ITALIA Weather: Humid, Warm, Partly Cloudy, feels like 80....
Exchange Rate: Same!
ITALIA Adventure Part Due:
After a long day of driving and a late night of drinking, LEGS and I slept in longer then anybody else in the house....so we got a bit of a late start.
After a leisurely morning of drinking Mocha Coffee and eating fresh bread with local Orange Marmalade and Nutella, we began our day. We hiked down the hill and took a train to Riomaggiore, the town furthest away from us.
Once we arrived in Riomaggiore we stopped at a restaurant.(unbeknownst to us is mentioned as a top pick in Rick Steve's travel book) There we enjoyed the best meal I have EVER had. The table clothes were white, we had two waiters, one was a friendly, lovable, old man, the other an attractive blue eyed Italian Stud. We enjoyed several bottles of wine, fresh mussels in a tomato soup, fresh Italian baked bread, a spicy salami pizza, and a fresh Salmon Penne pasta.
Something that is worth mentioning: I have always enjoyed going to loud restaurants because, I am loud, and I blend in better at these type places. But this restaurant was quiet as a library.....I suddenly realized that the food probably tasted better because we weren't distracted by anything else.
We explored Riomaggiore for the afternoon, hiking up the cliffs to look out points. J Lo and I were stopped by a Italian Construction worker who was restoring a house. He invited us inside to see what he was working on.....at first...I hesitated, but then I looked at his face and could see he meant us no harm. We went inside the house and were absolutely awed by the interior. The house was literally cut out of the rock, on the outside was brick, but the walls inside were literally rock. It was stunning and beautiful, it was refreshing that he was so friendly and interesting to see exactly how the people of Cinque Terre live.
Hiking to the next town Manarola, was a pleasant and unique once in a lifetime experience, as it was connected by Via dell' Amore trail. Its a trail along the rocky cliffs of the coast, where the walls are covered with proclamations of love.
In the middle of Riomaggiore and Manarola you will come across 'The Lover's Lock' which is a place to seal your eternal love. At this point there is a concrete throne in the shape of a male and female locked in a kiss, where many people duplicate this creating a loving photographic opportunity.
We were unable to get a photo on the the throne and did not remember to bring a small lock to attach to one of the many gates or rails to seal our eternal love in Cinque Terre, but this only means we MUST return to do so!
We dropped into Corniglia, briefly at the end of the day to take some pictures. In order to enter the town we were initiated first and climbed a footpath that zigzags up 400 stairs.....out of all the towns Corniglia was my least favorite.
Upon return to Levanto, we grabbed a more casual meal at a sidewalk cafe, complete with Gelato Shoppe. LEGS had this incredible Canneloni, I had a Proscuitto Tortellini. After dinner for dessert I had this amazing Amaretto/Tiramisu Gelato concoction with real booze! A stop at the local market for supplies, and a clearance rack of cheap wine, before our hike back up the hill.
That night, was my favorite night in Italy. We sat in the large Italian kitchen, that included a couch, drank too much wine, finished the night with champagne, laughed, told stories, joked around, all the while listening to live music down the hill......
POST SCRIPT: I have noticed that LEGS is more attractive with a child in his lap/arms, then without.
OVER & OUT
Just another day in the life of an unlikely military wife......**
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