Our Vacation from Vacation

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After stopping in Nice, France for a quick bit to eat, we made our way into Italia for our last half of our month-long gluttonous vacation! Funny story- we get on our train to find out that this cute old Italian couple is sitting in our seats. Well, for as bad as we felt, it was a packed train and pretty much had to kick them out...after about an hour, another couple comes up to us and says that we have their seats! This is not possible! The lady asked Shaina to see our tickets, while Shaina exclaimed that she wanted to see their tickets as well. Inspection concluded, however, that there was a miscommunication with the ticket office (I don't know how that happened...) and we had tickets for a Monday morning train. WELL, it was Saturday. So we are out of seats, standing in the isle of a 200 mile/hour train, when a conductor walked by and saw the deer-in-headlights looks on our faces and kindly sat us in a closed off section of the cab. Lesson: Speaking English to someone who cannot understand does not always work in your favor. ;) Cinque Terre is a destination in Italy that encompasses 5 tiny sea side towns built on the cliffs of northern Italy. It is known for the 9km (about 6 mile) hiking trail that connects all of the towns. Coming from the Northwest, we were very excited to hike and explore cities that were NOT major acropolises! And, it rests on the Mediterreannean and us Washintonians are always looking for water that is warmer than 50 degrees. Our first night there, we made some new friends and met up with them brrright and early the following morning to set off on our hike. It was hot and humid amidst the foliage and narrow, exposed cliffs, and the views were absolutely breathtaking. Trudging along on a vertically winding trail that at times put a stairmaster to shame, we took advantage of the picturesque scenes as much as possible. The direction we chose to go proved to be better than if we had approached the route from the opposite direction, because there were long stretches where we seemed to be walking down some very steep steps.

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Despite the heat, we Seattlites fared well on the trail, especially with the prospect of the mythical beach in Monterosso (the last of the five towns). It was our pot of gold--the sandy beach we had heard of and longed for, but didn't actually know if it really existed. All doubts were extinguished as the beach came into view and we began scoping out the perfect place for our 11-person group to park it. We settled in, basked in the sun for as long as our overheated bodies could handle, and then swam out to a stretch of rocks off the shore.

After stopping in Nice, France for a quick bit to eat, we made our way into Italia for our last half of our month-long gluttonous vacation!

Looking back at the first town, Riomaggiori from the trail
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With an abundance of gelato in our bellies, and sand in every crevice, we went back to Riomaggiore and enjoyed a delicious meal off the main "road." In case you ever get the chance, try the gnocchi (potato dumplings) filled with fresh cheese and tomatoes, and covered in pesto. It was to die for.

The friends we had met had to continue on with their itinerary, so we enjoyed two more nights in the town and had the chance to meet more friends. Our days were filled with sunny skies and warm waters, and our evenings with bottles of ludicrously inexpensive wine on the rocks of the port with good company. The last day of our time in Cinque Terre, Shaina's friend Jen, and her mom, met up with us for one last day on the beach and an elegant dinner on the cliffs. With this evening being fourth of July, a local hostel took advantage of the excuse to throw a party in the streets, and we "enjoyed" the metal-like covers of American songs a local band was playing. At 1 a.m., the police came, gently shushed us, laid their heads on their hands, and said "Good-a night-a." After a couple more glasses of wine, and interesting conversations encircling differences in accents, we followed their advice. Afterall, we did have a train to catch at 6 o'clock the following morning...