After a “farewell and see you soon” to my parents, the four of us made our way to Castiglione della Pescaia to spend our last day on the coast. Wow, that sounded so easy, didn’t it? To be honest, Garmin did deliver us right to the front door of our hotel, it also took us through the most twisty-turny switchbacks and mountains we’d ever experienced in a manual car. By this time, my wonderful husband was a semi-pro at stick shift; he threw it into third and made sure we didn’t drive off any cliffs. It was still slightly nerve-wracking at times, especially when the road narrowed almost to one lane and yet we occasionally had some other unfortunate driver (probably following their Garmin) coming the opposite direction. Brandon kept his cool and dropped us off at the hotel right on the marina. (You can translate “right on the marina” to “we could see both the marina and ocean from our rooms’ balconies! Beautiful!)
Mel and Cathy enjoyed a quick dip in the Mediterranean and relaxing on the beach, later to join Brandon and me in our exploration of the nearby “castle.” We found a lovely street chock full of fun little stores, tasty gelaterias, and delicious outdoor eateries. We also walked up (again, extremely steep, narrow roads) to the “castle” town on the hill. This town, like Colle Val D’Elsa, was inhabited rather than a touristy area, but we enjoyed meandering up and down the streets and visiting the two churches within the town walls. We were a little disappointed to realize that the “castle” consisted of two towers that were clearly lived in and not open for the public (to be read as – they were gated off and you could see the Little Tykes jungle gym in the yard.) Still, made for nice photos and sites we don’t get to see in the US or Okinawa.
On the morning before we finished our drive to Fumicino to drop Mel and Cathy at the airport, we all took a relaxing walk along the beach and just enjoyed soaking in the sun, sand, and Mediterranean Sea.
At FCO, we gave the gals a good sendoff back to Britain, then headed to return the dreaded Dodge. Brandon got us all the way up to the fourth floor of the parking garage, managing the e-x-t-r-e-m-e-l-y tight turns like a pro, though I think it’s safe to say, we were both glad to grab our bags and not look back. If you ever get the chance to stay in a Hilton Garden Inn, we’d be highly, highly recommend it! The one we stayed at was a concept hotel, so it’s built around the requests of previous occupants. If Brandon could have found a way, I think he would have disassembled the computer chair and taken it home with us – it was that comfortable. And then, there was the bed. Oh my. New Zealand wool over a mattress never felt so good! Needless to say, we got our first great night’s sleep in Italy on our last night in the country.
Overall, a very adventure-filled trip to Italy. Brandon and I can both mark that off our list of places to see. We were so grateful to be able to help my parents celebrate their 30th wedding anniversary and to be able to spend time with them, Mel, and Cathy! It was definitely a trip we will never forget (and I don’t think any of the four of us will be able to forget our experience with the car no matter how hard we try!)
All that said, we were very glad to get back to Okinawa. Back to internet. Back to our own bathrooms and showers. And back to our own bed (though I wouldn’t have minded bringing home the Hilton Garden bed!) Eccellente!
---Arielle
