cinque terre is without a doubt my favorite part of italy. i think we’ve established this, since i can’t seem to stop going there. one reason i love it: when you’re in cinque terre, you get a really italian vibe*, whereas in more touristy italian cities (venice, rome), you sometimes just feel bombarded with street vendors and cheesy t-shirts. but at the same time, there’s not necessarily a shortage of tourists in cinque terre, so you don’t feel especially foreign or out of place; it’s the perfect balance. i hope it never changes.
*we ate a pizza in vernazza one night and watched a group of little italian children playing soccer in the narrow street (more like a weathered dirt road with not a car in sight), barefoot, while their parents looked on, drinking wine, conversing and loudly laughing with one another in the most animated way. it seemed like everyone was family and as i watched, i thought, “this is italy”.
another fun memory from cinque terre: we stopped at a little art gallery (also in vernazza), where a middle-aged italian man was selling his work. kaitlyn was interested in buying one of his pieces, and asked him how late he’d be open, as she needed to get some euros from the ATM down the road. he told her he was going upstairs, where he lived, for just a bit, but that he’d be back shortly. kailtyn withdrew her euros from the ATM, we returned to the shop, sat in front of it and waited for the man to return….and waited….and waited…and continued to wait. we resorted to taking pictures of ourselves (we looked really great after hiking all day, let me tell you) for about 90 minutes, before giving up and taking the last train back to riomaggiore. kaitlyn decided right then and there that she hated that man with all her heart, and probably always would. but, thankfully, our night was far from ruined, and we have the world’s best nutella crepes to thank for that! (i get them every time i’m in cinque terre – despite the fact that i may or may not be allergic to nutella.)
sigh. i love this place. i don’t even know the next time i’ll be back but i pray it’s within the next year. …….we’ll see how that goes.
"[...] watched a group of little italian children playing soccer in the narrow street [...], barefoot, while their parents looked on, drinking wine, conversing and loudly laughing with one another in the most animated way."
THIS.
I mean, this pretty much describes my (almost-)idyllic childhood in the former Yugoslavia to a T.
(Maybe it's a geographical proximity thing? Heh.)
Also, I soooo hope and pray you're not actually allergic to Nutella because: OMG, freakin' NUTELLA!
And needless to say, love the beautiful, colourful snaps. Ahh, bella Italia!
um, when we go on our great European adventure (because we're still going on our great European adventure next summer), can we go there?! Making me kind of sad I didn't plan it in my upcoming trip - but I guess it's not a good place to hang out with a dude friend who won't want to sit out on the beach all day. SO MUCH LEFT TO SEE!!
Love the colors of the buildings. I can feel the happiness that those buildings must exude. Lovely pictures.
wow, its my first time to your blog. and these pics are amazing.. girl, you are so blessed to be able to travel like this. so beautiful...
Cinque Terre has officially moved to my top five places I NEED to visit! These pictures are bEautiful!
xxx
Jenna
it really sounds and looks amazing there. i hope i can go someday. ;)
::sigh:: i never had a chance to make it to cinque terre when i was over in italy and i regret it. i would love go there on my next european getaway, which will hopefully be next year! (i'm thinking of doing paris, prague and some places in italy) :)
First time visitor and new follower to your blog. Your pictures are wonderful and I'm totally jealous that you are able to travel like this. Hoping to spend a little bit of time going through your archives this afternoon. Maybe one day I can travel like this too? ;-)
--Megan
www.immeganjune.com
I had a moment like that in Mexico once, I needed a lady to sign a piece of paper for immigration purposes and she was like "Okay just a minute." and I waited in her front entryway for maybe half an hour and then knocked on the door and she was like "I SAID LATER like maybe tomorrow" and it was ever so confusing. It was in Spanish though so ... guess I didn't understand what the difference between 'un rato' and 'un ratito' were.
I love your pictures and Italy. So great!
And I love your story, I am sure that man just needed a little nap! :)
this was definitely my favorite place in italy too! i miss it! great photos!
Cinque Terre is on my list of places to see before I die. Stunning!
PS - I'm so in love with these posts, I'm now your newest follower. :)
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