The morning weather didn't look promising, but when in Italy, one doesn't sit indoors and wait for it to get better.Onward!
We drove down to town to catch the train over to some of the Cinque Terre towns. It was just overcast luckily, no rain.
Tash is a great planner, she'd packed 3 little raincoats for the boys.
We got off in Monterosso, the town over the next hill, and with no rain yet, we were good to go.
We went down to the beach to collect some rocks when….
….the rains came a-tumblin down.
It came down heavy and fast, and everyone dashed for cover. Tash and Liz had been close to a bar so they huddled in there, while Dewy and the boys ducked into the this. How did I get these pictures without soaking my camera? Well….
Lesson #1 in Japan: Sunny or not, always pack an umbrella.
Dewy's Jacket got soaked through when they ran over to the bar, so while the boys had some pizza, I went out and bought a few umbrellas.
….and took some pictures.
Springtime's a comin!
We made our way over to a tunnel that led to Vernazza, the next town.
The rain got worse and worse, and although we had umbrellas, we had little boys traveling with us, and we didn't want them to get sick. We made our way back to the train and went back to Levanto. The trains were packed. Liz kept our technology and wallets dry in a backpack under her jacket. She reminded me a little bit of Winnie the Pooh.
We drove back to the apartment and got some food for the boys.
The weather started to improve around 4-ish, so we decided to try driving over to Vernazza instead of taking the train. I'd say there are definite advantages and disadvantages to both driving and the train.
A big advantage of driving is the view. It's breathtaking. We could see the sun reflecting off the sea waaaaay out there. Tash was the main scenery photographer on this day, because fate decided to give me a close-up view of the grassy mountain every time Tasha and I switched seats in the car.
I'm not kidding, EVERY TIME we decided to stop the car so I could try taking pictures of the ocean, the road would turn so that I'd be looking at this kind of thing. I eventually gave up and had Tasha do it.
A big disadvantage to driving between towns is that it takes longer than the train, and the roads are super narrow and right along the cliffs. It was scary as hell. We soon found that people would honk their horns when they neared a sharp corner around the mountain. And imagine how fun it was when a car came from the opposite direction. It was a narrow ONE LANE road. Insanity. Again…bravo to Dewy's driving.
What ho! Vernazza?
We had to park up in the mountains and walk down the windy roads to get to Vernazza. I can't imagine how much crazier this place is during tourist season. Anyway, on our walk down, we saw lots and lots of decrepit structures.
Again…there will never be an olive or lemon shortage in Italy.
While walking down, I couldn't stop wondering when these buildings were built, what kind of community it was, why they built where they built…there were lots of questions on my mind.
…I can see why people may have built and then decided to abandon their homes. Apparently this area has lots of mudslides. I'm glad I learned of this AFTER we finished the Vernazza drive.
Vernazza!!!
We walked down the street to the water. It was beautiful. We loved the shutters!
The water and weather causes the paint jobs to wear down quickly, so there were lots of buildings that needed a pick-me-up. We found a little place to eat in the square. While we waited for the food, Wesley tried to get up the nerve to go play ball with some boys. He is such a sport man.
Wes, Liz and I went on a little exploration trip while we waited for our food. We walked over to an old watchtower (I read that this area used to have frequent pirate attacks). Wesley was stoked to be able to climb about a bit.
Twas a beautiful place!
Dewy, Tash and Wes went off exploring while I hung by the table with Tucker and Max. Tucker was chilly so he wandered the square in a blanket. He looked like a Jedi to me. He was very interested in the signs.
Our food was decently priced. I am thankful for this, because Switzerland is most definitely opposite. We took this meal-time opportunity to try some real Italian pizza. Dewy got some classic pepperoni.
I got Pesto. Yum!
Tash and I had this thing going where we'd both always want to order the same dish, so we ended up both choosing 2 dishes we both liked and sharing them. I'd wanted to get this to try some olives. Luckily for me, Tash doesn't like olives, so I could munch on them all I wanted! Olives, artichoke, mushrooms, and ham. So good!
Tash and I are the seafood lovers in the group, so we also got a platter of mussels. Oh…my…goooosh. They were amazing. I loved knowing that the lemon was probably picked off a nearby tree, and it made the mussels taste even better! They tasted like they'd just been pulled out of the ocean.
We tried to high-tail it back up to the car before it got dark, since driving the Vernazza road in the dark seemed like a death-wish. Wes is putting on a show for me at the moment, pretending to sleep or something.
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