Cinque Terre, Italy

I think I spelled it right but I'm sure I pronounce it wrong when I say it.  Any way you spell it or say it, Cinque Terre is a series of 5 (Cinque) beautiful seaside villages built on the hills rising up from the sea. I would recommend a visit if you are in the area.

We visited 4 of the 5 villages.  I'd recommend picking any 2 of the 5 as by the end of the day #4 looked like #1 and there wasn't much to distinguish them in my mind.  Maybe I need more time here.

We had heard that there were was a walking path along the coast between the villages.  We had also heard that a giant mudslide last year had wiped out the walking paths.  It was true.  The trails should be open again some time in 2013.  Elaine and I would like to come back and walk on the trails between the villages and maybe even stay in one of the villages for a few days.

The streets in the villages rise straight up out of the sea.  In a couple of cases main street goes right down into a harbor.  The buildings are all jammed close together and painted in pastels.  At one of the villages we identified a lookout point and set off without a map to find it.  We wound through the village and climbed flights of stairs between tall buildings on both sides to find the lookout point and were rewarded with wonderful views of the village(s) and sea.  We decided to descend using a path unfamiliar to us.  I'm glad we did.  It was seriously like a 3-dimensional maze, following skinny staircases between buildings and houses all while heading in generally the right direction until we reached main street.  It was really a lot more fun than I've described.

Pesto sauce originated in this very part of the world and so we had some with dinner last night.  It was terrific.  It wasn't a flashy or powerful flavor but I really enjoyed it and hope to have it again before we have to leave.