After a very hot summer in Zurich, Francis and I planned a trip to Italy. We would visit her brother’s family in Genova, travel through Cinque Terre, and finish in Florence. We decided to do the whole trip by train, which I enjoy because I can use my laptop and get some work done while traveling.

The trip lasted from August 27 to September 4. I had never met Francis’ brother in person, so I was excited to finally meet him and his family.

Genova

We arrived late on Thursday, and Francis’ family was waiting for us at the train tracks. It was very nice to meet everyone.

The weather felt strange after Zurich. It was hot and humid, around 32 degrees, and we walked from the station to Francis’ brother’s home. We stayed with them for three nights.

Our room was extremely hot on the first night, and neither of us slept well. The weather improved the next day, with less humidity and more sun. Each night got a little better, and by the end we were sleeping quite well.

On Friday afternoon, we went into the center of Genova and got a tour of the city. We saw a few special sights, including Christopher Columbus’ home, and ate one of the best gelatos I have had in Italy. I chose pistachio.

On Saturday, we took the train about one and a half hours west to a beach in Bergeggi. We brought our own towels, umbrellas, and food and stayed for the day. It was hot, but the beach was beautiful and the water was very clear.

Portofino

On Sunday morning, we left Genova for Santa Margherita. We stored our bags there and took the bus to Portofino. Getting onto that bus turned out to be quite a task. A lot of tourists were waiting, and the bus was small.

It took around half an hour to arrive. Once we finally got on, it was completely packed, and the drive to Portofino took another 30 minutes.

In Portofino, we climbed the stairs and walked all the way to the lighthouse. There was a bar at the end, so we stopped for a drink before walking back.

I had expected Portofino to be more impressive, but it was still a nice town with historic buildings and a long history.

We decided to eat in Santa Margherita instead of Portofino because we wanted to catch the train to Monterosso later that day.

Monterosso

We chose Monterosso as our base for Cinque Terre. Francis and I spent a lot of time looking through hotels and could not decide where to stay. In the end, I chose a three-star hotel called La Spiaggia, which means “the beach” in Italian. It was right in front of the beach and quite expensive, but the room listing made it unclear whether we would have a balcony.

Francis argued that the photos would show a balcony if there really was one. I insisted there had to be one because it was mentioned in the room title. When we arrived, we discovered a huge balcony looking straight onto the beach and the sea. It was actually bigger than the room itself.

On our first evening, we walked through the tunnel connecting the newer beach area with the old town. The sun was setting, and the view was spectacular.

The hotel gave us three restaurant recommendations. We started with the first one and ate delicious seafood and pasta.

After dinner, we looked for dessert. Francis found one of her favorite sweets, a crepe. I tried to convince her to get gelato with me instead, but she was determined and very happy with her choice.

On the way back, we had a nice view of the dark sky and the sea. A religious image was projected onto the wall beside the promenade.

Beach day

Since our hotel was right in front of the beach, we decided to slow down and spend a full day on sunbeds. This was the paid part of the beach, which looked nicer, and the woman at our hotel told us to arrive early to reserve a place.

She said it opened around 8 or 8:30, so I set an alarm and went downstairs. It was still closed. Luckily, the hotel was right across the street, so I went back to our room and waited. The beach finally opened at 9 a.m. I was one of the first people inside and got two sunbeds close to the water, plus an umbrella, for 40 euros in total.

I left our towels on the beds and went back to the hotel for breakfast. The breakfast was included, and it surprised me in a good way. The croissants were fresh, buttery, and fluffy, and the eggs were also very good.

The water was perfect, and the umbrella gave us enough shade to avoid burning in the sun all day. I had a few Aperol Spritzes and some snacks.

I read on my Kindle and took a small nap. Francis also fell asleep for at least half an hour. It was simply a relaxing day.

That evening, we went back into the old town a little earlier for dinner. After looking at a few restaurants, we chose one that served pesto lasagna as its specialty.

We switched plates a couple of times, and I ended up eating more of the pesto lasagna. It was very delicious.

For dessert, we ordered a small selection of three different tiramisus. They were all good, but the plain traditional tiramisu is still my favorite.

Cinque Terre day trip

We planned to explore Cinque Terre from our base in Monterosso. We bought a day ticket that allowed us to get on and off the trains between the towns.

The trains were very busy, but the whole area is full of tourists, so this was not a surprise.

I got up a little earlier than Francis that morning. I used the quiet time to check some work and enjoy the view from our balcony.

Riomaggiore

We started at the far end of Cinque Terre in Riomaggiore, around 15 minutes by train from Monterosso. The town sits around a harbor and climbs up the hill. It was crowded with tourists, but still very beautiful.

We walked up quite a few stairs to get a better view of the harbor and took some pictures.

Manarola

Our next stop was Manarola, only around five minutes away by train. We stopped there for lunch.

I ordered crab pasta, which was quite difficult to eat with all the shells and the special cutlery needed to break them. Francis was kind enough to help me. I decided this was the last time I would order seafood with the shells still attached.

Vernazza

Vernazza was another ten-minute train ride away. We walked around town and looked for a nice beach.

Unfortunately, the beach was tiny and crowded. We decided to skip Corniglia and take the train back to Monterosso.

Back in Monterosso

We were tired from the walking and the heat, so we jumped into the sea to cool down. Without an umbrella, it quickly became too hot to stay on the beach.

At around 6PM, we returned to the hotel to get ready for dinner. We were in the mood for pizza :)

After dinner, we walked through the old town and climbed a little way up the hill. We watched the sunset over the bay and took some pictures.

Food

A traditional Italian meal can include antipasti, primi, secondi, and dolci, followed by an espresso or gelato. We rarely ordered every course, but sometimes we ordered two primi and a fish secondi.

The food was very heavy on carbohydrates, but also very delicious. I ate gelato outside after dinner almost every day and tried many different flavors.

Florence

The train ride to Florence took around three hours and went through La Spezia and Pisa. We had a one-hour break in La Spezia around lunchtime, so we waited in a McDonald’s with air conditioning before continuing to Pisa and finally Florence.

We stayed at Hotel Roma, around ten minutes from the train station and close to the city center.

For our first dinner, I wanted spaghetti carbonara because I had not eaten it yet on this trip. It was delicious. Francis had a truffle fillet.

Piazzale Michelangelo

On our first evening, we took the bus uphill to Piazzale Michelangelo, a viewpoint overlooking Florence. The view was spectacular, but we were certainly not the only ones trying to see the sunset.

Instead of squeezing onto the crowded bus again, we walked down from Piazzale Michelangelo. We watched the light and the sky change, continued along the river, and crossed the bridge back toward the city center and our hotel.

Coffee, food, and David

On our last full day, we had breakfast at the hotel. It was much worse than the breakfast in Monterosso. The eggs were horrible, and the croissants were not fresh.

We spent the morning walking around the city and shopping. Francis tried on dresses for a long time before finally finding one she liked, which made me happy as well.

I had my second coffee of the day, a nice espresso that I really enjoyed. It gave me a few jitters later.

We ate pasta again for lunch. Later, we had a reservation to see Michelangelo’s David at the Galleria dell’Accademia.

We were lucky to have tickets. The line for people without reservations was long, and it was around 34 degrees outside.

The museum was quite impressive. It had old instruments, marble statues, and faces of important people from the past. Then, at the end of the museum, there he was: David, with his small penis.

For our last dinner, we found a restaurant that looked good. It was mainly a steakhouse. Francis ordered a risotto that was not great, while I had a pistachio-glazed fillet with wine sauce that was delicious.

Earlier, while walking through the city, we had passed a tiramisu pop-up and I saved it on the map. Instead of ordering dessert at the restaurant, we walked back there. I chose the traditional tiramisu, which was very fluffy and delicious.

Francis was still disappointed by her risotto, so I looked up another restaurant and we walked another half hour to find it. First, I mistook an Italian sign for the risotto place. Then I thought I had missed the correct restaurant by only a few meters, so we sat down at the place next door. We tried to order the risotto we had seen on Google Maps, but they told us they did not have it. That was when we realized we were in the wrong restaurant again.

A little embarrassed, we got up and continued down the street. This time, we finally found the right place. We shared a saffron risotto, and the staff kindly split it onto two plates. I had not eaten this dish in years and enjoyed it very much.

The journey home

On our last morning, we got up a little earlier and went down to the hotel buffet for tea and coffee. We wanted to eat our last meal outside before catching the train around midday, but first we had to shop for specific parts of our wedding outfits.

I was looking for a bow tie, while Francis needed a scarf. We walked through several shops and eventually found something we both liked.

Afterward, we returned to a restaurant where we had already eaten delicious pasta. I chose lasagna for my final meal. It was very soft, not too heavy, and full of flavor. A good way to finish the trip.

The train ride home took five and a half hours. We traveled from Florence to Milan and then directly to Zurich. I used my computer during the whole ride, which made the time pass much faster.

Now I am happy to be home, writing this with Francis, the love of my life, next to me. We are looking forward to our next chapter. Beso, mi amor.