Island of Elba

Isola del’ Elba

Sept. 28^th to Sept 30^th.

Friday morning 110 students including me left for the Island of Elba off the coast of Northern Tuscany. We drove 3 hours by bus to Piombio a port town about an hour and a half southwest of Pisa. I was able to see the lonely tower and duomo of Pisa as we drove past on the freeway. I will definitely have to take a day trip there soon.

We arrived in Piombio and took an hour ferryboat ride to the island. The water was rough and at times it felt like a rollercoaster and there were plenty of times where I could feel the disgruntlement in my stomach…it was just that bad. After the rough sea we arrived in Porto Ferrario, the town in which Napoleon Bonaparte was exiled the first time. We departed the ferry and boarded our bus to our home for the next two nights; Port Azzuro. This quaint town in a small cove on the island was enough to want me to retire there soon in the future. It was a simple town. Two main streets and a daily police officer who stood in the town’s only intersection directing traffic and answering any questions from tourists or locals.

The water was light turquoise and was a warm 60 to 65 degrees. I was able to swim in the Mediterranean Sea several times with lots of enjoyment, despite the annoyance of lots of sea salt deposits on my body. Gelato always made me feel better.

The first night in Porto Azzuro the school recommended going to a moderately priced restaurant called Delfino Verde. Supposedly it served authentic Elban cuisine. A group of eight went to this restaurant for our only lavish meal that we all felt we could afford. It turned out to be an expensive night, but well worth every penny. We started our meal with a house red wine that was the Elban tradition. We ordered our meals simply, I ordered the sautéed swordfish that came with French fries. Also as a group ordered a mixed cheese plate that was not too above our budgets. We continued to drink our wine and ended up ordering a bottle of the house white wine which complemented our seafood meal. Remember that wine is always affordable, being no more than 7 Euro a bottle split between 8 people. It was great! To end the meal the restaurant gave us on the house a large chilled bottle of Lemoncello. It was strong and sweet! I was unable to finish my large glass that the waiter insisted I drink.

After our lavish meal on Elba we all decided to keep the rest of the meals on the trip simple. We did accomplish this.

The next day part of the entire group went to Porto Ferrario to explore Napoleon’s villa and sunbathe on a white sand beach in Campo di Marina. It was a perfect day! Napoleon’s villa was amazing and had gorgeous views of the sea from every direction. I could see why it was still an insult for Napoleon to be exiled to Elba. From Versailles to a small villa the size of the Diamond house in Butte Montana…the old one.

The bus ride to Campo di Marina was probably the most winding and curvy ride of my life. The large tour buses drove incredibly fast on these one lane roads with hundreds of blind corners and 100 foot drop offs on each side. It was an exciting and fearless journey. After arriving at the beach I was able to settle and relax. Sunbathing, eating gelato and swimming….how perfect it was when it was 50 degrees and rainy in Seattle or 60 degrees and rainy in Firenze.

For dinner 8 of us, different from the first night gathered together and created a beachside picnic near our hotels in Porto Azzuro. We ate late around 8 pm in complete darkness except for one lonely street lamp that shown enough light on us near the waters edge. We had a fruit salad, salami, bread, pesto, two different cheeses, water and soda. And everyone had paid less than 5 euro a piece. There was plenty of food and everyone was content. It was a great time!

Elba was an amazing time and a great time to really get to know some new people.

This coming week has already been full of lots of homework and projects. The grind is hard, however, its all about time management. Tomorrow I will be doing laundry, and purchasing my last ticket for my last soccer game in Italy. Fiorentina vs. Siena. It should be a simple game and hopefully an automatic win.

This coming weekend we are headed off to Cinque Terre for a nice hiking experience.

On a side note, two of my friends and I are planning to find the cheapest airfare to some place in Europe and go there for a 6 day adventure from Oct. 31 to Nov. 5. So far the search has found options to go to Malta (Spain Island), Brussels (Belgium), San Sebastian (Spain), Seville (Spain), Oslo (Norway), or Denmark, all for less than 5 Euro per flight. So…..I will let you all know where I will be going in less than a month!