it’s been an almost internet-free vacation, even though i booked every accommodation WITH internet. I know, people tell me I should chill and enjoy life, but they don’t get that I enjoy myself on my computer! I wish I’d had more time to drop a line here once in a while, but what are you going to do? We’ve been having a good time, maybe a bit stressed out whenever we’re driving anywhere though. It’s fun sometimes figuring stuff out, but I think I’ll be glad to be home where I can ask for directions!
The first 3 days we spent in an amazing place called Cinque Terre. this is 5 cities perched on the edge of the cliff in the northern part of what I’m choosing to call the Mediterranean Sea. It’s probably not the right sea, but if you chose to be my friend for my geography skills, you’ve probably figured out you were misinformed to say the least!
we stayed in Riomaggiore which is the southernmost of the 5 cities. We stayed at a lovely little hotel called the L’Arcobaleno. The italians have their priorities set predictably - we had little or no personal hygiene tools in the hotel (for example, soap), but there was a magnificent cappuccino machine in every room!
the 5 cities are linked by a 12km (7.2mile) path which in a weak mental moment we decided to tackle in one day. 7 miles doesn’t sound like much, but each of these cities is down at sea level and separated by mountains that are about 12,000 feet high (ok, maybe between 1-2000 feet, but it FELT like 12,000!) Seriously, this was an extremely strenuous hike to the three of us past 45, but of course Kyle didn’t even break a sweat, and claimed he never felt any pain in his calves the next day! Ok, enough with the whining, it was absolutely glorious! Each of the 5 cities had it’s own character, so we chose to have lunch at most of them. Lindsay suggested this as she’d made the hike the week before, and she also suggested we take the train out and hike back (she did the opposite and the most difficult part of the hike was at the end).
Probably one of the best parts of the hike was when we came upon a bar set in the side of the cliff right before the easiest part of the hike back to home. Sitting all by itself was a luxury, but add in some local beer and we were in heaven.
We dined well, pizza, fish, and of course we had to taste the local chianti. Kyle had orange juice at one restaurant (La Lampara) that you literally had to chew - it was more like eating an orange than drinking juice!
After the relaxing dinner, we went out to watch the sunset on Via D’ell Amore, or lover’s lane (Kyle especially liked being there with his parents!)
here’s a link to some of the photos from the Cinque Terre days:
