28 June: Day TenHighlights of the Day:
We traveled across the country to the Cinque Terre! The big buses can't get into the small Cinque Terre towns. So they drop us off at the train station in Levanto and the group just has to hop a train for one stop. As we waited for the next train to Monterosso, Travis entertained us with tales of his travels. We were all enthralled with his stories and then suddenly the skies opened up for a torrential down pour. We arrived in Monterosso a bit wet, but hopeful that the storms would now clear up!
Rebecca and I set off to find dinner. We walked to the old part of town and looked at different places. We found, especially in Italy, that many of the restaurants were a step above what we wanted. These places expected you to get multiple courses, when we really just wanted one. We were losing hope at finding a relaxed place to sit and linger when we discovered a lovely courtyard with a wine bar and a simple menu! Perfetto! We had a memorable evening sitting there drinking the local wine, eating pizza, and gelato! Rick is always saying to take a vacation from your vacation. This is the place to do just that. |
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29 June: Day ElevenHighlights of the Day:
There were so many options as to what we could do in the Cinque Terre. Our last time here, we had taken the train and explored the five towns, we rode the boat to see them all from the water, and we had walked the Via dell'Amore. So THIS time Rebecca's choice was to have a beach day! We rented beach chairs and an umbrella and were beach bums all day! On an Italian beach there is some pretty fabulous people watching. I actually love how uninhibited the Italians are about their bodies. There were people of all shapes and sizes in all different types of beach wear and nobody seemed to care what they looked like! Besides people watching, we read our books, ate yummy focaccia, listened to the waves and napped. It really was a vacation from our vacation.
Of course, only us fair skinned people could huddle under an umbrella all day and STILL get a sunburn. Rebecca ended up with one sunburned knee! It could have been worse. Travis had organized an optional happy hour again at our hotel on this evening. Everyone brought something to share, and we all had fun finding out what adventures everyone had that day! There was no need to worry if our group would have a chance to bond! In fact this was one of the more connected tour groups we had been a part of! We all reluctantly ended the happy hour and made our way to dinner. We were feeling a bit wary from having to decide on a dinner location every night, especially since this was not one of our strengths! But we spotted a casual place with a view of the water and went in to get a table. As we sat down another mother daughter duo from our group was there too, so we all decided to eat together. Sometimes that is the unexpected fun of running into other tour members and making memories! |