Italy, Day 9

07 Apr 06

Mrs Squid and I wanted to go horseback riding, but it's not tourist season yet, so no horses.  Damn!  I was really looking forward to it and it was only 23E for 2 hours.  Instead, Squid, Mrs Squid, Robs and I took the path between Vernazza and Monterossa.  It was absolutely beautiful.

Vernazza from the trail

Guess who found a friend?

It was also a lot of work.  Lots of stairs up and down (I forgot to count them).

Stone stairs...

Breath-taking views

...down some stairs...

No stairs, just a gentle slope

...and cement stairs

It took us just under two hours to make the trip, what with stopping for pictures and to catch our breath and chat with other people.  Even though we were not even 1,000 feet above sea level, it was work!

When we got into Monterossa, we stopped at a little cafe and had the best focaccia sandwiches ever!

Oh, how I wish I was still that "fat".

We took the train back to Vernazza and split up.

Squid and I (and our dirty laundry) went to Riomaggiore to do laundry while Mrs Squid and Robin went on another hike ~ crazy girls!

Another of Squid's finds from "the bible".

Our last night in Vernazza, I finally decided to get some pictures of our apartment.    The apartment was sparse, but adequate for our needs.

The view from my bedroom window.

And looking the other way.

And I'm pretty certain it was haunted, which is how I ended up with the big bed (haunted room), while Robs had the little bed.  Squid scared the hell out of us one night by knocking on the door after we'd turned in - we were a bit jumpy in our apartment.

We did have the honor of hearing what we assumed to be a funeral procession, complete with beautiful singing, one night through our window.  Or maybe it was the ghosties.

Tomorrow, we're off to Lake Como :)