Sleepy day in a sleepy town

Yesterday we journeyed to Deiva Marina, a tiny little town just north of Cinque Terre (translated as "Five Lands" or five villages). Initially, we wanted to stay in the Cinque Terre, but the area has become overrun with tourists and we couldn't find a room. So, we ended up in a small hotel in this tiny town. Until now, we've stayed only in apartments. This little hotel is great- they haven't kicked us out yet, despite the hour-long tantrum this morning. Best of all, they make their own gelato and it is the best we've had on our trip (and we have had plenty).

Last night, Hope and I ate our gelato on a bench to, as she requested, "people-watch". The entire time we sat there only two people and three cars passed. That was the main road and it was early evening! There is one bank, one grocery, two hotels, a train station, a few small chapels, and a few tiny convenience stores, but gelato sold on every corner. The hotel owners live here and have a cute daughter who went off to school this morning. Last night the extended Italian family camped out in the hotel restaurant, talking loudly with ragging gestures. It was neat to watch as we passed by to the laundry room.

We have had a hard time trying to get the laundry done. We packed light (well, we thought it was light, but we still brought more than we should have). Each of us, even the children, were allotted one carry-on bag and a back pack. So, we need to do laundry every few days. We carefully selected apartments that have washer/dryer. The washer in Paris was the much smaller than our microwave at home, and took forever! The Barcelona w/d would not dry, but sanitized our clothes by boiling them. Same in Florence. Some clothes came out newly olive-green. We finally figured out that some elastics turn green when they get so hot. So, now the kid's socks, my undies, and Hope's tights are green! Hope made me throw away the tights. Afraid we had the settings incorrect, we ran the same load of laundry twice in Florence. That load took 24 hours just to wash! It never did dry..... We're having better luck here, with a commercial washer and instructions in English. Too bad there's only one.

Yesterday was beautiful weather. Today it's cold and rainy and we haven't yet left the hotel. We may not. It's kind of nice to just sit around. We've camped out in the lobby, as it has the best internet signal. There's not a lot to do in the rain here.

Allen wanted to run 14 miles today. Even if it weren't raining, that would be impossible. In this tiny town, it would likely take 40 laps or more to get that far.

All the little villages are connected by hiking trails, and many people come here to hike. With beautiful views of the mountains and beach, it can''t be beat!