Today was our "vacation from our vacation" day with no formal group plans. I enjoyed sleeping in and a leisurely breakfast before meeting up with Charlotte and Malia to explore another Cinque Terre village. We took the train to Manarola. We wandered around the village and explored an outdoor market and cute little boutiques.
Charlotte and Malia went for a swim while I stayed back and watched the bags. Post swim we took the ferry back and got to see most of the other villages from the water. It was an interesting perspective!
After a bite to eat for lunch I headed back to the hotel to rest and relax. I had plans to meet with our group to go for a swim later in the afternoon! I was able to repack my laundry and organize my bags which was much needed at this point of the trip. I also had time to shower and make a few phone calls home to check in.
The beach in Monterosso is quite rocky so be prepared for that when walking to the water! The water itself was the perfect temperature and quite calm considering that it was the ocean. We had so much fun swimming, chatting, and people watching. It was hard to believe that fifteen days ago we didn't know each other.
Pro tip: if you stay still in the water too long you could get nibbled on by some of the fish! A bunch of us were quite surprised when this happened the first time.
Once we had our fill of sun and sand, we dried off and went in search of dinner. We were lucky to find a place that was able to take our large group! We scored a table in the open part of the restaurant which also happened to be near the pizza oven. It was a great spot to see all the action. I enjoyed sea bass ravioli and a refreshing spritz. We capped our time together with a gelato, the only way to end the day in Italy!
I thoroughly enjoyed my vacation from my vacation day. It was nice to slow down and enjoy the beach and the company of my fellow tour members.