National Parks

Rome, Part I: Ponte Sant ‘Angelo, St. Peter’s Basilica, Piazza Navona & More

June 6, 2016 by Shelli

We are so excited, we can hardly stand it. For months we have talked about and anticipated our visit to Rome, and we are finally here. We are in Rome!

Family selfie in front of St. Peter's Basilica in Rome. — Family selfie in front of St. Peter’s Basilica in Rome.

(By the way, this is my 9th blog post published so far during our 29-day “Epic Europe Family Adventure.” If you’re interested, all previous trip reports from this Epic Family Adventure include are listed and linked to at the bottom of this blog post.)

We rode a train from Florence and arrived in Rome at 4:40pm. From there, we took our first bus public transport of the trip. It was either that, or walk 2 miles with our heavy (90L) Patagonia Black Hole Duffel Bag/Backpacks for 2 miles to our apartment. By now, we are accustomed to doing this. Typically we have had to walk 1/4 to 1 mile from train station to our accommodations. But today, with 17,000 steps already on our feet from the morning in Florence, we opted to save our walking for exploring Rome’s attractions, rather than walking from train to hotel.

"The Amazing Race," in St. Peter's Square. My team, June 6, 2016. — “The Amazing Race,” in St. Peter’s Square. My team, June 6, 2016.

After riding in the packed bus for 10 stops before disembarking, there was a bit of an adventure. It felt like we were on The Amazing Race show, and we lost –and yet we very obviously didn’t lose, and still won. 🙂 We kept taking wrong turns and going the wrong direction, and couldn’t find our apartment. Thankfully, after about 20 minutes of wandering up and down streets – and trying every one in the area except the one our apartment was on – we finally found it, and there was a woman waiting outside of it for us. She took us through a huge green door with a small door cut out of it, then through a gate, then up some old marble stairs – one floor, two floors, plus one floor more – and, there it was. This is the second city where we have an apartment (“flat”) that is part of a two?-hundred-year-old building. It’s a wonderful place!

By the way, we have loved the accommodations adventure part of this trip. We arrive to a city or town, and it’s like unwrapping a present and not knowing what we are about to receive. We are always being surprised–anticipating what behind that gate and that door and up those stairs and behind that other green door… It’s been a lot of fun, and so far we have not been disappointed.

As soon as we were checked into our apartment, we were out the door, walking toward Ponte Sant’Angelo.

The spectacular Ponte Sant' Angelo Bridge, in Rome, a bridge that was completed in 134 AD by Roman Emperor Hadrian. — The spectacular Ponte Sant’ Angelo Bridge, in Rome, a bridge that was completed in 134 AD by Roman Emperor Hadrian.

Ponte Sant’Angelo, (once the Aelian Bridge or Pons Aelius,) is a Roman bridge that was completed in 134 AD by Roman Emperor Hadrian, to span the River Tiber, from the city center to his newly constructed mausoleum, now the towering Castel Sant’Angelo. The bridge is faced with travertine marble and spans the Tiber with five arches, three of which are Roman; it was approached by means of ramp from the river. The bridge is now solely pedestrian, and provides a photogenic vista of the Castel Sant’Angelo.

According to Wikipedia, the Mausoleum of Hadrian, usually known as Castel Sant’Angelo (English: Castle of the Holy Angel), is a towering cylindrical building in Rome. It was initially commissioned by the Roman Emperor Hadrian as a mausoleum for himself and his family. The building was later used by the popes as a fortress and castle, and is now a museum. The Castle was once the tallest building in Rome. At the top of the castle is a sculpture of St. Michael. Legend has it that the Archangel Michael appeared atop the mausoleum, sheathing his sword as a sign of the end of the plague of 590, thus lending the castle its present name.

Here’s a short video capture from one of our moments during the Sant ‘Angelo scene:

After enjoying the music from the harp player, and watching two street performers who appeared to have invisible heads/faced, we continued toward St. Peter’s Basilica, which we could spy from a distance while crossing the Sant ‘Angelo bridge. We couldn’t wait to get up close to it!

Jerry and the boys lead us toward St. Peter's Basilica, in Rome. — Jerry and the boys lead us toward St. Peter’s Basilica, in Rome.

St. Peter’s Basilica is an Italian Renaissance church in Vatican City, the papal enclave in the city of Rome. Designed principally by Donato Bramante, Michelangelo, Carlo Maderno and Gian Lorenzo Bernini, St. Peter’s is the most renowned work of Renaissance architecture and one of the largest churches in the world. St. Peter’s has been called one of the holiest Catholic shrines.

As we approached it, and took in all of its grandeur, stood in its presence, and wandered about the Square, looking at its beautiful exterior up close, and taking in the whole setting, we were speechless. It is simply awesome. We are going on a private tour of St. Peter’s, the Vatican Museum, and more on Wednesday morning, but for now, this was a magnificent start to seeing the spectacularly beautiful cathedral.

My guys, in front of St. Peter's Basilica. — My guys, in front of St. Peter’s Basilica.

The boys and I in front of the fountain near St. Peter's Basilica. — The boys and I in front of the fountain near St. Peter’s Basilica.

After checking out St. Peter’s, we were famished. In anticipation of our Rome arrival, all we had eaten was a modest breakfast, some crackers and a gelato. We found a trattoria and enjoyed a large and delicious Italian dinner, and then set our sights on Piazza Navona.

Piazza Navona is a piazza that is the site of the Stadium of Domitian, built in 1st century AD, and according to Wikipedia, it follows the form of the open space of the stadium. The ancient Romans went there to watch the agones (“games”), and hence it was known as “Circus Agonalis” (“competition arena”). It is believed that over time the name changed from avone to navone, and eventually to navona.

We were eager to check it out after dark because some locals told us it’s got a great vibe, and that we might see street performers. Of course we needed a gelato, and we are so delighted that we have seen probably no fewer than 50 gelatarias so far in our few hours of walking Rome. We found our way to Piazza Navona while enjoying our gelatos.

We knew where to go by the liveliness we could hear and sense coming from the Piazza. It was very festive. Singers, artists and people throwing lit up twirly objects that shot up high in the air, and the sound of the three major fountains and people talking and laughing and having a great time. Fin bought one of the glowing twirlers with his own money, and the boys had fun taking turns shooting it high up into the black sky.

Here’s a short video capture from our experience at in the Piazza Novena:

We didn’t get back to the apartment until after 11pm. My FitBit reported we had walked 32,000 steps. Another big day! (Thanks, by the way, to all of our friends and family who have made recommendations for this trip, including a special thanks to Mark Randall for tips about what to do when we were first had feet on ground here in Rome!)

If our first evening in Rome is any indication, we’ve fallen in love. We are so excited to be here. Thanks for reading and following along with us on our Epic Europe Family Adventure. Next up: Crypts and Catacombs!

If you’re interested, here are all of my previous blog posts about this Epic Europe Family Adventure so far:
• From Wyoming to the British Museum and Shakespeare’s The Taming of the Shrew in 24 hours
• Big Ben, River Thames, Tower of London and Ice Cream
• Munich Day 1: Glockenspiel, Deutsches Museum, Englischer Garten and Beirgarten
• Biking in the Bavarian Alps, Exploring Neuschwanstein Castle, Epic Beer & Food
• Lauterbrunnen, Switzerland: The Land of Many Fountains, Cows with Bells and Epic Food
• Zermatt: Gornergrat Glacier, the Matterhorn, Mountain Lakes and More Delicious Food
• Moneglia, Italy: The Cinque Terre, Epic Focaccia, Pizza, Pesto, Wine, Olives, and Gelato
• Leaning Tower of Pisa, Michelangelo’s David, Cathedral of Florence, and Giotto’s Bell Tower.

Leaning Tower of Pisa, Michelangelo’s David, Cathedral of Florence, and Giotto’s Bell Tower

June 6, 2016 by Shelli

Greetings from Florence, Italy. Wow! We have had just 24 hours here, and it’s not enough. I know you’re probably growing weary of me saying it, but we really love this place.

On the move again. Jerry and the boys on our walk to the Moneglia train station.

We like our hotel (Hotel Astrid), but the wifi is pretty dismal. As a result, this blog post will be mostly photos, with one video clip. I’m including pretty detailed captions with each.

In short, though, here are the highlights of our time in Pisa, and Florence, Italy:

–We opted to get off the train in Pisa, so we could stretch our legs and walk to see the Leaning Tower of Pisa. This was not the highlight of our day, but it was nevertheless wonderful to see it. After two hours of walking around and taking photos, and – of course – having a gelato, we boarded another train that would take us to Florence.

02-ToPisa

–Seeing Michelangelo’s David (1502-04) was an even greater experience than we expected. Michelangelo’s David, standing over 14 feet tall, represents the biblical figure of David, who killed the giant Goliath with a stone from his slingshot. (From the gallery’s exhibit panel: “Nor has there ever been a pose so fluent, or a gracefulness equal to this, or feet, hands and head so well related to each other with quality, skill and design.” With these words, Giorgio Visari attempts to define the reasons behind the marvel that the vision of David provokes in the observer. It has always been the subject of debate among scholars whether David is represented before or after his victory over Goliath. His sling is also barely visible as though to emphasize how David owed his victory not to brutal strength but to his intellect and to his innocence.
(We learned something new too – that on the sculpture, David’s right hand is disproportionately large compared to his body because in the Middle Ages, David was commonly said to be of “manu fortis” – strong of hand.)

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– By the way, we received a huge break when we learned our admission to the Accademia Galleria would be free. (On the first Sunday of every month, free admission is offered; in fact, there are no tours or advance tickets sold on this day. The gallery is closed on Mondays, so this afternoon was our only chance to go. Furthermore, when we arrived, at 3pm, we had to wait in line for only 5 minutes!)

–After seeing David, and other art, we headed for the Cathedral of Florence, (The Cattedrale di Santa Maria del Fiore in English “Cathedral of Saint Mary of the Flowers”). It is the fourth largest cathedral in the world. (The largest are St. Peter’s in Rome, St. Paul’s in London, and the Milan Cathedral) This spectacular church is the main church of Florence, Italy. Il Duomo di Firenze, as it is ordinarily called, was begun in 1296 in the Gothic style with the design of Arnolfo di Cambio and completed structurally in 1436 with the dome engineered by Filippo Brunelleschi. The exterior of the basilica is faced with polychrome marble panels in various shades of green and pink bordered by white and has an elaborate 19th-century Gothic Revival façade by Emilio De Fabris. We stood in awe as we admired it. The UNESCO World Heritage Site covering the historic centre of Florence and are a major attraction to tourists visiting Tuscany. Its beautiful dome remains the largest brick dome ever constructed.
Wolf and Hayden and I paid a little money to walk the 414 steps to the top of the Cathedral’s bell tower – Giotto’s Bell Tower – and it was so worth it! We arrived at the very top right at 5pm, so the bell started ringing. It was a beautiful evening and we could see all of Florence, including the best view of the Dome, ever. (See photos, and also a short video capture of our experience.)

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–We ended the full day with an epically delicious Italian dinner from Mercato Centrale, a local produce & everyday goods provided in a high energy, spacious, 19th-century iron & glass market hall that has a great vibe.

Thank you for reading, and for following along with us on this Epic Europe Family Adventure! Next up: Rome!

• From Wyoming to the British Museum and Shakespeare’s The Taming of the Shrew in 24 hours
• Big Ben, River Thames, Tower of London and Ice Cream
• Munich Day 1: Glockenspiel, Deutsches Museum, Englischer Garten and Beirgarten
• Biking in the Bavarian Alps, Exploring Neuschwanstein Castle, Epic Beer & Food
• Lauterbrunnen, Switzerland: The Land of Many Fountains, Cows with Bells and Epic Food
• Zermatt: Gornergrat Glacier, the Matterhorn, Mountain Lakes and More Delicious Food
• Moneglia, Italy: The Cinque Terre, Epic Focaccia, Pizza, Pesto, Wine, Olives, and Gelato

Moneglia, Italy: The Cinque Terre, Epic Focaccia, Pizza, Pesto, Wine, Olives, and Gelato

June 5, 2016 by Shelli

Greetings from one of the most charming towns I’ve ever experienced – Moneglia, Italy.

Greetings from Italy's Cinque Terre region. — Greetings from Italy’s Cinque Terre region.

As I write this, the boys are sleeping, but not for long because we have a 6:30am train to catch. Two pretty short train rides will take us to the Leaning Tower of Pisa later this morning, and to Florence early this afternoon. And while today marks Day 14 of our Epic Europe Family Adventure, and we are very eager for what lies ahead – Pisa, Florence, Rome and Portugal – we would not mind having more time in this little paradise!

Moneglia, with a population of almost 3,000, is in the Province of Genoa, in the Italian region of Liguria, about 30 miles southeast of Genoa. While it is considered a tourist destination on the Italian Riviera, Moneglia feels like an authentic and beautiful “hometown” sort of place for us. Because our visit is occurring during “early season,” we have not seen many tourists, certainly very few, if any, other Americans. Most of the people we have met here were not tourists, but locals, or at least from the region.

We were struck by the family friendly nature of the place. Kids were on scooters and running around, playing with one another, feeding birds, or playing with the water spouting from various fountains. Many families walked their dogs. Everyone was friendly, and extremely welcoming, despite our inadequate efforts to speak to them in their language.

I will include several photos below that hopefully capture some of the essence of Moneglia:

Jerry and the boys on our balcony of Giada Flat.

Our favorite pizzeria is Pizzeria II Ciocco.

The wine, cheese and salami in Italy is to die for. Total bliss for me. :) — The wine, cheese and salami in Italy is to die for. Total bliss for me. 🙂

Moneglia is located on the shores of the Ligurian Sea, which is part of the Mediterranean Sea, situated between the Italian Riviera (Liguria and Tuscany) and the island of Corsica. When we first arrived, we dashed to the beach to put our toes in the water, which is always a very big deal for us. After all, we live in Wyoming, which is spectacular, but also land-locked, and not coastal. After getting our feet wet, we went about solving our hunger pangs.

With three growing boys, and an abundance of real and delicious foods all around us, we have eaten a lot on this trip! I quickly found a little market and bought some genoa salami, gorgonzola cheese, a bottle of red wine and a cantaloupe. I was golden. Oh, and all of it cost me just $14 Euros. Jerry and I shared this on the balcony of our flat that overlooks the ocean, while the boys ate their Ringo cookies, and enjoyed exploring our new digs.

We loved exploring Moneglia’s narrow passageways, used only for walking or bicycling through, and lined by very colorful, old, tall, and usually stucco houses and buildings that towered over us on either side. Small markets offering fresh produce and wines and cheeses, salamis, and/or fresh fish, are abundant, as well as coffee shops, bakeries, pizzerias, restaurants, gelatarias. We could get an espresso for $1 Euro, and an out-of-this-would-delicious gelato – 2 generous scoops for just $2 Euro.

Our favorite pizzeria, which we highly recommend, is Pizzeria II Ciocco. The family members who run the pizzeria are wonderful people, who are kind, generous, and boy, do they know how to make a pizza. We went have eaten there twice during our 3-day stay, and can see why their TripAdvisor reviews are so glowing. We will be adding our own glowing review. Did I mention pesto yet? Oh my God, the pesto in Moneglia is the best I’ve ever had. If you’re in Moneglia, you must go to Pizzeria II Ciocco for pizza. You will thank me!

Jerry and the boys and I discussed last night how part of the adventure so far has been arriving at a new destination, and not only experiencing new sights, foods and people, but also discovering our accommodations. It has been six months since we booked our 28 nights of lodging, which was quite an undertaking considering our itinerary includes several destinations in seven countries. We booked selected our accommodations based on budget, location, and reviews from other travelers. Even though we had a lot of information at our disposal when selecting where we’d say in each destination, including many photos, it still is like unwrapping a present when you arrive at a hotel or flat or apartment, and we turn the key and open its front door for the first time.

After loving our accommodations in Lauterbrunnen, and Zermatt, Switzerland, we were certain nothing else would measure up. That was until we arrived here. We have stayed at the Giada Holiday Flats, and it takes the cake. It is the best home away from home a family like ours could ask for. We are in Room 13, which is on the top floor and our wrap-around deck and balcony overlook the Ligurian Sea. The building is old and quaint – and perfect – for us. It has won us over much like Moneglia has. Bunk beds fold out of one wall, and there’s a sleeper sofa. The boys used these, and Jerry and I had our own bedroom. We had quick access to everything, including 4 gelatarias within 25 yards of our flat, restaurants, coffee and bars, and only a one-minute walk to be standing with our toes in the ocean. The hosts are charming and very helpful.

Our main reason for coming to Moneglia was so we could hike the Cinque Terre Trail, which is in a national park and allows hikers to enjoy incredible views of the sea while passing through five beautiful, colorful and quaint villages. We had two full days scheduled here and both days’ forecasts were not favorable. The first full day called for 100% chance of rain, though, so we decided it would be a lazy, recovery day. This was fine with all of us, especially after our very active and epic hiking in Switzerland, and the fact that we had laundry to do, and I had blogs I wanted and needed to write.

The boys slept in, and I woke up only due to the smell of coffee Jerry was brewing. (I have the best husband in the world. His coffee greets me every single morning. I am a very lucky lady.) After a cup of coffee with Jerry, I returned to bed with my laptop, where I proceeded to upload several photos and videos, before writing and publishing six blog posts here. Whew! While it was productive from a blogging standpoint, I logged only 71 steps on my FitBit during my first 6 waking hours that day!

Thankfully, around 1pm, the rain ceased, and the sun came out. Our two oldest sons, Wolf and Hayden, and I went out for our first walkabout of Moneglia. We explored all the paths through towns, and stopped in to several markets, shops and restaurants to discover new foods and souvenirs, arts and other items. Here is a random sampling of photos I took during our little walkabout:

Wolf and Hayden and I went out for a walkabout when the sun came out during our rest day.

We also wanted to check out a church. Our flat’s balcony was a stone’s throw from a beautiful church bell tower, that chimed a beautiful tune every hour, and we were curious about the church.

At first we didn’t find the church next to our flat, the one we were searching for. But in our exploration of the area, we stumbled upon a different church. We poked around the grounds around the church, and were about to walk away when I decided to take my chances and open a green door…

Oh my God. The church is something to behold. Wolf, Hayden and I were all caught off guard, surprised by the spectacular beauty and grandeur of what we saw. This is the Church of San Giorgio, built in 1396 by Benedictine monks, who were replaced by Franciscan in 1494. According to Wikipedia, the interior houses a wooden sculpture by Anton Maria Maragliano, a canvas of St. George Killing the Dragon attributed to Peter Paul Rubens, a Madonna with Saints by Carlo Dolci and an Adoration of the Magi by Luca Cambiaso. It also has a notable cloister. We were completely taken by the beauty of the church.

After that, we set out to further explore. We followed a cobblestone, narrow ramp/walkway up, up and up until we had wonderful views of the church bell tower (on the church we were still looking for) and the Ligurian Sea behind it. It was a good little uphill workout, and we were rewarded by great views that provided a different perspective of Moneglia.

We descended and continued looking for “the other church.” Soon, we found it. And, again, Oh My God!

The Church of Santa Croce was built, according to some sources, in 1130, but probably pre-existing. The modern church, in Baroque style, dates to 1725, and houses a statue of Madonna by Maragliano and a Byzantine Crucifix.

This is all to say that this is a day when we had no plans, which allowed for us to stumble upon things that have turned out to be very meaningful experiences that we won’t forget. We likely would have missed these if the day had been filled with pre-planned activities. Furthermore, I had not researched top things to do in Moneglia, as I did our many other destinations, simply because I considered Moneglia a base camp for our Cinque Terre Hiking experience, and little more. Boy, was I wrong about that. Somehow, accidentally opening the door to the church made that experience much more powerful than had we been anticipating what we were about to see due to advance trip-planning.

So there are two takeaways here that I want to record so I remember, but also to share with you: One, and I know this is not original, and I’m still a huge fan of planning, especially for a trip of a lifetime like this one that we’re on that is a significant investment of time and money: Don’t plan every single activity, and every single day of your trip. And, second, don’t be afraid to open a door. We almost missed the first church because the door looked so normal and unassuming. Thankfully, I was just curious enough to stop and open the door.

The next day was our only opportunity to hike the Cinque Terre Trail, and we were all excited about it.

Cinque Terre means “Five Lands,” and is a rugged portion of coast on the Italian Riviera. It is in the Liguria region of Italy, to the west of the city of La Spezia. The five villages includes Monterosso al Mare, Vernazza, Corniglia, Manarola, and Riomaggiore. The coastline, the five villages, and the surrounding hillsides are all part of the Cinque Terre National Park, which is a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

My guys were ready to hike. (Waiting for the train to Monterossa.)

Paths, trains and boats connect the villages, and cars cannot reach them from the outside. The Cinque Terre area is a very popular tourist destination. We couldn’t wait to hike the trail. We have hiked many trails before especially in our beloved Wind River Range of Wyoming, and in Yellowstone. But we had never hiked where we could stop for gelato or pizza every 2-3 miles. The boys were really excited about these “rest stops.”

Jerry and I were up by 6am, and were planning to have us all out the door and on the train to Monterossa, where we’d start the hike, by 8am. However, it was dreary and wet outside again. Bummed! After talking things over, Jerry and I decided to let the boys sleep in, and we’d still do the hike, but we’d start around 11am so as to give the weather a chance to improve. The forecast indicated it would likely be a good day for hiking if we were willing to be patient.

We all got off the train in Monterossa, and went directly to the National Park Service office to buy our pass to the park so we could hike the trail, and to get a trail map. Unfortunately, our dream ended here. Due to the heavy rains, and landslides resulting from recent rains, the Cinque Terre Trail was closed. We were not going to be hiking the Cinque Terre.

I know the weather is one of the things we cannot control. Especially because I am an adventure guide, I know that the weather holds a lot of power when it comes to an adventure, and today would not be our day. We were all very disappointed, but we did our best to stay positive. In fact, we have been quite blessed thus far in the trip. During our time in Switzerland, there were 100% chance for rain forecasts on both of our hiking days. Even though we started our two epic hikes in rain, we ended up with spectacular days. A person cannot be lucky all of the time. Certainly we’ve been lucky most of the time.

We decided to explore Monterossa, and we licked our wounds by – you guessed it – eating gelato. That helped a lot! Monterosso al Mare is located at the center of a small natural gulf, protected by a small artificial reef, to the east of Punta Mesco in the Riviera of La Spezia. It is the westernmost of the Cinque Terre. The town is divided into two parts: the old town and the new town. The two areas are divided by a single tunnel that caters to pedestrians and the very few cars in the town. We explored all of Monterossa, before heading to catch a train to the next village, Vernazza. If we couldn’t hike Cinque Terre, we’d at least see some of the villages.

Vernazza is often raved about as being a favorite, and we could see why. Vernazza has no car traffic and, according to some of our travel resources, remains “one of the truest fishing villages on the Italian Riviera.” Vernazza’s name is derived from the Latin word verna, meaning “native,” and the aptly named indigenous wine, vernaccia (“local” or “ours”), helped give birth to the village’s moniker.
First records recognizing Vernazza as a town date back to 1080. Wikipedia states that Vernazza was a likely point of departure for naval forces in defense of pirates.

We loved Vernazza. My good friend, Joel, who spent some time studying art in Italy during college had suggested to us, “You have to take a swim off the pier in Vernazza.” If only! It was a dreary, not-warm day and no one else was swimming. Even an attempt to bribe our boys with all of the pizza and gelato they could eat, they wouldn’t dive in. We fell in love with the beauty of the colorful buildings of Vernazza, all of the shops, and the view of and from the pier, and a church we toured called the Church of Santa Margherita d’Antiochia, c. 1318.

We decided to ride the train back to Mongolia. For one thing, we love it, and second – and this is no small thing – it has a nice bathroom! This was our first experience with “porcelain holes in the ground” for toilets. While the boys managed, I had a very difficult time using such toilets. The toilets in Monterossa and Vernazza’s train stations unclean and gross and unserviced.

We got on the train, and during our ride to what we thought would be Moneglia, the boys snarfed a huge bag of Italian potato chips as we arrived to Levanto. After sitting there for a few minutes, the train started moving again, but in the wrong direction! Dang! We were going back to Monterossa (for our second time today). This marked our first train mistake of our first 13 days. I don’t mean to brag but we’ve successfully made probably 50 different train connections to this point. We laughed it off, and rode back to Monterossa.

Once off the train, I went to the national park office again, just in case a miracle happened and the Cinque Terre Trail had opened. No such luck. However, there was a couple in front of me in line who had hiking poles and looked like they had been hiking. They were German, and so there was a bit of a language barrier, but I was able to understand that there was a trail open to hiking between Monterossa and Levanto, and we were welcome to follow/join them. I could have hugged and kissed them both 100 times. Suddenly, we would be hiking after all.

The boys followed me, as I followed our two new German friends who showed us a hiking trail that was open between Monterossa and Levanto.

We followed Heika (sp?) and Gelt (sp?) up a wonderful trail. It went up, up, up for about an hour and the views behind and below us were exceptional. In fact, at one point, we could see all five villages – the Cinque Terre — perfectly, and the ocean below was a wonderful sight during the entire hike.

We got to see the Cinque Terre (the five villages) and the trail we would have hiked had it been open, on this alternative hike.

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A cool Bed & Breakfast above Levanto that had these hand carved figurines on its roof.

It took us about 2.5 hours to hike from Monterossa to Levanto. We had made some wonderful new friends from Germany, while getting a glorious and epic hike. Once in Levanto, we walked another mile to and through the beautiful center of town and eventually, to the train station, where we treated the boys to a Fanta and Jerry and I had cold beers. Yeehaw! What a day. We boarded the train at about 6pm, and by 7pm we were ordered our favorite pizzas from Pizzeria II Ciocco in Moneglia.

This small town on the Ligurian sea that is called Moneglia has won all of our hearts! If you plan to explore the Cinque Terre trails, or even if you don’t have any interest in the Cinque Terre hike, I highly recommend you stay in Moneglia and just use the train to ride 10 minutes to start the hike in Monterossa. Moneglia, in my opinion, is a true gem, that despite my blogging about it now, will remain somewhat of a best kept secret. Stay at the Giada (if you’re a family, request Room 13!).

We have explored its many nooks and crannies, and we have (extensively) tried out its pizzerias and gelatarias. We are not only in love with this place, we are also in love with its people, and yes it’s food.

Extra snapshots from our time in Moneglia, including random shots from our rest day in the flat when it was raining outside:

After making 4 successful train connections, we crossed over from Switzerland to Italy, At the first train station in Italy, the boys promptly located a pizzeria. “We have officially arrived,” one of them quipped.

A piece of pizza from Italy and our oldest son, Wolf. (Or, can we get a little Wolf with that pizza?)

We’re starting to feel like world travelers. However, I’m careful not to completely confirm that, because sometimes when I boast, the wheels come off, and we have many more trains to catch and exciting things to do in our next 14 days – the last half of our this Epic adventure. So let’s just say we’re getting more accustomed to getting around Europe using their rails system, and it really is a dream for getting from point A to point B and C and D and E and F and so on.

And on that note, we have a train to catch, so I’ll sign off for now. Thanks for reading, and please check back again soon.

Next up: Pisa and Florence, then Rome!

Zermatt: Gornergrat Glacier, the Matterhorn, Mountain Lakes, and More Delicious Food

June 3, 2016 by Shelli

Greetings! After successfully making four train connections, we arrived in picturesque Zermatt, Switzerland. Zermatt is in southern Switzerland’s Valais canyon, and is a mountain resort renowned for skiing, climbing and other alpine recreation. The town is set below the iconic, snow-capped Matterhorn peak. Its main street, Bahnhofstrasse, has upscale boutiques, lodging from luxurious hotels to modest chalets. Except for work vehicles and taxis, the town is car-less and accessed only by train.

(By the way, this is my 6th blog post published so far during our 29-day “Epic Europe Family Adventure.” If you’re interested, all previous trip reports from this Epic Family Adventure include are listed and linked to at the bottom of this blog post.)

Hayden Fin and Wolf, in Zermatt, in front of the Matterhorn.

The town of Zermatt, Switzerland, with the iconic Matterhorn in the background.

After checking in and dropping our luggage at the wonderful Chalet Medi, we headed out to buy discount 3:36pm tickets to ride the Gornergrat Bahn. The Gornergrat Railway would take us to the top of the Gornergrat, to an elevation of 10,135′.

The Gornergrat (English: Gorner Ridge) is a rocky ridge of the Pennine Alps, situated at 10,285′ and overlooking the Gorner Glacier. It is the second highest railway in Europe, and the highest open-air railway in Europe.

The Gornergrat Glacier is about 22 square miles, and is on the west side of the Monte Rosa massif. We’d see about 29 tall peaks while at the Glacier.

The train ride was a hit! Check out this video I captured near the top:

Family photo on the top of the Gornergrat.

Once at the top of the Gornergrat, we were fascinated while looking at the glacier.

Gorner Glacier, approximately 22 square miles in size.

We also stopped into a little chapel before taking some panoramic photos from the very top. Called the “Bernhard von Aosta” chapel, it is one of Zermatt’s most visited places of worship. Visitors from all over the world stop to light a candle and enjoy the soothing tranquillity of this mountain sanctuary. We stopped in and donated a franc in a little basket so we could light a candle, and then, since we had the little chapel to ourselves, we said a family prayer, mostly thanking God for our safety, our friends and family, and for all of our blessings. It was very meaningful!

Afterward, we bought ourselves a beverage and enjoyed it while taking in the panoramic views before catching our return train ride back to Zermatt. We needed to get back to eat dinner so we could be to bed to get rest for the next day’s epic hike.

We enjoyed a fabulous dinner at The Brown Cow Pub in Zermatt and then hit the hay.

Our middle son, Hayden, pleased with his wings and fries at The Brown Cow Pub.

The next day started early. We had the boys up and at ’em and out the door to start hiking at 8am sharp. Once again, we skipped the tram lifts up and started up a mountain. This time we knew the difference between meters and feet, and still we went for not pursuing the parents of the year award. (The tram didn’t open until 9am, and it was 8am. That explains it, right? Insert smiley face here. LOL)

We hiked basically straight up a mountain… I think it was part of the Cervo boutique mountain resort, but I’m not 100% certain as I write this. Finally, after a long, hard, seemingly endless uphill effort, we arrived at a signed junction that indicated we were 30 minutes from Sunnegga. It was mostly a flat path to Sunnegga, and we had a bunch of our snacks, and some water on a bench under a cross, while taking in views of the valley below, and the Matterhorn and other mountains, whose tops will at the moment obscured by clouds. (We had hoped that the Sunnegga station would be open and have hot chocolate, but no luck. We reached it too early, too!)

After getting refueled, we continued to Leisee Lake, which was surrounded by jungle gyms and picnic tables. The next lake was Moosjisee which was beautiful turquoise in color.

The boys hung out at this pullup bar? before continuing to another lake. — The boys hung out at this pull-up bar (?) before continuing to another lake.

After that, we still wanted to see another lake, so we continued on and up to Grünsee Lake. This one was a little more hard-earned.

Here’s a short video clip of that stretch:

Finally, we reached Grünsee Lake, which was beautiful, even if it was small. I am NOT complaining, but these “lakes” seem more like ponds to us. They were very tiny by Wyoming standards, so I’d by lying if I didn’t say we were a little disappointed when we crested after a long hill to see the very tiny Grünsee Lake.

On the upside, we had it the lake all to ourselves, and the Matterhorn’s summit was now out of the clouds. We had a wonderful rest at the lake. One of our sons skipped rocks, another took photos of the area, and the other played with the hundreds of minnows he spotted in the lake. We didn’t rest for long, though, as we had a long hike and descent back into Zermatt, and at this point we already had 10 or 11 miles on our legs.

Here are some photos:

It took us some hours to get back because, as per usual for us, we made the hike longer and harder than originally proposed. 🙂 As a result, we saw even more than we imagined was possible and we were more deserving of even more delicious food and drink upon our entry back into Zermatt.

Have I mentioned lately how blessed I am to have such troopers for a husband and three sons? They go on these epic hikes with me, that are always longer than they anticipate, and never complain.

Here is us after crossing the finish line:

And, as always, there were so many unexpected surprises, including these beauties:

Thanks for following along with us on our Epic Family Europe Adventure. Please stay tuned and check back for more.

Up next: Moneglia, Italy and the Cinque Terre Trail!

Lauterbrunnen, Switzerland: The Land of Many Fountains, Cows with Bells and Epic Food

June 3, 2016 by Shelli

Oh. My. God. We have arrived. Today we rode many trains from Munich to arrive here, Lauterbrunnen, Switzerland. Immediately it was evident why this place is called Lauterbrunnen –- which means, “Many Fountains.” In the Swiss Alps, Lauterbrunnen is set in a valley featuring tall cliffs, and waterfalls, including the roaring Staubbaach and Trummelbach and the many other tall, ribbon-like and tumbling waterfalls.

(By the way, this is my 5th blog post published so far during our 29-day “Epic Europe Family Adventure.” If you’re interested, all previous trip reports from this Epic Family Adventure include are listed and linked to at the bottom of this blog post.)

Jerry and the boys lead us to our accommmodations in Lauterbrunnen. — Jerry and the boys lead us to our accommodations in Lauterbrunnen.

Waterfalls were tumbling off high cliffs above us and all around us. Below is a lush, green valley with few buildings. We walked in a light sprinkling of rain about one-third of a mile to find what would be our favorite accommodations so far, a really neat cabin in the Jungfrau Campground.

We got settled in our cabin, and then headed for a quick walk. We had been sitting in trains all day so wanted to stretch our legs and check out our new destination. We ventured to the nearby showstopper of a waterfall, Staubbach Falls. With a height of nearly 300 meters, Staubbach Falls is the second highest waterfall in Switzerland. It is one of 72 waterfalls in Lauterbrunnen Valley.

Did I mention how awesome our accommodations were?!! Check out the video I snapped on our first morning waking up. And enjoy the bird songs in the background:

We woke up early in Lauterbrunnen because we had big plans, and wanted to get an early start. Today we would hike the Lauterbrunnen-Murren-Gimmelwald-Trummblebach Falls loop hike.

We’d do it without using any lifts, so it would be a big, long day. Why would you not take the tram lift up at the start in order to remove the several thousand feet of vertical uphill hiking, you ask? Well that is a good question! The reason is Jerry and I mistook meters for feet. What we thought would be a 1,000-foot vertical gain in the beginning of the hike was really 3,000+ feet. Oops. Thankfully we hike a lot with the boys in Wyoming, and they’re used to climbing lots of vertical feet. But, despite what our boys think, ours was an honest mistake!

Add to that it was raining when we started, so we had had on rain jackets, and each of us carried our own umbrella. Our sons are such troopers. And so is my husband. I am so blessed that to have a family of troopers, because today’s outing pretty much required that!

Here are some photos from the first part of our epic hike:

It was during the grunt of uphill through the lush and wet forest, when I was gasping for air and the miles of uphill were so never-ending that I realized that we had forget to convert meters to feet. Jerry and I would pay for this… We were certainly not winning parents-of-the-year honors this morning…

We had heard that Winteregg would be a stop we could make after the first five or six miles of hiking, and that we may even be able to enjoy some hot chocolate there. Thank God it was true.

After about 2.5 hours of hiking, we spotted it and it just opened as we arrived. Jerry and I enjoyed coffees and the boys had hot chocolates.

My guys, getting a hard-earned rest and beverages from Winteregg, during our hike.

The woman who waited on us was so kind, she offered to take our photo outside under three giant mountains, whose tops were obscured by clouds but whose presence could still be felt. The mountains we stood under are the Eiger, Mönch, and Jungfrau.

After warming up and getting rested, we snarfed some special Swiss chocolate bars we brought. (We are now in love with Milka bars, and of course Toblerone, which are in abundance here.) We loved the next part of the hike becasue it was flat, and led us to the awesome – and car-less – town of Mürren.

According to Wikipedia, Mürren is a traditional Walser mountain village in Bernese Oberland, Switzerland, at an elevation of 1,650 m (5,413 ft.) above sea level and unreachable by public road. Tourism is popular through the summer and winter; the village features a view of the three towering mountains: Eiger, Mönch, and Jungfrau. Mürren has a population of just 450, but has 2,000 hotel beds.

Our boys, sitting in front of Jungfrau in Mürren.

All we knew was that it was a beautiful town and soon, we could see it. And more importantly, soon we’d be eating at a restaurant there. By now the boys, and Jerry and I, were famished!

We decided on the Eiger Guesthouse for lunch, and it was an exceptionally good pick. Jerry and I shared cheese fondue and a basket full of fresh baked bread, along with a pint of beer for Jerry and a glass of red wine for me. The boys shared a pizza and also ate some of our fondue. Never has a meal hit the spot so well! Here are some photos:

OMG, we finally got to experience firsthand, Switzerland's cheese fondue. It was worth the wait! Incredibly yummy. — OMG, we finally got to experience firsthand, Switzerland’s cheese fondue. It was worth the wait! Incredibly yummy.

After a filling, delicious and long lunch break, we continued down the trail. Next stop: Gimmelwald, a smaller car-less village that Rick Steves recommends. Gimmelwald is a small village situated at about 4,000′ feet elevation.

Gimmelwald also won us over. It’s another charming village. We especially loved their “Honesty Shop – Europe’s First Unattended Self-Service Village Shop.”

And, then, out of nowhere, we stumbled onto the Pension Gimmelwald Biergarten. Can this hike get any better??!! I don’t think so. It’s epic for so many reasons, most of which I’m including here. 🙂

Jerry, two thumbs up for the biergarten that was not a mirage, but a reality!

We loved this part of the hike, where we walked past big cows with their jangling bells around their neck, and views of the green lush valley below, toward which we were descending, and of course, waterfalls everywhere around us.

These cows with bells are everywhere, and you can hear their jangling bells as you hike.

See for yourself what this stretch of hike was like:

Jerry and the boys, marching at this point. :) About 2 miles left in the day's trek! — Jerry and the boys, marching at this point. 🙂 About 2 miles left in the day’s trek!

LOL. We think "wanderweg" means wandering. When this photo was taken by my husband of our two oldest sons, we had been wandering all right. All day long! :) — LOL. We think “wanderweg” means wandering. When this photo was taken by my husband of our two oldest sons, we had been wandering all right. All day long! 🙂

We continued down to the valley floor, and another 1.5 hours from there to one of the area’s most famous waterfalls, Trümmelbach Falls.

According to MySwitzerland.com, the Trümmelbach Falls are the world’s only glacier waterfalls that are accessible underground by lift, galleries, tunnels, paths and platforms. They alone carry the meltwater of the glaciers from the Jungfrau down to the valley – up to 20,000 liters of water per second. The water carries with it over 20,000 tons of boulders and scree per year and causes the entire mountain to shudder and make a thundering noise.

We paid to see what all the fuss is about, and it was worth it! Here’s a video:

The boys and I in front of Trümmelbach Falls.

When we got back to our cabin, we had hiked 16 miles, including 3,400′ of gain. We were all completely fulfilled and exhilarated, despite being worn out. It was such a fantastic day that included so many highlhights. I’ve tried to list most of them, but trust me when I say there are even more. I simply need to end this blog post so I can get a little shut-eye before we ride a train tomorrow to Zermatt, Switzerland.

Thank you for following along with us on this Epic Adventure. I hope you’ll stay tuned for our upcoming posts.

Next up: Zermatt, Switzerland (including the Gornergrat train ride and views of the Matterhorn and a report about another epic hike we’ll do in that region.)