Cinque Terre...Lucca

Cinque Terre was amazing!!! Everyone who told me to come here, I finally know what you mean. Those who haven't been...well, just go, and you'll know. It is one of the most beautiful and unique places I have seen. There is tons to do there. I already said we hiked from town 1 to town 5. The next day we took the train to Monterosso, town 5, and rented a double kayak for two hours. Thinking it would be more relaxing than the hike, we set out fresh and determined. It was a amazing to see the land from the water and just roll over the side of the kayak into the clear, cool blue water. We kayked to the next town, Vernazza, floated around. Our arms at this point were jello and we had to make it all the way back. We pushed it, stopping at another beach for a bit and laying in the sand. We turned it in, and we decided to be done with all physical activity. We cooked every night, walked along the Via dell Amore at night, sat on the cobbled streets, drank wine, and people watched. It was a very nice, relaxing time.

We got up early after our third night there and caught a train to Pisa. We walked through Pisa, saw the leaning tower and Duomo, took the typical tourist pictures, had lunch and got out. Theres really not much else there. We got back on the train headed for Lucca for the night. Lucca was a very nice suprise. A guy we met suggested we stay there because we had a night before Florence. It was a small, walled city between Pisa and Florece, with a great view of the Tuscan hills. We rented bikes and rode all around the city looking at churches and great plazzas. It was a fun, active way to see the city. We had a great pizza and beer that night. Our hostel was a little sketch. The room was pretty much down in the basement which looked like a cave/dungeon out of a scary movie. I (elaine) had a horrible allergic reaction to the air/walls/damp sheets or whatever. Was up most of the night sneezing, tossing and turning. We survived, loved the town, and made it to Florence!

Florence is amazing right out of the station, we walked clear across town in less than 20 to our hostel. We have a kitchen again!!! Stocked up on food for the week. It's rainy so we are acclimating and resting before we tackle everything in the next three days. We are very excited to be here. Watch out for updates! We love you all!