Hiking in CT, Day 2

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We woke to glorious sunshine and felt energized to attempt the more difficult section of the Cinque Terre trail between Vernazza and Monterossa, the northern most town. Although shorter in length than yesterday's hikes, it was a steeper and longer climb up to and down from the trail at each end. Breath-taking views abounded that our photos don't do justice to. The clear blue skies intensified the color of the water and the coastline just popped. And wow, was it crowded! This is supposed to be the off-season, people--why are you all here??? Nothing could take away from the spectacular scenery, however. We thoroughly enjoyed this hike, and I was thrilled that despite my lingering cold (and resulting lack of sleep), I dominated all those "stairs" on the trail. We enjoyed meandering through Monterossa, which is the closest thing to a "resort town" in Cinque Terre, with its two wide beaches. It was a lovely town and we could imagine it teaming with sunbathers and activity during the summer months.

After returning to Vernazza on the train, we had a wonderful dinner at Trattoria del Capitano on the harbor--shared the most heavenly local pasta, called trofie, with pesto sauce, seafood frito misto (including baby octopus, calimari, shrimp, crawfish) and whole fresh sea bass. As we finished, we struck up a conversation with the young couple from Capetown, South Africa sitting next to us--thank god for the universal language of World Cup Soccer!

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