La fete de Halloween

We celebrated Halloween by going to a party hosted by one of the members of the social club we belong to, France Etats-Unis. We were to come in costume and bring a savoureux plat (savory dish) to share. There were 8 of us total, about half French and half American.

Finding a costume was more of a challenge than I'd anticipated as we didn't want to spend $ on them and our wardrobes here are limited. We ended up going as "American Tourists" complete with our Rick Steve's France book and our French phrase book. We had a good time.


While we saw some commercial items available, Halloween is not celebrated here like home. We didn't have nor see any children out trick-or-treating. I never saw a jack-o-lantern. I asked one of the other Americans at the party about it, she said "They just don't get it here." The picture below is of our French host, Pascal, who has spent quite a lot of time in the US and knows how to celebrate.


They do celebrate All Saints Day which is Nov. 1st. It's kind of like our Memorial day where family members go to cemeteries and decorate the graves of their loved ones departed.

the Cinque Terre, Italy

We picked the Dinsmore's up at the Genoa, Italy airport and drove another hour and a half to Levanto, which is just north of the 5 towns that make up the Cinque Terre on Italy's northern Mediterranean coast.


We rented an apartment near Levanto and it was literally on the top of a mountain. It was a 10 minute drive up, with a lot of switchbacks. The apartment was nice, though it had no heat and in the mornings we could have used it. When we asked about heat, the owner brought out down comforters for the beds. The picture below was taken from our second floor terrace.


These towns make up an Italian National park and are favorites for hikers. We hiked between the 3 most southern towns of the 5. The landscape was amazing. The towns are also connected via train and boat and we traveled that way too. The next two pictures were taken along the hiking trail.


I was expecting to have my fill of pastas. While there were some of those available, the area was far more suited to the fruits of the sea. One lunch we tried the special of the day, fresh, uncooked shrimp and prawns. It was an adventure. Oh, we were able to have our fill of their amazing ice cream, gelato. Here Jennie and I are preparing for our first bite of Italian sushi.


None of these towns are what I'd consider "touristy." Monterosso, the most northern of the towns had the flattest beaches and had more hotels to offer. The next pictures are of my favorite town, Vernazza. I really liked its little harbor, and quaint streets.