Wednesday, June 29, 2011

Iceland/France/Italy Day 16: Boat to Monterosso

May 14, 2011
Italy Day 16: Boat to Monterosso

This morning the weather was excellent, so we were up and off to the boats! I didn't get to do this last time I was in Cinque Terre so I was super excited to take the boat trip between the villages. The weather was nice and clear and the boat trip was really fun. It was amazing to see the villages from the water and all the way up the mountains behind the villages too. A great opportunity for photos and video!

We got off the boat at Monterosso and it was much more awesome than I remembered. I had a feeling it was very touristy and overrun with people last time, but it was totally fine and great this time. The weather was so warm and just outstanding. Norm and I chilled on the beach for a bit, and I got a Bruschetta and a Cafe Shakkerato. Ahh soo good. Norm bought a gelato with a weird flavour called "A.C.E." which had pictures of fruit and what looked like a carrot. We finally figured out later that this must be a gelato with lots of fruits which have Vitamin A, C, and E in them. It was good.

Norm and I wandered back to the other part of Monterosso and found Mom and Dad. We switched groups and Norm and Dad sat on a bench for a while and Mom and I went for some more food. I got a caprese salad and a mojito and we enjoyed a nice view from a pretty darn well priced spot right on the beach.  Dad and Norm joined us for a gelato and then we headed back to the boat. The boat back the other direction was at a nice time for photos and I took a lot of pics on the way home.

We had a big dinner with lots of cheese and other tasty stuff and then just chilled at the apartment for the evening. Matt Parrott let me borrow his Alain de Botton book called "Consolations of Philosophy" and I finished that off while sitting on a nice lounge chair in our courtyard, overlooking Riomaggiore harbour. It was glorious.

Lots of schlepping lately, so we had a nice coffee with the moka pot in our apartment and went to bed early.

Funny pic of Mom posing and Norm walking around the corner form our apartment
Some local folks chatting at the morning truck market
Walking towards the boat dock in Riomaggiore
Riomaggiore harbour
Me rockin' my classy new scarf
Riomaggiore from the water 1
Riomaggiore from the water 1
Riomaggiore train station from the water
Towards Manarola
Nearing Corniglia
Beautiful Vernazza
Getting closer to Vernazza
Arriving at Vernazza to pick up more people
Some people enjoying the weather
Coming up to Monterosso
Man at the beach with his dog
Beach umbrellas
The view from our lunch spot
Lunch: Bruschetta and a Cafe Shakkerato
Photo along Monterosso Beach
Heading back out
Looking back at Monterosso
Cool cafe in the rocks in Vernazza
Vernazza
Corniglia
Long steps up to Corniglia
Landslide that caused one of the walking paths to close
Past Manarola
Almost "home"! Arriving back at Riomaggiore
Riomaggiore harbour from the water
Mom and Dad sharing a gelato
Sweet cat near our apartment
The cute cat's louder, more aggressive friend. This guy was pretty nuts!
The cute cat looking a bit nervous cause his cat friend was crazy
Gorgeous view from Riomaggiore Harbour

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