Italy Road Trip with a 1.5 year old, Day 3: Tuesday, September 10
This morning we woke up in France! This part of France is VERY different from our last time. Our time in Paris was all cherry blossoms and spring showers. This is all palm trees, bougainvillea, and sunshine!
Our AirBnb is very homey and authentic—a room inside a family’s apartment, shared bathroom with their toiletries on the counters and shower, scratchy towels, and homemade breakfast in the morning! They made us crepes with fresh fruit, warm croissants with homemade orange jam, and a spread of different yogurts, puddings, juices, and delicious coffee.
After breakfast, we checked out and walked to pick up our rental car which we reserved through Booking. The process of picking up the car was so easy, and driving has been great so far! LOTS of signs and tolls, but once we figured it out, it all seems pretty simple.
We stopped for lunch at Osteria Di Barcheto in Imperia (two courses: gnocchi for Benjamin and linguine for me followed by chicken for Benjamin and fish for me, then some perfect espresso) then we continued on to La Spezia.
Nearly 4 hours in the car today and our toddler slept through almost all of it! It is so exciting for us to see the classic beauty of the Italian Riviera as we drive.
Around 5pm, we checked into our B&B in the hillside of La Spezia, B&B Bellavista. It is a gorgeous 1800s mansion with marble steps and balconies on an acre or so of beautifully maintained gardens. A family of 3 generations live and work here, and their favorite thing to say when they see our daughter is, “ciao, bellísimo!” (Hello, beautiful!) We have the best room in the house with an incredible view of the town of La Spezia, the ocean and ports, and the jagged mountain range that reminds me of our Enchantments back home in Washington State.
We took a beat to rest in our new home, then went to the train station to take an 8 minute train ride to Riomaggiore, one of the five towns of Cinque Terre. This one is known for the best sunset views, and we concur! We had a fabulous dinner spot called La Conchiglia overlooking the waves and picturesque view of the little town as the sun went down. Then a stop for gelato where our toddler learned how to lick from a cone and we got to watch the town start to turn its lights on as night fell. A short train ride back to La Spezia wrapped up our wonderful first full day in Italy!
Tomorrow, more time to explore Cinque Terre.
*****
Follow along for our 1-month itinerary traveling Italy with a 1-year-old toddler! We’ll share our experience traveling with an 18-month-old and all our favorite towns, restaurants, and activities on an Italian road trip! Our destinations include: Cinque Terre, La Spezia, Zoagli, Monterosso, Vernazza, Manarola, Riomaggiore, Tuscany, Florence, San Gimignano, Lazio, Montepulciano, Pienza, Lucca, Rome, Vatican City, San Gimignano, Amalfi Coast, Sorrento, Vietri Sul Mare, Maori, Puglia, Lecce, Gallipoli, Otranto, Monopoli, Ostuni, Nice, France, Monaco
