Day 2 on the beautiful Aeolian Island of Lipari started with this beautiful view at breakfast. I’m not going to lie, we were definitely deliriously tired when we finally laid down to sleep after a million hours of being awake and traveling what seemed like half way around the world. Breakfast is only served from 8-10am so we had to set an alarm to make sure we were up at 9. That being said, we had close to 9 hours of sleep, which was amazing!

We woke up refreshed and happy to be sitting out staring at this view of Lipari Port. The temperature couldn’t be more perfect, maybe in the 80’s with a soft breeze. I had planned on hot humid temps, so this is a pleasant surprise for sure.

After breakfast, the kids were happy to head to the beach. We ended up at Canneto Beach a short ride from the town of Lipari. Of course, even though I knew the beaches were going to be rocky, I still forget to get water shoes for the kids. To my surprise, they were ok with the rocks. Everyone enjoyed the water. It is so much more enjoyable swallowing an unexpected gulp of saltwater from the Mediterranean – it is almost like a sweet salt water! A contrast for sure to the strong salt water we are used to in the Atlantic or Pacific.

We had a beautiful day of lounging under a thatched umbrella at a little beach club in this picturesque little town, taking in views in every direction, eating a lunch of a delicious cazzuto (open faced toast with olives, capers, mozzarella, cherry tomatoes, sundered tomatoes). Yum Yum Yum!

I have to say that Lipari is surprisingly affordable. The prices to eat out are really fair. Drinks, glasses of wine, etc are priced at or US prices, which isn’t always the case when traveling around Europe for sure. Putting aside the fact that air fare can be ridiculous to get to Europe from the west coast, a week in Lipari is much more affordable than a beach week in Southern California! If only it was closer!