that special place

After a hectic work week, I miss the quiet villages of Cinque Terre, especially when most of the tourists have returned and all that's left - the sea, the colorful houses where real residents live in, the vineyards - still stand untouched in the lingering sunshine, as though the summer season never quite happened.

Sometimes, when we say we love certain places and want to live there forever, like Capri or Portofino or Santorini, I wonder if we still like them hors saison, when the sun no longer lights up those beautiful cliffs, when a perpetual grey gloom is cast over the villages.

I often catch myself thinking what it is like to live in a place like this... and that the year-long residents, those who proclaim their love thru all the seasons.. those people must surely lament the arrival of summer tourists like me, who come to profiter and use their beaches when the villages look their best and everything is bathed in a warm shimmery glow.

I believe, that when you find that special place on earth, you would love it when the sun is shining or when the leaves have fallen off the trees; a sense of solidarity binds you to that place. 

Have you found your special place yet?

Sentiero Azzuro

The 'Sentiero Azzuro' is a popular hike that links the 5 villages of Cinque Terre - Riomaggiore, Manarola, Corniglia, Vernazza & Monterosso. It is about 10-12km long & the difference in height is about 500 metres.

This trail was used by people from centuries ago & remained largely untouched by advances in civilisation. No roads link the villages, only trains & boats.

We started from Riomaggiore to Manarola... & i remembered thinking... Hey this is easy! All flat & wonderful sea views. But alas, this stretch was the easiest. Keeping in mind that since the villages have a marina or little harbour, one has to climb up & then go down again eventually to reach the next village.

But at every turn, we had the magnificent Mediterranean on the left, & sun-drenched olive groves & vineyards on the right. This picture was taken after about 2 hours when we left the 3rd village behind... Corniglia is higher up than the other villages so we had to climb 386 steps to reach the town center. In the distance at the upper left corner is Riomaggiore our village!

By this time, the initial flat path has long ago given way to rocky winding paths that go up, up UPPPPP... my thighs were aching like mad, i couldnt even look up the winding steps cos it would have killed the last ounce of willpower i had. Most of the hikers stripped down to their bikinis as the sun was merciless.

Finally we see the clock tower of Vernazza in the distance... so we went down endless steps again... the trail is pleasant & not that difficult for generally fit people... but the stretch between Corniglia-Vernazza-Monterosso can be challenging... all up & down & UPPP & down. The number of steps is.... my god... easily over a couple thousand.

How the villagers transport their stuff up to the vineyards & houses high on the cliffs. :)

We reach Vernazza & went straight into the sea... BLISS.

A specialty of the region -Testaroli... pasta dough with 3 types of sauces - pesto (my all-time favorite), olive oil & parmesan & bolognese.

Cinque terre is a dry white wine produced in the region & it was delicious.

When we reached this point... about halfway between Vernazza & Monteresso, the last village, i really felt like a pilgrim, grabbing my best friend & panting "The promised land". It looked so near, yet so far.

This must be what every hiker dreams of doing when it is at last finished.

Actually it's what i'd like to do every single day.. xx

Cinque terre

Each day in Riomaggiore is a faithful reminder to be thankful for nature's gifts.

One of the 5 villages of Cinque Terre - a Unesco world heritage site & national park, we chose to stay here for the week as it was quieter than nearby Vernazza or Monterosso. Plus it was the ideal location to start our hike as it's the first village.

The houses painted in traditional bright colors form a pretty backdrop for the small but busy marina.

We stayed in a modest apartment but the view from our window won us over. Every morning, the waves woke me up... I'd jump out of bed, look out the window & smile to myself. Then we would eat our breakfast & glare at the early risers who dared to take our rock. OUR rock cos it was directly underneath our apartment which was built into the cliffs. Hmph.

Never mind, we soon realised there were plenty of other rocks hehe. We explored the village on the first day... i never climbed so many steps in my life... little did i know that over the next few days, my main physical activity would be stair-climbing.

With my best friend... who's on a world tour & just finished Bosnia, Slovenia & Croatia in the past 2 weeks! For the first time in our lives, she's darker than me :P

Of course, what's Italy without the food?? Seafood spaghetti... best i ever tasted.

We could order the most boring pasta - spaghetti with tomatoes - from the most run-down restaurant... take the first bite & sigh deeply with contentment. How do the Italians do that?

An ancient monastery... and a friendly old man who kept asking us to go in.. I was more fascinated by his beret than anything else.

Best-kept secret of Riomaggiore - a kind (or forgetful) soul left his Wifi unlocked so every single day, alot of us would sit outside his home & surf the net for free. We sat alongside cats & dogs & shared satisfied smiles.

Soaking up the sun on our rock while watching the sun cast diamonds on the gentle waves.

Time to cool our hot bodies!

I jumped in & the chill of the sea surprised me... as well as the depth. It looked shallow from the rocks but underneath was a totally different world of jagged rocks, algae, fishes, dead coral... even though i'm a strong swimmer, i was actually pretty scared.

Luckily there's always the beach.

Every time the sun went a little west, we'd follow it but eventually, we had to let it go home.

The heat got too much at times... but every evening, we were rewarded with spectacular sunsets & the smell of fresh pasta cooking in kitchens... Thank god we did the Blue Trail hike to compensate for everything we ate.. trail photos comin soon xx

goodbye Riomaggiore

Going back to Paris in a very short while... goodbye Riomaggiore!

It's been so relaxing... we hiked between the villages of Cinque Terre, ate perfectly cooked pasta & pizza for our country & jumped into the sea whenever we couldnt take the heat. Then we sunned ourselves dry & talked till night fell & the stars came out.

The company you have is always the most important when on holiday... Sadly this will be my last holiday for some time to come :(

While i rush to finish school stuff, my best friend will continue on to Marrakech (luckyyyy) & then she will stay with me for a week in Paris! Yippeeeee i cant wait to share parts of my new life with her!

And of course every vacation must be accompanied by a song... the song that brings u right back to that special place... Hope you like this one xx

at 3pm today...

There's nowhere quite like Milan, this familiar city which is a delightful mix of Piaggios, noise, Italian hotties, dirt & ridiculously expensive cafes...



But of course... there's also nothing like doing some shopping along Via Della Spiga too.. tomorrow we're off to the coast.. to a small apartment perched on the cliffs facing the Mediterranean. Bliss xx

milan!

Missing the energy of Milan now that i'm back in my room finally. Time seems to fly by me & sometimes my mind & head & heart are in different places around the world.

Here, Gucci has even their own cafe & the waiters all look like models. Yummy.

Venice

Duomo di Milano is still as beautiful as ever...



The friendliest & cutest dogs i've ever seen!



Enough of private sales... we head to Venice.
150 canals... 400 bridges... thousands of tourists..



It was so much bigger than i expected!



Cloudless blue skies & the scorching sun



Busy restaurants serving delicious pizzas.





Little footbridges.



Gondolas docked by the side are a common sight.



A quiet empty square.



We take the water bus to Pont di Rialto...



Tourists everywhere.... the bridge is so packed.





View from Pont di Rialto.. I love the sight of gondolas gliding up and down the canals.
Looking down, I could imagine Venice in its heyday as a maritime power... so much of has changed i'm sure, but its old-world charm is still present in the little waterways, the buildings.. the gondolas bien sur..



Venetian masks hanging off every shop..



Going towards Piazza San Marco!





St mark's Basilica





It's one of the most beautiful churches i have ever seen....



A last glimpse of Venice..

We heard stories of it being dirty, smelly, crowded, touristy... but so what??? It's Venice!!!
It's still beautiful in my opinion... and well worth a visit.

These days i'm running out of time... and my schedule is ever-changing.
I want some time to myself.. >_<