Jackie Steves Blogs Europe - Four Girls and Three Lazy Days on the Beach in Vernazza

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Four Girls and Three Lazy Days on the Beach in Vernazza

A few days ago we caught a train from Nice to Genoa. I went to the information desk because I didn't know how the Italian train system worked. The woman there told me I would need to transfer in Milan and Monterosso to get to Vernazza.

I went to buy tickets at the ticket window. When I told the ticket man I had a Eurail Pass, he was very irritated and told me I didn't need a ticket if I had a Eurail Pass. Whoops. Well, now I know that you don't always need train reservations in Italy. I guess I don't blame him for being rude to me because he probably has to deal with many clueless tourists asking him the same questions all day.

We have now spent two lazy days in Vernazza, and I have a great tan to show for it. I really love it here. It's the same as I remember from coming here as a little kid, just more crowded.

Two of my friends from back home, Eva and Alexia, have met up with us here. The four of us are sharing one hotel room.

What I love about the beach here is how comfortable everyone is: families with little babies, little boys and girls running around in the nude, lovers holding onto each other in the water, pregnant moms wearing bikinis, rowdy teenage boys playing water soccer, middle-aged women with their tops off, and tourists speaking a plethora of languages.

It's definitely the good life here: sleeping in until 11, eating fresh fruit from the morning market, reading my book, laying in the sun and taking breaks to jump in the salty water or to try two new flavors of gelato, cleaning up with a shower around six, eating a big plate of pesto pasta for dinner at nine, and walking out to the rocks to sit and talk with my girlfriends about putting high school in the past and looking forward to college.

About This Entry

You are reading "Four Girls and Three Lazy Days on the Beach in Vernazza", an entry posted on 16 July 2008 by Jackie Steves.

10 replies to this entry. Add your comment below.

Previous Entry, Villefranche: Just as Picturesque as One Could Imagine, posted Jul 15 2008

Next Entry, I Miss Traveling with My Family, but Only a Little...Night out Dancing in Monterosso, posted Jul 17 2008

Comments [ top ]

Jackie, don’t take this as criticism of your way of travel, because I know millions of people go to Europe and lay on the beach, and look for Restaurants. A wealthy friend has been to Europe several times, has not been in a Cathedral, or museum, knows nothing except hotels and restaurants. His wife says that after breakfast, he asks where they will eat lunch, then where will we eat dinner. To him, food is the end all of travel. We had the family tradition to eat in a different restaurant each anniversary, so when we were in Strasbourg, France, we ate in the Strasbourg Cafeteria. That is, we bought a bite here, and a bite there, and finished with an ice cream cone as we walked the streets of that beautiful city. No way did we want to waste a couple of hours inside a restaurant. We eat to travel, we do not travel to eat. The same with beach time, with all the beaches in Wash., why spend beach time in Italy when Pisa, Lucca, Ortonova, Nicola, Carrara, Puccini’s home in Torre del Lago Puccini,e and a thousand other beautiful towns are nearby. But the main thing is to do what you want to do as you travel. I detest travelers who return from a trip and have no idea where they were, or why, and can remember nothing and nobody of interest. Do what you like, that’s what we did for nearly a 1,000 days in Europe during 25 years of travel.

Posted by: Jim Humberd - Jul 16, 2008 11:01 AM

Hi Jackie!! Found your blog here-thanks for writing!! Been watching your dad on tv for a long time and have made four solo trips to italy with his books...some of the comments here distress me...I met lots of nice girls in italy in my travels-so different from american girls (usually) and I;m sure european men are different from american men..to avoid all of them is a terrible wasted opportunity!! If you're sober and in a public place you're perfectly safe!! I;m jealous that you;'re in some of the places I;ve been-wish i were there now too!!!n re meeting people-just ask whoever where they're from and the conversation is on!!! Have a great time-don;t forget to write in your journal!!! Larry in Buffalo

Posted by: larry - Jul 16, 2008 12:50 PM

Hey Jackie! Thanks so much for posting the blog you and your friend are my new hero's. I am 26 and just getting to the point were I can do the free lance Euro trip. I have made some trips but always gone with school or tour groups excetra, this spring a friend of mine and I are planning a trip very similar to what you are doing. I am so excited and really appreciate the advice. I find the Eurail system very confusing from here so any advice you have on the trains is great! I also wanted to let you know older people are just as interested in people your age don't be afraid to speak to them just because they are a little older, you have a great deal to add to any conversation. Thanks for the information and virtual tour.

Posted by: Mary - Jul 16, 2008 1:57 PM

Wow!! What a fluke! I was looking on your dad's site for an interesting place for a family with two teens to visit between Bodensee (Germany south) and Carcasonne (SW France) and ended up here. Funny thing is my wife and I visited Vernazza in 1990 as a result of your dad's book back then. And we were just commenting on how pretty and relaxing a place it was to some people last night. It's nice to know some things don't change too quickly. We are currently in Netherlands and plan for only one night between the two points (above). We figure somewhere in the SE of France or NW Italy. Any ideas???

Posted by: Rick - Jul 17, 2008 12:58 AM

Hi, Jackie, your blog is a lot of fun to read. Thanks for taking the time to write. My husband and I were in the Cinque Terre the last week in May and enjoyed it very much. Did you try the cinnamon gelato at the little shop on the breakwater in Vernazza? We loved it! And in Corniglia there's a great focaccia shop up the main street and aroud the corner. It's great that you're taking time to relax in between sightseeing. Sometimes just sitting and soaking up the atmosphere is more memorable than seeing lots of sights that tend to run together in memory. Enjoy!

Posted by: Carol - Jul 17, 2008 7:22 AM

I have a slight objection to the poster that suggested that your approach to travel was somehow flawed. Too many people go to Europe and try to see everything and do everything. Experiencing Europe is a life long pursuit. The French got it right with the joie d vivre. Sometimes you just gotta stop and absorb everything. Sitting on a park bench or reclining at the beach are perfectly acceptable (and many days very desirable) parts of the experience. And food. Don't get me started. If you don't seek out different food options you have missed the boat. Bravo to you and Jules

Posted by: F in Seattle - Jul 17, 2008 7:43 AM

Ignore Jim, Jackie! I'm sure you've already seen many of the "must-see" sights! Besides, a trip with nothing but "sights" would soon get to be a drag. I'm all for variety. I'm not a beach person myself, but I like to kick back with a coffee and watch the passing parade. And I don't know how you're supposed to visit a cathedral at 9:00 at night! Of course, I travel to eat when it comes to dinner.

Posted by: Kathy_C - Jul 17, 2008 9:15 AM

Enjoy the beaches --- you are experiencing Europe like a European. This is a different type of trip for you and we love your blog! As Kathy said, you've seen many of the sites. You have been seeing a lot of art museums. There ae no beaches in WA or OR where you can lie on the beach and when you get hot, jump in the water to cool off. If you jump in the water, you better have a wetsuit.

Posted by: Audrey in Keizer, OR - Jul 17, 2008 2:52 PM

"...LYING in the sun..." please. You're a wonderful writer, but little things like this are distracting to some readers.

Posted by: julee - Jul 18, 2008 12:53 PM

Sounds like fun!

Posted by: Eric from Raleigh - Jul 22, 2008 10:51 AM