First day in Cinque Terre

This morning we left Venice and are on our way to Cinque Terre :( Sad that we left Venice because it was so beautiful and peaceful!!! We LOVED that there were no cars and walking was so easy. Neither of us can think of a time we did not see a car in two days! During the day Venice was very busy with cruise ship tourists and people staying off the island but at night it was very quiet and quaint. We will never forget our precious time in Venice. Our few friends that have visited Cinque Terre have said we will love it just as much if not more than Venice so we are so excited for whats ahead.
Catching the train today was pretty simple! Adam and I are becoming expert European travelers :) Or so we thought... after we had been on the second of three trains for about 45 minutes, the attendant came to stamp our tickets. Apparently,  we did not write the date on the pass saying we were using it today so we were in violation of the contract. He said that our ticket was not valid and we had to pay a €100 fine. We tried to explain that we didn't know what he was saying and that the pass was validated in Rome. He was very stern and rude (even yelling at passengers as they passed by) he would not give in and it was very upsetting since we already paid for all of our train tickets in full last month, On top of all of the documentation we had given him but we were at his mercy. The Italians around us didn't try to help with the language barrier... very humbling experience. So, after about 5 or 10 minutes of scolding I started crying!!! When he saw that I was upset and had started crying he shouted "DON'T CRY" like he was scolding me... AHHH!!! I hate getting in trouble. After he saw that I was clearly upset and wasn't trying to ride the train for free he said "Fine. Just this time" and walked away. I immediately started filling out all of the "Name, Address, Email Address and Itinerary" information in the train ticket folder. In America we think that is optional information but in Europe you get hefty fines for not completing. Lets just all mark that one down as an experience, that I hopefully won't have again! I can assure you that we have some special angels watching out for us today :)
On our third train our seats were in little cabins of six people. ALL SIX WERE AMERICAN!!!! For the next three hours we chatted about anything and everything. We had all been to different cities so we shared our experiences. There was a young couple that had just gotten married, both were Pharmacists from Memphis, TN. The other couple (Bob and Olga)  were in their 50's and were from Austin, TX :) They were wonderful and also staying in Monterosso so we got off the train with them. Bob works for Exon-Mobile and they started their journey in Amsterdam on a business trip. They were there the same time as Adam's mom, Cathy, a few weeks ago. Such a small world. They didn't have a hotel reservation so they came to our hotel to see if they had availability... they ended up staying at the hotel next door and we can see each other from our balconies. We met back up with them in town and walked around for a bit. We have a lot in common with them and really enjoy their company!
Tonight dinner was at Ristorante Belvedere outside on the patio. We had an amazing time. First, the dinner was amazing! We had Caprese Salad for our appetizer which put every Caprese Salad I have ever had in the United States to shame! It was AMAZING! Then we had fresh grilled swordfish and penne pasta with tomato sauce and shrimp. We have been sharing a full course meal at most of the restaurants for dinner. I have no idea how we would come close to finishing if we ordered our own. We are both satisfied with the portions and its great on the budget also :) And the second reason dinner was so amazing was because we met more friends!! Three people from the bay area here traveling for a few weeks. The couple was celebrating their 10th anniversary and the other man was here to guide them on their trip. The single man was very interesting. His profession is banking and he does very well apparently, from the stories we heard about his travel habits. He gave us lots of financial tips for life and we just listened to him talk... Adam and I really enjoyed it. P.S. Cathy and Scott... he may or may not be friends with your across the street neighbor from Black Hawk... yes... that guy! We have his name and next time we talk to you will have to see if its the same guy!
It has been really neat for me to experience Europe with Adam for the first time. He is much like I was when I first got to Spain. His world as he knew it has been turned upside down and he now wants to be a world traveler. When we get home he is going to start studying Spanish because he doesn't think there is any reason why we both shouldn't be bilingual. He is very serious about it and I am going to support him and learn with him. I think it would be good for both of us!
For a day that started out a bit stressful for us turned into one of our best! We are so happy and enjoying every minute of our trip. Tomorrow we plan on sleeping in a little bit and getting some normal hours of sleep. We have had late nights and early mornings almost every day... now it is time to relax. As Adam said earlier today... "Now that we are at the beach... we are finally on vacation" :)
As I am typing this we have our terrace doors open listening to the waves crash on the beach. Does it get any better than this?

Night night!!