Daryl & Heather Overland

Italy won 5-3 on gelaties.

In the first week of July, we spent a nice week in Italy, visiting the Cinque Terre and Venice (and Milan, briefly). Completely different in many ways, these two areas share one important similarity. If not for tourism, it is unlikely that either would still be inhabited.

Cinque Terre translates as "five lands" - Monterosso, Vernazza, Corniglia, Manarola and Riomaggiore. Perched precariously on steep hillsides right on the coast in North-West Italy, the somewhat bizarre choice of medieval town locations are completely impractical for modern living, but provide some sweaty walks and stunning scenery. A bonus is that each of the towns, with the exception of Corniglia (not to be confused with the Emperor Caligula or The Great Cornholio) has a beach or at least some access to the clear blue and cool waters of the Mediterranean, with its many varieties of fish, coral and plastic bags. Many of the terraced orchards and vineyards between the towns were abandoned long ago, but there is a government sponsored movement to revive many of these - supposedly an effort to hold onto the traditional way of life, but mayb it's just something more for tourists to gawk at. All in all a very nice place to hang out for a few days.



Venice is set to be one of the early victims of global warming and the inevitable sea level rise that will accompany this. So when you spend every spare cent stopping your house sinking, falling over or being flooded, there is probably not a whole lot left to invest in new plaster, or fixing cracks, or a decent paint job. So it's all a bit decrepit, but in a fascinating, see it all before it's gone sort of way. A really nice place to just wander around in. You are guaranteed to get lost, even if you are following Heather's Patented Giant Lonely Planet Walking Tour. Don't worry, even when lost you soon hit a canal, church or the sea and find your bearings. Definitely worth visiting.

There are a whole bunch of new photos for May-July on our photo page... just click the link to the left.

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