This place is not real.

• Breakfast in the hotel overlooking the ocean and the gorgeous mountains. I can’t believe we are still in Italy, I feel like I’m on an island. Or in a fairy tale, really. It’s not real. We at delicious cornetti- actually probably the best I’ve tasted so far, really, really good “American” coffee (they had a cappuccino maker but I realized that at this point, the American coffee is more of a treat to me), and yogurt with granola.


• Set out for our hike but first, a few stops along the way in Levanto to pick up bread and fruit.

• Began our hike through the Cinque Terre. The first and second towns were incredibly hilly and had a rocky, narrow path with a drop off down the mountain to the right. The path was lined by vineyards and trees but most surprisingly, there were often houses on the sides of mountains. I could not imagine living in a place like that! The majority of the 11K hike had a view of the sea as well. 3 of the 5 towns we passed through you could stop at the beach/sea and relax. We started off in the first town where we did not stay long enough to explore but this was the first sand beach and a great photo op. We were in awe of the clear, blue water that went further than you could see, with tall, green mountains on either side. This place is not real. When we got to the second town we bought cheese and pesto to complete our lunch and had a picnic on the rocks at the beach, under the sun. I have to say, it was nice to see colorful sun umbrellas and Italians dressed to live in a beach town (colorful and relaxed clothing). After wondering around the town a bit we headed on our way for the rest of the hike. The third town was off the trail so we didn’t stop at it. The fourth was a rocky beach where we sat for a bit on the rocks and stuck our toes in the water. The last bit of trail was only 20 minutes of walking until we got to the 5th town. At this point it was about 5:30 so we decided not to stick around. We boarded the train and headed back to Levanto.

• Had a nice dinner at a restaurant called “Le Palme” where I had seafood for an appetizer and the regionally made pasta, troffe, with seafood and olive oil sauce. Afterwards we got gelato (hazelnut and caffe) at the same place we at pizza last night and headed for the hotel.

• Had a little feel of home when Mom found the Iron Pigs afternoon game broadcast on the internet. I have to say, it was kind of weird listening to radio commercials from the Lehigh Valley and hearing “Cedar Crest” and “Rodale”. We fell asleep to the game…then I woke up a while later and it was still on. A great way to end my day.