Ahhh- Monday.  One week ago we were boarding the plane for Europe!

Today we decided to head to Cinque Terre – a group of five communities on the coast.   Thanks to our friends Jerry & Sarah Daniel, we knew to catch the train in Levanto and take it to all of the cities, a neat and fast way to see them all.   We started in Riomaggiano, the southern-most city.   We stepped off the train, walked through the tunnel and emerged in the most beautiful place!   Colorful buildings stacked and built into the side of the hills, right by the sea!  A short jaunt around the rocky point, and we found the perfect seaside lagoon.   Rocky beach, crystal-clear, cool water.   And, luckily, no “European bathers”!  After we rigged makeshift changing cabanas and convinced them that NO ONE was interested in seeing them slipping into their suits, the kids wasted no time getting into the sea.   This was WAY better than the pool!   But trying to walk on the slippery, shifting rocks made everyone look like staggering drunks.  There was NO way to look cool striding into the water.  We rented snorkeling equipment and began exploring the undersea world.   This, we found out, was a protected marine sanctuary with many species of fish to wave hello to.   Before we knew it, we had been there 4 ½ hours!

Gelato to cool off, of course, then we walked (well, hiked, actually) around the town before we got back on the train to the next stop.   We got off in Manarola and it was another idyllic town perched on the cliffs and hanging over the sea.  The kids were starving, so we found a seaside café and sat down to…. hot dogs and hamburgers.  (The kids were a bit sick of Italian food.)  Afterwards, the kids were desperate to swim again, so we let them walk down to the small lagoon below Manarola.  The water was deep and clear and perfect.  The cliffs surrounding the lagoon were tall, craggy, and inviting.  Soon we had three kids begging to cliff-dive.  We were on vacation, so why not?  Plus, Gramma wasn’t around.  So they took turns jumping off the 20-foot cliff, and even drew a bit of a crowd of tourists to watch them.  I didn’t know whether to proudly claim them or disavow any knowledge of whose kids those were.  The sun was setting, and we had more towns to visit.  Back to the train station, where we just missed the next train.  So we sat on a bench on the train platform and watched the sun set over “Pig-Face Rock”.  And wondered aloud why certain seagulls pant.

We decided to bypass Corniglia and Vernazza (whose picture adorns the top of this blog), and made our last stop at Monterossa Al Mare.  One of this town’s beautiful beaches was right next to the train station, which made for a convenient final romp in the sea as the sky darkened.  We decided to call it a day and arrived back at the van-al-dente at about 10pm.  The kids, still in their suits, were all CLAMORING for us to let them swim when we got home; but as we predicted, they were each asleep before we hit the autostrade.  When we got home, we parked in our spot in the olive orchard and started our climb up to the villa; but quickly realized we lacked Ellis.  There he was, dead asleep in the back row of seats…with NO CLOTHES ON.  Me:  “Ellis, you’re naked as a jaybird!  What happened to your PANTS?  You can’t get on the plane like that!”  Ah, Dad’s cruel way of getting E up and moving.  His eyes wide, he stumbled out of the van, a towel somewhat draped around his Greek form….

Italy’s not exactly laid out on a grid; this is a screen shot of navigating our highway exit to Levanto.

It was a good day….

Riomaggiore

Our cliff-walk down to the rocky beach at Riomaggiore.

Georgia was the first in the water.

But soon all of us stumbled in..(except the photographer)

Ellis snorkeling.

Mom got in!

Walking in Riomaggiore

Manarola, next town northward up the coast.

 

Hot dogs and hamburgers!

The small lagoon in Manarola – the kids couldn’t resist.

Climbing to the cliff…..

Contemplating the cliff…….

Still contemplating……

Ellis was first!

Long way down…..

Brave Georgia!

And finally Jack!

 

 

 

Me watching from above.  “Jump off a cliff in a foreign country, kids? Sure, have fun!”

 

Waiting for the train to the next town.

And waiting…..

 

Pig Rock.  Obviously.

 

View of Corniglia from Monterossa al Mare

 

Monterossa al Mare beachfront, in both directions

Holding onto the last shreds of sunlight; playing catch with our “Wilson”

The Godfather.