Cinque Terre

Sorry for the long, long post but WOW Cinque Terre was absolutely beautiful.  Cinque Terre is an area that consists of five little towns along the shoreline.  All five towns are only 11 km apart from each other.  We stayed in the one town called Monterosso.  We thought it was the best place to stay, not a lot of stairs, and a huge beachfront.    However, we did visit all the little towns and they all have something to offer.  It felt so good to be next to the water and the sun shining down on us.

^^ This was our view from our place.  

^^ This was also our view as we went up the stairs.  I thought it was a very cool representation of the area.

We were so excited the first day we got there because it was so hot and the waves were rumbling.  We found sandals in the rental place and quickly ran to the beach.  Funny enough, that was the first and last time we wore sandals.  We ended up wearing our shoes to hike the mountains instead for the rest of our stay!

We found a baby swing and Finn was in heaven.  He wouldn't stop giggling and smiling the entire time he was on the swing.  We ended up going to that swing everyday for him to have his "swing time."

^^ This statue was in the town we stayed in, Monterosso.

You can't see it in this picture but we are at one end of Cinque Terre and off into the distance are the other five.  From our town you can see four of the towns.

My water baby was in heaven.  She seriously loves the water and you could tell she was happy to be so close to the Ocean.

Monterosso

Finn loved picking up all the rocks and giving them a good lick and crunch.  He tested 99% of the rocks in this photo and they have all been approved by him.

Karen collected quite the rock collection.

"Seriously Mom another photo?"

Yep, she dove into the Ocean.  It looks cold in this photo but it was really warm.

Lots of pottery!  Jenn and I loved all the fish designs.

We really took in all Italy has to offer.  We quite frequently enjoyed a beer, lots of pasta, and pizza!  I think I could eat bruschetta everyday too.  They sure know how to make it here.

More of Finn on the swing!  haha.  

I already miss the smell of the Ocean and it has only been a day.  

Monterosso

This was the first day of our hiking.  We hiked from Monterosso (which is behind me in the photo) to Vernazza which was 3.6 km away and took about 2 hours to hike.  It was steep!

The farm land along our hike is all tiered and narrow.  It's unbelievable to think that farmers climb along these tiered crops and harvest their food.  The crops are mostly olive trees and vineyards.  Jenn and Karen tried an olive from the tree.  Jenn's reaction was priceless (she doesn't like olives to begin with) but she gagged about 100 times before she was ok again.

The path was sometimes a little narrow and steep!

The first day we hiked it rained of course!  We are still smiling though.  Jenn is carrying Finn and he is napping.  What a life I tell ya!  Napping as we climb through the vineyards on the coast of Italy!

We made it to Vernazza!  

We hiked along and met this wonderful family along the way.  They are from Melbourne, Australia and they too were crazy enough to hike with a baby on their back.  It was so nice to connect with this family and talk about travelling with babies.  I wish now (of course) that we exchanged ways to get a hold of each other.  Maybe one day we will see them again!

Oh, Finn and his swing!  Grandpa, I think Finn will be ready for your swing when we get home.

Vernazza

The next day, we hiked from Vernazza and headed to Corniglia.  This hike was 3.4 km and it took us about 1.5 hours to climb.  It was easier than the first days hike and we had the most amazing view when hiking.

We made to Corniglia!  This little town is up higher in the mountains and not down by the water.

Cognilia

The day after, we took the ferry from Monterosso and saw all the towns we already climbed too.  Then we got off at Manarola and hiked to the last town yet to be discovered,  Riomaggiore.  This hike was our smallest hike but it was steep!  It was only 1.5 km but it took us an hour because of how steep it was.  Shawn and Cathy took this hike too!

Do you see that little town at the bottom?  That is where we hiked from, Manarola.

This is entering Riomaggiore.  I believe Shawn and Cathy stayed in this town when they visited just a couple of weeks before us!

Oh, Cinque Terre you sure know how to make us happy.  We left this wonderful area with big smiles on our faces.  

Next stop, Reggio Emilia.  This is a small city and some might wonder why on Earth are we spending anytime at all here.  Well folks, dreams are coming true here in this small city!  I am currently doing my Masters and learning about the Reggio Emilia philosophy.  I can't believe it is actually happening but we are going to be visiting the Remida (recycling centre), the Loris Malaguzzi Centre (where we will learn about the philosophy), the Atelier (the hands-on artist studio), and visit a preschool where they are currently using the philosophy.  I am so excited I could scream (but I won't because the baby is sleeping, and you never, NEVER wake a sleeping baby!)