Reviews

Riomaggiore, Italy (Cinque Terre)

We stayed in the pink building on the far left on the 2nd floor.

Lacey and I spent a brief, yet wonderful 2 days in the Cinque Terre as a layover stop between Rome and Milan during our trip to Italy.  The 5 towns of the Cinque Terre (Monterosso, Vernazza, Corniglia, Manarola, Riomaggiore) were once regarded as a few of the best kept secrets in Italy.  It seems like the world has caught on as it was pretty much flooded with tourists while we were there.  The 5 towns are very unique in that they are all self sustaining farming and fishing communities.  Cars are not allowed in the towns themselves, except for the occasional delivery truck or two.  There is a walkway/trail connecting each of the towns if you’re looking for some exercise.  If walking isn’t your thing (you shouldn’t go to Europe) you can hop on a train along the coastline that stops in each of the 5 towns.

If you’re a foodie, you’ll find world class seafood dishes from nearly every restaurant in these towns.  Lacey and I were pleased to find some amazing pizza and gelato shops as well.

The best part of this brief trip for us was (besides getting engaged of course) the hike through the Cinque Terre National Park from Monterosso to Vernazza.  The scenery was seriously like being in a real life fairy tale.  Check out the pics below for proof.

Travel Tips:

Spend a few extra bucks and get a room with a view of the Mediterranean

Wear running shoes if you’re going to hike through the National Park.  There is some fairly technical terrain in spots

Stop by “Edi’s” laundromat in Riomaggiore.  Edi himself frequents this location and has many hook-ups through out the town from hotel rooms to restaurants.  He’s also happy to share his homemade limoncello with travelers 🙂

Downtown Riomaggiore

Walkable coastline

Monterosso Beach

Beautiful girl with some not so bad flowers behind her

Lacey was excited to “burn some calories.”

Vernazza

Behind Riomaggiore

Captain America pose

Men husk: Ansvaret for dit helbred ligger hos dig og din læge. Vi skriver klik ikke recepter, vi kommer med anbefalinger. Stol på vores mening eller ej – det er op til dig.

Chicago, IL

View from the top of the Willis Tower in downtown Chicago, IL.

While Lacey was busy in Wisconsin performing matron-of-honor- duties last week, I decided to check out Chicago, IL for a day.  Being that I only had 1 day to burn, I needed to come up with a plan to make sure I experienced as much as I could.  If Chicago were water, I was going to drink it through a fire hose.  If Chicago were a beer, I was about to shotgun it.

Step 1: See the entire city

I only had an hour or 2 to complete this step, so I went to the tallest building in the city for help. The Willis Tower (formerly the Sears Tower).

The Skydeck “Ledge” was an experience I’ll never forget. 103 stories down.

Step 2: Eat Chicago Style Pizza – Gino’s East

Being from Idaho, I’ve only had rip-off versions of Chicago Style pizza.  It was time to experience the real thing.  I left the Willis Tower and hopped a bus to the legendary Gino’s East pizza joint.  Not only was it the best pizza I’ve had in my life, it was one of the cooler restaurant atmospheres I’ve ever seen.  You didn’t need to hear any of the stories to know that there was a ton of history behind this place.  My only regret is that I didn’t take a white-out pen to write my name on the wall.  …you’ll see what I mean in the images below.  Side note, did anyone else know Chicago Style pizza puts the sauce on top of the cheese? How’s your mind? Blown? Mine too.

Men husk: Ansvaret for dit helbred ligger hos klik dig og din læge. Vi skriver ikke recepter, vi kommer med anbefalinger. Stol på vores mening eller ej – det er op til dig.

Line outside of Gino’s East in Chicago.

I would have written “Mat 8-7-15, Lacey M.I.A.”

I can usually finish half a pizza by myself. At Gino’s East, I was done after 2 slices.

Row of celebrity pictures/autographs upstairs near the bathrooms.

Step 3: Experience Wrigley Field

Even if you’re not a baseball fan, go see the Cubs play at Wrigley Field.  This is one of the most beautiful and historic parks left standing.  Take someone you care about, because you’re going to want to reminisce about this day with them down the road.  Eat a hot dog, grab a beer, interact with some inspired locals.  Once you see the Cubs play (and hopefully win) at Wrigley Field, you can head home from your vacation with a strong understanding of what this city and its people are all about.  The 7th inning stretch “take me out to the ballgame” performance from the 35k+ fans on hand was one of the coolest things I think I’ll ever witness.

I felt proud of my ex-teammate Jon Lester as I saw his image covering the stadium

6 rows behind the Cubs dugout.

Madison Bumgarner and Tim Hudson shagging batting practice.

A guy in front of me got DRILLED by a foul ball.

Conclusion:

Chicago is a beautiful city.  Public transportation is easy to use (even for me).  The next time I go, I want to hit up the Field Museum to see the T-Rex fossil.  I also hear there is a world famous cup-cake joint somewhere in the city.  The only thing I wish were different about the above mentioned trip was that I didn’t have my partner in crime with me.  Lacey would love this city.

One of my final views of the city as I waited for my train to Milwaukee.