Pasta every meal!!!

Once again it has been a while since a post but internet in cinque terre was astronomically expensive! We had an amazing day yesterday getting here in Germany which I will talk about in the next post (or previous depending on the way you read them).

Cinque terre was really beautiful and a really nice change from the busy streets of Naples, Rome and Florence (although it was flooded with tourists). We got to Riomaggiore last friday without accomodation to learn that that weekend was a national holiday. We managed to get the last appartment for that night (60 euros) and a studio for the following nights (a bargain at 40 euro with kitchen). We vowed to cut the budget by eating at home, and that meant that poor Dasha would have to live with the cheapest food in Italy... PASTA (with white wine or gorgonzola or mortadella). We had pasta for lunch and diner everyday and omelettes and fried potatoes or garlic bread for breakfast. We ate soooo much and sooo well and were deeply under budget. Oh we had like 2 salads and 2 sundaes too...

The first day there we arrived we just walked around the town and satisfied our hungry tummies with a piece of foccacia (I have much to learn). Our eurail pass took us to Monterosso for groceries. The next day we went to the beach and swam and suned all day (the sun was really bright so we couldn't resist). The following day we attempted the hike through the 5 towns. They all have so much character and are very different however they all have tourists in common. Half way between Corniglia and Vernazza a sign for a 20 minute walk to the beach lured us down steep cliffs. We did not have time to go to Monterosso and took the train back home for some pasta. There was a train strike on that day but they ended at 21:00, we assumed that they wanted the holiday off too.

The next day it rained in the morning so we got 50 cL of icecream (no gelato this time but it was really good anyways) made monster sundaes with melted Milka bars (from Luftansa) and easter eggs, we crushed some old M&M's and some Air Canada cranberry crackers. We then went to the beach in the rain until the sun came out and let us have sea snail races and play cards until nightfall.

And for those who wonder how the 1 euro bottle of white wine was, it was pretty good.

And for the Smirnows who wonder if Dasha is tired of pasta... She is not... She had some more at Vita's