Summer Vacation!

It has been a great week here in Camogli. We were shown a great time by our friends Alessandra and Tommy, and we had some great day trips on our own out and about in the town and around on the ferry. Camogli is a sweet place, with good food and friendly people. Chloe and I are punch drunk from the sun, and the alcohol and are sad to leave, but are excited for our next stop -  Siena! Sunset (No description necessary): We used the self timer on my phone, so it caught a little bit of the concrete step up front: Did someone say Gelato? Down by the ferry before sunset, and right after dinner :) Seafood platter: Pizza! Views from dinner : After six hours on the beach, one must hide from the sun (we didn't have an umbrella). Tuna Nicoise salad. Fresh Fresh Fresh! The Italy beach scene. It's crowded, but everyone has their own chair, at least if you'd like one. We rented a pair for the day for 20 Euros. We wanted nice ones with umbrell...

The last few days have been a blast. We have gotten to Camogli and are settled in on the mountain top. With a beautiful view of the water and cool stone floors we are sitting pretty :) We have been very lucky to have family and friends in the places we've been so far. Tommy and Alessandra have been wonderful, taking us around to different restaurants and giving us recommendations for things to do during the day. Two nights ago they had us over for dinner were we ate outside overlooking the water. It was a pretty special evening. If Chloe and I had any concerns about working out while we were away, there is really no need to worry. The hills in Genoa and Camogli are pretty serious. Getting up and down to the beach essentially means you climb down the mountain to the water, and then back up again when it's time to leave. The hills are STEEP! Food of course has been wonderful. Today we are just lounging around at the house. With no air conditioner you learn to appreciate sitti...

Genoa has been great. We've been staying at Alessandra's mother's apartment on top of a giant hill (good workout). The apartment has a beautiful balcony and clear views of the water. On the main strip below her apartment are some good restaurants and little shops. Yesterday Chloe and I walked through a good portion of Genoa. We were out and about for about five hours before making the hike home, where I took one of my best naps ever. It was glorious. We went out for dinner at the local trattatoria, where we chowed down on some great homestyle cooked food. The atmosphere was lively and the people were nice. Our average eat time when we go out to eat here is about 2.5 hrs. There is NO rush. :) Beautiful views all around on the balcony: Piazza de Ferrari at Genoa's city center: Pastries :)

Ok, so we made it to Genoa! The last few days in Nice were great. We went to the Chagall museum, visited Chloe's cousin in Provence, and went to the market in Nice with Chloe's cousin Damien. All in all our trip to France was great. We hopped on the bus at the Nice airport and were in Genoa in just a few hours. The scenery on the way was amazing. This is some serious landscape here! Here in Genoa we are staying in a great apartment close to the center of town. We met friends of ours for dinner tonight and ate pizza. Why not? Alessandro and Tommy, who live in Camogli, who we will visit with more later in the week, drove to meet us tonight for dinner. Alessandro and Chloe met during an exchange program in high school and have kept in touch with each other. They visited us in New York a few years ago, so it was really nice to see them again, now in Italy. We are staying in Alessandro's mother's house in Genoa, which is roomy and comfortable (I am missing AC though, I can...

Yesterday Claire and Serge thought a day trip to Monaco would be fun. Monaco is a weird place. The entire place feels like a movie set. There are some big time casinos where some very fancy cars are parked outside and yachts everywhere. Two bedroom apartments sell for 17million euros. It was a fun trip nonetheless, but not a place I see myself going again anytime soon. Enjoy the photos: