Le Cinque Terre, and Venice too

Hey all, I haven't written in a while. But thanks to everyone for their birthday wishes. Especially to Elie, who got me a pack of baseball cards, from which I pulled that new Derek Jeter (blech) with George W Bush (double blech) waving from the background. Quite a novelty, I guess.

Anyway, Cinque Terre was just as beautiful as everyone said it would be, and there were several places for sale, on a tiny hill, with olive and lemon trees in the yard. I looked, for my mom, to see how expensive they'd be, and they were all exorbitant. Plus, you've gotta be in 18-year-old cross-country-star cardio shape in order to make it there. Whew, were those hills tough! Not as legendarily unwalkable as everybody makes them out to be, certainly, but a stroll to the store for some bread takes some pep-talking.

I spent my birthday on a ferry from Venice (which looks JUST like you think it would) to Athens, and while that wasn't much fun, there was a pool ON THE BOAT and I also ate an entire jar of nutella to celebrate. A 30 hour cruise down the Aegean for 16 euro wasn't so bad in the end, I decided.

My host in Athens, Manolis, is unbelievably hospitable. What a great site couchsurfing is. I came right into 95 degree, drenchingly humid heat, and got to come to his apartment, eat Cretian Salad (different from Greek b/c of more crouton-type bread in the salad - not bad), drink white wine with peach juice, and have a lovely and comfortable home for my first three days in Athens. We might even go to a couchsurfing weekend party nearby, where we can meet all kinds of people which whom to stay in travels around the world.

Now, for some pictures.

This was posted all over the cruise ship. If you tilt your head to the left and read carefully, you'll notice, to your horror, that some things in life just don't make any sense whatsoever.
And you thought it was only in China and Japan where they had poorly translated English. Italy, I'm ashamed.
The "other" side of Venice, as is all too common.
Ah, beautiful Venice. Exactly what you'd expect to see, yet still beautiful.
My Aussie friend Alana who I met at the hostel in Cinque Terre. She's played in a band with Ross Irwin (Cat Empire fans, out there? He's part of the add-on horn section when they play in Melbourne). We got this huge beer and HUUUGE watermelon for 4 euro total, not each, after our long hike through all of the Cinque Terre.
Here's us again. Doesn't it look like we've been superimposed on a backdrop of Cinque Terre, and we're two really bad hosts on a poorly-funded cable-TV travel show? I mean, even look at our posture. "And that's why Cinque Terre has some of the best hiking in Italy. Isn't that right, Alana?" "That's right GM, let's go explore!"
Oh yeah, this is what you've been waiting to see. Spectacular. Utterly spectacular.
Now, I'm not lying here. It really is still Cinque Terre, not Tucson. They definitely have Agave, Prickly Pear (not pictured), and, whatever that tall thing is on the left. They were all growing on the exposed cliffs facing the sea, which makes me think, if I remember my rainforest ecology and marine biology classes from Australia, that it's not necessarily the dry heat that these "desert" plants thrive in, but the harsh environment devoid of proper soil nutrients, also containing high winds and variable weather, so the plants have to scrape by to survive in highly competitive environments where dispersal is key. Bing!
Now, it wouldn't be Italy without a woman hanging wash out to dry outside her window, right?
Another picture of a village.


Athens and Santorini are next. Hopefully everything's great wherever everybody else is. This long trip has been great so far for relaxing and not feeling like I have to "see something" all the time. Makes traveling more worth it. If Beto's reading (and Ruth, if he's not, make him), tell him we definitely have to go forward with the Central America plan for next summer. I love this traveling thing too much.