I have dreamed of coming to the Cinque Terre for years... and the three days we have booked have seen nothing but rain and threatening clouds. Dissappointing, but not all that bad.
The first highlight of the day was waking up early due to a wind storm, walking down to do laundry, and happening upon what I believe to be the best "brioche" in existence. This tiny bakery here in Vernazza that supplies breads and pastries to the towns throughout the region happens to make my new favorite breakfast item. They call it brioche but it looks more like a mishapen croissant with chocolate and a hint of hazelnut in the center. Melt in your mouth delicious!!!! I went back for more an hour later but it was sold out. I might wake up at 8am tomorrow just to get a fix!
The second highlight came when we walked down to the harbor and spotted several townsmen in their underwear frantically bringing boats in out of the choppy waters. Tighty whities galore! It was like watching your elderly Italian neighbor rip off his pants and tackle the sea with his bare hands. And yes, we got pictures!
The weather was so bad we decided to head out to Pisa for the day and check out the famous leaning tower. It was a choice we initially regretted after encountering the rudest Italians thus far. We have been keeping to ourselves and navigating everything pretty effortlessly and without asking for too much help- even when we do it is rarely met with opposition. Well, on our way to Pisa, we had to make a connection at a small train station with very little time. We ran to get our tickets and board the train when the evilest looking train man whistled at us from 10 yards away before we even stepped foot on the train. We figured there was a misunderstanding so we approached him with smiles. He told us we could not board the train and did not offer an explanation. We walked away confused and approached another train man in a different car. As we chatted with him from outside the train and he told us we could indeed board, evil train man whistled again and motioned to slit his throat! As we stared at him in confusion, he whistled one final time before he hopped on the train and it took off.
A few other Americans on the platorm could not understand what went wrong and we chatted about it for a while until we felt better. We finally got on a train and made it to Pisa where a nice elderly couple and their grandaughter guided us to the leaning tower. It was nice to meet some gentle Italians at that point. From there, the rest of the day was completely fantastic. We took a bunch of pictures and laughed watching all the other tourists line up to do the obligatory photo op of pretending to hold the tower up- totally cute. We spent some time gawking then grabbed a nice lunch and chatted with some British and German couples before renting a golfcart-like bike and peddling through downtown Pisa. We had no idea where we were going but had a great time pretending. We passed a Timberland shop that was on Siesta and made note to stop by at 4 when they reopened.
The Timberland store opened at 4 on the dot and Brad rolled in and asked for a 48 shoe to try. Again he was refused and was told the biggest he could get was 45. The best is how the clerks react.. not with a laugh or apologetically, but with smugness and superiority. It seems as though being confused is not allowed in Italy! But its fine because we laugh anyway about the fact the people could get so uptight about somebody having a size 45 foot. It makes Brad feel like a celebrity. After this 3rd shoe fail, his solution was to get an ankle brace from the Farmacia and it seems to be working quite well. But no more moonlit hikes on cliffs...
The sun still evades us so we are going to make our way to Portofino tomorrow. Even if the sun hides away at least we will have another Italian Riveria town to check off the list! I am bringing my swim clothes and taking a dip no matter what though. I did not come this far to hide away in a gelato shop (although who am I kidding.. bring on the gelato!)
We are still living off the high from Venice and having a very special engagement trip. I love love love Brad for thinking of proposing this way and keeping it a well hidden secret. I know a lot of you predicted it, but Brad literally let me do all the planning and until the last minute did not even know when we would be in Venice let alone if I would suggest a gondola ride (he knew everything had to feel like it was my idea if it was going to work). I could not have planned a better way to start the next chapter of our lives! But just in case you were wondering, we have held back all the lovey-dovey details because there is nothing more embarrassing than VDA (virtual display of affection). Hopefully we have not weirded any of you out!!!
Oh, and we will have a few more pictures soon of the rest of our trip.
Thanks again for reading!
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