Rapallo
The sun was still with us as we arose in Milan!! We said goodbye to Milan this morning and headed south toward the sea!! We travelled for an hour out into the countryside, to reach the UNESCO listed Certosa di Pavia monastery. It is located in the flat area of Italy where there is a lot of farmland.
We were guided through the monastery by a very pleasant and sweet monk. The first surprise for me was the immense and beautiful church on the site. This church and monastery took 100 years to build. The church was started and funded by one wealthy family in the area and f8nished and paid for by a second family in the area. Unfortunately, we weren’t allowed to take pictures but it was spectacular.
The monastery was inhabited by Hermit monks for over 500 hundred years, who lived in silence and their mission was to work and pray. In the 90’s these monks moved to a quieter area of Italy so that this monastery could be opened to the public. The monks that work there now do not have to live in silence. This place had a very calm and serene feeling, leaving a very lasting impression on many of us.
After our tour we set off again for the coast. We stopped at an “Autogrille” for lunch. In Europe it is very common to have these large “truck stops” with a restaurant and services right on the motorway. The food was actually quite good.
As we continued our drive, we entered the low mountains. It was beautiful to come around the corner to view yet another lovely little town. The clouds were also building up in the mountains and the rain fell sporadically. NOT what we wanted to see!!!
We arrived in the little seaside town of Rapallo in the mid afternoon. Our hotel, the Hotel Europa, is located right down by the water front. We had several hours of free time to walk along the promenade and to check out the shops. The best part is that the sun came out again and it was a lovely afternoon.
We regrouped at 7 pm in the hotel restaurant for a very lovely dinner. We had a scrumptious dinner of pesto lasagna, followed by chicken and potatoes and topped off with a BIG piece of tiramisu!! Just when we felt we couldn’t eat anymore, they brought out a lovely birthday cake for Shelli K. Even though her birthday is tomorrow, we decided to have the cake today at our included dinner so everyone was together. It was another fantastic day!!
We were guided through the monastery by a very pleasant and sweet monk. The first surprise for me was the immense and beautiful church on the site. This church and monastery took 100 years to build. The church was started and funded by one wealthy family in the area and f8nished and paid for by a second family in the area. Unfortunately, we weren’t allowed to take pictures but it was spectacular.
The monastery was inhabited by Hermit monks for over 500 hundred years, who lived in silence and their mission was to work and pray. In the 90’s these monks moved to a quieter area of Italy so that this monastery could be opened to the public. The monks that work there now do not have to live in silence. This place had a very calm and serene feeling, leaving a very lasting impression on many of us.
After our tour we set off again for the coast. We stopped at an “Autogrille” for lunch. In Europe it is very common to have these large “truck stops” with a restaurant and services right on the motorway. The food was actually quite good.
As we continued our drive, we entered the low mountains. It was beautiful to come around the corner to view yet another lovely little town. The clouds were also building up in the mountains and the rain fell sporadically. NOT what we wanted to see!!!
We arrived in the little seaside town of Rapallo in the mid afternoon. Our hotel, the Hotel Europa, is located right down by the water front. We had several hours of free time to walk along the promenade and to check out the shops. The best part is that the sun came out again and it was a lovely afternoon.
We regrouped at 7 pm in the hotel restaurant for a very lovely dinner. We had a scrumptious dinner of pesto lasagna, followed by chicken and potatoes and topped off with a BIG piece of tiramisu!! Just when we felt we couldn’t eat anymore, they brought out a lovely birthday cake for Shelli K. Even though her birthday is tomorrow, we decided to have the cake today at our included dinner so everyone was together. It was another fantastic day!!
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