Ciao, so close to going home for break, but not yet. In June I lived it up in the sun! Yes beaches and bikinis. Went to a few local beaches near Rome - Ostia and Neptuno. Of course I had to get another trip in, I did a girls trip with a few of my favs in Italy to Cinque Terre, Italy. So I am so in love with place, it peaceful and its more of a towny feeling then island like Capri. Its translated to mean 5 towns. I had a picture of one of the towns at the screen saver on my work computer so this was definitely a lot of internal satisfaction for me being able to go. I was happy to have friends along for the ride. So the 5 towns are Monterosso, Vernazza, Manarola, Corniglia and Riomaggiore (where we stayed). Its along the Italian Riviera north of Florence closer to Genova. Its all calm towns with less tourist than other towns, but very tranquil.
Monterosso ( is the 5th town or the furthest one north) its more touristy than the others. This where we went swimming and the beach was amazing but very crowded. Best bet is to stay at a hotel here that have assingned blocked of spots on the beach so that you can get a chair. We had lunch on the beach everything was really good. Like any place near the water I always get the seafood.
Vernazza very pretty town a must see, beach not as nice as Monterosso but the water on the rocks were perfect. The town buildings are really nice and colorful.
Manarola Can not go to Cinque Terre without going here. This is were all the amazing pictures of this island are taken.
Corniglia a distant hill town. Seemed very seculded, if you had to miss any this would be the one.
Riomaggiore, makes you feel like you are on a shooting in hollywood for an Italian city. It what you expect to see when you land when you come of the plan. Small restaurants and markets, beautiful views. We had ahmazing dinner at place along the water.
When you are in Cinque Terre make sure you get Anchovies (it must be their favorite there) and fresh Pesto. Its known for a perfect Nature hike. I didn't do it this time but will go back and try to walk along the towns instead of taking the train. Its 7 miles total walk and said to be done in 4 hours. Would like to go back with a lover, there are images of people kissing all over. There is Via dell' Amore, where couples place a lock on a gate to seal their love (awwwwwww). I think this is a cute idea (hint hint wink wink)
It was an ahhhmazing place to be, so much landscape and the towns were so close but each with their own identity and history.
From here we decided to visit Pisa. Yes Yes the Leaning Tower. However, we found out that there was a lot more than just that there. lol This was the weekend of Father's Day so I called my Dad told him that I was ok and that I was having dinner looking at the Leaning Tower and that I should have been on my way home but we realized after we got off the train that was the last train to Rome that night. OMGGGGG!
After evaluating several options and meeting all types of random Pisans we (looking like tourist, with backpacks and cameras) stayed around Pisa instead of finding a hotel for the earliest train, chillen at whatever place was open until this random night train that came through at like 3am arrived. Yes we didn't know we were in for a trip of a life time. We ran into a group of men with ponytails, prostitutes, and some pimps. The only thing in Pisa is the Leaning Tower then please make your way back on the train. We started drinking with our new friends in the city as they walked us around the town. Pisa is very small port town with not much there, however there were a lot of young people hanging out late on this Sunday night. We made it out alive and back to Rome, however the train was the scariest sight I have seen in all my time in Europe and even scarier than being in NYC alone at 4 am. Unsafe, dirty, people laying everywhere because they either hopped on or they knew this was the cheap train to Naples.
So whats so great about the Tower is that its 200 feet tall, recently reopened for you to walk to the top. It is made of limestone and brick and hollow in the center. The first stones were laid in 1173, the heavy stones are located on unstable soil. Its 294 stairs and only 40 people are allowed at the top at once.
Here are some pictures:
School graduation. I was just attending but it was nice to see friend graduate and see the ceremony in Rome.
Posts
No comments:
Post a Comment