Cinque Terra was very beautiful. We were able to get to all 5 of the towns in the region.


We quickly adjusted to the Italian way of eating! Gelato, pastries, spaghetti, lasagna, calzone, panini, seafood, tiramisu, spritz, pizza, wine, wine & more wine. We’ve been taking in more than our fair share, for sure. However, each day we’ve been hiking from town to town. The trails are very difficult, but the sites are amazing. Each is approximately 2-3 miles & the elevation change is significant. We rented a room in Vernazza from a beautiful old Italian lady that didn’t speak a stitch of English. The negotiation process & the instructions from her were quite confusing. Not sure we understood everything, but she really wanted us to make sure & turn out the lights. Our dinner the last night in Vernazza was the best we’ve experienced so far, and that is saying a lot because the food really is incredible.

Dinner is a different experience than we are used to. The restaurants are quaint little places where people gather to talk to others & enjoy good food & wine. Each evening we pick a place & are seated at a small table, very near others. Conversation is simple because you are virtually dining together since your tables are no more than 6 inches apart. It’s been a very fun experience and w e’ve met several couples from all over the world. Everyone’s been nice, other than a couple of crabby locals.

Last night we met 2 others couples while doing our laundry. Even doing laundry is a time to visit & have a drink.

They weren’t even doing laundry, just thought it would be a good place to hang out for a while. They were from Paris & Portland, very fun people. We are actually traveling to Lucca today based on the high recommendation from the French couple we met last night.

We just arrived in Lucca and found an open B&B (in the pouring rain). We’re heading out to explore the city today & move on to Florence tomorrow. Hoping the weather warms up a bit!

Bye for now!