After a 4 hour car drive, and an hour boat ride, we arrived at our Hotel on San Marco. It is the most “American like” hotel we have been in since arriving in Italy, but still very European. Although there are no pictures of today since the majority was traveling, we will include them in tomorrow’s blog–but think “Gondolas”, waterways, ancient churches, and narrow streets. We also noticed that the dress is less touristy, and more “upscale” overall. A very old, but clean city.

Barry and Jackie stayed on schedule, and arrive here in Venice tomorrow mid-afternoon. We will meet up with them again for our last two days in Italy. A short update today, but look for more writing and pictures tomorrow.

Happy Father’s Day to all you Dad’s reading this!

The post Cinque Terre to Venice Today first appeared on LeRoy Family Blog.

In Vernazza, the most amazing thing happened which proves once again the old cliche that it is a small world! We saw the Moeller class that just graduated accompanied by Brother Ron and other chaperones. We had so much fun talking about our mutual friends and neighbors! It began when a few of the guys saw Nathan’s Sycamore gym shorts, and they asked us where we were from, and because we knew they were from Moeller (their shirts, etc.), we said Montgomery. They said “no way”! It was a highlight of our trip to see these young men, and they kept calling over their friends when they discovered we lived in Swaim Field–we talked for about 20 minutes with about 15 of them, and they invited us to hike to Monterossa with them. They really wanted us to come, and Bob would have in a minute, but he knew that Nathan and I were about ready to collapse, and he didn’t want to leave us on our own. These boys had just arrived so did not just finish the two hour hike we just completed–they were ready to go!

Another fun tidbit is that there are Americans everywhere. In fact, in the lobby restaurant area, Bob and Nathan will be watching the World Cup with a bunch of people from Indiana. Since it begins at midnight here, I don’t think I can stay awake.

A Jackie and Barry report from Lake Como before I sign off–they are having a lovely time visiting wineries in Bellagio, and mixing with the rich and famous. We look forward to meeting up with them in Venice to exchange stories. Barry will not believe it when I tell him that there are vending machines at the train stations within Cinque Terre that sell toothbrushes, toothpaste and other toiletries since it is a place for hikers and back packers who just “wing it” in nature along the way.

Love you all, and will write again tomorrow evening.

The post Hiking in Cinque Terre first appeared on LeRoy Family Blog.

This is the day we went our separate ways—Barry and Jackie left for the Lake Como Region, and Bob, Lynn, and Nathan left for Cinque Terre. Because we have been communicating via text, we know Barry and Jackie have arrived “save and sound” in Lake Como, and they know we are here in Cinque Terre all settled in. Their drive was 4 hours, and our drive was only 2 hours with a stop in Pisa to view the infamous Leaning Tower of Pisa.

Because I can only report on the LeRoy portion of the trip at this point, we will have to update you on Barry and Jackie once we all meet up in Venice on Monday. I do know that Jackie is already looking for George Clooney’s mansion since one of his main residence’s is located not far from their 5-star hotel. And, I am not kidding.

In contrast, Bob, Lynn, and Nathan are in Cinque Terre–no fancy hotels, but just your basic Italian boutique hotel. We wanted to come here to hike the five cities along the Mediterranean Seacoast, swim in the sea, and engage with the locals along the way. It is 7 miles from the first town to the last, with your choice of paved or unpaved trails leading to Monterosso, the last town which is at the top. We will begin the hike tomorrow, along with hundreds of other tourists, and know it will take close to 6 hours since we will stop in each of the towns to look through shops and have lunch. At the top, we plan to take the Ferry back to our hotel. We will most likely not swim in the Mediterranean tomorrow since we spent about 3 hours at the beach today–which was very interesting, and much that I cannot report on this blog. One thing I can say is that the Mediterranean Sea is so blue and clean! I could not stop staring at the water and beach area.

We had dinner at small restaurant that overlooked the Mediterranean–dined outside on the deck and enjoyed the sites. Enjoy our pictures of today’s adventures in Pisa and Cinque Terre, and we will be writing again tomorrow after our long day of hiking up the coast. Love you all.

The post Cinque Terre first appeared on LeRoy Family Blog.