Sunny Italy

Tuscan minteral baths
hiking-cinque-terre-a-photo-guide
isle-of-capri-8x10-fine-art-photo

Yesterday we travelled to a frigid Siberian winter. Sorry….soo sooo sorry. Today let’s shake off the shivers and head to places where worries melt away….along the coast of Italy:
1. Tuscan mineral baths
2. Monterosso in Cinque Terre, Italy
3. Capri, Italy

I studied abroad in Florence. It was a magical experience. I’d often hop a train by myself or with a friend and hike Cinque Terre. It was off season and before the 5 towns had been written up in a lot of guide books so it was really quiet and non-touristy. I’d rent a tiny room (that you’d get to by climbing one of the many stone stairways from the hilly mainstreet to the stone and stucco houses stacked above) from a nice man who ran the hardware store in town and do the big hike from Riomaggiore to Monterosso (passing orange trees, clover forests and hilly vistas). It was spring so there were no umbrellas out in Monterosso like in the photo above. At the end of the semester, I’d been there so many times the man from the hardware store, Silvano gave me a bottle of wine he and his wife made themselves.

Years later on our honeymoon, Dave and I went back. It was summer so it was super hot and there were lots of tourists milling about. Still, it’s a stunning place full of memories and gnocci pesto served at charming cafes overlooking the Mediterranean Sea. Monterosso had those umbrellas to rent and lounge chairs on the beach. The sand was scalding and the water was so refreshing. There’s nothing more beautiful than that blue-green sea.

I’m dreaming of going back someday.