Cinque Terre 7/10

I have had such a fun day! This morning we woke up a little earlier to get to the Cinque Terre at a good time. The Cinque Terre is a chain of 5 towns along the coast and they are perched on cliffs-some call it the Italian riviera. The lady renting us the house told us to take the train from La Spezia as it was much easier than any other method of trasnport. So we drove to La Spezia and  rode to Corniglia (the third town in the bunch). Brynn, Grandma, and Grandpa decided they didn't want to go on a hike with us so they continued on the train to Vernazza to meet us there. Once in Corniglia Mom, Dad, and I got a sandwich and cold water so we were energized for the walk. Then, we made the hour and a half trek from Corniglia to Vernazza. It was such a beautiful hike despite the heat and steep climb. We loved the view because the trail went up very high. Along the way there were accordian players and people selling their goods (although everyone was too hot and sweaty to think about shopping for souvenirs). I thought the Cinque Terre was one of the best parts of our trip so far. After the long but rewarding hike we met up with the rest of the family in Vernazza. I got some more water and a little gelato to refresh me after the hike. We looked around Vernazza but it wasn't as interesting as I thought it might have been. Then, we took the train to Monterosso, the fifth and furthest village in Cinque Terre. This village is closer to the sea and actually had a good stretch of rocky beach. Brynn and Grandma couldn't resist the cool water-both went and dipped their feet in. After exploring Monterosso and determining that it was a little too touristy we headed back to La Spezia via the train. Then we drove to a grocery store to get dinner. We bought a lot of fruit and stocked up on water and juice. Upon heading back to the villa we stopped at the pizzaria that Angela works at. We had a snack and continued to converse with her. We found out she grew up in Canada and speaks 4 languages. She loves talking to us because she says she never gets to practice her English. After that we headed up the hill with our groceries. Since it wasn't very late we hung out by the pool and played Monopoly Deal. Tomorrow we are going to sleep in. I am really enjoying Italy because it is warm and has a lot to do!

Views from our hike

Rocky beach at Monterosso