We are up early this morning. We pack up and head to the train station via Uber. Once we arrive to the station, we pick up salads for breakfast and board our train. We have two train changes today, so we are on alert to make sure to get off at the correct stops. Shawn has become skilled at navigating the stations. I work hard to keep it all straight in my head!
The ride is along the coast for much of the way. We try to get seats on the coast side of the cars for the best viewing possible. Each train has different systems to communicate. Some are cooler than others. At one stop, a group of three young people boards. Before we can see them, we hear their laughter and loud, French chatter. As they round the corner into the area where we are sitting, they make eye contact and gesture that they were late getting to the train. We couldn’t understand what they were saying but they were sweaty and out of breath and we could tell they felt they had just made it! Their laughter and joyful boarding was contagious and we laughed with them! They continue to laugh and chit-chat, fanning themselves to cool down, until they leave us at the next stop. Their big, loud, youthful energy was fun to watch and made my day!
After six hours on the train and many, many stops including the two times we changed trains, we make it to our beautiful, historical hotel. It’s a short walk from the train station across the bumpy, uneven bricks that comprise the sidewalks. We enter the cool, beautiful hotel lobby and are greeted by a young lady who gets us checked in and shares the details we need to know, like where the hotel bar and restaurants are and how to access the wi-fi. Before we head up to our room, she gives us each an ice cream. I loved that!
We unpack our bags and head out to eat but it’s 6:15 p.m. and the restaurants don’t open until 7 p.m. We decide to go to the hotel bar to wait to enjoy a glass of wine. The bar is on the rooftop and overlooks the city. There are two above ground jacuzzies adjacent to where we are sitting, each able to hold four guests. Several guests come out in their robes, through a restaurant and this bar, to enjoy a soak.
Our bartender is lovely and along with the wine, he brings bowls of chips, olives and nuts. He later brings the tuna sashimi we have ordered and a plate of various rolls.
We have a fun conversation with a woman who is watering the plants. She asks where we are from and when we tell her California, she exclaims, “Oh, you have good wine there, too!” She is knowledgeable about the wine we have ordered and also, that our weather is warm like it is here. We forgot to ask her name!
We go out to explore the city and are amazed at the narrow, narrow pathways between the immensely tall, old buildings. And again, the endless stairways. I would love to have a vision of how this was all put together over the years.
Food has been such a fun part of our journey. To that end, we stop for gelato and then again for ravioli and wine at the restaurant next to our hotel. The server brings us a bag at the beginning of our meal and inside is an assortment of breads, including a delicious, crispy red flatbread. Our server tells us it’s called focaccia seco, meaning, dry focaccia. It gets its color from red rice. I make note that I’d like to find a recipe when we get home…it’s fabulous!