October 14

Cinque Terra

Sometimes this trip seems remarkably like a game of Mille Bornes. The beginning was when our opponent, Fate, played hazards like mad. Everytime we got a 'Go', Fate played 'Need Reparations' or 'Stop'. We finally got past that and zooooomed, using those 200 cards :-) Then a 'Stop' in Cannes and then some 100s, and now a quick 'Stop' in Cinque Terra. Do games mimic life, or life mimic games? Hrmm....

I don't want to tempt fate by saying that everything is going a lot better for us. I won't do it. If I do that then no doubt some freak tidal wave will come crashing down on this fishing town and wash us and everything else away. But ... It's top notch here. I'm glad we're staying for the two nights. I was up early for breakfast with Sean and then headed in to town whilst he got a shower, I had one earlier. He's not a morning person. I made the small hike up to the top of the hill and took the photograph below. The town centre is on the left by the church clock tower. The fortress/castle is on the right above the small harbour. It's all very quaint. The houses here push themselves up against the side of the valley. Small stairways wind up through dark, narrow spaces between the buildings. The window shutters on all then houses are an obligatory green, hence I suppose why Sean chose this backgnd color.

In either case, we awoke this morning to a dog barking from our little pensione room in Vernazza, one of the cities in the commune of Cinque Terra. While walking around I noticed how much the Italians seems to love cats. They are everywhere, including the middle of nowhere. I think Cats : Italians :: Dogs : French.

The second picture I took while walking down to the bay in the morning. I think it gives a pretty good idea of the slopes around here. Of course you have to remember that this is the shallow slope that people can live on, it gets worse higher up. Sean is referring to the picture above.

If you look closely, you can see me laying in the sun on the right edge of this photo. That is because today was Vernazza Lazy Day For Sean(tm). I did manage to read a good chunck of a book, get Matthew to bring me lunch and even drink a cappuccino. Actually I 'offered' to get the lazy poop some lunch, jeez, anybody would think I'm his little slaveboy ;-) All while staying in this little bay area. Oh, in a burst of energy Matthew did drag me up to the top of the tower overlooking the ocean (the big white blob at the top of the photo), but I quickly recovered and took a late afternoon nap. whew!
Today was a lazy-hazy day for both of us. I spent most of it moving from bench to bench in the small town, each time either reading or watching. It is clear from the habits of those who live here that sitting and watching is a common pastime. My book of choice for today was "Trainspotting" by Irvine Welsh. Ok, I admit that is quite a contrast with regards to its content and the idyllic life of this fishing town, but there you have it.

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