Today is the day I get to go on the trip I have been dreaming of ever since I saw it in Pop-pop's 500 Greatest Trips book! Needless to say I woke up overly excited for our 7:25 am train to Monterosso. Karina was moving a bit slow in the morning (as usual!), so I was happy that we had purchased our tickets ahead of time. However, when we got to the train station, I absolutely panicked when we could not find our platform because Monterosso was not listed as a destination. Given more time, I may have stayed to see the list of stops on specific trains, but with minutes to spare, I ran to a conductor and had her point me the right way. In the knick of time (thank God), we hopped on the train. It was two stories, and we dubbed it a "social train". It reminded me of one huge, loud family. There were shared benches, and people were literally screaming and seemed to be having a grand old time. I managed to nestle up on my bench and take a nap, although Karina had an interesting old man come share her bench!
Upon arriving in Monterosso, we were happy to see that the train station let us out right on the beach, gorgeous! We took a left leading us to Old Town, where most of the shops and hotels are located. Turning right would have taken us to New Town, where there is not as much to do, and it's simply not as cute! Asking directions from a man in the main square, we dragged out luggage uphill to Hotel Souvenir. He told us to take a right at the fountain, which we blatantly passed when it was actually a tiny bird bath. However, we eventually found our hotel and were thrilled to be greeted by free truffles! The hotel's external bathroom was not shabby at all. Four rooms shared it, and it just looked like a normal house bathroom and posed no problems. The hotel had an adorable courtyard where people hung out enjoying free wifi with views of flowers, a little waterfall, and some town buildings. We were happy that the hotel was completely full of English speaking college kids.. A nice break from feeling like a total foreigner! We walked back to the main street (absolutely tiny because it was such a small town!), and grabbed a surprisingly cheap lunch at a little cafe. I had a turkey, mozzarella, and tomato panini, the first turkey I had spotted in Italy! We checked out a few little shops, ranging from extremely touristy to local jam and pesto shops, both of which the region is famous for. We got to try different spreads on crackers, and we were very impressed. Lemon trees dot the mountains surrounding Cinque Terre, so there was an assortment of lemon spreads. My favorite was the Rosso Pesto, a yummy spread with tomato and basil! We decided to embark on a short climb on the mountain trail, to make it to the edge of the national park with information on the hikes that we would be doing tomorrow. The views were already incredible!! The combination of the green shrubberies of the mountain with the clear blue and turquoise water of the Italian coast was absolutely beautiful. Next, we decided to venture back to Monterosso's main attraction...it's beach! Although we spotted some private and partially nude beaches, we opted for the free rocky beach right in Old Town. It was gorgeous baking in the sun for a few hours. It felt like I was back in Florida! The water was freezing but I managed to get waist deep. We transferred over to laying on the rocks forming a little jetty on the left hand side of the beach, and set up shop there for about three hours. It was a slice of heaven, and I did not want to leave! On our way back to the hotel, we explored each restaurant that my man Rick Steve's recommended, but decides upon Il Casello on a terrace with umbrellas right on the beach. After showering, we met Austin at this spot, and experienced a beautiful outdoor meal. Karina and I ordered the seafood ravioli, and what a meal it was!! Colorful cheese ravioli came out topped with a creamy seafood sauce and shrimp. I wanted to lick my plate clean. After dinner, we grabbed gelato at a local joint, but they did not give free samples so I had to take a wild guess! The straccioletti (chocolate chip) and hazelnut was a good choice. We wandered the town streets for a bit longer, enjoying the amazing quaintness of one of the smallest cities I have ever been in. Calling it quits, we headed to bed to rest up for our big day tomorrow...the hike!!