More Cinque Terre

The Cinque Terre are five small towns located in the Tuscany region of Italy. They are all carved into a mountainside along the sea. Each town is about 2 miles apart, and you can hike through the mountains and along to sea from one to the next. When I went with my friends, we stayed in the first town, called Riomaggiore. We were only there for one night. We went to a local restaurant that was recommended by the desk worker of our hostel, "La Dolce Vita". The restaurant, La Lampura, was adorable, elegant and simple. I had pesto pasta. It's such a simple dish, but it's one of the specialties of Cinque Terre, and one of my favorites. My friends and I split a bottle (or two) of Cinque Terre Vino Bianco, the favorite wine of the region. Basically, if you're in Cinque Terre, you have to try their Vino Bianco. I don't usually like white wine, but I have to say it was fantastic, and perfect with my pesto. The restaurant owner was really charming, and he talked with us for a while, asking where we were from, we asked him to recommend some good dishes for us, and he even had a glass of wine with us.
We got up early in the morning, and took a train to the last town of the five, Monterosso. Monterosso was the busiest and largest of all five towns by far. From there, we hiked for an hour and a half through the mountains to Vernazza. The climb was basically all uphill for the first half, and then all downhill for the second half, through some of the most beautiful natural surroundings I've ever seen. At the top of the climb, we had an incredible view down on Vernazza and the Sea. It was really breathtaking. I love the colorful array of buildings one finds in Italian towns. As we got even closer to the town, I could hear music being played, from what sounded like a streetside trio- darkly attributed men, donning tuxedos, accordion, twelve string guitar, violin- the likes of which seems now to me a common sight, but one that I will really miss when I return.
Many times on this trip I have wished that I could record sound-bites along with my pictures. Memories fade into images which pictures can preserve, but I constantly find myself wondering, like now, what song was it that they were playing?
Vernazza was the most charming of all the five towns, though they were all beautiful. From there, we had another 1.5 hour hike- the hardest hike of all, entirely upmountain- to Corniglia. Corniglia was a little bigger than Vernazza, and a little less crowded. I had a delicious piece of pizza there. After being in Italy for several months, I have developed a taste for truly fresh food, and this pizza was just that. The tomatoes tasted like they had just been picked, and perfectly ripened.
After Corniglia, we had an easier hike into Manarola, and the a practically flat hike back into Riomaggiore.
The Cinque Terre is the kind of place that leaves you wanting more (thought I don't think anyone who desires nature and all it's charms can ever be satisfied). I could have sat on the rocks in Vernazza, looking out onto the sea, for the entire day. I wanted to explore all the little alleyways in all five towns, to see what it would be like to live there, to smell the place, to meet the people. I wanted to sit and listen to the waterfall we encountered on the hike to Vernazza, while standing on a rickety old bridge, deep in the woods. But my time while abroad is just that; time...it's always counting down, and never enough. It's always working against me, or so it seems. One day, I think, to console myself, I will go back to the Cinque Terre, do the hike again, and linger for days. At least its nice to hope so.