Italy, Pt. II

We couldn't come all the way to the Mediterranean without spending some time in the sun on the pristine sandy beaches.  Our little town, Moneglia, had the best spot for us to lounge around on.  We got a little more sleep the night before and woke up with an even more overwhelming urge to find the best cappucino.  We did.  After sipping on that, we made our way to the beach and found a decent spot to soak up the sun.  We were (well I was) both so paranoid about the intense sun and lack of sunscreen but we never gave in.  I got sunburned but it faded right away and you know what? It actually turned my skin a little bit on the brown side.  But let's not let my mom know of this, let alone my dermatologist (and if you're so curious, yes, I had tinted moisturizer with SPF 20 on).

The water was crystal clear and when the sun is out, it sparkles like the brightest diamond.  It's true!  The sun felt so nice and we were both so sad that it was our only opportunity to do such a thing until next summer.  That lemon soda I'm drinking was the best.  Thanks for the recommendation, Inna!  A few hours later, the sun went away and a gigantic storm settled in for the remainder of the day.  So we made our way back right before the downpour and spent some r&r at our monastery hotel.  There was a mezzanine with an outdoor seating area that had tons of books and magazines in various languages for all the guests to read.  We sat out there for quite awhile, drinking prosecco and playing cards.  It was lovely.  There were even a couple of lemon and olive trees!

It poured down rain and thundered and lightning for hours and hours.  We went to a very small pub to entertain ourselves for a bit and then braved the rain to the nearest restaurant.  Which was unfortunate because it was this night that we had our worst meal.  I won't go into the details but I'm a little bit traumatized.  I've been vegetarian for nearly 6 years and this past year my husband finally convinced me to try some seafood. I've been experimenting very slowly and cautiously but I went all out at this meal.  Why? I don't know.  Big mistake.  So I was rewarded with gelato and lots of it.

Our time at the Cinque Terre and Liguria was pretty wonderful aside from the dinner disaster.  I highly recommend a trip out there if you're interested.  And I want to thank my friend Katie for recommending a portion of our trip being spent there!

Next up: Venizia!