Paradise

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Hi Everyone,

It is our last night here in Cinque Terre, otherwise known as the most beautiful place on the earth. We wished we could spend more time here, we've only been here two days and a night, but we are running out of time and still have to get all the way to Barcelona and back to Paris on a somewhat comfortable pace with some other stops along the way.

Our hostel in Manarola is like a luxury prison. We actually enjoy it a lot, because it is really well organized and everything runs smoothly due to the many, many rules, such as that we are not allowed to leave the hostel before 7 am. We also only receive one coin for a five-minute shower a day. They do have many board games to play though and Lindsey and I have played some intense late-night games of Scrabble and Trivial Pursuit.

Overall, we have spent the last few days eating really great seafood, drinking local wine, eating an unhealthy amount of gelato, taking long walks up and down mountains, taking mounds of photos, lying on the beach and attempting to swim in the water without killing ourselves.

Yesterday we found a beautiful, almost deserted beach, that was full of rocks. Lindsey thought it would be a great idea to go for a swim... she was wrong. She has some pretty bad wounds, I'm not gonna lie, but she's a tough cookie, and she will heal just fine, hopefully she says.

After being in Italy for over two weeks we were surprised to find how clean and non-busy Cinque Terre is. Not only is the scenery beautiful, but because it is a National Park, it is incredibly well-preserved. Also, nothing is unaccessible, so you get a very authentic taste of what each town is like. I have taken my share of photos of elderly Italians doing their leisurely activities such as sitting outside of their homes staring at people walk by, and elderly Italians staring out of their windows, and elderly Italians sitting in their homes with the doors open playing the guitar... I've been pretty bold as far as taking pictures of strangers because I know I will never see them again.

We are heading to Nice in the morning where we will be spending two nights and then taking an 11-hour train ride to Barcelona. Gross! But, we are running out of time, so we have to bite the bullet. We are going to buy a travel version of Scrabble or something to make the time go by. We always end up sitting next to the crazies. Always. It never fails. Crazy people are drawn to us, maybe because we are crazy.

Well, so much to say, but so little time. We'll give you the details when we get back home!

Hope everyone is having a fantastic summer!!!

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Photos

Cinque Terre
I took this in an old church in Monterosso, the biggest out of the five villages that make up Cinque Terre. The church is badly needing renovations, but I thought it had a great deal of character nonetheless.

Cinque Terre
In the distance, you can see the small village we were staying in called Manarola. On the left, is one of the many paths that connect the five villages that make up Cinque Terre.