Monterosso!

Yesterday was a truly fantastic first full day in Italy! We started in Pisa, which was sunny and fun, but over run with tourists. I had expected as much, so we only planned on spending the morning there. We saw the Leaning Tower, the worlds biggest Baptistery, and the duomo. All were beautiful and interesting, but fully loaded with tourists. We enjoyed it greatly and took the necessary "holding the leaning tower" photos...to be posted on fb upon my return (given the number of tourists and pick pockets, we left the iPad at the hotel).

From Pisa, we took a quick train ride to La Spezia and then to Monterosso via the other Cinque Terre towns. It rained almost perfectly only while we were on the train, and then became absolutely beautiful again. Upon arriving in Monterosso, some immediately said to me "Sparty on" when they saw my Spartan hat. The train ride was absolutely gorgeous, humming along the coast on cliffs overlooking the sea.

We quickly left our bags in Monterosso at our apartment and quickly went out to find lunch in the picture perfect town. We settled at a place right on the water, and all devoured the local specialty of some form of spaghetti with lots of seafood. Of course, we doused it off with local wine which hit the spot!! After the lunch, we hiked up to a Nazi pillbox right on the sea. We were able to slide in, as well as take in some great views on the perfect pastel towns right on the sea. We were able to get to a cliff where could see all five of the Cinque Terre towns along the coast, which was breathtaking!

We headed back into town and headed out for our hike. As an avid hiker, I can say that this was one of the most beautiful hikes I have ever done! It took a bit more time with mom, but it allowed us to take in the views. The hike went up the cliffs right above the seas, looping through vineyards and orchards. The path was narrow and rocky, and had a lot of up and down while being lined with wild flowers. It was incredible. The trail passed over several streams and waterfalls, with fantastic views of the sea, the terraced cliff sides, and the towns. Mom loved the smell of the lemon orchards mixed with the sea. We hiked about three miles, winding up in Vernazza-- picture in the previous post. We spent quite a bit of time in the town right on the sea and went onto the beach. We watched the beautiful sunset and took in a marvelous dinner on the town square. Once again,local specialties of seafood, pesto, and pasta; along with a liter of the local wine--just fabulous. We zipped back to our apartment and caught a full nights rest.

This morning we had a great breakfast in a little mom and pop shop along the picturesque streets of Monterosso and are currently en route on a train to Venice! Beautiful countryside and making lots of friends-- really it is very enjoyable! Looking forward to getting online somewhere in Venice so I can post this!

So far, everything has been absolutely fantastic. We are sending lots of happy thoughts to family and friends back home. More to come after Venice!