Apr 20, 2009 - Cinque Terre, Italy

In Patras it was sunny and we had a few hours before getting on our "1-day cruise". We decided to spring for dorm beds instead of air seats, so we could actually get a good night sleep. Beds make SUCH a difference! A steward walked us to our room, and we had a bathroom with TWO showers! Definitely high class traveling in our minds :) The dorm beds were set up so there were 6 beds in a room, and 6 rooms in the dorm section. You needed a key card to get into the dorm rooms(which will become relevant later in this entry) and only one other...

Jul 27, 2008 - Cinque Terre and Nice

So, the Cinque Terre. When we first arrived there, we couldn't even remember the town that we were staying in, and my computer was dead, so first we had to find a place where I could plug my computer in for a few minutes so I could get the information off of my desktop. We started out in the tourist information place where we had to pay to use their computers to get it, but then a couple of Canadians that we started talking to said we should be able to find somewhere up the main street where we should be able to plug in for a few minutes,...

Jun 17, 2008 - Tuesday 17 June Cinque Terre

Happy Birthday Jenny (Emma’s) Mum Emma tried to call but got answer machine. Visited the Cinque Terre 5 villages built into cliffs along a rugged coast. Only about 12 kilometres from first to last but n the old days would have taken days to walk over the hills/mountains. Now it is national park and there are tracks and you can supposedly do it in 5 hours though you would have to be pretty fit as there are thousands of steps, and not walk around the villages. We caught the train to Riomaggiore and walked the easiest walk about 1km to...

May 27, 2008 - Day 11-- Cinque Terre

Hey there, all. Well, after the exciting day of seeing "Dead Fred", as we have nicknamed the saint, and running ourselves ragged, it was actually nice to have a few hours on a train today. We are in Cinque Terre, and it is the most beautiful place that I have ever been to. It is so laid back here. Even little Lucca was getting a little stressful. I kept getting lost and actually had a popped tire all the way across town from the bike rental place, so I am ready for this ...our hotel is right on the beach. It is very laid back and there are...

Apr 1, 2008 - Cinque Terre

Cinque Terre was absolutely STUNNING. I am so glad we did the day trip-I know I would have wasted Saturday doing various unimportant things and I couldn’t be happier that we took advantage of the day. Hannah, Katie and I were the only ones who wanted to get up and do the five-hour train ride and back again in one day. The others stayed in Lugano and did the hike up the mountain there, which I intend to do one of these days as well. We caught the train at 6:10 in the morning and got to Monterosso at 11:30, the last of the five villages. We...

Feb 15, 2008 - The Schnozberries Taste Like Schnozberries.

Day 37. Friday 2/15. Firenze and Cinque Terre, Italia. This weekend was most likely my favorite part of the trip thus far and a perfect way to smooth things over. I can’t not express how absolutely beautiful and perfect going to Cinque Terre with Laine, A-dub, Nicole, and Joanie was; I could not have asked for anything better. Cinque Terre is a national park where there is a ten-mile hike between five towns built into the mountains along the Mediterranean coast. We arrived in the first town and met up with Edi who we rented a room from for...

Dec 13, 2007 - Cinque Terre

We left Florance on the 13th and headed up the coast to the Cinque Terre. Cinque Terra is five small towns along the coast that are linked by terraces where grapes and olives grow. We stayed in an apartment that looked over the ocean and down a cute little laneway. On our second day we walked (or kinda hiked for kristen) between the five villages. It took six and a half hours!!!! But it was well worth it for all the amazing views. We will load up some photos when we have more time, right now we are doing washing cause we are sick of wearing...

Oct 26, 2007 - Italy

We have arrived in Italy, and will be exploring the Clinque Terre tomorrow. We are staying in a place called Lavento. The road here consisted of tunnels and viaducts, with the longest tunnel that I noted being 1760m. It makes you wonder how they construct them.

Oct 12, 2007 - Hello!! lots of pictures of Pisa & Cinque Terre!

Ciao Everyone! Sorry its been so long, and right now i am at the tourist information building and cannot upload a picture! Arrr! i have so much to say and pictures for you. Let me start back at October 7, i met a lovely couple from Georgia and had dinner with them in a authentic Italian restaurant. What makes it authentic you may be asking? well it was off the beaten path and full of locals. I had to get by with my poco (little) Italian and no one knew any English. The couple i met even asked me how i found this place?...lol Anyways i have...

Oct 6, 2007 - Livorno & the Cinque Terre

6.30am arrival - so great with a balcony cabin. 24C today. Up early for breakfast and a 7.30am start. 35 buses lined up at the port for our ship - 3 ships docked = 105 buses - WOW! Excursion to Cinque Terre. Bused to La Spezia then by boat or on foot walking the track. Villages clinging to the cliff face or concealed in Miniature inlets - unique & unspoilt landscape - UNESCO National Park. Riomaggoire - linked by a footpath cut out of the sheer rock "Via dell Amore" - dedicated to lovers. Manarola - perched on a rock outcrop. Vernazza -...

Oct 6, 2007 - Tuscany Day 5 - Cinque Terra

06 October, Tuscany Day 5 - Cinque Terra This was to be our last full day in Tuscany. We'd been told by many people that we should see Cinque Terra while in Italy. Technically, this is a National Park called Cinque Terra, but is more commonly considered to be 5 seaside towns within the park. While it was a bit further afield than we'd originally thought we might roam, we decided that we'd head out there today. While one could actually drive to the first town, it's strongly recommended that one doesn't, what with the sailor's knots and all....

Oct 5, 2007 - Cinque Terre, Italy

In Ireland I got an e-mail from my Alaska friends April, Mary Ruth and Zach. The plan had been to possibly meet them in Europe and travel around awhile. It turns out they were going to Cinque Terre, Italy, and place I vowed to go to if I ever returned to Italy, so from Dublin it was a 16 hour day of planes, trains and autobuses, via Germany and Switzerland, to La Spezia, Italy to meet the crew. Through a comlicated system of sending telegrams and smoke signals I eventually ran into Mary Ruth a day later at the train station. From there we...