Cinque Terre, Italy

A series of 5 towns perched along the Mediterranean, the Cinque Terre was just the Italy I was looking for. Quiet, beautiful, small. Although heavily touristed and ideal for couples, these romantic towns were just the break I needed from the many cities Ive been through.
Starting in the northern most town, Monterosso, I stayed for 2 nights in a little coughin of a room; but for €25/night, the best deal in town. There were real beaches this time, crystal clear water (perfect for my new €5 mask) and real sand. Monterosso is quite an idyllic little Italian beach town.

The real glory of this area, though, is the walk between the 5 towns.
here seen behind me.

I met an Italian girl at the beginning of the hike and we stuck together the rest of the way; much nicer to have someone to share the views and the little towns with--especially with someone who speaks Italian. It turned out to take us about 6 hours. And with my 25-30 pound pack, the climbs up and down were a good old fashion "hello, how ya doin" for my legs. I loved it though, besides I've been walking almost everyday anyway, so the all day walk wasn't much new.
The landscapes were great.




But the best views were of the little towns, perched precariously on the side of the cliffs.
Vernazza:

Corniglia:

Manarola:

Riomaggiore:

Torino, Italy

Crossed over to Italy on an overnight train that, like a 13 come 26 train ride I once did in India, took a lot longer than it should have--going real slow and stopping for no apparent reason. To my favor, though, I met a bloke from Venezuela about my age who I got to talking with in Spanish and we set off to kill some time before we caught up with our respective hosts. We did a good 6-7 hours walking about, talking in both English and Spanish--practice for both of us.
Come nightfall I met up with my couchsurfing host and we went off to dinner with another couchsurfing guest/host pair. Twas nice, I got a good lesson on Italian food and costum, and for my part, they were keen to hear about Chinese medicine and my experiences with it so far.
The next day I met the others living in the flat and had a blast walking over to the local market, the Porto Palazzo--what i am told is one of the largest markets in Europe.
Here, a vendor of only the stinkiet of cheese.

My hosts were most amicable and, with no shortage of knowledge of Italian/European history/culture, gave me some insight into where I was: The strong and rigid fascist makeover Mussolini gave the Center of Torino in the 20s, the influence of Moroccans on Italy, the shroud of Torin (which covered Jesus on his death bed and is said to hold an impression of him) held in a church we stepped in (only a copy is on display)....

Many thanks to Simona, Alvise and Paola for a great stay in Torino.