Good bye Pitelli!

Today we are leaving our airbnb in Pitelli. This stop had many highs and lows. It was quiet and had great views. It was a beautiful area and we absolutely loved the view from our balcony of the gulf of poets a la spezia bay. The church bells were magical (although a little loud at 7am). Here we fell in love with swimming in the Mediterranean Sea. Blue Bay was stunning, cinque Terre was iconic, and San Terrenzo beach was the best we have ever been to. We went back and back to San Terenzo beach. The kids digging and building in the perfect sand were a magnet to other kids that wanted to play. Fran became friends with Sophie & her Nonna and Nono. Fransicco and his family were a delight to play with too. We built the most epic sand castle villages. But, Pitelli was also hard. The small town on the hill had very few amenities. Even our airbnb felt like we were camping, having to ration through our limited supplies. In Pitelli we LOVED Red’s pizza and ate there frequently. We didn’t have a car (and were afraid to get one and drive and park on those crazy, narrow, windy, and steep streets). The bus was infrequent and unreliable. It was easier to walk. We got stronger — Pitelli calves — walking up the hill. But I think one of the hardest parts was how cold people in this region are towards tourists. There were some nice people. And we met some wonderful people at the beach (who were on holiday). But overall, people were cold and not very helpful or friendly. It was hard because I did so much research on the area, I thought it would be a perfect home base for a longer stay. It was really good to have a slower pace here, catch up on school and work.