Cinque Terre Day 4

On our fourth day, we followed up on a tip from a friendly German family we met at LCM and took a ferry to Portovenere (not part of Cinque Terre but in the Ligurian region) for a change of scenery. Once Lord Byron's grotto, an imposing castle sits at the took of a hill and when perched at the top, we could see why Byron choose this spot. His fortress not only allowed him to see potential incoming attacks but provided a 360 degree view of the surrounding Sea and small islands.

While we had a great stay in CT, after being out of the country for almost 3 weeks and on the road for about 10 days, we were all yearning for the comforts of home, and missing friends and family. As a family, we've talked about how our year abroad will be filled with adventures and growth experiences, yet we may also face challenging and possibly frustrating times.

Sometimes, during a lull, we'd play a silly game like the ditty that Kelsey taught us from her softball days:

Lemonade (da, da, dat)
Crunchy ice (da, da, dat)
Sip it once (da, da, dat)
Sip it twice (da, da, dat)


Lemonade (faster)
Crunchy ice
Sip it once
Sip it twice

Turn around
Touch the ground
Kick your boyfriend (or girlfriend) out of town (with appropriate body gestures)
FREEZE (everyone freezes and first one to move is out)

Kind of goofy but is a distraction and gets a giggle



Photo: Kelsey and Elle, the kitty we befriended at LCM (belonged to the owner). Kelsey was especially keen on Elle as she's big into the fiction series on cats, "Warriors." She has read and re-read the "Warriors" series.