'According to Rick Steves...'

Cinque Terre:
Lunedi, Marzo 15-4.3 miles
Martedi, Marzo 16-5 miles
Mercoledi, Marzo 17-4.25 miles

After Venice and a couple hectic days traveling through Vicenza, Verona, and Milan we finally made it to Cinque Terre. The girls and I stayed in an apartment we rented in Riomaggiore. Because we looked like 'good girls' the people we rented from gave us a free upgrade to an apartment that had 1.5 bathrooms and two balconies, one of which was seaside!

Before coming to Italy, Laura and I watched Rick Steves' (the travelin' man) episodes on Italy. He traveled to Cinque Terre and talked extensively about the food and the hiking trails. So, all of us girls equipped with our Rick Steves' knowledge and guide books headed to Riomaggiore. Every time we partook in something we read in our guide book or saw on the show we would quote, "According to Rick Steves'...."

Here are some of the highlights





















Monday we ate lunch at Il Grottino. Notice the reflection of the buildings through the wine glass on the tablecloth.




















The alley to our apartment















Hanging out in our apartment on Day 1. I am out on the balcony looking in.




















The girls taking the path outside our apartment down to the marina.




















Looking up at our apartment, the left middle building, top balcony















Every night we loved watching sunsets from our balcony. This is sunset day 1














Cooking dinner; we cooked 2 of the 3 nights we were there. Rick Steves suggests travelers take time to cook their own meals with food they buy at the local markets.















Dinner the first night: red pesto and green beans. Pesto is originally from this region (Cique Terre) of Italy so Rick Steves' would be doubly proud!














The pedestrian tunnel we took from the train station into town. The whole length of the tunnel had this mural of seascape made with various stones and seashells. During WW2, this tunnel used to serve as a bunker.















Along the trail (suggested hiking by Rick Steves!) on Day 2. Cinque Terre is a national park that include hiking trails connecting each of the five cities.















I found myself taking a lot of pictures of plants















Some of the trail that follows the cliff side














Emily, Amy, Laura, and I peeking through the windows of the covered walkway















and then I found this rock resting ever so lightly on the edge of the cliff contemplating life....















then we saw ships off in the distance and pretended they were pirates!















and crossed a bridge















All along the trail there were these red and white trail markers. Laura and I pretended we were on the Amazing Race...















stopping to take a picture: Emily, Amanda, Me, Laura, and Amy















and then I found a friend, or he found me; he followed us awhile and enjoyed the attention we gave him















Sunset Day 2















Dinner the second night at La Lampara















Continuing my Pesto theme for the break, I enjoyed my Pesto Pizza. The crust was light and buttery and flaky full of deliciousness!















Because we deserved it, we all decided to get dessert that night. I had a walnut/caramel pie














Day 3 (St. Patty's Day) we go to Monterroso and check out the beach. Here the nicely designed boardwalk along the coast.




















and we come across another friend














A well thought out plaza that includes plenty of seating, a giant chess board, and a sundial. It was about 12pm.















Sunset Day 3















Dinner Day 3; Pesto (green for St. Patty's Day), a cheese wrap, and toasted bread

"See You On the Lido"

Venice:
Martedi, Febbraio 9-4.7 miles
Mercoledi, Febbraio 10-6 miles
Giovedi, Febbraio 11-5.6 miles
Venerdi, Febbraio 12-9 miles

So, we went to Venice.... When we arrived we all loaded onto a chartered boat to take us to the Lido (a separate island from Venice but still considered part of the city). This boat had around 100 people on it plus all of our luggage (which would have been enough for twice as many people for twice as long if you consider how much the Texas girls brought.....) As we were moseying our way down the Grand Canal, Tony said to his wife Carol "If this thing springs a leak, were done for..." to which Carol responded, "Thanks Tony" with a roll of her eyes. When we got to the Lido, we checked into Hotel Cristallo and headed off in search of some lunch because it was "Panino-O'CLock" as Tony would say. Then, we went back to the main island of Venice for our guided tour.

Here is a bit of everything from the week:















The domes of San Marco's Basillica














Here I am staring down a lion at Piazza San Marco















The Doge's Palace (I think I am going to start calling Tony 'The Doge'. It seems fitting); The palace is very large and you need a good 3 hours to see it all. Laura and I went on Friday but only had an hour to see it. If I ever make it back to Venice this will be the first thing I do.














The courtyard in the Doge's Palace




















A narrow passage in the prison of the palace














A typical cell in the prison. One such as this, possibly even this one is where the infamous Cassanova was held (and made his escape from)!















A food display at a restaurant




















A canal




















Some masks. The long beak kind were worn by doctors. They used to fill them with scents and spices such as juniper and ginger to block the smell of all the dead bodies/victims of the Plague.




















Another canal. The pink house on the right was owned by Cassanova's caretaker.















A courtyard. One of these surrounding buildings is where Marco Polo lived. Marco......




















Polo.....This is Mauricio. He was our tour guide on Tuesday. He is a very proud Venetian and told us the population is down to only 50,000. (at it's peak the population was around 100,000). I'm pretty sure the whole week, I saw more Americans, let alone all the other tourists than I did Venetians. Along the narrow alleys he kept saying, "Step aside, step aside for the Venetians!"

After our tour Carol shouted all chipper like "See you on the Lidooooo!"














This was dinner Tuesday night. We had Chinese food. Fried noodles...














Sweet and Sour Chicken.....














and....the craziest Fried Ice Cream i've ever had! It was a ball of ice cream with Nutella and dough swirled together completely surrounded by a ball of fried dough.

And then Wednesday came.....
I woke up early to get a hot shower only to find out the Venetians on the Lido don't always believe in hot water. I just couldn't force myself to jump off the Titanic into that shower! (ok, maybe that is a bit harsh, but.....)














And then I look outside my window only to find out it a blizzard! In Venice!














A look at what Venice is like during High Tide (or blizzards). Platform sidewalks are set up all over the city while the ground is flooded.














Snowy gondolas




















Snowy gondola with seagull prints




















Tony and Carol crossing a bridge.

Carol, "Tony, pay attention so you don't fall!"
Tony, "Take your own advice Carol!"

Carol gets further along and Tony says, "Carol...Carol...CAROL! If you let me fall, I'll never forgive you!"














Prayer candles in one of the churches. Due to the blizzard outside and our lack of preparedness we were FREEZING so we all huddled around the prayer candles (much like hobos) and warmed our faces and hands. (Is that sacrilegious?....)















More snow....














More snow at night in Piazza San Marco














Dinner at Hard Rock Cafe! Ahhhhhhh.....




















My BBQ Bacon Cheeseburger. Just what I needed. Don't get me wrong, I love Italian food but sometimes you just need all your food in one course.















Heidi, Laura, and I at Hard Rock















The sun came out on Thursday




















I figured I include another old man picture. I haven't put one in in awhile.




















Sunshine on a canal!















A look at some chimneys















A Calatrava. One of the 440 bridges in Venice.















Cemetery Island















One of the new burial sites. An entirely hideous and depressing structure (by British architect Chipperfield) if you ask me. It is large and oppressive. The first thought I had was that it reminded me of what a concentration camp would look like. I'm just saying....

The inside isn't much better. There are small, uninviting grass courtyards but no seating. There should always be seating. The graves are all regulated with no room for personal expression of the deceased by family members.

When we walked around the corner and saw this (the guys had been all excited and talked this up so much) Emily says, "This is it? A concrete box!?" to which Tony responded, "I believe they call it minimalism..."

Later, after being here for 45 minutes too long, Tony comes up to us girls and asks, "So tell me, what is it I'm supposed to get, what am I missing here?...." (Who knows Tony, who knows....) His sarcasm was as obvious as I know the look of distaste I had on my face was....

Emily expressing our sentiments....















A glass blowing demonstration in Murano















A beautiful sunset on the ride back to the Lido















Pesto dinner at Osteria