Hiking in the Cinque Terre, for me, outdid all the glories of Rome. Here we are walking into Vernazza and you can almost see our base, Monterosso al Mare, in the distance. Bruce soldiered on to hike all 5 towns while I stopped in Vernazza, indulged in a real limone gelatto down by the breakwater and then took the train back to Monterosso. I remember the grafetti carved into the cacti leaves along the paths. All the reading I did beforehand did not prepare me for the intense beauty of Italy. --N. -May 2005

Last year's travels in Southern France and Italy were a lot of fun (and a steep learning curve. Will "Around the World Before Eighty" be a reality? We may not do it all, but we're sure going to have fun trying.