfast and we even finished with enough time for the kids to go for a quick swim before the courtesy bus arrived. Addison passed but I took Ayva and Ari down to the main pool and they swam for the full 30 minutes. They didn’t want to leave but I assured them that we would be back.
At 11:30 we met the shuttle in front of the hotel and it was very prompt. We got downtown just before 12:00 and Tavis marked on his phone while I took a photo of the meeting point so we knew where to catch our ride home. We then ventured down the streets of Rome. One thing we noticed were how narrow the streets were and how there really didn’t seem to be any rules to driving beyond red light is a suggested stop and red walk sign is also just a suggestion. Cars were parked on street corners and bikes were just stacked all over the place. We assumed our regular formation as we walked with Tavis in front, the kids following in a line with me bringing up the rear. We were also quite concerned about pick pockets so we only brought 1 backpack which only had water (an essential item) and rain jackets (which we didn’t need).
There are a LOT of temples, basilicas and ruins in Rome! I think we saw something noteworthy on every street. We had 50 minutes to make the 20 minute walk to the Colosseum so we took a bit of a detour down to Trajan’s Forum. This was our first look at real ruins! They are still excavating the site but you can actually view what they have uncovered and walk around the area free of charge. It was amazing! I could have spent a bit more time here but we had to continue on.
The Colosseum
I am the first to admit that history is not one of my favourite subjects but all that came to mind when the building appears was “OMG”! It was so surreal to see the columns and the half built structure. We were able to walk right in past the hundreds of people lined up. I overheard someone saying it was already a 1 hour wait to purchase tickets. We had to go through what felt like an airport security before approaching the ticket booth. We handed our printed ticket (purchased online 3 hours earlier) over and the agent informed us that there would indeed be no fee for the kids. We were then provided the actual tickets. We walked up to the gate, someone scanned them and we were in!
The building is massive! We really didn’t know where to go so we just started reading everything we saw and made our way slowly around the bottom level. A part of the center was rebuilt to show what it would have looked like when it was built. Only people with a guided tour could go down there so we just took photos. Occasionally I overheard an English guide giving a speech. After seeing everything we could on the bottom we made our way up the extremely large steep stairs. We came to the conclusion that the ancient Romans were huge! I learned a lot more about the structure than I thought I would and I actually found it fascinating. We were there for 2 hours and I was not bored at all! For more information you can always visit wikipedia. The clouds began to roll in and lightening and thunder appeared in the distance. It was a nice relief to the heat.
After seeing the entire amphitheatre and being satisfied with our daily sightseeing we decided to see what else we could find in Rome. As we walked away we saw a bunch of people lined up and saw a sign that tickets were required. We were not interested in purchasing any more tickets for the day so we walked along the street next to it and peered in through the gates. We followed the street to the top of the hill until we reached a dead end. We were looking for something called The Roman Forum but the huge gated area was in the way! As we walked down the hill and passed the gate again I decided to ask what the tickets were for and how much they cost. The person at the gate informed us that it was the entrance to The Roman Forum and The Palatino Hill and if we purchased a ticket it would also get us into the Colosseum. DUH!!! We already had tickets!!!
The Palatino Hill
We began walking up the hill and were in awe of the columns and ruins scattered everywhere. It was so surreal to be walking amidst it all. We didn’t really know where we were going so we just walked along the path until we found something to read. It was quite fascinating. We walked all the way up the hill (again) and under the road we took before to a viewpoint overlooking the city and the Colosseum. We then made our way to an old open stadium and walked around. The path just kept going around corners to more ruins and buildings half fallen. You could see how grand it must have been at one point in history and amazing to think that they were able to build such massive structures so long ago. Another great thing was that drinking water fountains were found everywhere inside the gates. There were even a few restrooms. About half way through, the sun broke through the clouds and it got really hot. Just before 3:30 we made our way to the Palatino museum and discovered that although we were super, our tickets were not. They wouldn’t let us into the museum unless we purchased an additional “SUPER” ticket. We carried on.
We walked up what we thought was a hill which had another great view of what looked like a huge stage that was half fallen. We then made our way around a park and down a large set of stairs toward the stage. When we looked back we realized that we were actually standing on top of a huge building that was once either a large palace or sanctuary. I really don’t know. We were all very hot by now and our goal was to find the so called Roman Forum.
The Roman Forum
By 4:00, the kids were ready to swim and we knew the bus left every hour so our goal was to see what we could and get back to the bus stop in an hour. We walked through more huge columns, stone walls, and eventually stopped in front of a building that had 6 joined columns. Apparently that was it! The Roman Forum is 6 columns with a bunch of other bases where broken columns once stood. As we walked down the crowded street I have to admit I thought everyone there was a little nuts. All these people crowded around to see a bunch of huge rocks. I have to admit though, it must have been quite a site in its glory. The entire area had such a crazy feel with half excavated sites all around us, pieces of columns scattered on the ground. It really was amazing to see but we were hot, tired, and hungry. By 4:15 we began making our way back to the bus stop. We had a quick dinner at Burger King and arrived at the rendez-vous just as our shuttle pulled up! It was excellent timing.
We got back to the hotel around 5:30, quickly changed into our bathing suits and were down by the pool by 5:45. Everyone enjoyed a refreshing swim in the main pool. By 6:30 the clouds rolled in again and it looked like rain was coming. We moved to the inside pool just before the rain came down. At 7:00 the pool closed and we went up to get changed. Tavis and I walked down to a super market and picket up some snacks. When we got back we all sat on the patio and enjoyed watching the lightening storm with our snacks. We even got to talk to Grandma & Grandpa Craik.
Now we get some sleep and tomorrow we explore Vatican City.
This morning we got up around 8:00 and
packed our bags. We ate our breakfast and cleaned the apartment so it looked as
it did when we arrived. Our host was kind enough to allow us to store our luggage
in the apartment while we set out to explore the Cinque Terre. We left the apartment at 8:45 and caught a
bus to the train station. Our bus was 5 minutes late and we thought we had
missed our connecting train but luckily it was also running late and the timing
was perfect.
Based on our reading, our original plan was
to hike from Manorola to Corniglia. Many
people said this was their favourite hike between cities. However, a fellow
passenger overheard us and politely informed us that the trail we were planning
to take was closed. We had a slight
change in plans since the only hike left for us to do was between Corniglia and
Vernazza. We decided to do the hike from
Corniglia.
Hike from Corniglia to Vernazza
When we arrived at the train station we
hiked all the way up the mountain to reach the town of Corniglia. We drnk our
water and refilled our water bottles at the potable water station before
continuing on our way. We started on the 1.3 mile trail at 10:15 and it was
already very hot. This time we had the sun to our backs though so it wasn’t as
bad. The trail was not as flat as Google let on. When we weren’t climbing steep
stairs we were declining at the same rate. About 30 minutes into the hike Ayva
began having trouble breathing. This time we clued in and figured she must be
having allergies to something in the mountains. There was really nothing we
could do though so we told her to suck it up and keep on going. The view as we hiked along the water was
spectacular. The water is a beautiful aqua marine and the sea looks like it
goes on forever. The towns on the hills also had a picturesque look that the
camera just couldn’t capture.
When we got about half way we came across a
house with a café that had freshly squeezed lemonade. A few people we passed
said it was the best lemonade they ever tasted… but their cups were quite
small. No prices were posted and we
still had a decent supply of water so we decided to continue on and reward
ourselves with gelato later.
As we rounded the corner to Vernazza, the
view of the town was stunning. A couple offered to take our photo so we
actually got a family portrait near the end of the trail. We then followed it down the hill to the
backside of the train station and saw a train was due to arrive any minute. It
was about 11:30 so we decided to go to the next town and eat there.
Manarola (Village 2 of 5)
This turned out to be my favourite town in
Cinque Terre. When we arrived in
Manarola there wasn’t much to be seen and I was a little disappointed. I didn’t hink we would be here long but we
followed the crowd through a dark tunnel that came out in the middle of a cute
town. We walked along the street that
led up the hill to see if we could find any food that interested us. There were a few options but nothing really
stood out. We turned around and walked toward the beach. We found a cute little
gelato shop that had decent prices and free seating so we decided to skip lunch
and go straight to ice cream! As usual,
it was amazing. We are so spoiled and ice cream at home will never be the same
again!
After we finished our ice cream we were all
refreshed and we walked down toward the marina. We were all in awe of how
beautiful it was with the large rocks and deep clear water. There were many
people swimming in the water and we all wished we had our bathing suits. We
continued to walk around the back of the mountain when we thought it couldn’t
get more beautiful… it did! The view of
the town was spectacular. It was just like the photos show! The water was an even brighter shade of aqua
and there were lots of people sun bathing and diving off rocks around the
bend. This was definitely our kind of
beach! I would love to come back to this town!
We tried to do a geocache here but
unfortunately it was beyond the closed trail and we did not feel like climbing
the fence and going beyond the safe zone we opted out of this one. After seeing the entire city and enjoying the
view for a few minutes we went back to the train station.
Riomaggiore (Village 1 of 5)
We arrived in Riomaggiore around 1:!5. This is the first of the Cinque Terre and
much like Manarola we had to walk through a long dark tunnel to get to the
actual town. Across from the train
station was a huge stone wall that seemed to reach the sky. Later we discovered why! As we walked through the tunnel I was
intrigued by the stone artwork along the entire length. There was stone art
along the sides that was quite detailed.
When we came out of the tunnel the main
street led straight up hill. It was lined with stores and restaurants along
both sides. We began hiking up street and realized that there is no way a
resident of this town could possibly be overweight! About 5 minutes up we found a little shop
that sold sea food. The kids shared a cup of fish and chips. We then hiked all the way to the top where
the road ended. When we walked back down we saw a path that seemed to go up
some stairs. We followed that path the top of a mountain that overlooked the
other towns of the Cinque Terre. It was a gorgeous view and we were all hot and
tired so we sat down for a few minutes to relax. We also refilled our water bottles at a
fountain and began making our way back to the train station.
We followed a sign that pointed a different
direction from where we came. We climbed endless stairs down narrow alleys that
twisted between buildings. We came to a few dead ended and eventually had to
backtrack up the hill before we were able to find the right path that led to
the main road. It was better than the glass maze at Playland! By 2:00 we were back at the train station and
ready to go back to La Spezia.
When we got to La Spezia we walked the main
strip. Apparently 2:30 on a Sunday afternoon is a quiet time in the city. The
shops were closed and the streets were practically empty. We found a little
grocery store where we bought some fruit, hotdogs, and buns. We then hopped on
a bus at went to the apartment to cook our hotdogs and retrieve our bags.
The cleaners had already finished getting
the apartment ready for the next guests so we were very careful not to mess
anything up. We carefully used the microwave to heat the hotdogs and ate
outside. We all used the bathroom before
leaving and I gave the bathroom and kitchen a quick clean before we left. The
bus only runs every 30 minutes and I was paranoid about the kids messing up the
place so we left at 3:45 even though our train wasn’t scheduled to depart until
6:15!
The bus got quite crowded and a we believe
we were informed that we were taking up seats designated for the elderly.
People didn’t look to happy about us sitting in seats with our bags. We moved
closer to the back of the bus holding our suitcases as best we could. Poor
Addison stood and had to move every time someone wanted on or off. We also
missed our stop and had to walk a few blocks back to the train station. By 4:30 we had arrived and I felt much better
knowing we were where we needed to be. We found a bench and everyone pulled out
their devices and guarded the bags. It wasn’t too busy though. I was amused by
a train that had “tema Bert” on it. Dad, you have fans here!
At 6:00 we went over to our platform and
waited for our train (which of course was about 5 minutes delayed. The kids
were pleasantly surprised when our seat reservations were in first class.
Actually, we completely forgot about that but when we booked it wasn’t too much
more to upgrade. Apparently we paid less for the 5 of us in first class as it
would have cost to buy a single ticket in 2nd class the day of. Yes,
booking all your trains in advance does pay off!
On the train, we had a table of 4 and the 2
seats across. The seats were huge and comfortable. The restroom was huge too! There were only 3 or 4 people in the same car
as us so it was a very relaxing trip. We
had a two hour game of rocket before we decided to take out our devices and
relax the rest of the time.
Rome
When we arrived in Rome it was 10:15pm and
not much was open. As we got off the
train the people trickled away and it felt like we were the only ones there.
Then after walking what seemed like miles we arrived at exit gates and it
people were buzzing around on the other side. This was definitely the biggest
station I have ever seen! We all stayed
in a line and followed Tavis to the taxi line up which had about 50 people in
front of us. When we got to the front of the line it took a few minutes for the
attendant o find a taxi big enough for all of us but eventually we were on our
way.
As we pulled up to the hotel I must admit
that all of our jaws were on the floor. The name of the hotel is Rome Cavalieri
and it looked like a palace from the front.
We went to get our bags but the door men wouldn’t let us. They took our
bags and gave us a tag. We walked in to an enormous lobby of gold and
chandeliers and paintings everywhere. I
captured Ari’s first impression and it really speaks volumes to how we all
felt… Talk about feeling under dressed!
Ari’s first words were, “I wish I brought my tux”. We found the reception desk, a personalized
room with chairs by a desk. They spoke English well and welcomed us, informing
us that we had been upgraded to two joining king suites. OMG!!!! They have 2
pools, hot tubs, sauna, kids club, and breakfast buffet all included. I don’t think the kids are going to want to
leave the hotel! They offered to bring
up a cot to the kids room.
By the time we got to our room, our luggage
had already been delivered and the kids extra bed was already being made. We checked out the rooms and they are amazing.
I don’t think I’ve ever seen a room like this. It took some time but we finally
got the kids to calm down and get into bed before midnight. Tomorrow will be a sleep in day!
This morning Tavis and I slept in until 7:30! We decided to sneak out and buy groceries so we could eat before beginning our hike. We walked up to the amazing pizza place that we ate at last night and Tavis had his coffee. Then we walked up to the local grocery store. It didn’t open until 8:00 so we had about 10 minutes to explore the area. We walked up the hill and found an enormous plant that looked like aloe vera but it was bigger than me! We decided to wait at the store for it to open and we ended up buying grapes, yogurt, milk, and a yummy cereal that looked like it had substance. When we got back to the apartment we woke up the kids and everyone ate. We then packed our bathing suits and began our hike down to the train station.
We got a little lost on our way but thanks to the locals we found our way. We were told to purchase our Cinque Terre cards at a tobacci store but when we arrived there was a note on the door saying we had to get them at the train station. We walked to the local train station and the train was pulling up so we decided to jump on and purchase the day pass online. Tavis had trouble with the checkout so we decided to purchase the tickets at the main train station. We met a guy from Boston who is on a tour and studying in Italy for 4 months. He was with his tour guide. When we reached La Spezia Centrale we found the ticket office and decided to buy 2 day passes so we wouldn’t have to worry about it tomorrow.
When we went to catch our train to the Cinque Terre it was packed! I don’t mean all of the seats were taken, I mean we had to squeeze just to fit in the door. I was surprised they didn’t have people pushers standing by. We happened to choose the same car that our Boston friend was on! He told us he could make room for us up top if we could squeeze through the crowd by the door. Of course Ari and Ayva managed to make their way through but Addison and I took a bit more time and Tavis was stuck by the door. By the time I reached Ari, he had already taken a seat from one of the girls in the group and was telling her and her friends all about his trip so far. That boy never has trouble making friends! They got off at the stop before us but we did manage to cross paths again.
The train ride was actually quite beautiful once we made it through the tunnels and wound our way along the coast. The water was the same colour as the lakes in Switzerland. As we stopped at each town, the crowd began to thin and eventually we all had seats together.
Monterosso (The furthest of the villages)
When we arrived in Monterosso almost everyone got off the train. We hung around a bit to let the masses clear. Then we made our way down to the village and toward the boardwalk. There was a huge beach that spanned the entire length of the bay. It was lined with lounge chairs and umbrellas. This is apparently the nicest beach but 90% of it requires a fee to use. We walked along the beach a bit then took a short detour through the village. We then decided to begin our hike to Vernazza. We didn’t really research this hike too much beyond the fact that we could walk the trail… Maybe we should have done a bit more research before this point. Although beautiful, it was basically straight up the mountain along the oceanside.
The views were stunning! However, I also took note of the very narrow path, uneven stairs, and nothing stopping a person from falling down the cliff. It was unlike anything you would find in Canada… and we even paid to walk this trail! The kids did an amazing job despite the insanely steep incline, treacherous heat, and apparent lack of water. We had 4 large water bottles, a huge tea (for me), and an extra 2 litres of water as backup. About an hour and a half into our hike we had to divvy up the extra water. Ayva was having difficulty breathing and everyone’s legs were shaking. But we powered through. We kept a steady pace and when we passed the Boston group going the other way (mostly downhill for them) they were impressed with our timing. We passed quite a few families along the way.
Vernazza (village 4 of 5)
When the village of Vernazza was in site we all felt a bit relieved. We slowly made our way down to the sea and the first thing we saw at the bottom was the most amazing water fountain ever! Actually it was a dumpy like faucet that looked quite sketchy but when a few people informed us it was drinking water (we needed a second opinion) we were beyond excited to see it. However, we didn’t have time to fill the water bottles yet because the sea was calling our name. Before we had a chance to find out if it was safe to swim, Ari and Ayva were already jumping off the dock swimming with a few others who had the same idea. We all took a turn swimming, being careful to get out every time a ferry pulled up. After 30 minutes we all felt rejuvenated… except Addison who did not want to get his bathing suit on behind a towel in the middle of a crowded boardwalk. We showered off with the free hose that was just off the beach. We then filled our water bottles and purchased some focaccia pizza slices that we ate on some stairs just off the main street.
With our bellies full, we made our way up the street and through some winding alleys to the train station where we decided to continue our voyage to the next village. While waiting for the train I decided to do a little more reading about the Cinque Terre. Apparently the hike we just did was of course the most difficult and we did it backwards! And we weren’t supposed to be jumping off the dock at the marina. Oops! However, I did read about a less busy beach in Corniglia that we could check out if we wanted.
Corniglia (Village 3 of 5)
It was a short train ride to Corniglia. But it didn’t take long to see why it was less populated. We looked straight up the hill to the village that sat at the peak. In order to get to the beach we had to hike al the way up, then walk through the village, and down the other side all the way to the water. The path was long and winding with lots of steps. We had to take a bit of a breather about 3/4 the way up. Just when you think you are at the top you have another few flights to go. Eventually we did make it to the top, across the street, and up another hill along a path that took us to the church. Just outside the church was another water fountain. We again took a break to guzzle our water and fill up the bottles. We then toured the church which was not as prominent as the past ones we’ve seen, but still more impressive than anything at home.
The streets of Corniglia and just narrow little alleys between old buildings and seemed not to have any symmetry at all. The rows of building wound up and down the hillside. We got a bit lost along our journey but eventually saw signs that pointed to the marina. We got our first glimpse of the beach from a wrong turn and it looked so beautiful we all agreed it was worth the trek down and back up. We eventually fumbled our way down past the caution sign and made our way along hot rocks and slippery areas where had to go through the water to get the shade for Tavis. Ari decided just to swim so the rest of us were stuck carrying the bags. It was such a beautiful spot that we stayed for several hours. Ari built his own rock towers next to ones that were already built. He and Ayva explored a few caves and found a few large crabs. Finally just before 5:00 we decided it was time to make our way home.
We carefully made our way through the shallow water along the slippery rocks, over the hot rocks, around the topless women, past the caution sign, and back to the marina where there was a shower for us to rinse our feet (We were almost dry at this point). We then hiked all the way up the mountain, made a few wrong turns through the village, and eventually made our way back down the other side to the train station. We took the train back to La Spezia and a bus to the apartment. We had a little trouble finding the right bus because some drivers are very rude.
We made it home before 6:00 and everyone had a shower. We then through in a load of laundry in the tiniest washing machine I’ve ever seen. We had to do 2 loads for our bathing suits and towels. Then we caught a bus down into La Spezia. The bus was actually a fancy 15 passenger van! When we got down town in was 8:00 and we discovered the busses stop running at 9:00. We walked along the water and down main street. We couldn’t find any restaurants under 20 euros/person so we got on a bus and went directly home just in time to order pizza at our favourite bakery down the street. For 12 euros we had a huge meat pizza, small margarita pizza, 8 buns, and a huge pie of something they called “La Spezia Special”. Tavis tipped her 2 euros and she refused so he had to just leave it on the counter. What a nice place!
Now everyone is in bed, our clothes are drying on a rack and I am going to bed too. A long day but what a great one. Tomorrow we we check out the other two villages and this time we are going to do the easy hike down from Manarola to Corniglia. Tomorrow night we go to Rome.
This morning we woke up at 6:45 to finish
packing and make sure the house was as clean as it was when we arrived. We ha
pastries, yogurt, and Frosties for breakfast. We got the kids up at 7:00am and
by 7:45 the house was clean, bags were packed, and everyone fed. We borrowed
the Ford to get us and our luggage to the train station for the 8:15 train.
Tavis dropped Addison and myself off with most of the luggage around 7:50. We
purchased the tickets and validated them before Tavis arrived with Ayva and
Ari. Everything went smooth and by 8:15
we were on our way to Mestre.
We arrived at Mestre just before 8:30 which
gave us about 15 minutes to find our platform for the connecting train. We
walked directly to the platform and waited for the train to arrive. By 8:45 we
were on our train and we found our assigned seating. We had an entire table row
to ourselves! This was by far the best
train we’ve had this trip! It was spacious, clean, and had screens that showed
the speed and location aswell as the next stop. At some points we reached
speeds of 240km/hr! Apparently the top speed of that train was 400 km/hr!
We went through a tunnel and when we came
out the other side we noticed that the smog from Venice was gone! The scenery was actually quite nice. The kids and I enjoyed a game of rocket but
we still had a nice view out the window.
Around 10:30 we had to switch trains. Before departing the train, the
screens displayed the connecting trains and their platforms. It was helpful o
know where we needed to be and whether our train was on time before even
arriving. The terminal was a bit tricky
to navigate but the help of a fellow passenger we found platform 1 and the
train was already waiting for us. It wasn’t busy which was good because we
didn’t have assigned seating on this train.
Before we knew it we were on our way to Pisa.
Pisa
At 11:45 we arrived in Pisa. Our first item on the agenda was to find a place to stow our luggage for the day. We checked out the baggage area at the train which charged 5 euros per bag. We decided to walk a few blocks to some large lockers. We saved a bit of money by renting 2 large lockers at stowyourbags.com where we stored 5 suitcases, 3 backpacks, and a large iced tea 😛 Now we were ready to explore all that Pisa had to offer.
We walked the streets following our self-guided tour from Rick Steves. Pisa was much better than I imagined. We walked down main street and it had a very North American vibe. Apparently almost half of the population of Pisa is made up University students. Once we crossed the bridge to the north side it had more of a tourist feel. We found a nice restaurant with delicious photos of menu items. They also had English and Italian on the menu so we sat down and enjoyed our meal in the streets of Pisa. There was a 2 euro cover charge per person but the food was excellent and the staff was nice. We also got to use the toilets which was a bonus.
Next we continued our tour through a square and eventually made our way to the leaning tower of Pisa. We were surprised to see that it actually is leaning! As a matter of fact, all of the buildings had a bit of a lean to them but none like the tower. We found a spot in the shade and read about the history and architecture of the tower. Another thing we noticed was a water fountain! We all filled our water bottles. Then we walked all the way around and got some photos from all angles. Yep, we were typical tourists. While there, Tavis got tickets to the Cathedral of Pisa. Our tickets weren’t good until 3:45 so we walked around the Field of Miracles and found a beautiful spot on the grass with a nice cool breeze. We had a light snack and relaxed for 45 minutes. As we were waiting we read about the history and architecture of the Cathedral. We also admired the massive walls that surrounded the field. The lock on the gate looked like a replica of a sliding lock today only 1000 times bigger!
Just before 3:00 we filled our water bottles again and made our way to the Cathedral entrance. This was like no other Cathedral we’ve seen. It had intricate details but what we really enjoyed was the art inside. The ceilings were impressive with a combination of murals and sculptured tiles. Another impressive structure was the massive columns that were hand carved by Galileo himself. Above it was a huge lantern that was apparently a replica of the one that inspired his sculpture. We were all impressed my this massive cathedral and after we had seen the entire viewing area we ventured back into the heat.
This time we decided to wander down the road to a gate on the other side of the field. We walked the maze of streets and noticed that a lot of the stores were now closed. We slowly made our way back to the main street where we found a gelato shop that had decent prices and looked inviting. We all enjoyed a cone with 2 scoops of gelato. I picked lemon and pink grapefruit which was a perfect combination and very refreshing. We all decided that it hit the spot but none of us felt like eating dinner. We slowly walked the streets of Pisa and made our way back to the luggage storage.
We picked up our bags just after 5:00 and went to the train station. We discovered we had reservations on an express train so it arrived at the same time as the trains leaving 30 minutes sooner. By the time we got to the train station we had a 50 minute wait for our train to arrive. We learned that Pisa can be done in 2-5 hours… 7 is too long 😛
At 7:03 we boarded our train and found our
assigned seats. Our train originally departed from Rome and was going all the
way to Monaco so it was fairly busy. Luckily we all had table seats with
chargers so everyone brought out their devices and the train ride went quickly.
When we arrived in La Spezia, our host Andrea met us at the train station with his father in law. They needed 2 vehicles to transport all of us so they decided to take us on a tour of La Spezia on they way. They pointed out favourite restaurants, places to walk, grocery stores, and other tourist places they thought we might like to visit. They also pointed out bus stops and the closer train station. When we arrived at the apartment they gave us a tour of the beautiful home. It is a very stylish flat with 2 bedrooms, 1 bathroom, and even a washing machine, fridge, stove, and microwave. The patio has a bbq and 2 bikes. They also pointed out a great place to grab a bite to eat.
Shortly after the orientation we walked 2 blocks and bought a huge pizza, small pizza, and 3 cans of pop. The pizzas were hand made as we waited and cost a total of 12.50! We brought the food back to our home and enjoyed our meal. Now off to bed to get some rest. Tomorrow we will explore the Cinque Terre.
