Cinque Terre, Day 10 + 11

We decided to leave Tuscany for a couple of days. A mere three hours of driving brought us here...

...or here, depending on if you are looking right or left...

What is your favourite view, majestic mountains or endless blue sea?

Welcome to the Cinque Terre part of our little online tour. The atmosphere in all five of these fisherman villages is sloooooooow. There are no cars or scooters and it seems like the church bells are the only sign of time passing by, like the days of the week aren't of any importance. Is it Monday today? I think so... It seems like no one has anywhere to go today, tomorrow, this week, this month.

There is nothing to do in Cinque Terre. No touring, no museums, no line ups, no busy schedule, no rushing to "see it all". All you have to do is sit down and enjoy the view and atmosphere. I knew this was my kind of town immediately.

This is how we wait for the next train in Cinque Terre. Is there an hour's wait? No big deal, we'll catch the next one. Or the one after that, we'll see.

It took us a while, 11 days to be exact, but we figured it out: how to enjoy the 3 hour lunch. Step one: find a shady patio and sit down. Step two: order a drink and sip. When the waiter comes over and asks if you are ready to order food, politely decline and mention that you would like to enjoy your drink before you look at a menu. Step 3: Browse the menu and order one thing at a time. Step 4: drink, eat, enjoy, relax. I think this might be the dolce vita.

The funny thing is that the servers don't care if you take your time. Anywhere in North America, I would feel pressure to order right away, knowing that our table is most likely booked again and if not, that the kitchen is probably antsy for us to order so they can go home to their families or go out for a much needed post-work drink. Having worked in that industry for longer than I would like to mention here, I know that most servers are annoyed if you take forever to eat your first course or camp for hours after you have finished your dessert and the restaurant is empty. In cinque terre, there is no guilt at all. Taking your time is normal, if not encouraged. This is what it is all about here.

We finally peeled ourselves from our table and we made it about 300 yards before we sat down again, closer to the beach. Our view, aside from the picturesque mountains and gorgeous blue sea, was an interesting mix of locals sunbathing and kids playing ball or jumping into the water over and over. Then, we ate a basket of cherries with the arm movement of a sloth.... for two hours. Sounds boring? Nope. It was fabulous. With the combination of the afternoon heat and the small town vibe, it's like you physically can't move another step forward. You... must... stop... and... relax. Why would you want to hurry anyway?

Tourbooks will warn you, don't be surprised if your plans suddenly change and you end up staying longer than you anticipated in Cinque Terre. I wish.

Another bonus of visiting a fisherman's village is the abundance of inexpensive and fresh seafood. We ate such a huge chunk of the ocean that my man felt like he had the content of an entire aquarium floating around in his stomach. A happy aquarium I'm sure. After a day of taking in the best of Cinque Terre views, we found a place for dinner. See note above on how to enjoy a 3 hour lunch and apply same method for dinner.

This was definitely a hard place to leave. Cinque Terre, how I miss you...

Italy countdown, day 11

pizza: 5

pasta: 8

gelato: 8