Day 13, Vernazza (Cinque Terre)

So I got the heck out of Florence, where my hostel was absolutely miserable. I was eaten alive by mosquitoes both nights but the window wasn't open so I don't know how they got in. I hopped on the train and headed to Pisa for a quick stop to see the leaning tower. I paid the €15 to climb to the top which some might say is too much, but it was kind of cool to climb up, since the stairs would lean this way and then that way, and then back the other way. It felt a bit like I had had too much vino. After the quick trip, I got back on the train and headed over to Cinque Terre. For those of you that might not be familiar with this place, it's a national park made up of five little towns on the coast. There's lots of hiking trails, a couple beaches, and great views. The town I'm staying in has only 500 residents and everyone knows everyone. As soon as I walked out of the train station I thought I was in a Disneyland version of the Italian Riviera, everything was so clean and cute and everyone is just so happy!

I'm staying in Vernazza which is this little beauty here. There are trails connecting the five towns, and on my first night I attempted to hike to the fifth town, Monterosso, but this was as far as I got which was as far as I needed to go to experience the gorgeous view. I'm staying in a room in a lady's house that doesn't speak a word of english, but the room is on a quiet little street up not too many stairs. All of these little towns cling to cliffs and hillsides, so stairs are inevitable anywhere you go. I consider myself lucky to only have to climb about three or four flights.

There's not a whole lot to do here except hike (did that yesterday) and relax, so today I went up to Monterosso and enjoyed the beach. It a rather pebbly beach, but the lack of sand means the water stays really clear. You can go out in the water pretty far and still clearly see fish swimming under your feet. Much different than California beaches where you're scared to stand up because you can't see what you might be stepping on. Tomorrow I take a long train ride (about 7 hours) to Venice, my last stop in Italy. I think I'll turn in early so the 4:30 alarm isn't quite so painful....