Cinque Terra deserves all of the underground praise that it gets. It’s 5 coastal cities, originally settled by monks, which provide stunning views of the Mediterranean Sea. And if you know anything about European monks, they were the original “Kings of the Hill”.

I got to Monterosso, the first of the Five Cities, and decided to do some exploring. And using my trusty axiom, “When in Europe, always go up.” I came across a very old cathedral and a spooky graveyard. Normally, I’m a huge fan of graveyards, but since it was close to midnight and I started reading Bram Stoker’s “Dracula” that day, I high-tailed it back to the main city.

You can jump across each of the cities by either train, boat, or a hefty hike. Being adventurous, I woke up the next morning ready to hike my way through this. 2 hours, over 400 vertical feet of staircases later, and only one trail completed, I committed the train schedules to memory.

Each of the towns retain their local dignity and charm, while the tourist become part of the backdrop, and just provide an excuse to open up more restaurants. It was intriguing to quickly notice the difference between the Italian and the American tourist. Even though they were hiking up a mountain, the Italians still maintained their dignity and fashion with their larger than Texas white belts and signature oversized sunglasses. They were hiking, and dammit, they were going to look good doing it too.

The Americans? We looked like Wizards trying to be muggles.

As I write this, my legs are weary, but they only have a short time to recuperate as I’m meeting up with Kathy in Paris tomorrow morning. I picked up a bottle of local white wine and we’re going to have a picnic near the Eiffel Tower. Who said Coonasses can’t be romantic?

April 28th, on a train from Genova to Milano.