Today was our first full day in Italy. We are staying in Cinque Terre, an Italian National Park featuring five historic fishing villages that could only be accessed by sea until the railroad arrived in 1929. The five villages and the park named after them are collectively "Cinque Terre," which in English means ... wait for it ... Five Villages! It is a picture postcard place with beautiful, brightly colored homes clinging to the sides of sheer cliffs, like infants to their mothers. We are staying in Monterosso al Mare, the northern most and largest of the villages. We rented a lovely apartment overlooking the Mediterrenean Sea. Moving south from Monterosso al Mare, the villages are Venazza, Corniglia, Manarola and Riomaggiore. Today we began to explore ... After a good night's sleep, listening to waves crash
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