Monday, November 21, 2005

Cinque Terre Pics

After arriving in Florence and checking into my B&B, I went for a walk and stopped in a cafe. This cafe seemed to be part of some business or company - perhaps a delivery service or messenger center. If you walked past it, you never would have thought it a cafe. I only found it because I saw someone coming out. But it was filled with people which is always a good sign, and didn't seem pretentious.

If you were casting a movie and needed two people to play young thugs, your search would be over as soon as you saw the two guys working in the cafe. This isn't to say that they were thugs but that they had that certain aura of "don't screw with me" about them. Speaking in fractured Italian I ordered a snack and a beer. Some of the regulars left, and the older of the two men started quizzing me. Where was I from, why was I in Florence, was I a student, etc. I told them I wasn't a student, but I was traveling around Italy. They asked where I had been and where I was going. "Rome..." "Oh, yeah, Rome" they nodded at the inevitability of it. "Naples." "Yeah, Naples" they shrugged. "Cinque Terre." "Ahhh," they cooed in unison "Cinque Terre." They said it so wistfully, almost melting at the words, as if they were describing Shangri-la.

The region has that sort of effect on people. The pictures don't do it justice, but I hope you like them anyway. The first two pics are from Monterosso, the most northern of the five towns. The other three pics were taken on the trails that link the towns.




7 comments:

Anonymous said...

Paris looks lovely, but if given the choice I'd pick Italy over it in a heartbeat.

the hanged man said...

It's a tough choice. Let me put it this way: Paris is like New York, lots of culture and the aggrevation that can sometimes come with a major city. Italy is like San Francisco. Much more laid back.

As I've said before, one of the things I loved about Italy was that, after Paris, Spain and Morocco, Italy just felt so easy. It was like getting into a warm bath.

Anonymous said...

The pictures are lovely. They reminded me a lot of Capri. I especially liked the one of the castle (?) by moonlight...beautiful!
Never been to Paris so I can't judge, but you know my feelings about Italy.

Carol said...

Such beautiful photography! Where did you learn take pictures like that? Surely not at Elmer L. Meyers High School?

I'm glad you're still blogging.

the hanged man said...

Iva -
The coast near Cinque Terre did remind me of Capri and of the Amalfi Coast. The towns are quite the hot spots that Capri and Anacapri are, but they are still nice.

Carol -
Looking back, I wish I had taken photography at Meyers, instead of Calculas or Trig. I did take some photo classes in college, but one of the great things about digital camera is you can see the photo almost instantly and if it is bad you can delete it just as quickly. I like to think of it as survival of the fittest for the pictures. You can see I don't regret taking biology.

Anonymous said...

Photgraphy was awsome! I had a great time in the darkroom and I've NEVER regretted missing out on Trig or Calc. Your photos are exellent, however, even without taking classes.

Anonymous said...

John,

I often feel when I return from a special trip my pictures can't quite reveal what my heart remembers. I think your pictures convey so much! They are just beautiful-