Relaxin' to the Max!

Brian has now been home 4 weeks, and its has been GREAT! He had mandatory re-integration for the first 7 days, a 4 day weekend, work for a few days, and now he is on leave until Oct. 21st. Our original plan was to take a trip to the States, but since we will be living in the USA in a few months we decided to enjoy a few more trips in Europe.

One of the "in the know" places to visit is Cinque Terre, Italy. It is really 5 separate towns on the Italian Riviera connected by hiking trails or train for the weary. The towns are just beautiful. Its amazing how everything is built into the cliffs. The people of Cinque try to preserve the towns as much as possible. No cars are allowed to drive through them nor will you find any chains stores or restaurants. There isn't site after site to see, this place is all about relaxation & magnificent views.

We had the best experience swimming in crystal clear waters, dining on fresh pesto, drinking the local wine, and hiking the trail. Amazingly, none of us ate fresh fish or anchovies. I love fish, but I just can't manage to eat it when the heads attached & the eyes are still open. We did have some of the freshest, most delicious food we've ever eaten. Kennedy hiked the trails like a champ & ate dinner like she'd never eaten before...we wore her out! We spent our evenings on the balcony of our apartment chatting with our friends & playing the addicting game of Fill or Bust. Our Saturday was spent moseying around Monterosso (one of the 5 towns) & swimming in the ocean.

On our walks through the towns, we were always surrounded by Americans. We found out that late Sept. is peak season for Americans. I'd say 50% of our fellow countrymen were the courteous traveller, but the other half were college kids or interesting people who help give Americans a bad name. If you don't know, most Europeans dislike American travelers due to their obnoxious behaviors. We saw a groups of girls/women walking around in their Victoria's Secret Pink pj bottoms & t-shirts, another groups with their t-shirts tucked up into their bras with their stomachs hanging out, girls just laying on the ground at the train station...Kennedy will not being going to Europe for her Senior trip! There were other Americans who met the stereotype, but these are the ones that stood out the most. Regardless of the hundreds of Americans always surrounding us, we still throughly enjoyed our visit.

Here's a little blurb from Rick Steve's about Cinque Terre:

The most fantasy-fulfilling stretch of the fabled Riviera lies not in France, but just across the border in Italy between Genoa and Pisa.

The Cinque Terre (CHINK-weh TAY-reh, which means "five lands") is a series of villages clinging to a remote stretch of the Riviera coastline. Each town is a variation on the same theme: a pastel jumble of homes crouching in a gully like crusty sea creatures in a tide pool, undisturbed by traffic or modern development.

The rugged villages of the Cinque Terre, founded by Dark Age locals hiding out from marauding pirates, were long cut off from the modern world. Today the villages, linked by a milk-run train, a ferry, and a spectacular trail, draw hordes of hikers. To preserve the character of the towns and the area's natural beauty, the government declared the Cinque Terre a national park a few years ago. Visitors pay a small entrance fee, which stokes a park maintenance fund and helps to maintain the trails.

Travelers who are content to rent a room in a small hotel, pension, or private home enjoy a land where the villagers have almost no choice but to go about their business as if the surrounding vineyards are the very edges of the earth.

Summer's officially over!

Our busy summer has come to an end. Last week Kennedy began pre-school, again. Two weeks ago, all our summer activities ended & the fall schedule began. We filled up our summer days with a whole list of activities to help pass the time until Brian got home, but now he's home!

We are ready for the journey ahead of us as we settle into our fall schedule with Brian. Kennedy will keep busy with pre-school 3 mornings a week, gymnastics, & TaeKwondo (TKD). Brian has just finished his re-integration period and will be getting some well deserved vacation time starting next week. I'm starting a Bible study & trying to go to the gym as much as possible while being the best wife, mom, and friend as possible.

Brian will be taking almost a month of leave, and we'll be taking a few vacations. First stop will be Cinque Terre (5 lands), Italy which is one of the "in the know" beach spots in Italy. Its a little difficult to reach since there is no major airports and no direct trains to these little towns. We'll be making the 5 hour drive, parking the car, and walking or taking public transportation the rest of our stay. Cars aren't allowed in the the towns. I'm so excited to be hiking along the coast of the Italian Riviera during the day, and lounging on our balcony with a glass a wine in the evenings. Our second trip with be to Germany. We'll be staying at the military resort, enjoying the fall weather, doing some biking, & spending some time in Munich! In the midst of our major trips, we'll be taking some day trips around Italy. Our time here is coming to an end, and we'll be enjoying as much of Italy as possible.

We are anxiously awaiting our PCS orders. We are ready to get onto our next journey in NC. We'll keep y'all up to date on our move. We can't wait to be closer to family & the American comforts!

Enjoy a few pics from our summer:

Welcome Home B!