back to the hostel dorms..

This morning my family boarded their flights home to Seattle. Our three weeks together have come and gone and I am left feeling like I have forgotten something or lost something. My little flock of seven is now just two again, and there is no one left to keep track of except myself, which isn't nearly as fun.

Mark and Sarah arrived in Siena a week after my parents arrived in Italy. We spent a relaxing five nights in a nice little apartment and made trips into town for meals, photo expeditions and groceries. We ate well, slept well, and plowed through books and sudoku puzzles. I enjoyed walks through il Campo at night almost as much as I enjoyed sitting around with my siblings playing cards. I was so happy to not only see my family, but get to spend so much time with them.

We headed out in the Fiat towards Lucca, one of my favorite towns in Tuscany. They have this great wall around the city there that you can ride bikes or walk around. It is lined with trees and benches and you can see right into the city and its gardens and alleys. The city itself is nothing too special, but the glorious wall is a triumph of urban design.

We made a day trip into Florence and dropped my parents off at the Accademia while Heidi, Melissa and I went to the river to relax and I drew the Ponte Vecchio. We also made a stop in San Gimignano on our way into Lucca to see the towers, enjoy extra-yummy gelato and find some great vine-covered doorways to photograph.

From Lucca we traveled by train to the Cinque Terra. I finally got to visit this amazing place after missing it on my first trip though Italy. It is now my second favorite place in Italy, besides Roma. As the train popped out of the tunnel approaching the first of five towns, and the Mediterranean Sea was right there, blue and perfect, I gapsed with delight. I love seaside towns and these ones have it all. Nice people, warm water, hiking trails, tiny stores and waterfront walkways. Vernazza, where we stayed, is the second town on my trip that I have thought I could stay in forever. Maybe because it reminded me of home, somewhere near Bellingham or in the San Juans. If I ever become a famous writer or a rich person I think I would spend a month in Vernazza each year.

Our last night in town, there was a storm brewing. We watched as all the town's menfolk rowed their boats ashore and helped each other pull them out of the water and onto the plaza by streetlight, to keep them from getting smashed by the big waves they were expecting. I loved seeing them working together in their wellie boots and rolled up pants to secure the village. It was almost like they didn't even see the dozen or two tourists standing around watching them work. By morning, the swell was in and I wished I had a surfboard. Huge waves were crashing over the break and roaring over the waterfront piazza. We planted oursleves on a ledge above the splash line and watched them come in. The salty smell and crashing noise was so exciting. Where we sat was perhaps too close as we had to pull up our feet a few times when the really big ones came. I was a little grumpy about having to leave the Cinque Terra, and the sea, but Lake Como awaited us and the train was coming at 10:30.

We enojyed another three nights at the lake, taking the ferries around and strolling along the waterfront. We were lucky enough to be present for the 12th Annual Passagiata Gastronomica in Varenna Sunday afternoon. There were 8 stations of Italian food all throughout the town and one ticket bought you a course from all of them. Antipasti, Formaggi, Gelati...yum. I sketched some more here and there and then our time was up. Onto Milan and separate itineraries. After one last afternoon walking in the city, eating Gelato and buying souvenir gifts, it was time to part ways. I am scheduled to leave on the 4:30 train to France. Away from Italy, away from cappucini and away from my much anticipated family visit.

It feels like one trip has ended and another has begun. I am fully reminded of how great my home is and will balance that feeling with excitment for the places I will see in the next three months. June in the UK, further depleting any extra budget saved from South America, July in India making up for lost adventure travel time, and August in Southeast Asia eating well and rounding out continent number four.