"Love came down and rescued me. Love came down and set me free."
There really aren't words, other than Jesus Christ, to describe what I felt hiking through the hills of the Cinque Terre. When I stopped to look at my surroundings... to think that I live for the King who created all land, water & mankind by His Breath. He called it all into being by His Breath. One of our new friends we met in Florence from South Africa said that she believes in all religions because they all teach discipline. That may be quite true, but there is only one religion that worships the God that created it all by His Breath. When I allow myself to stop. To stop and be still... I am speechless before my Savior. Speechless at what He did for us. Speechless at what He does for us every single day.
Day 4: We arrived in Vernazza, Italia.
But first...let me tell you about the "breaking the law" that I mentioned earlier...
Well you see it is an Italian law that after one buys a train ticket, before boarding the train one must have the ticket validated. To validate a ticket one must put it in this little green machine and little green machine stamps it with the time and date. I suppose this is to prevent passengers from using an expired ticket. My theory is when you buy a ticket it should already have the time and date on it! Just an idea!
Well when we were leaving from Pisa to the Cinque Terre (we had to change trains in Pisa from Florence) we were in a hurry! Because we couldn't buy our ticket until we got to Pisa and the machines were being difficult with our cards etc. So we had to run to make our train --- having no time to have the darn thing validated. Welp, the one time we didn't validate our ticket the ol' train conductor starts coming by to check them. And of course he didn't pass us up. So after looking at our ticket, he looked at us, stuck his hand out and said "50 euros." I tried to explain our situation, but he could've cared less so I handed him the money and he wrote us a ticket. It was a sad, sad moment. The only reason the law is in place is because they know they can get money from dumb tourists -- like us, apparently.
So after that lovely experience....Katelyn and I were very excited about our stay in the Cinque Terre. After three hectic days of touring nonstop, we were ready for some trees & a more laid back atmosphere. We decided to hike from Vernazza to Corniglia to Manarola via the high road. There were so many beautiful vineyards on the way up the hill full of grapes and olives! Later that night we had dinner at the finest restaurant in Vernazza, Gambero Rosso (Red Prawn), ate anchovies for the first time (ever) & drank a bit too much wine.
But first...let me tell you about the "breaking the law" that I mentioned earlier...
Well you see it is an Italian law that after one buys a train ticket, before boarding the train one must have the ticket validated. To validate a ticket one must put it in this little green machine and little green machine stamps it with the time and date. I suppose this is to prevent passengers from using an expired ticket. My theory is when you buy a ticket it should already have the time and date on it! Just an idea!
Well when we were leaving from Pisa to the Cinque Terre (we had to change trains in Pisa from Florence) we were in a hurry! Because we couldn't buy our ticket until we got to Pisa and the machines were being difficult with our cards etc. So we had to run to make our train --- having no time to have the darn thing validated. Welp, the one time we didn't validate our ticket the ol' train conductor starts coming by to check them. And of course he didn't pass us up. So after looking at our ticket, he looked at us, stuck his hand out and said "50 euros." I tried to explain our situation, but he could've cared less so I handed him the money and he wrote us a ticket. It was a sad, sad moment. The only reason the law is in place is because they know they can get money from dumb tourists -- like us, apparently.
So after that lovely experience....Katelyn and I were very excited about our stay in the Cinque Terre. After three hectic days of touring nonstop, we were ready for some trees & a more laid back atmosphere. We decided to hike from Vernazza to Corniglia to Manarola via the high road. There were so many beautiful vineyards on the way up the hill full of grapes and olives! Later that night we had dinner at the finest restaurant in Vernazza, Gambero Rosso (Red Prawn), ate anchovies for the first time (ever) & drank a bit too much wine.
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| "I am the vine. You are the branches." |
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As seen in Rick Steve's: Italy 2014.  |
Day 5: We were pretty exhausted after an intense day of hiking so we slept in late (oh, it was so great), then headed to the edge of the cliffs for some sunbathing in Vernazza on the Mediterranean Sea, took the train to Manarola to see the prettiest town view, & ate yummy pizzeria. P.S. It is way better to be at the ocean on a large rock instead of the sand. Hassle free!
< Locals sun bathing >
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| Manarola, Italia. |
Day 6: We had breakfast at il Pirata Delle Cinque Terre (as seen in Rick Steve's), hiked from Vernazza to Monterosso al Mare, spent the afternoon in Monterosso, had dinner at Ristorante Incadase da Piva (as seen in Rick Steve's: Italy 2014), bought a bottle of Italian Moscoto, went to the top of Vernazza & watched the sunset. It was the perfect ending to our spiritual adventure.
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| Monterosso al Mare, Italia. |
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| Vernazza, Italia. |
Here's a helpful list if you're heading to the Cinque Terre:
Traveling Bible: same as previously mentioned
Hotel (in Vernazza): Manuela Apartments
Food: il Pirata delle Cinque Terre, Gambero Rosso, Baia Saracena, Ristorante Incadase da Piva
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