Cinque Terre

A day in the sun...

Cinque Terre is one of the most beautiful places I have ever been to. It is composed of 5 towns (hence the name "five lands"), spread along the mountainous west coast of Italy. You can hike from town to town - it typically takes about 6 hours. We chose the hike from the farthest town, Monterosso, to the next town, Vernazza. It took two somewhat strenuous hours, but it was well worth it! The views were amazing!
What is also very impressive, is the fact that the hillsides are used for agriculture - mainly grapes and olives. The farmers have mechanical cart contraptions to carry them - and the harvest - up and down the mountainsides. (What I want to know, is what they did before the mechanical system. Perhaps I'll look into that. Right after I finish my thesis. Ha.)

For lunch, Nicole and I shared a seafood risotto. It was, by far, the best seafood I can ever remember having. We topped it off with some signature Cinque Terre white wine.


Afterwards, we trained it back to Montorosso to lay on the beach and swam in the ocean for a few hours before returning to Sesto. The water was so blue (think, Torch Lake blue for you Michiganders!), and the perfect temperature. I felt like I was on some exotic vacation - not at all at school. What a nice Friday get-away! Sunday will be a long day of work, but let's just play for now.