Seaside in Cinque Terre

While planning our trip to Italy, some well-traveled friends and relatives suggested we should not attempt more than one big city, given the heat of Italy in August and the ages and attention spans of our kids.  That’s how we ended up following three days in Rome with three in Cinque Terre, which is a region of five villages (literally translated “five lands”), on the Mediterranean coast northwest of Rome.

Boy, am I glad I headed this advice, because our days here spent hiking, swimming and sunbathing have been the perfect “yin” to the “yang” of bustling, history-packed Rome.  The tourist crowd here consists of classy older couples, honeymooners and other young lovers -- mostly from Italy, it seems -- and a host of laid-back backpackers from around the world. We’re staying in Riomaggiore, one of the quietest of the villages, so the nightlife consists mostly of fashionably late diners in outdoor cafes, relaxing over a glass of Italian wine and plates of the region’s renown seafood dishes.

The balcony of our third-floor apartment overlooks the main street and has a bit of a glimpse of the sea, which makes for a lovely place to eat meals, people watch, soak in the sunsets and reflect over our last seven weeks of travel.  Tomorrow we leave for Switzerland, where we’ll meet up with my parents and visit with many cousins, aunts and uncles.  

We’re finally starting to feel the tug of home -- I’m dreaming about it almost every night. I’m hoping I can still savor each one of the next 10 days.