Climb a Steep Hill with a Group of Professional Dancers? Sure! Why Not?

Yea, I don't know what I was thinking either.

Quick sidenote - the Mediterranean has silky sea nights. I haven't seen these since the Arctic. I was beginning to believe it was just a Norwegian thing. I'm pleasantly surprised.

Another pleasant surprise - the rennovation of the Century's crew bar. I didn't know what to expect after they closed it for three days. I swear some crew members were shaking from withdrawal! We walked in to burgundy walls, black leather sofas, mirrors and red lamps, and black and white photos of NYC, Paris and Amsterdam. Who told the Hotel Director my plans for my future living room!? Ok, back to the climbing thing...

Italy has never really been high on my list of favorite European countries (sorry Katie and Tiff). It's just not my thing. I appreciate the history, the culture, the beautiful art and architecture, but I'm much more of a British Isles/France type of chick. I loved Venice when I was there last year. I was charmed by Perugia, but nothing in Italy has ever had the effect of Dublin or Paris. However, I'm pretty sure Portofino is the one thing that will change my mind about this country. What a picturesque village. While we were tendering I found myself in a lifeboat with all of the acapella boys, a few musicians and a bunch of dancers. Now that I'm sans Valerie, I'm often venturing off the ship alone, so I turned to Jenny the Dance Captain and asked if I could tag along. "Of course!" she told me. When we reached shore the big group began to slowly dwindle as folks went separate ways. Me, the genius, I decide to follow the group of dancers climbing the steep path to the top of the hill - just to see the view. So there I am panting at the back of the group with Brian from the acapella group. We're sweaty and gross and the dancers are just gliding along toward our destination. Lovely.

When we got back down I found Jamie, Matt and Anna at a cafe enjoying a beer and pizza. I sat my sweaty self down and partook. It was beautiful. So truly Italian. The buildings along the harbor were something out of a movie set. Yellow, red and orange buildings stuck out of the hills to see the water and boats below, their windows adorned with laundry the way we hang Christmas lights.

It really was the best way to begin to like Italy.