THE CINQUE TERRE

After fair Verona, we hopped on the train again and headed West. We had a quick stop in Milan which allowed us to get a quick bite to eat and allowed us to say we went to Milan - sort of. Then, we got on another train that took us straight to Monterosso, the fifth town in the Cinque Terre, where we stayed the next two nights. (Cinque Terre means five lands and is part of the Italian Riviera on the Northwest coast of Italy.) As we exited the train station in Monterosso we saw this:

 looking right

 and then left (you can almost see the four other towns too)

It may have been the most magical part of the trip.

To put it simply the Cinque Terre is beautiful. We visited four out of the five towns, and every town is unique but with amazing views, kind people, and delicious food. This was the place I had high hopes for, and it lived up to all my expectations. It is my dream to have a home here someday. Ah, a girl can dream right?

After taking in the views and picking our jaws up off the floor, we found our hotel, checked in, and then hit the beach. This town is more beach resort like with a large beach, umbrellas, and a crowd of people. However, something unexpected is the sand, or really lack there of. The "sand" is really a bunch of small rocks, and they hurt! But the clear, turquoise water and calm waves quickly make up for that.

That evening we ate at a little restaurant just around the corner from our hotel. Being on the water, the Cinque Terre is known for it's seafood. It is also known for its pesto, so Mat ordered jumbo shrimp, and I ordered pesto spaghetti. We also ordered lemon and balsamic swordfish for an appetizer and tiramisu for dessert. YUM!

 notice the whole shrimp - eyes and all

 we also ordered Cinque Terre wine as the hills surrounding the five towns are filled with olive and grape vineyards

The next morning, we took the train to Riomaggiore, town number one, to take the Via Dell'Amore hike which runs along the coast to the second town Manarola. Many people come to the Cinque Terre just to hike along the five towns. As for us, the simplest, and lucky for us most famous, hike would do. This hike is known as a lover's hike so it included many locks along railings and graffiti on the walls through an enclosed section of the hike.

 people swimming in the gorgeous water below

 Mat & Lauren 12-28-07 (with a heart around it, duh)

 drink break (it was toasty out)

 almost to Manarola

 we found my sister's hairband she left the week before

 our lock - M+L (carved with the hotel key :)

 <3

 here's where we put our lock

 tossing the key into the sea and true love it shall be (OK I made that last part up)

In Manarola we had one of the best lunches - pesto ravioli for Mat and pesto and mozzarella pizza for me. Oh so yummy.

After lunch we wandered down to the harbor. In part of the harbor there is a swimming area that looked like so much fun. Just look at that clear water!

Next, we headed back to Monterosso to hit up the beach again and on the way got to experience the true danger of the trains that we had been warned about. People literally stand next to this tunnel, and bullet trains that take this line too come flying out of the tunnel with powerful wind that nearly takes your breath away; people have actually been killed in years past, so I'm not entirely being a sissy. Thankfully there is a warning that comes on the speaker (in Italian and English) to stay behind the yellow line (which is probably two feet from the track). You also start to feel cold wind coming out of the tunnel. After the first time this happened Mat turned to me saying how cool that was. I told him I wasn't so sure as I had grabbed him and closed my eyes. Haha.

As you can tell by my ramblings and many pictures, we were in love with the Cinque Terre. And guess what? I'm only half way done. Come back later for the Cinque Terre part 2, and I will tell you about the rest of our day in Monterosso and our stay in Vernazza.