Chiming bells of Vernazza

I sit here in my plush little room listening to accordion music and Italian voices floating in through the window. I have to pinch myself to remind me this is not a dream. Nor was the lunch of incredible Pesto pizza from a wood oven, or the wonderful house wines. I am in Vernazza, in the heart of Cinque Terra and the Italian Rivera. To say I love being here is an understatement. I have seen pictures of this place everywhere from the cover of Travel and Leisure to posters in travel shops around the world. With a population of only 600 people, it is quaint and tiny nestled among the vineyards that scale the mountains nudging right up to the Mediterranean. There is not much to do around here, which is a fantastic break from sightseeing. We decided to take the brutal hike to Monterosso (the next town over) one morning to sit on the beach. Five minutes after arriving it rains. We weather the storm in a rock enclave and after a half hour have the beach to ourselves. We have the best dinner of our lives at a restaurant that evening that juts out into the ocean. I am living a dream. I try to soak in every second here. Emblazing all the colors of the ocean and the scents of the beautiful food into my mind. There is no place like this in all the world. No museums or landmarks to see. The best shows here are free: watching the joy and relief on Jeff’s face as he plunged into the water at the end of the pier was priceless. Around dinner time, all the old men line up their chairs along the walkway and in the central piazza watching the girls go by. Under the shade of umbrellas in the afternoon they play cards, I can hear them laughing from our balcony above. This is a place that will quiet even the most restless of souls. As we leave the train station this morning I hear the clock tower ring its bells right on time, and hope that one day they will call me back again.