Sunset at The Cinque Terre

We're watching the sun begin to set from our terrace in Riomaggiore, one of the five towns of the ever-popular Cinque Terre. Booking 'hostels' online is typicaly a gamble, but we've been extremely lucky in almost every case. Our 'hostels' have turned out to be apartments, hotels, B&Bs, etc. The building we're in isn't brand new, but the view from our terrace is spectacular. We're facing westward, so we'll be able to see the sun [appear to] set in about an hour. The town looks like it erupted from the sea straight toward the sky. The buildings are tall, but yield to the ones behind them to share the view.



There have been more English speakers here than in any other place we've visited. We were amazed (and relieved) that so many people in Greece spoke English; now, when we have developed our ability to communicate basically in Italian, we are surrounded by English-speakers. I don't even know if Italians come to Cinque Terre: virtualy every voice I've heard from passers-by is in English. [Unfortunately, most of these voices are coming from the so-called 'ugly Americans.']



These five small towns are gorgeous. It's hard to imagine what kept them going before Rick Steeves alerted The Americas to their presence. The Cinque Terre's chief export, now, must be picturesque postcards.

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