Lake Como Part Two

Today I'm sharing part two of our first full day in Lake Como! After exploring Bellagio Dale and I took a ferry to Varenna and started exploring. This was one of my favorite towns we visited, it was a little less crowded than Bellagio but just as charming. First up we got gelato and then walked through the town. We knew we wanted to hike back to Bellano so right before leaving we stopped at a grocery store to get some pasta and bread to cook back at our Airbnb and then we started along the path to Castello di Vezio. 

The Vezio Castle is almost 1,000 years old and it was quite the trek to get there from Varenna. Before we started the hike we thought it was mostly downhill back to Bellano, but it was exactly the opposite! But the views from the top of the tower were definitely worth it. After a quick beer on the castle grounds we started the long (but beautiful) trek back to our Airbnb. We saw waterfalls, vineyards, slugs, and truly stunning views of the lake. There were also lots of olive and cherry trees along the path. When we finally made it home (our Airbnb was directly on the Sentiero del Viandante) we immediately started cooking our dinner! It was nice to have a meal at  "home," after having had so many meals at restaurants during the trip. After dinner we had some wine and researched the strange bird we had seen all over the lake, the eurasian coot. While our hike was a much longer route than we were expecting it really was beautiful, and one of our favorite days of our entire trip!

Lake Como Part One

Sunday morning (June 3rd) we were up early to grab breakfast before taking the train from Milan to Lake Como. (I had some amazing focaccia bread with tomatoes which was the perfect start to the day!) After a one hour train ride we were at the lake! Our Airbnb host picked us up from the train station to drive us to our BEAUTIFUL place for the next few days. We were grateful for the ride because it was basically straight uphill from the station. After a tour of the apartment we decided to just spend the rest of the day relaxing by the pool. That night we ventured down the hill into the town of Bellano and ended up having pizza at a restaurant right by the lake. It started to rain a little bit but we luckily made it back to the house before it really started! 

The next morning we took the ferry to Bellagio after a quick croissant at the same restaurant we ate at the night before! The rain from the night before continued into the next day but it cleared up right as we made it to the gardens at Villa Melzi. The gardens were stunning,  I especially loved the water lilies. After visiting the gardens we headed into the town to wander around and had the best pasta at Far Out. I tried the pappardelle noodles and Dale had the gnocchi. Next we did some shopping before taking a ferry to Varenna. I took so many photos that day I decided to split our afternoon into its very own post, be on the lookout for that soon! 

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Milan, Italy

Ciao! On June 1st we arrived in Italy, possibly my favorite country in the world. We took the train from Nice and headed straight to our next Airbnb to drop off our bags. First up was pizza (Dale's favorite food, so I was especially excited for him to experience this first pizza in Italy!). After eating we took a short nap before heading out to explore. We saw the Columns of San Lorenzo and then got coffee (and a lemon soda for me). We were lucky to be very centrally located so the Duomo was only a short walk from our Airbnb. That night we had dinner at a restaurant near the canals designed by Leonardo da Vinci before heading to bed. 

The next morning we headed straight for the Duomo! On our way we grabbed coffee and croissants at a restaurant right by where we were staying and then got our tickets. The line moved pretty quickly, especially since we had chosen to take the stairs to the roof. We enjoyed the beautiful views of the city before entering the cathedral (the marble floor was my favorite part of the interior). By this point we were really hungry and found a restaurant a few blocks from the duomo for lunch. I ordered the pesto pasta and Dale of course had pizza. We had to get gelato for dessert, too. Next up we walked to the Francesco Sforza Castle before buying our train tickets to Lake Como for the next day. We had dinner at a different restaurant near the canals, and stopped by the Duomo so I could feed the pigeons! Milan is the perfect quick stop on the way to Lake Como, especially if you are in the mood for shopping. I can't wait to share our dreamy few days in Lake Como next! 

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Southern France Part Two

Our second full day in Southern France began with kayaking through part of the Gorges du Verdon! When Dale and I started planning our Europe trip visiting the gorge was at the top of our list and I have to say it exceeded our expectations! That morning was a little rainy and the part of the gorge we were kayaking on was pretty quiet (near Montpezat) and really beautiful. The trip to the dam and back took around two hours and then we went back to our Airbnb to change before heading on to the town of La Palud-sur-Verdon! 

Seeing the bright blue part of the gorge was possibly my favorite moment of our entire trip. It's stunning! We took lots of photos before heading to the Route des Crêtes. I don't know why we hadn't realized it before our trip, but the part of the gorge seen most often in pictures is really the end point of a river flowing through a huge canyon, not too different from the Grand Canyon! Our drive through the mountains gave us the best views, even if the road was a little terrifying. The river in the gorge empties into Lake Sainte-Croix, which I was surprised to learn is a man-made lake. I'm really grateful to our Airbnb host for sharing the directions for our drive, it's a must-see part of the area. After exploring the gorge we headed back to Moustiers-Sainte-Marie because we didn't have too much time to explore when we ate dinner there the first night. 

I went a bit crazy on our walk through Moustiers-Sainte-Marie taking pictures of all the roses! I couldn't help it. Dale and I also hiked up to the church in the mountain above the town, the view was amazing. Our last stop of the day was Ste. Croix du Verdon, a small village right on the lake. The town was oddly quiet, and there were lots of cats, but it was also one of the prettiest villages we had visited. We had one last dinner in Riez, Italian this time, and then headed back to the Airbnb to pack for our drive back to Nice the next day! 

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Southern France Part One

We arrived in France on Monday, May 28th and immediately  picked up our rental car in Nice and headed to our Provence Airbnb. We decided to drive through Monaco on the way, which was very crowded but I'm glad we at least got a glimpse! For lunch we stopped for pizza and made our way through the mountains to Puimoisson. This was by far one of my favorite places we stayed, each morning we were served a delicious breakfast and the mountain view from our room was amazing. Our first night we ventured out to the neighboring town of Moustiers-Sainte- Marie for dinner at La Cascade and had amazing pasta with view of the cliffs. 

On our first full day in Provence we headed to Aix-en-Provence after our delicious breakfast. We didn't love Aix-en-Provence because it was so much larger and crowded than we were expecting. After looking around a bit we decided to move on to L'Isle-Sur-la-Sorgue. This was more our speed and we loved wandering around through the shops and walking along the stream in the middle of town. We got to-go quiche for lunch and then headed on to the next town, Fontaine-de-Vaucluse. First up Dale and I stopped for gelato, I tried the lavender which was amazing! We followed the river up the mountain to see where it starts at the base of the mountain and did some more exploring in the town before heading to Gordes! 

If you are in the area Gordes is a must see! There are so many towns in the area its difficult to decide which ones to visit, but don't miss Gordes. We took a ton of photos before walking into the town in search of a place to get a glass of wine. Dale humored me on our way home and let me take a bunch of photos in a poppy field before we stopped in Riez for dinner. I'm so happy we decided to rent a car and drive through this part of France, it was the perfect country escape having spent so much time in cities at the beginning of our trip! Be on the lookout for a recap of our last full day in Provence next before heading back to Nice. 

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Barcelona Part Two

May 27th was our last day in Barcelona, and my favorite! That morning we got up early and headed to La Sagrada Familia. Visiting the church was by far the best part of Barcelona. We choose to take the elevator up the Nativity tower and while the views of the city were great the church itself was really the stunning part. The guided tour was really great to help us understand all the details behind the architecture and it ended on the Passion side of the church. We would both  love to go back when the construction is completed! 

Our tour took up most of the morning and afterward we headed to a nearby Italian restaurant near the church for lunch. We decided to make it a long relaxing lunch before our last Gaudi stop of the trip, Casa Milà, La Pedrera. The rooftop views were my favorite part. Dale and I were ready for a nap after our day so we headed back to the Airbnb before our Segway tour! Neither of us had ever ridden one before and while it was a bit scary at first once we got used to it we loved it! It was a great way to see the parts of the city we hadn't seen yet. Our last dinner in Barcelona was at Alsur Cafe and we ended the night with a glass of sangria! Next up — France!

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