Not that you care, but I’ve been writing my blog entries in a word document, due to limited internet access, and then copy/pasting them onto my blog whenever I’m online…that was just to clarify any confusion around the posting dates. Minor detail; unimportant.
I forgot to mention that a hotty mchotterson totally checked out mom when she, Heather, and I were walking through Venice one afternoon. We were crossing over a bridge and he smiled when he saw her and gave her a very flirty “ciao”!
Currently on the train to Florence! We just had a wonderful couple of days in Vernazza, one of the five Cinque Terre villages. There was a train strike today, but a few started to run later this afternoon, so we were able to carry on and make our next trip, with no problems at all. In fact, we weren’t likely going to head out in the morning anyways.
Vernazza is the definition of quaint, colourful, and relaxed. The train station is literally within the small town; all we had to do was bring our luggage down the stairs from the station, walk down the main street into the main square, and bring our bags up to our room. Our room was literally in the centre of the main square; we had a top-floor room with a window, looking out to the water. The water, marina, and beach were within steps of our door. It was perfect.
We arrived Wednesday afternoon and settled in. Then we sat at the water, and I dove in. There are lots of fun rocks to climb, and it was amusing to watch the more daring jumpers. I simply went off the dock where the boats come in. And the water was so mild and refreshing…a welcome treat after all the sweating in Venice and Verona. We checked out some of the shops, and had an early night. Unfortunately mom wasn’t feeling too well, so I had a solo evening out for dinner. I had the best spot in town to watch the sunset: on the rocks at the water, with a beer and a delicious piece of pesto pizza. (Being so close to Genova, the Genovese pesto is all the rage; I definitely wanted to get my fill while I was there. Also, focaccia breads are really popular in all five villages. Heaven!) Thursday we headed out early to hike the trails between the villages. Our first trek between Vernazza and Corniglia was the most challenging. We took the higher trail rather than the lower one, unintentionally. The sweat and effort were totally worth it for the views. We stopped in Corniglia for an espresso. I really liked it there, because it was so different from the others. It’s fairly high up, and its people are so inviting. We took the lower trail to the next town, Manarola, and it was significantly easier. This town had some great rocks for jumping and swimming antics. We found a shady spot to enjoy our picnic. En route to the next town, Riomaggiore, we stopped at a little café for a cold treat. There was a lovely view of the coast that we took in. This walk was especially interesting, Via della Amore, with a graffiti-filled tunnel, much of it with themes of love. Riomaggiore was a bit bigger than the others so far. I had a laughing fit in the middle of the street, and I thought mom was still beside me. She wasn’t; I was just the crazy laughing girl. This town is technically the first town (and we stayed in the fourth), so then we took the ferry to the fifth town, Monterosso. In order to catch the last ferry back to Vernazza, we only had about 45 minutes there; because of the train strike, we decided to go back to Monterosso this afternoon, as it was the biggest and seemed to have the most going on.
Mom and I had a nice dinner out last night in the main square. We both ordered one of the town specialties – trofie noodles with Genovese pesto. The noodles look so tiny when you see them sold in the stories, but they puff right up and get quite large! We shared a bottle of wine and crème caramel for dessert. Sitting beside us was a fantastic newly-wed grad-student couple from North Carolina; they’re both studying environmental engineering at a school in France. Anyways, they were good company and it was fun to chat with them.
I had an especially memorable moment on the ferry yesterday between Monterosso and Vernazza. I saw a most beautiful family, and I wished I had the chance to tell them so. The bohemian-looking parents had both biological and adopted children, and there was so much love and affection you could see and feel among all of them. It was really heart-warming and gave me warm fuzzies.
I’m sweating again. It’s hot on the train. I’m contemplating changing my clothes…
I forgot to mention that a hotty mchotterson totally checked out mom when she, Heather, and I were walking through Venice one afternoon. We were crossing over a bridge and he smiled when he saw her and gave her a very flirty “ciao”!
Currently on the train to Florence! We just had a wonderful couple of days in Vernazza, one of the five Cinque Terre villages. There was a train strike today, but a few started to run later this afternoon, so we were able to carry on and make our next trip, with no problems at all. In fact, we weren’t likely going to head out in the morning anyways.
Vernazza is the definition of quaint, colourful, and relaxed. The train station is literally within the small town; all we had to do was bring our luggage down the stairs from the station, walk down the main street into the main square, and bring our bags up to our room. Our room was literally in the centre of the main square; we had a top-floor room with a window, looking out to the water. The water, marina, and beach were within steps of our door. It was perfect.
We arrived Wednesday afternoon and settled in. Then we sat at the water, and I dove in. There are lots of fun rocks to climb, and it was amusing to watch the more daring jumpers. I simply went off the dock where the boats come in. And the water was so mild and refreshing…a welcome treat after all the sweating in Venice and Verona. We checked out some of the shops, and had an early night. Unfortunately mom wasn’t feeling too well, so I had a solo evening out for dinner. I had the best spot in town to watch the sunset: on the rocks at the water, with a beer and a delicious piece of pesto pizza. (Being so close to Genova, the Genovese pesto is all the rage; I definitely wanted to get my fill while I was there. Also, focaccia breads are really popular in all five villages. Heaven!) Thursday we headed out early to hike the trails between the villages. Our first trek between Vernazza and Corniglia was the most challenging. We took the higher trail rather than the lower one, unintentionally. The sweat and effort were totally worth it for the views. We stopped in Corniglia for an espresso. I really liked it there, because it was so different from the others. It’s fairly high up, and its people are so inviting. We took the lower trail to the next town, Manarola, and it was significantly easier. This town had some great rocks for jumping and swimming antics. We found a shady spot to enjoy our picnic. En route to the next town, Riomaggiore, we stopped at a little café for a cold treat. There was a lovely view of the coast that we took in. This walk was especially interesting, Via della Amore, with a graffiti-filled tunnel, much of it with themes of love. Riomaggiore was a bit bigger than the others so far. I had a laughing fit in the middle of the street, and I thought mom was still beside me. She wasn’t; I was just the crazy laughing girl. This town is technically the first town (and we stayed in the fourth), so then we took the ferry to the fifth town, Monterosso. In order to catch the last ferry back to Vernazza, we only had about 45 minutes there; because of the train strike, we decided to go back to Monterosso this afternoon, as it was the biggest and seemed to have the most going on.
Mom and I had a nice dinner out last night in the main square. We both ordered one of the town specialties – trofie noodles with Genovese pesto. The noodles look so tiny when you see them sold in the stories, but they puff right up and get quite large! We shared a bottle of wine and crème caramel for dessert. Sitting beside us was a fantastic newly-wed grad-student couple from North Carolina; they’re both studying environmental engineering at a school in France. Anyways, they were good company and it was fun to chat with them.
I had an especially memorable moment on the ferry yesterday between Monterosso and Vernazza. I saw a most beautiful family, and I wished I had the chance to tell them so. The bohemian-looking parents had both biological and adopted children, and there was so much love and affection you could see and feel among all of them. It was really heart-warming and gave me warm fuzzies.
I’m sweating again. It’s hot on the train. I’m contemplating changing my clothes…
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