To everyone who has been to, told us about, or seen a postcard about Cinque Terre you were all correct.
We arrived on a beautiful saturday afternoon. Average temperature this time of year is around 75 degrees. It took no more than 10 minutes to find the hostel reception desk as the directions read 'go through tunnle turn left, walk one hundred meters, 94 de columbo'. When we arrived we were greeted with bold Ciao Bella or hello pretty and were quickly ushered down three flights of stairs under the train tracks and through a passage way. And then it happened, we realized our room was less than a stones throw an Audreys throw from the water, my sisters 1 year old. We spent the evening wondering through our village, Riomaggiore, and in less then 15 minutes viewed every corner. The next day we decided to do the 5 village hike instead of spending the day at the beach as weather was not permitting, based on Mals bias. Cinque Terre literally means, 5 villages, our village is the most southern on the map and was ideal to start the hike. Each village is literally built into the rock faces of the sea and houses it's own personality. The first portion of the hike is known as the 'romantic road' and let's be honest it was only romantic until the pavement ended. Breathtaking outlooks in every direction brings you into Manarola which couldnt have been anymore then 20 minutes from the start. We blew right through on our way to Corniglia which is rightfully seated atop 381 steps from the pathway. We enjoyed fresh paninis, literally the best on earth, as we wondered the church of st. david and the 'tower' view which looks back on the first two villages. From vilage 3 to village 4 this is where Rick Steves strongly encourages the older varierty of traveler to descend back down the stairs and take the train. We pressed on through what seemed to be the rain forest of Italy and met another lovely Aussie couple who tried to teach us Aussie rule futbol. With no sucess in learning the sport it took our minds off of the trek at hand. As we arrived into Vernazza the Aussie took the wrong step and tumbled down a few of the stairs, panic stricken we helped. We left our friends at the gelazzi station as we headed towards the most difficult portion of the hike, Vernazza to Monterosso. Trying to entertain our tired minds we imagined the sandy beach awaiting us around every corner. After 4 hours and 7 miles finally the monotanous up and down finally stopped as we arrived at Monterosso. As we approached the sandy beach we realized what sandy in the med. sea really means, rock shards and rip curls. We each had one go of entering the water and it wasnt pretty for either of us. While mike was enjoying the wonderful warm green water of the med sea an Italian man who was also swimming yelled for him. Mike said hi back and quickly realized he wasnt gesturing for international relations. Mike swam over said he didnt speak Italian, the man quickly translated HELP HELP!!. Mike, being the 4 year lifeguard veteran, he was drug the man to shore and was politely thanked or scorned were not sure. We spent the evening dining to cold lasagna and two plates of penne salmon. We met back up with a friend we had made in Barcelona and all watched the sun go down over the northwestern part of the sea.
Our second day was spent doing laundry, relaxing, and researching hostels for rome. We plan on having a dinner on the water tonight and look forward to returning to the center of the old world.
Things we learned in Cinque Terre
1) in small italian coastal touristy villages everything but the bar closes at 8pm.
2) there are random cats in every village and even more on the hike.
3) don't buy a train ticket when you dont need one.
4) If you meet a Urkraine women who says shes from Canada living in Switzerland for the last year ask for a new room.
Things we loved in Cinque Terre
1) everything
2) Mike reading his book infront of the sea
3) the small village passageways.
4) 6 euro 'round' pizza
5) everything
6) paying 3 euro for a becks at dinner since we dont know the right way to order tap water
much love m&m
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