Vernazza

Now picture all of this, not just in one Italian hill town, but in five pastel colored hill towns, linked to each other in a variety of ways. First, by coastal footpaths allowing you to walk from one town to the next, while close to the water. Second, by trails up in the green terraces allowing you to wander from town to town amongst the olive trees and vineyards, where you can almost taste the wine from the green grapes that hang off their vines. Third, by more trails allowing you to hike up higher in the forest amongst the trees, looking down upon the green vineyards, looking down further upon the rainbow of homes, and looking down even further to the expanse of the blue sea.

Manarola and Pastel Colored Homes

As you walk amongst the greenery of the hillsides, envision a splash of colorful wildflowers growing around. See the stillness of the greenery put into motion from colorful bugs and butterflies fluttering around. Listen to the sounds of birds chirping and singing. Smell the fresh, clean air. Look at the blue sea below speckled with the color of boats floating on the waters.

And as you walk from town to town, peach trees, lemon trees, and cactus plants offer their fresh fruit to sample. And after a hot day of walking, visualize going into a town to quench thirst, satisfy hunger, or cool off from the heat of the sun by swimming in the warm blue sea, or relaxing on a beach.

Boats on the Sea and Grapes on their Vines

These are my impressions of the Cinque Terre part of Italy: a series of five quaint coastal hill towns on the northwest coast of Italy, each with a slightly different character than the next, and one of my favorite places on this Earth. The entire Cinque Terre (literally translated as “five lands”) is actually a national park, including the coastline along the Ligurian Sea, the hill towns, and the surrounding green hillsides. To me, the whole area is a breathtakingly beautiful place. During my five-month solo European journey, I spent almost four days walking from town to town, wandering through the vineyards and olive trees, and hiking in the forests. And for variety, I even walked around the side streets of each of the hill towns just to see how the locals live.

The Scenery

What made my time in the Cinque Terre even more memorable was the place I stayed at, my own one bedroom apartment. The best part about this place was that it had a rooftop terrace offering a wonderful view of the colorful hill town, the green above, and the blue below. From the terrace, I could watch the sunset over the sea, followed by the moon reflecting on the water. I even slept on lounge chairs out on the terrace with the warm Italian air of the night.

Some of the food that I experienced in the Cinque Terre included some local specialties, including spaghetti with anchovies that were freshly caught the night before out on the sea, and pasta with a locally made pesto. For dessert, I ate tarts with blueberries, or my favorite Italian desserts, gelato. I would accompany my meals with a glass of wine made from the grapes in the vineyards from the hillsides. Most of the restaurants in the Cinque Terre offer the scenery to view while eating.

My Rooftop Terrace and Corniglia

If you find yourself in the Cinque Terre, know that all of the paths and trails vary in length and difficulty, so the area gives ample and various opportunities to all who might want to spend some time there. And if you don’t feel like walking from hill town to hill town, there are other transportation options, such as buses, trains, and boats. Or alternatively, other activities include mountain biking, kayaking, and snorkeling.

I enjoyed my time at the Cinque Terre so much, that two months after I went there alone, my mother and sister came out to Italy, and I took them to this fabulous place, to one of my favorite places on this Earth.

I would recommend this place to all. Just imagine…

Sweet Travels!

This story begins as I was on my way to the Acropolis to see the ancient sites of this world. On one of the side roads I was taking, I was waved down by an elderly Greek couple who motioned to ask me if I wanted to sit down at a little table outside their home. They must have thought that I looked thirsty, as it was a hot day out. The elderly woman asked me, with only one Greek word, if I wanted a “caffee.” Ironically, living in Seattle, I do not drink coffee, and also since it was hot out, I politely motioned a “no, epharisto,” which is “no, thank you” in Greek. The woman then asked, again with only one word, if I wanted a “berra.” Once again, I politely motioned “no, epharisto,” as I really don’t drink. Then the woman asked if I wanted a “limonada.” Perfect, a lemonade. Nice and cool. “Yes, epharisto,” I nodded. And, well, I was brought a 7-Up. Still nice and cool.

As I sat there drinking my limonada, we could not communicate very much. I kept thinking to myself, as I looked at their beautifully wrinkled faces, of the questions that I wish I could ask them if only I spoke some Greek, or if they spoke some English. What have their lives been like? How many children and grandchildren do they have? What have they done for work? For fun? Where have they been? What has led them to this house they motioned me to join them at? Have they lived there all of their lives? And, if I could really ask them just one question, it would be what words of wisdom about life could they tell me?

When I was done with my limonada, I pointed to my camera asking them if I could please take their picture, and they agreed with a smile and a nod. I wanted to capture the wisdom in their beautifully wrinkled faces. But then a funny interaction happened between the husband and wife. The man had been wearing a baseball cap during the time that I was sitting there, and just before I was about to take my picture, the woman must have told her husband to please remove the hat so that it wouldn’t be in the picture. I didn’t really understand the words she said, but the motions of the man, including the “yes, dear” look he gave her, as he took the cap off, told me what she had said. It struck me as interesting that potentially women all over the world might tell their husbands a bit of what to do, and how to look good. Even the elderly Greeks.

So, I took a couple pictures, and as I walked away saying “epharisto,” I came up with my own words of wisdom that perhaps these two would have told me if I could have asked them….men, please take off your baseball caps for pictures.

Sweet Travels!

On this tour there was a Turkish family traveling together. There were the grandparents, three out of four of their daughters, with their husbands, and two of the daughters had four small children between them. I decided that I wanted to give the onyx stone that I had just won to the children as a gift. I had the tour guide be my translator, telling the one of the mothers of my intention. Out of kindness, though, the mother wanted to make sure that maybe I would want to keep the stone as a memory of my trip to Turkey. I had the tour guide tell the mother for me that it would be more memorable to me if I knew that I gave this stone as a gift to the children. And, so she accepted my gift for the children, and I felt good.

The Necklace

But, the story did not end there. Less than a minute later, the mother gives me a necklace. What?! For me?! I did not quite understand. I did not expect any gift in return for the gift I gave to her children. But the tour guide explained to me that she wanted me to have this beautiful piece of jewelry. I was amazed. I just about cried. The mother did not have to do that. But she wanted to give it to me! I must have thanked her a thousand times, saying “teşekkür ederim,” each time putting my hand on my heart, as a symbol of my gratitude for the gift the mother gave to me.

What I really think about this necklace was that the mother had just bought this necklace for herself at the onyx jewelry store, because had I noticed a matching ring on her finger. The necklace she gave me was round with a larger red stone in the center and several smaller stones on the edges. Her ring looked like it had nine of the same smaller stones, in a three by three pattern. So I feel that now, even though we will probably never see each other again, and even though we are worlds away, we will forever be connected. Especially if we both happen to be wearing our jewelry at the same time.

(By the way, I am wearing the necklace in the picture of me in my biography.)

Sweet Travels!