My 35th Birthday in Liguria

The trip to Liguria marked the beginning of a really important new chapter for us as a family. And, honestly, it happened the way most things do in our life, super spontaneously. The day before my birthday, Lorenzo asked me, “Mom, what are we doing for your birthday?” I wasn’t feeling great and told him I had no idea, and he said, “But we have to do something… I love your birthdays because they’re always spontaneous.”
So that’s exactly what we did. We booked the trip that day and left the next morning for the place I already knew I needed to be.

I had just come out of an emotionally heavy winter. I was exhausted, physically and emotionally, and all I wanted was to be by the sea with my family, somewhere that always made me feel calm. We didn’t want the stress of airports, flights, or renting a car, so we just looked for the closest beach in Italy that we could drive to from Switzerland.

The truth is, this trip was something I had been wanting for a while. I needed the ocean. I needed to get out of Switzerland for a bit and also out of that “inner winter” that felt like it would never end. Liguria became that turning point for me — the moment I could finally breathe, slow down, and reconnect with the little Marina I used to be… the one who spent hours playing in the sea and loved a simple life.

Our days there were exactly that vibe: cooking together at home, going to the beach even though the water was still freezing, but letting the sea breeze give me the reset I desperately needed. And of course, eating trofie al pesto, which was a total hit.