not so amazing cinque terre

After hearing nothing but rave reviews from all of the people we have met so far on this trip, I must say that cinque terre was a dissapointment. The hikes between the villages were really nice and picturesque, but the villages are overcommercialized and stuffed to the gills with American and Canadian tourists. Positano has spoiled us I am sure. Anyway, we caught a train there this morning and hiked around. Had a really nice lunch in one of the villages. I had the beans (no clue what they were when I ordered them, they just looked cheap) which actually were pretty good, and chase got a pasta with pesto sauce, about double the cost of my beans. We also split a small bottle of white wine, locally grown in cinque terre and bottled in La Spezia the gateway town. It was a hot sunny day, so we split from part of the trail and headed down the jagged igneous coastline. No beaches, but craggy rocks jettign out into the water. We jumped off and swam around a bit, heading back from the mouth of a sea cave after discovering that it was both really dark and also swarming with jellyfish who drifted in. Probably my last taste of the Med for awhile. Caught a train back here to Florence as the sun was going down. Really the best way to experiance the city is at sundown. Washed off the salt water, and now waiting to go grab a slice of pizza for dinner.
At least the high school tour group left.