I arrived in Italy on Saturday afternoon. Hubby had been scoping out the best things to do during his first three weeks, so he had big plans for us. We also wanted to get me on Italian time so it was important for me to stay awake!
Hubby took me on a bike ride through town so I could get a feel for our new home in Correggio. It’s a cute little town, and pretty easy to manage. He showed me the gym, the municipal pool, a park, and the piazza. We also made our first stop for gelato!
Gelateria dei Principi ultimately became my favorite gelateria in Correggio. The owners, Fabio and his wife, were warm and inviting, and encourage customers to try all of the flavors until I found one I liked. Hubby and I visited enough that they got to know us, and every time we came in, they scooped us up a sample of the newest flavors to try. It also helped that Fabio spoke English!
After gelato and a quick nap, we walked to dinner at Leonardo’s for famous authentic Napolean-style pizza and lambrusco. Lambrusco is a (slightly) sparkling wine that is native to the Emilia-Romagna region. We had some that was made in Correggio – now that’s some local wine.
I couldn’t keep my eyes open much past dinner, and that was okay because we had another big day planned for Sunday!
One of Hubby’s co-workers lives in the province of Italy called La Spezia in the region of Liguria, which is on the Ligurian Sea. Hubby went the previous weekend, prior to my arrival, and so naturally I was jealous and insisted that I get to visit as well. Who wouldn’t want to go to the beach?
Driving to La Spezia required us to drive through the mountains. It was sort of a hazy day when we started on our drive, and the clouds were pretty low, so that when we actually got to the top of the mountain, we had to drive through the clouds!
Aside from going to the beach in La Spezia, we visited two small towns in the region – Bocca di Magra and Montemarcello.
Bocca di Magra is an old fishing village that has been revived as an artistic community. The Fiume Magra (which is what is pictured below with the mountains in the background) opens into the Ligurian Sea – hence the name Bocca, which means mouth.
Montemarcello is a town on top of Mount Caprione and has an amazing panoramic view of the Gulf of La Spezia and Val di Magra, and pretty much the entire Ligurian coast. The picture in the blog header (and below) is from a spot called Montemarcello Panoramic View.
All of this was beautiful, of course, but the highlight of the day was spending time at the beach! The water wasn’t too cold – I had no problem getting in, but I think I was one of the only people who felt that way – wimpy Italians! 🙂 We spent the afternoon at a beach club, just taking in the sunshine. It was wonderful, and I great way to transition to my life in Italy!
