June 2nd
We went back to one of my favorite places in the world today. The Cinque Terre is a group of 5 small towns posted on the west coast of Italy. Like Andorra, the houses are built one upon the other and as you go through the towns it feels like you're walking through massive hallways. We planned on walking from one to the other, but it didn't work out because of 4 large mudslides blocking the trail. Instead we took the ferry along the coast from one town to the other. We spent most of our time in Vernazza. It was all free time, so I climbed along the coast up high on the rocks, sat on the beach, had a pizza, climbed the tower and just got a feel for the location. Jesus there are a lot of tourists in the Cinque Terre. I'm pretty sure Italians were the minorities, I was trying to listen for Italian the whole time but all I could hear was obnoxious Americans yelling to one-another about which little shop to buy sunscreen at. Honestly, I'm a bit embarrassed to be American when I travel. Anytime I talk to a local they assume I'm going to deliberately and slowly yell "Where is the bathroom?". After spending so much time in Europe, I know the last thing locals want is for tourists to ask stupid questions, especially since we often insult their intelligence by assuming they can't understand us. Most people in Europe speak English (except for France), and if they don't you still don't have to yell or treat them like children. Anyways, aside from the tourist vibe the Cinque Terre was a wonderful stop. We took the train back to Manarola, and the bus from there to La Spezia.