Oops - it has been much too long since I sat down and wrote a proper blog. We have been having a great time for the last few days with our friends from the Netherlands. We have a four bedroom apartment on the top floor of an apartment building in Rapallo, Italy. The location is great, but it is admittedly VERY hot. There isn't any air conditioning, and the few fans we have are a bit feeble. However, the company is excellent and we are having fun at the beach, strolling the streets, and searching out great restaurants. Their two children are ages 8 and 2 and everyone is getting along perfectly and going with the flow.

We must have extremely tasty blood to these Italian mosquitoes, because our entire family has been eaten alive. They are bloodthirsty, voracious little buggers and we are keeping the Italian economy afloat with the purchase of many different sprays, lotions, and gels to try and manage the situation. At least we have figured out how to keep them out of the bedrooms, even if it means a hot and sweaty sleep.

Yesterday we took the train to Genova (Genoa) for a little day trip. Our intention was to get there for lunch, but we didn't plan our timing very well because we arrived around 2:30 and most restaurants close at 3 pm. By the time we found some good places they were all closed - we were all hot, sweaty, and starving which made decision making even more difficult. Poor little Viggo (the two year old) had a breakdown; I think we were all feeling that way but not acting on it. Kids get a pass on that! We had lunch at one of the only places we could find, and although the food looked great through the glass case, we were less than impressed to get our plates of food and realize that they had microwaved everything! I had pesto lasagna and the plate was super-hot but the food was lukewarm. Sven's pizza was soggy and disappointing. We all ate enough to fend off starvation and then moved on. Disappointing.

I must admit that the day in Genoa didn't turn out the way we all thought it would… we wandered around waiting to see something fantastic but it was hot and hilly and we were all getting a bit tired. There were a few gems though, the University of Genova had a gorgeous little garden and there were a few interesting old palaces along Via Garibaldi where the very rich lived hundreds of years ago. If you were fortunate enough to do the 'Grand Tour' back in those times, Via Garibaldi was a must-do on the list of things to see. You could peek into the main areas of a few of them and there were ornate fountains and beautifully intricate paintings on the ceilings. Joyce and I imagined ourselves 300 years ago strolling along with our parasols admiring the buildings. Then we thought about the horribly hot dresses and corsets, layers and layers of material chafing and hot shoes pinching our feet. Ugh. We were struggling with the heat in the clothes we were wearing, and had we appeared in public dressed like that at the time, I'm sure we would've been stoned or hung up in the piazza for all to see. Shameful!

Many of the beaches around here are privately owned and so you have to pay an entrance in to a 'beach club' for the day. With admission you get a lounge chair and access to all of their amenities. The first day we walked around the harbour and tried a few places but they were full, so we went to the only place that had room for us. It was nice and had chairs right on the beach where we could easily watch the kids. The food was very reasonably priced (considering that they had a captive audience), and there were floating play structures in the water which were a nice distraction. The only downside was that the beach was rocky, and walking to the water's edge was difficult and funny to watch.

Today's beach club was much bigger, and it was sandy, instead of rocky. We stayed for much longer than we should have, because we all now see how effective sunscreen is - and how ineffective it is when not applied correctly. It was a nice day, sunburns and all, and we are looking forward to our reservation for dinner tonight. We ate lunch at a great restaurant a few days ago and made a dinner reservation so that we could enjoy the food again. We are planning on being hungry because there were so many good things on the menu and we want to eat it all! The ravioli with truffle sauce is calling my name and it would be rude to ignore it.  ;)

I would love to post some photos, but I can't find the cord that connects the camera to my computer. If I see an electronics shop I will grab another one, but for some reason I haven't yet seen a Radio Shack in small town Italy. For now, my words will just have to paint the picture!