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 Under the Tuscan Sun, with some scattered showers For three weeks in April, Randy and I took a trip down to one of my favorite countries in the world - Italy. We first went to Tuscany where we meet up with Randy's Mom. We spent a week driving around the countryside, visiting the tiny walled towns, going to Florence, and eating our way through the local gelato store's 20+ flavors. Our final night of the trip, Kazuko (Randy's Mom) treated us to a 5 star Tuscan restaurant, which without doubt was the highlight of all our amazing gastronomical treats in Italy. After a brief stop in Rome, where there was a veritable mosh pit at almost every historical site (including the gelato store) we headed toward the Adriatic side of Italy to visit a small climbing area called Meschia. It felt a bit like the Italian Castle Rock. After about three days we headed back to the other coast of Italy, and drove up towards Genova to a limestone climbing area called Finale Ligure. Definitely one of the most beautiful places I've route climbed, Finale is right on the Mediterranean and has some of the best food in Italy - including that famous Genova pesto, yummers. There is a small town called Finale Borgo in which there is one of the liveliest piazza's I've seen in Italy. Home to the local climbing store, as well as a fantastic bar (where I discovered latte machiato), and finally the best spagetteria in the world - Sotto Il Santo. Our first night we attempted to eat at Sotto Il Santo, there was a crowd of about 15 people outside waiting to get in. We went to the bar and had a beer and after an hour, there were the same 15 people waiting plus 5 more. The next night we revised our strategy and came at 7pm sharp when they opened. We were the second table there. Within 10 minutes the place was packed. Our efforts were completely rewarded when we were served amazing fresh pasta with great seafood sauces and a shockingly cheap bill even with the wine. We liked it so much we had to eat there the next night with our swiss friends Carla and Sabina. We spent one day hiking the Cinque Terre towns which were as beautiful as always but crowded as hell. We finally dragged our stomachs out of Italy and made one final stop at Val Di Mello, a stunning alpine valley with waterfalls running into a clear river at the valley floor. Bouldering in this setting was a cathartic treat after battling the traffic of Milan for two hours. We had our final gelato just before crossing the border back to Switzerland. (click on photo to enlarge)  Kona admiring another of Europe's landmarks - the Sienna Cathedral |
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 Camping While Courtney's off to Chicago for a wedding, I've decided to camp out for a while to take advantage of the unusually good weather (no rain for weeks) here in Font. With a finger tendon pulley injured, the slopers here give me a chance to continue enjoying myself climbing. Kona and I share the campground with a huge boar who comes around the tent every night snorting and snuffling (and making Kona rather nervous). Seemingly only curious, I keep worrying that the tin of wild boar pate I've got tucked away with my food will send him into a rage for vengeance. - rp (click on photo to enlarge) Kona crashed out in the tent |
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