Camogli, on the Italian Riviera

Camogli, Italy (in the province of Liguria)

Camogli is a hillside town of winding cobbled lanes and steep staircases leading to beautiful terra-cotta houses that cling to the olive-draped hills. While it is part of the group of seaside towns that includes the better-known Portofino it is slightly less crowded and, therefore, a bit easier to manage. We fell in love immediately! The water was cool, refreshing and stunningly turquoise. The town was  filled with charming restaurants and, of course, gelato! The vertical nature of the place, though, made it hard to run. We did manage to fit in our last two miles, though. Finishing out our planned running here on the Italian Riviera -- a long way away, in climate and culture, from where we started in Hubbard Park, Montpelier, Vermont on June 18.

Total miles toward our goal of 30 miles: 30!

While Sophia was able to meet her fundraising goal of $300, Carolyn is still a few dollars shy of her goal of $500, so she is choosing to add 5 more miles, which will bring her total up to 35 miles in 35 days. Stay tuned for her final post in a few days.

Thank you all so much for supporting us and following our progress through this blog. Together, you and we, have made a big difference for Vermont's kids. We've gone the distance and the money we raised will be put to work right away improving the lives of kids.

Salzburg, Austria

Salzburg, Austria --

Here we met cooler temperatures and a very different culture. We traded pizza and pasta for sausages and roasted chicken and colorful chaos for smooth efficiency. While we had been getting along quite nicely with our halting ungrammatical Italian, our German language skills were practically non-existent. Luckily, most of the people we met spoke at least some English.

Salzburg is a delightfully compact and lovely city. The apartment where we stayed was close to the old town. Soon we were walking all over, taking in the countless breathtaking views while soaking up history.  Running, however, was a bit harder to manage as our mid-city location meant we were constantly sharing the road with speedy cars and ever-present bicycles. We managed to add three miles to our total, though.

Total miles toward our goal of 30 miles: 28.

Next stop, the Italian Riviera and the beautiful seaside village of Camogli.

Vicenza

From Rome we went to Vicenza, a midsize town between Venice and Verona. We stayed in a lovely apartment on the spacious grounds of a 16th century Italian country villa. We ran under arbors of trailing grape vines and by pens of hogs, donkeys, and geese. A family chapel on the property was built in 1565. In Venice we marveled at beautiful meandering canals and countless picturesque bridges. In Verona we saw the opera "Aida" in an open air colosseum. The second largest in Italy, it was built in 100 a.d. We were only in Vicenza for two days. We did one mile each day for a total of 2 miles.

Total miles toward our goal of 30 miles is now 25.

We only have 5 more days in our fundraiser! We are both within striking distance of our goals. Please consider sponsoring one of us if you can.

Follow this link to sponsor Carolyn: http://www.razoo.com/story/Carolyn-Runs-For-Kids

Follow this link to sponsor Sophia: http://www.razoo.com/story/Go-The-Distance-For-Kids-1

Thank you!

Rome

Running in Rome was difficult because it was very hot and crowded. We managed to do six miles along cobblestone pathways and by ancient ruins.

Total miles towards our goal of 30 miles: 23

Not quite a chariot race, but we are in the ancient site of the Circus Maximus.

Races were run about 2,000 years ago.

In front of the Roman Colosseum.

Circus Maximus, again.

Near the Roman Forum.

Vicopisano

Just spent a week in Vicopisano, a small town near our relatives in Tuscany. We ran amongst olive groves and vineyards and hiked cobbled steps to the nine towers in this picturesque medieval village. Altogether we logged 10 miles while staying in Vicopisano. Up next: Rome!

Total miles towards our goal of 30 miles: 17

US Running

Ciao! We are here in Italy. We have been running in the Tuscan countryside near the tiny town Vicopisano. However, we started our 30 miles in the US. Over four days we did 5.5 miles in our home town of Montpelier, Vt. Then it was off to New York, where we stayed with our friends in Scarsdale and ran another mile and a half.  We took a transatlantic overnight flight from JFK to Pisa and have been running on Italian soil ever since. More about our Italy running to come!

Total upon leaving the US: 7 miles.

Going the Distance for Kids: Voices for Vermont's Children

Hi Everyone! As you may know, I worked for Voices for Vermont's Children last year and I am working there again this summer. Voices for Vermont's Children is a non-profit advocacy group that works in the Vermont statehouse to represent low income children. (You can learn more on Voices' website: http://www.voicesforvtkids.org) This summer marks Voices' 30th anniversary. To recognize this, we are putting on a fundraiser called Going the Distance for Kids. I am participating in this fundraiser with my mom, Carolyn. We are each going to run 30 miles to raise money for Voices for Vermont's Children. 

We happen to be going on a trip to Italy while the fundraiser is happening, so we will be running in Italy. We will be using this blog to keep track of our progress. Because we will be traveling and running throughout our trip, we probably won't be posting long blog entries. We will mainly be posting shorter updates and pictures to keep connected to our friends, family, and sponsors.

We are leaving for Italy in four days! We will be working towards our 30 mile goal over the next 3 weeks.  The fundraiser ends on July 15th.

We would love it if you would support us! 

To sponsor Carolyn, follow this link: http://www.razoo.com/story/Carolyn-Runs-For-Kids

To sponsor Sophia, follow this link: http://www.razoo.com/story/Go-The-Distance-For-Kids-1

Thank you so much!

-Sophia