Una noite to remember.

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Chau Bella!

Its me again and I'm writing from Florence, Italy. We spent 3 days in Cinque Terre and it was one of the most beautiful places I've ever been to. The last night was more than memorable.

We decided to get some late night gelato (I am OBSESSED with the gelato here...it is SO yummy). After the gelato we thought we would walk around town to try to sample 2 of the Cinque Terre wines. We found a little bar with a couple of musicians singing traditional Italian songs. They passed us a booklet with American songs and explained that they were a live karaoke band.

I got a little excited and picked a song (No Woman, No Cry). By this time what we thought was our wine had arrived. Our wine was not wine at all, but rather grappa. If you have ever had grappa you would know. It is TERRIBLE. It tastes a little like I would imagine rubbing alcohol would taste.

During the unsuccessful No Woman No Cry set, we discovered that our musicians spoke Portuguese. They had been to Brazil various times and even knew some Caetano Veloso and Gilberto Jill songs.

Later a Tuscan woman with blue eyes walked in and sang a bunch of Italian traditional songs. Her voice was beyond anything I have ever heard live. The bar was packed and most people sang along with the woman. There were times when all was silent except for the woman. Her voice was so amazing that nobody even spoke. We felt like we had front seats to a Cinque Terre culture show. 😊

The musicians befriended us and bought us some traditional shots. They included a pre-bite of lemon with sugar and coffee (pretty tasty).

After the bar closed the musicians invited us out. The grappa made us feel adventurous enough to join them. We walked through the town and ended up in a cliff opening to the sea. One of the musicians suggested we skinny dip. Again, the grappa helped in that decision making process.

The skinny dipping experience was unforgettable. The water was warm and the moon was the only source of light. I swam for a while and then attempted to climb back up. The rocks were slippery with algae so I slipped a few times. When I got back to shore I realized that my toe was not okay. There was a big chunk of it that was no longer there (eww).

I cried for awhile while Michelle and our new friends patched up my foot. I knew that I had watched some show on the Discovery Channel about someone dieing of algae poisoning. I told my new friends to prepare my funeral and that I did not want to be buried but rather cremated and spread over the Mediterranean (again, the grappa).

No need to fret...my toe is slowly getting better. I might even NOT die of algae blood poisoning. hehehehehe

Florence has been a great time as well. We spent the day in Siena and we will be moving on to Rome tomorrow.

I hope to get pictures on this thing soon.

I hope all is well!

Chau!

Tati

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Comments

[lynn]

Hello, i read your delightful adventure, how expensive do things seem there, we are going in march for 1st time.. thx

[Tati B]

Hello Lynn: Thanks for reading about my current adventure! :) We are budgeting by staying at hostels and 1 star hotels. You can find them for about E$20 per person per night or a little less. Food in France, Spain, and Italy is a bit pricey. Make sure to buy food at bar tops and eat outside on a bench or in a park. If you sit at a table at the same restaurant your food is usually 20% more expensive! My friend bought a water and was charged $4.50 instead of $2 because we sat down! I hope that helps! Tatiana