Luna di Marzo Riomaggiore

... not many cars come screaming up behind you. And if they do, you will get a flash in plenty of time. But this cruise speed offers two new and unique challenges that I noticed. The first most obvious, is that the speed differential between fast lane and slow, is much greater than we see in the states. This means that stepping out from slow to fast requires a greater mirror calculation. And in the case of a car or truck stepping out on you, may ...

It's Saturday morning and I'm hitting up this internet cafe on my way through the begining of my day long hike through Cinque Terre.

I left San Fillippo yesterday with happy memories and sad steps. I really did enjoy so much about my stay there that I truly didn't want to leave, but alas my faithful readers needed something more excited to read so I have graciously decided to continue on this path of a new ...

... and stopped for lasagna and cannolis for lunch and more photos in Manarola.

Cinque Terre was such an alluring excursion. The weather was perfect that day, as the locals had their laundry out drying from their windows high above the pedestrian walkways, the fishermen dropped their boats into the coves with a pulley to hunt for dinner, and we enjoyed a laid-back day.

Tuscan Riviera Portovenere
Had seen it on Getaway and looked very pretty.. Found a hotel with sea views and have spent 2 nights here resting , climbing around local castles… eating sleeping and watching the boats go in and out… not much English here but we are not hungry or thirsty so all going well….
Tomorrow we are off to the South of France.. 3 nights planned in Nice.. Really looking forward to it but have loved Italy…

After travelling for the last 6 or more months without a real break we thought we might just settle down for the winter, instead of heading back to London and back to work. We are plonking ourselves with some of Dino's relatives in Tuscany.
Shona can't speak a word of Italian, but is planning to learn and not one of Dino's relatives speaks English. It should be an interesting few months.
We ...

... that business in Cinque Terre).

The fifth town, Monterosso, had more of an actual sandy beach than Vernazza, but other than that was very similar to, and just as adorable as, the other towns. We grabbed some gelato and focaccia bread at a café that had posted a sign above the bar that said, “Se lo stress bruciasse realmente calories, dovrei essere una top model!” Translation: “If stress burned calories, I’d be ...

... which had its own patio, huge bathroom and was right near the village center. We spent the next 5 days eatting the best pesto in the world (it was developed here), the best wine which was growing in the hills above us and great pizza:).
Amy and I also did the walk one day which is a trail that is hanging on the side of the sea cliffs between the ...

... which seems to be accumalating weight since Ive arrived here.

After settling in we hiked Cinque Terra, which is the five cities along the coast line - Monterosso, Vernazza, Cornigila, Manarola, and Romaggire - where we stayed. It was absolutely beautiful. Monterosso had an amazing beach with crystal clear water. Vernazza was just really cool. This is where Jyles opted to ditch the hike and go back to Monetrosso for the day. This is ...

... and gave me about 10 so that was breakfast. This old guy seems to appear everywhere. When we went out last night he was on the road site and showed us how to get down to the town centre, he was at the bus stop when we arrived and now picking peaches in the garden next to me. He is a lovely guy who to me is so typically Italian (if that is OK to say?).

Spent the morning relaxing and enjoying the beautiful scenery in Cinque Terre and then in ...

Our trail in the Cinque Terre is to be seen on the DVD Footloose in Italy available from Amazon.co.uk Filming Diary: September 2004 Reaching the Cinque Terre was not difficult - we based ourselves in La Spezia, so took the airport shuttle from the airport at Genoa into the city, to the train station. I didn't find the Genoese very smiley; an old woman took violent exception to our suitcases on the airport bus and I ...