A little piece of heaven.....

Let me start by saying that I am sorry for the delay on these post however everywhere I have been so far in Italy has not had decent internet.  On one hand it was really nice to be able to completely disconnect....on the other hand it made planning and blogging quite difficult.  I am back in the world of technology now and will try and catch you up to speed with the travels in the next couple of posts.

Both Kelsey and I had been told by numerous people that we needed to get to Cinque Terre if at all possible so we decided to take the advice of our friends and traveled in to the lovely costal villages.  We booked a room in a town called Vernazza.  It is the 4th of the 5

Harbor in Vernazza

 villages.  Now these are remote little villages that have maintained the old world feel...that means no lifts and a ton of stairs.  I was just praying that I didn't have to carry my suitcase up or down hundreds of stairs to get to our place.  When we got out of the train we were still in a tunnel because only a couple of the train cars can fit at the station.  We rolled our suitcases to the stairs into town...score only about 25 and it's downhill!  Upon entering the town it was a bit like going back in time.  Skinny cobble streets where cars are not allowed, colorful buildings built into the side of hills, and tons of people milling about in the streets or sitting on the sidewalks eating gelato.  It was gorgeous yet so simple.  It was

View of Vernazza 

hard to believe that this town just one year ago had been through a tragic flood that destroyed quite a bit of it.  If you look it up you can see video of what happened.  They have all been working so hard to rebuild.  It felt good to be a part of the tourist economy they so greatly depend on to survive during the time they really need it.
Our time in Cinque Terre was so simple yet one of the most fulfilling spots.  Every morning we got up early and went on one of the hikes you can take between the villages.  The first day we hiked into Corniglia which is the smallest and most inland of the villages.  The hike was beautiful and gave us a view into the town we were staying in.  We also discovered our favorite restaurant tucked

Restaurant worth hiking too.

into the hillside at the end of the hike.  We had a couple of meals there.  It had such a gorgeous view and the people who owned it were so kind.  On our last night we even hiked in to eat there because the bruschetta was so amazing we had to have it one more time. Just so you know the restaurant photo was taken on our last night not after the hike....I promise we didn't follow our 3 hour hike with bottle of wine.
The second hike we did was into the town of Montorosso.  This town was the most touristy of the villages but still was quaint.  It had a lovely beach that we spent most of the day on.  The water was so clear and blue and felt just like a swimming pool.  When we finished with the day

Doesn't get much better then this.

of sun we would head back into town and either eat at a water front restaurant or just get some focaccia and wine from the local stores, sit on the rocks and enjoy the view.
I really can't explain the simplicity and beauty of this place.  It is some where you just have to go to truly grasp it.  I now understand all that those of you who have been were trying to tell me about this place.  Everyone was so friendly and you could really get the sense of the old style of local community.  All the shop keepers would stand outside and chat with each other.  As you walked you would see the guy who just sold you a bottle of wine eating a cone of gelato at the shop across the street.  They all know each other...even when we arrived we were supposed to phone the woman we were renting the room from but we couldn't get through so we popped into the shop next-door and they called her up for us.
I have fallen in love with this place and would come back in a heart beat.  We were so sad to leave this beautiful spot but grateful that we had the experience.  As we rolled our suitcases up the hill and on to the train we tried to prepare ourselves for

We will miss you Cinque Terre!

the next stop on our Italy tour which is Rome!!!