Cinque Terre (10 July)
Ian and Sue joined us on the 9th of July in a little town called Levanto. The town lies north of the Cinque Terre region. The Cinque Terre region is a series of 5 towns built in medieval times along the rugged coast. They are linked by train, ferry and walking tracks but have very limited car access. Ian and Sue had a bit of trouble getting to us with a train strike from Pisa, but after a wild taxi ride (with speeds reaching over 150 kph awhile the driver was watching a DVD) they eventually joined us. It is great to see them after over a month away. We are staying together in a lovely 3 bedroom apartment. Our campervan meanwhile is feeling lonely and parked nearby. It is wonderful to have unhindered showers again and frequent use of the washing machine! We ate out at a great little restaurant in town after sampling the local beach (the boys were disappointed by the lack of sand once again. I think they are slowly realising that Australia has some of the best beaches in the world).
Levanto is a very nice town, and much more like the Italy Tim and I had thought we would see. There are lots of interesting specialty shops and good things to eat. This morning we caught the train to the closest of the Cinque Terre towns, Monterosso. Monterosso is the best beach town and the most touristy. We spent a great morning on the beach, swimming in beautiful turquoise waters and doing some kayaking which the boys loved. Thankfully, on this typical highly regimented private beach, Ian hired two sun lounges and umbrella so that we could take turns in getting out of the heat. Sue and I scoured the town in search of some lunch, and we found ourselves in the most delightful series of narrow laneways with quaint little shops and restaurants. We found a great little foccacia and pizza shop that sold products by weight. The proscuitto and mozzarella pizza that I ate later was without a doubt the best pizza I have ever eaten in my life. All for a grand total of 2 euro! Amazing food. Caleb particularly is loving the pizza here. He has decided that Italy is definitely his favourite country! We headed back to Levanto by train early afternoon as it was again very hot here – at least 34 degrees today I think. The plan is to arise early tomorrow (should not be a problem as the boys woke at 5am this morning!) and catch the early train to the last town, Riomaggiore or as Ian calls it, Rigamortis. From there we plan to walk along the cliffs as far as the boys can manage, and catch the train or ferry home. It should be a great day!
