Travel to Cinque Terre

The Vances 4 had a last breakfast with Thomas, Tracy, Samantha & Jake on the rooftop terrace of the hotel and then they escorted us to the train station (their flight was the last to depart).  

After an hour delay sitting on the train in the station we made the 4 hour trip to La Spezia where we would change trains to Manarola where we are staying for 3 nights.  Manarola is the smallest of the 5 towns that make up Cinque Terre.  As soon as the train stopped at the station I knew we had make the right choice to hit this area.  The station sits on a ledge about 50 meters above the Ligurian Sea.  The town is a constructed on terraces with small walks and lots of steps.  

Manarola sits above the small harbor and cars are not allowed inside the city center (it is really just one main street perpendicular to the ocean). We got ourselves situated in our apartment and then we headed to the harbor... Helen and I were going to test the clear blue water.  Only one of the 5 towns, Monterosso has sandy beaches so we accessed the water via rocks and stairs.  People on blankets covered most flat areas and even some uncomfortable rocks.  

The water was amazing except for some algae or seaweed that was floating on top of the water and stuck to your face and arms.  We swam for a half an hour while Meghan and Debby hit the Coop.  We had beers and gelato in one of the bars and then dinner in our apartment which has a full kitchen and a washing machine!  

After dinner we walked 30 feet to the end of our street (5 foot walk between buildings) to a great sunset looking over the ocean.