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Published: April 21st 2015
Today was our last full day in Cinque Terre and we had planned to take the ferry between the five villages and photograph them from the sea.
The Sea ... however ... had different ideas.
It was storming and raining and we were told the ferry would be unable to dock at the villages. Maybe next trip.
So once again we hopped on the train ... this time to Corniglia, the only Cinque Terre village not on the water. When we arrived we climbed from the station up a tall staircase to this small but beautiful mountain top village.
We took a couple of rest stops but we made it to the summit. We spent about 90 minutes walking the narrow streets of this village that about 200 people call home. The word "quaint" comes to mind, but we also wondered what life must be like, when you have to haul everything up a mountainside, just to live life. Maybe that explains why only 200 people live here.
After Corniglia, we were off to Vernazza, the final stop on our Cinque Terre tour.
In Vernazza we were able to solve one of the larger problems
we have faced. It turns out Malcom only packed "short" socks, and they keep "sliding into his shoes." As we left the train station, we were accosted by a street vendor selling proper socks. The vendor wanted 10 Euro, but after some fierce bargaining we agreed to pay 4.
We strolled the village and watched the angry sea from the sea wall.
After a short visit, Jeff and Tyler hit the hiking trail where they climbed 750 vertical feet out of Vernazza and then hiked five miles, through the national park and back to Moterosso.
The rest of us were less adventurous. We took the train back to Moterosso. We agreed that we would go back to the apartment, drop all the gear and then meet the hikers at 7:00 for a beer, followed by dinner.
Upon our arrival at the apartment, we realized there was a significant flaw in our well laid plans. The first apartment key was in Tyler's pocket, and the second was in Jeff's pocket. Thus began a frantic search for a wi-fi signal, so we could email the hikers, notifying them that we did not have a key.
We are
embarrassed to say that it took us a bit to realize "so what." Even if the hikers knew we had no key, what were THEY going to do about it.
Ultimately, we used the time before 7:00 to enjoy the narrow streets of Monterosso and to find a good restaurant for dinner ... and did we ever find a good restaurant for dinner. It was a wonderful seafood place and our meals were fantastic. Karen said it was "the best meal she of her life." We were assured that our meals had been swimming that morning.
It was a great send off for this first part of our journey.
Tomorrow we are off to Rome.
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Kris
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Grandpa's socks
Oh my god the Nikolai family LOVE grandpa's new socks....classic Malcolm! I asked Cassidy what she thought of the socks she responded "I have no words to describe them" you can always count on Malcolm for a good story! Sounds like you are having a good time!