It was bound to happen...

Dave pointed out that if you go on vacation for 35 days you are bound to eventually have a day or two with bad weather. He’s right - and Saturday was our ‘bad weather’ day.

We woke up in our hotel room to a downpour. Our plans were completely unrealistic in this weather as we planned to take a boat to Vernazza and to hike on the Via del Amore. The weather was too bad for the boats and the hiking would have been a muddy washout. We could have still taken the train to Vernazza but it was raining there as well. Not really raining, pouring!

So, we had a leisurely breakfast and watched the fury from the hotel lobby, as did all the tourists. Everyone was dressed in swimming suits and cover-ups - I think it was all they brought! (Seemed a touch ironic that when we arrive at the Italian coast, ready for sun and swimming that it would be the time to storm. That’s what I get for talking about the perfect weather all the time!)

Making the best of the day and pulling out the umbrella, we walked to old town Monterosso and looked in some shops. We went there under the impression that there was a Laundromat but walked back to new town to find what we needed. So, we spent the day doing laundry, catching up on sleep, and walking outside when we could. (Don't they look happy??)

For dinner we went to a nearby restaurant called ‘Maxi’ and the skies opened up again and POURED rain. We ate some warm, tasty pasta and waited for it to let up a little before dashing back to the hotel. (When you’ve paid 2 Euro each for a table, you ought to be able to use it as long as you like!)

In the hotel lobby we watched a ‘blooper’ show exposing poor magicians and laughed at how horribly wrong some of their tricks went. It was all in Italian so of course we didn’t understand a word, which made it even better. We took turns as the narrator, making up what they were saying.

The Cinque Terre is so picturesque and stunning that I guess we’ll just have to come back when the weather is better. A return trip - so sad for us.