Cinque Terre day 2

This morning, we got up and walked in the rain up the street of Manarola (our village) and found the church. Mass was just starting, so we attended. It was a small crowd, but lively. The music was a man playing the guitar and leading the singing. There were also two altar boys (possibly twins and for certain brothers). They looked to be in grade school. A grandmother-looking woman was coaching them with hand signals from the congregation.

In the end as they processed out, one boy dropped the communion cloth from the chalis as he was carrying it out and the other narrowly avoided dropping the glass vials of holy water as the priest reached in for the save. Phil commented that they must still be in training or were perhaps the only young boys in the tiny community. The priest was unflappable and took it all in stride.

We stopped for a few groceries and then had lunch back at the apartment before heading out to the towns of Vernazza and Corniglia. We took a photo down by the harbor in Vernazza near the spot that Mom and Mike took one 23 years ago!

At Corniglia, we were glad to have our two day passes, which allowed us to ride the bus up and down instead of hiking up the 355 steps in the rain.

Finally, back at Manarola, we had our first Italian gelato. I don't usually eat sweets, so Phil finished half of mine.

Tomorrow, we are back on the train heading for two nights in Florence. We are excited that we'll have an actual washing machine since we have several days of wear on our current clothes.Read more