Last Days in Cinque Terra

The Main Alleyway of Corniglia.

We will miss the mall.

and our, "Whole Foods".

     We are quickly running out of days in Cinque Terra, and we are getting a little melancholy about moving on. What a great place for us to start. Our days went from 100MPH in Orlando and DC to 4 MPH in Corniglia (the speed of walking). You can’t help but feel the stress melting away. I’ve changed so much that when my phone rings I never think its mine (so I miss lots of phone calls). Just 10 weeks ago I was jumping when the phone rang. Our lives here have taken on the simplicity we had as a young married couple, it feels like we have all the time in the world to accomplish whatever it is we need to do. It’s good for your health to get away from all the chaos and noise and just learn how to relax again. 

During our stay we have made friends with some of the locales and count lots of new acquaintances from all over the world. We found we can survive outside our regular world even without knowing the local language. Adapting to a new environment is the key, and we rated about a B+. The next stop should be interesting, we go to a town that is 5 times bigger (1500 approx) than Corniglia, but not a tourist mecca. This is a small Italian village populated by working people, it is in wine country and we hear its beautiful. The name of the town is Alviano, if you look on a map it is about 1/2 way between Rome and Florence, just south of Orvieto and very close to Amelia. We do have to get there first, which should be an adventure. On Saturday we take the train to La Spezia, a taxi to the car rental center and then drive to Alviano. Mapquest has promised me 3 1/2 hours but we are allowing 4 1/2 just in case. We meet the sister of the owner of the flat in Attigliano and she will guide us in and help us get settled. Just another adventure...we are ready!