TMI, Everyone!

June 12, 2007

Clouds made the morning an unreasonable time of day to jump in the sea, so we hiked up the mountain to the cemetery and poked around until lunch. After a lunch of Insalata di Mare (don't get that--it's a thin bed of lettuce covered in tentacles and squid. I'm good with it, but if you don't like things with suckers, then beware), we headed down to the beach and watched the sun come out. Time to swim!

Our art professor, Jamie Cuthrell, met us on the beach, and we joined up with some other Meredith girls for a fun swim. However, no one told us how pebbly that beach was going to be! It was ridiculously rocky, and they were just sharp enough to prick your feet without you needing a bandaid. Boy, did I feel that walk the next day! The water was cold, but it was immensely refreshing. The first few screeches got you into the freezing water, and the final screeches got you across the rocks to your towels.

My title comes from a rather ridiculous incident that occurred while I was in the water. Let me describe the scenic situation to you: we were at the free beach in front of the old town, and the beach is divided by a cliff into two coves. The cliff juts almost into the water, but you can access the second cove by walking in front of the rock. I was floating in the Ligurian, minding my own business, when three old men decided that the changing rooms were up too many flights of stairs (um, one) and that the cliff-face looked like a good place to hide. Before I could sew my eyes shut, they stood in front of the cliff, threw off their speedos, and took their sweet time drying every available part of them before laboriously getting dressed in regular clothes. AAAHHHHH!!!! Yes, I am officially scarred for life.

Shortly after my harrowing experience, we headed off the beach and back to our hotel room for steamy showers and the chance to dress up for a night on the town. Standing on our terrace, we were able to look over the entirety of the old town of Monterosso al Mare--and straight to the terrace of our professors! We realized it was them, all the way across town, and began waving until they noticed us. We then invited them to dinner with us, and we met them at a small restaurant off a side street.

I had the best pasta in the WORLD at this place, and everyone at the table was lusting after it the whole night. The description said "pasta with pear and cheese in chef's sauce." Okay, I thought. How often do you find pastas mixed with pear? I'll try it. It turned out to be handmade pasta filled with cooked pear and melted formaggio in a light butter sauce, and boy was it good! I would pay big bucks for somebody to come to my kitchen and cook that, let me tell you!