From Pisa we moved to Cinque Terre (which some of the Australian boys who had been there had already nicknamed Cheeky Terry). We didnt really know what to expect, as i mentioned before, not a lot was tolad to us about where we were going and what we were doing (sure we were given an itinerary and information on all the cities we were going, but that was quickly lost, and plus, the excitement of not knowing where you are going was too much! haha!).
But we arrived in Cinque Terre and were given the most beautiful view over the sea. It was literally breathtaking, the Meditteranean (???) stretching out as far as the eye can see, it was seriously cool. The we got to the first city. I thought Cinque Terre was a little city nestled by the sea, it turned out that it was actually a string of 5 cities, built exactly the same way and in the same style, strung along the Italian coastline. Hence the name, meaning five lands. But we started into the first and it was both the most interesting and intriguing place ive ever visited. The cities are built into the crevices in the mountains along the coast. This is because these are volcanic mountains and the soil along this coastline is very fertile. But it is the buildings that are awesome. There was a rule when the city was built that each house had to be a different colour to the one next to it. The result now is that the cities are beautifully colourful and charming. Furthermore, being a world heritage site, no further building is allowed which makes the villages amazingly charming and authentic.
We started from the first city and walked along the coast to the second last. We stopped in each of them to have a look. I really wanted to sample the local produce, such as the figs and other fruits that are known to be specifically good in this area. So i stopped in every one of the towns and sampled the figs in each! But it was a great walk. The weather was awesome, and after about 3 hours of easy walking we reached our destination.
When we got there we all dove into the nearest pizzeria and dug in. We took ours down to the beach (well ok, not really a beach, but the best effort i had seen apart from Jesolo!) and chilled out there. We looked for the best swimming spot and followed the locals to a nice little place on the other side of the town with a rock pool and a nice opening onto the water. It was so nice having a swim after a long days walk.
We stayed the rest of the afternoon there, and after probably the 5th gelato (id love to say that i was exaggerating!) we caught the train back to where we had come. It was a bit of a laugh when the train took no longer than 10 mintues to go back!
But all in all it was an awesome day, the best view in the world, the sea, and swimming with the mates, couldnt ask for anything more!
Paz