Beach Day

For our last day in CT, Philip and I decide it’s beach day. It's been a full few days and a little rest and relaxation sounds pretty good. We get into our suits and head to Monterosso (yes, again) because it’s the only city with an actual sand beach. Neither of us has a towel, so after we reconcile that small detail (i.e. purchase crappy beach towels) we lay out and soak up the vitamin D, baby.

Really, not much more to report other than that. Eventually we go back to Vernazza for lunch (wood fired pizza) and more sun (this time on huge, slab rocks - very sea lion-esque). We didn't even take a single picture today (I know, for shame!).

We decide that for our last meal in Cinque Terre, we want a second helping of the incredible lasagna al pesto we'd had a few nights before.

Unfortunately, after we climb the hundreds of steps to get there, we discover it is not open. That sucks. We settle for someplace else, but it’s not quite the same. Despite the several naps we took today and the crammed schedule of doing nothing, we are both exhausted. We try to reflect on the trip and share our perspectives on the last few days, but all we come up with is that Philip thinks it’s weird he met a friend on vacation; I think it’s weird I took a vacation from my vacation. But all in all – it’s been good. :)

Tomorrow morning Philip is off to Switzerland, back to L'Abri for more studying; I'll be making my way to the nearby Lucca. Just a skip away from Pisa, I hear it's a great city. Despite the fellowship of late, I'm looking forward to being back on the move.

5 towns, 4 hikes, 3 hours baby

Since we will be hiking from one end of Cinque Terre to the other (and we've pretty much done the train thing) we decide to go to Monterosso via boat and hike our way back. Besides, even though we've eaten there several times now, we still have yet to do the self-guided tour.

So we set out to put our plan into action and discover we've just missed the boat and it's an hour until the next one. D'oh! So we tell Patrick, we'll meet him in Vernazza for lunch in two hours. (As it turns out, this is common practice for Philip and I: we make a plan, congratulate ourselves on said plan, then realize it doesn't jive with the train/boat/bus schedule and have to wait. Boooo!) When the boat finally arrives, we're rewarded with some pretty sweet views of each city.

We hop off the boat and begin taking our sweet time on the Rick self-guided tour. Unlike the other cities, Monterosso actually has some sites to see, including a Church of Cappuccin Monks. I kid you not, when we went inside to sit down and take a breather, we could hear actual monks chanting. (Dad, this made me think of you.) It was pretty amazing. But soon we realize that we’re not going to be able to hike it all the way to Vernazza AND meet Patrick for lunch. (Again, with the schedule we're so proud of and not considering the actual time it will take...) So we resolve to take the train to meet Patrick, have lunch, take the train back, then begin the hike. (Silly, but...well you know how it goes sometimes.) So we finish the tour at a leisurely pace, pre-funk our lunch with some gelato (vanilla for him and nutella fo me) and take the train to Vernazza.

This new plan works great and we share some excellent wood-fired pizza while enjoying the best weather we've had yet. (Yay for sun!!) Again though, we have again neglected to consult the train schedule and must wait for our respective trains for nearly an hour. Fortunately we were able to do this in the sun. Finally we are able to head back to Monterosso, let the hiking (finally) begin!

It’s our last night as a group (Patrick, Matt and Ellen are heading back to Switzerland – Philip decides he needs one more day in CT before he can go) so we make a pact to eat together and hang out (since that has hardly happened since they got here). We check the train schedule and the one we want is in 20 minutes – eke! So we bust it back to our rooms for a quick shower and agree to meet at the train.

I’m at a slight disadvantage because my room is much further into town than everyone else’s, but I give it my best effort anyway. When I get back to my room, I discover I have roommates (figures). Fortunately they aren’t in at the moment. I fly in, shower and peace out as fast as humanly possible, literally sprinting (in my black boots nonetheless) all the way back down to the train, nearly killing myself with a mighty stumble and miraculous recovery* down the stairs.

When I reach the station, the train is already there (ack!) and I have to book it down the stairs, under the tracks, and back up the stairs in order to get on. As I tear up the last flight two at a time, I see the train pulling away – nooooo!! But then I hear Philip call my name and everyone is standing there, patiently waiting. What good friends! I was so relieved (and out of breath) I had to sit down, or risk passing out.

We revise our dinner plan and head to Monterosso instead (mostly because that is where the next train was headed and we were hungry). We had a great dinner of steaks for just about everyone and black and white pasta for me (I’m addicted!). After that we head to Vernazza for a little night life action. After a round of drinks we decide to head back to Riomaggiore, because we didn’t want to miss the last train and find ourselves in a pickle. We had another round of drinks "at home" before finally calling it a night. All in all a slightly hecktic, but very fun evening.

*Honestly, I can't account for how I didn't fall down. I just keep replaying it in my head - and there is no way. I trip, have the sensation of falling and even the capacity of mind to think "this is gonna hurt" and then manage to stay on my feet and continue running. I wish I could have seen it for someone else's point of view, because it is entirely inexplicable to me.

**99% of these photos thanks to PBJ (again).

You’re Not From the Northwest, Are You?

The next morning I enthusiastically rap on their door at 10am (as previously agreed the night before), but the only one out of bed is Philip. So he and I head out for some breakfast while the others get with the program. Since breakfast is an über-low priority meal here in Italy, we’re pretty excited to have found a place with cereal, yogurt, OJ, and pastries to choose from. I choose yogurt and milk. Philip goes for OJ (fresh squeezed!) and croissants. Mmm, mmm! Good eats!

When we get back to the room, Patrick is still in bed and Ellen and Matt have gone to breakfast. We wait around for a while, but it becomes evident that they won’t be back anytime soon (and we get the impression from Patrick that no one else is really keen on sight-seeing today; the weather was a little on the grey side…) so we decide to go explore another city on our own.

We decide to walk the brief, 10-minute paved "hike" to Manarola. Despite being one of the sleepier towns of Cinque Terre, it is (in my opinion) the most beautiful. We arrive and immediately head toward the waterfront. This is where Rick’s self-guided tour begins, but I knew there were a couple good views not included on the tour, so we wandered around and check those out first.

Soon though, we get back on track with Rick and are directed to the city center. In the mean time, it has started to drizzle. I am completely unfazed because it is the light, airy, hardly noticeable rain we’re more than accustomed to in the Northwest, but Philip is slightly put out so I try to reassure him that it won’t last. I’m sure I was in the middle of one of these little "keep-your-chin-up" pep talks when, as we head down a small, brick staircase, my feet slip right out from under me and before I know it I’m flat on my ass. I kid you not, it was like a cartoon character slipping on a banana peel: one second I was standing and the next I was not. I pop right back up and the worst of it seems to be that I now have a wet butt. A little further investigation, however, reveals a scrape on my arm, but all is well. Philip is kind enough to not laugh at me (at least immediately) and we get back to the tour.

The next stop is a “museum” which consists of one room and a 15 minute video about wine-making in CT. We decide to get out of the rain and enlighten ourselves, but the video proves difficult to follow (technically it was in English, but the accent was so strong, half the time I had no idea what she was saying). Aside from the difficulties associated with actually understanding the video, my forearm is really starting to smart. It seems the scrape has bled a little and is actually starting to swell. I’m such an idiot; I can’t believe I fell down.

We finish the rest of the tour with no more hiccups (read: I don’t fall down again) and decide to head to Monterosso. There seems to be more food options there and this will give us the opportunity to check out another city. We head straight for a Rick Steves recommendation and quickly order two foccacia sandwiches. About 5 seconds later those were gone and we were still kind of hungry (not that they weren’t delicious; because they were…they just weren’t big enough). So I suggest that we find one of those places where you order a semi-expensive glass of wine and get free little eats along with it (since we’re not really looking for a whole meal).

We find a place with relatively little trouble and order two glasses of actual Cinque Terre wine (since we had just learned all about it, it seemed terribly appropriate) and a plate of cheese. The wine serves to naturally slow the go-go-go pace we had been setting and we get to swapping stories about life. The conversation is quality and the weather changes from light to legitimate, so we sit for quite some time. It ended up being one of those savory experiences. The kind where, had you planned it, would’ve felt contrived or cheesy (heh - cheesy), but when they just happen are fun and memorable. It was one of my favorite parts of my trip so far.

Since the rain showed no signs of letting up, we decide to head back for a weather appropriate wardrobe change before exploring the next town. Besides, perhaps by now we can get the others to join us. Unfortunately once we get back, it becomes immediately clear that no one wants to go out (they’re already in the middle of movie number two (three?) for the day…sissies). And while originally Philip was game for staying out in the rain, now that he’s inside….notsomuch. Sigh. I guess there won't be any scales falling from their eyes today. To me, the rain is nothing; certainly no reason to change my plans or complain. But to them, it’s definitely something. So I try to keep the eye rolling to myself, accept that I am outnumbered, and just agree to stay in.

When it comes time for dinner, Matthew and Ellen want to stay in and cook (which if I were at home would seem totally normal, but here??). The rest of us want to eat out. Looks like we’re splitting up again. But Patrick decides eating immediately is more important than eating together and grabs a pizza and beer from the place around the corner before we can say Jack Rabbit Slim. So that leaves Philip and I (which seems to be a common theme on this trip) and we decide to try something new and head to Vernazza.

We choose a Rick restaurant (of course) and decide to order two dishes and share. We try fried seafood and lasagna al pesto. The seafood was meh (more like a la Red Lobster) the lasagna al pesto was di-vine. It was creamy and cheesy without being too rich and with just the right amount of pesto – SO good! (Write that one down for later…)

After that we called it a night. Tomorrow is hiking day (no, no one wants to join us - Philip seems to be the only one of the group who sees what I see here) and we figured we’d get an early-ish start (9:30). I returned to my room relieved to find that it was still uninhabited by anyone other than me. So far this has been the best 20 EU a night I’ve spent.

Welcome to Cinque Terre!

Today my new friends will arrive from Rome and I’m excited because a) they are going to experience Cinque Terre for the first time and I get to be a part of that and b) now I will have some companions with which to explore some of the niches of CT that I didn’t before. Really, it’s a win-win.

The L’Abri peeps have scheduled three nights in CT, giving them only about 2.5 days of sight seeing. Based on my previous experience, I intend to recommend they spend the first day and a half exploring the towns by train and the last day hiking the towns. That way they’ll be able to see all they want to see of each city and when it comes time to hike, they won’t be tempted to loiter in any given city (the hike is about 7 miles from start to finish and a tendency to explore would only prolong the approximately 4 hour trip).

And this is exactly what I tell Philip when he arrives that afternoon. He had been more excited about the prospect of CT than the others and, in turn, opted to take an earlier train. Everyone else would arrive in the early evening, but the general plan sounded good to him. As he got settled in, we swapped stories over the last few days (me with my lousy picture taking of David and he with a blitz tour of Rome) and then I took him on Rick’s self-guided tour, alla me. His reaction to CT was pretty much what mine had been originally: eyes popped wide, jaw permanently dropped, simply unable to absorb all the beauty. (Seriously, if you haven’t been, you really must come visit.)

Before long it was time for everyone else to arrive, so we headed back down to the train station. After a brief wait, Matt, Ellen and Patrick showed up on the platform looking tired and a little bedraggled. Turns out it had been a long day for them and the only thing they wanted today, was a little rest before dinner. That seems fair enough. Patrick decides he is game for a mini-tour of a city, so he, Philip and I set out to see Vernazza and plan on meeting Matt and Ellen* in Monterosso for dinner.

The walk in Vernazza is a brief one, but the boys can see that it is a city with quite a bit of charm. For me, it’s like coming home. This is where I not only met my traveling twin Erin, but where I spent the bulk of my time alone in CT. It’s silly, but I’m nostalgic.

We pop into a foccaceria for a little sustenance before dinner and explore all around the breakwater and “beach” (a.k.a. huge rocks on which one can lay in the sun). Before we know it, it’s already time to catch the train for dinner and we’re on our way.

After the two-minute ride, we head back to my favorite pizzeria (where I had been skunked the night before), this time to happily discover it is open for business. Unfortunately we don’t see Ellen or Matt anywhere…perhaps they missed the train? We settle in and order two pesto pizzas and one 4 cheese. Mmm, delicious! From there we venture over to one of the bars and chat over some bevies.

Eventually we head back home and learn the others did indeed miss the train (bummer) and settled for pizza from a nearby shop. Then the five of us huddle on two beds around one small MacBook and watched Anchorman. I haven’t watched tv in almost a month, but was nice to have a little mindless entertainment. By the end though, I’m completely exhausted (as are the others) and we call it a night.

On the whole, they don’t seem rapturously overcome with the wonderful magicalness that can only be attributed to Cinque Terre. They’re just tired. (Pshaw! What gives?) This perturbs me a little bit, but they have been traveling all day, so I decide to give them the benefit of the doubt. (Even though all I really want to do is shake them and say, “Are you freaking SEEING this!?!”)

Perhaps tomorrow the scales will fall from their eyes…

*Metsker, I just realized that it sounds like I’m talking about you and your mom – hahhah! That didn’t occur to me once in real time – probably because this Matt is from the UK and has a cute accent and they mostly call this Ellen “Keller.”

**Second photo courtesy of PBJ

In Cinque Terre (again)

After three train rides and half a day of site-seeing in Pisa, when I arrive in Riomaggiore, I’m plumb tuckered. I had contemplated seeking out a single bedroom for the night (I was craving the privacy of my own room and the luxury of my own bathroom), but when I came through the pedestrian tunnel and the sign for Mar Mar Rooms (where my friends would be staying) was right there…I’ll be honest, I caved. At this moment in time, simplicity was taking precedence over everything else.

They had a bed for me and I checked right in with no problems. The gal at the desk gave me great directions to find my room (despite being “dorm room accommodations, the rooms are all still spread out in the small city) and I was all set to head out the door when she says, “Oh, there will be two beds in the room: a double and a single. Be sure to take the single in case anyone else checks in.” At first, my reaction is – well, sure. I wouldn’t hog the big bed when others might need it. But then it occurs to me that “others” might be a married/dating couple. Me. And a couple. Sharing a room. Well that would just put my third-wheel dinner party story to shame. Augh.

But for now, I have a room with an attached bathroom to myself and I’m only paying 20 EU a night. That’s a major steal. I’ll take it. I quickly settle in and decide food is a must. Now last time I was here, I pretty much only took the time to do the Rick Steves’ recommended walk around town – and not much more. I’m not familiar with good places to eat or where to find internet access. I start to consult Rick, but that involves reading and decision-making and all I really want is a quick, filling, cheap meal. Immediately a pizza joint in Monterosso comes to mind and I wish I could eat there. Then it occurs to me, I can just eat there! So I hop on a train (for the low, low price of 1.40 EU) and I’m there in a snap. Woo hoo!

I quickly walk myself to aforementioned pizza joint (congratulating myself all the way there for this absolutely brilliant idea) and when I arrive, I see that it’s completely dark. Hmm, maybe they just open late…?? (You can see how desperate I was for them to be open – they are clearly closed.) Sure enough: closed on Wednesdays. Boooo! Who’s not open on Wednesdays?? How am I supposed to know it’s Wednesday? I have no concept of time here…

Miserably I turn around and try to summon the willpower to make a decision (I’m quite hungry by now and we all know that’s just a recipe for grumpy). I march myself over to where I remember a couple of places that looked inexpensive and interesting the first time around, when I spot another pizzeria. Perfect. Done deal.

I quickly sit and order a pizza – the first one that comes to mind – and then patiently wait. As I do so, I notice that all the other patrons of the restaurant are tourists. D’oh! Usually that’s a surefire indication that the food won’t be great. I decide to get over it – too hungry to care. When the food finally does arrive, it’s not too bad. My biggest complaint was that the olives were whole and still had the pits (who puts whole, unpitted olives on a pizza anyway?), but in terms of feeding me, it gets the job done, so I’m a happy camper.

After that I head back home and take advantage of my newfound privacy/bathroom by soaking my feet and painting my nails – two things I haven’t been able to do for ages. Ahhh, the small perks of life. Sometimes they make life worth livin’.

Cinque Terre – To Sum Up

For the remainder of the day, I did a few walking tours in a couple different towns, I successfully ordered my lunch and a snack in Italian and took a nap. It was fantastic. (And for the record, it wasn’t until after my nap that I discovered my room had a view…)

And that has pretty much been how the last two days have been in Cinque Terre. I mosey about, I take a nap, I order some food in Italian. Perhaps I shop. I run into people I’ve met earlier in the week and share a meal*. It’s a nice thing to stay in a small town. I don’t know if this kind of familiarity will last into my days in Rome, but it has been such a fantastic way to start this adventure on my own two feet. I’ve decided tonight is my last night in Cinque Terre and truthfully, while I’m excited for what lies around the corner, I’m also sad to go. I’ve fallen in love with the Cinque Terre :)

Here are some pics of Cinque Terre - by each individual cittá. These are the cities from east to west (and simultaneously from south to north):

Riomaggiore

Manarola
















Corniglia
















Vernazza

Eke! Just discovered I don't have any pics of the city I'm staying in!! Will rectify ASAP - stay tuned for pics...




Monterossa












*Actually, there hasn't been a single person that I've met and had a significant conversation with that I haven't run into again later - including my Florida friends - again!

Cinque Terre – Finding a Room

Alright, it was finally go time. My one goal for the day was to find lodging. It didn’t matter how long it took me, and if I got desperate, it didn’t matter how much I spent, but the bottom line was: I’m going to find a room.

I started by popping into all the little shops and asking, “Una camera, per fevore? But I was either turned down, or offered doubles that were simply out of my price range. Just when I was starting to get a wee bit discouraged (and I thought my back was simply going to crumble from holding all that weight for so long) I headed into a little sandwich shop and patiently waited my turn. When I got to the front, and again asked for a room, the woman gently shook her head no and I began to turn away. But then, the gal who had ordered right in front of me asked if I needed a single. Yes! I do!! She had a room. Praise the Lord!

I followed her back to a bar (which was closed that day) and sealed the deal. She showed me the room and warned me, “there are a few stairs”. After what felt like we’d been climbing stairs forever, we finally arrived at the building (and I’m happy to say she was huffing and puffing nearly as hard as I was). “It’s on the third floor,” she says. Augh!! We climb the narrowest, tiniest, and twisty-est staircase I’ve ever had the privilege to climb and we’re finally there. She shows it to me and it’s perfect – I’ll take it! I was so hot and exhausted at that point I would have taken anything. Fortunately it was only 45EU and within my budget. I made arrangements to pay her and as soon as she was gone, I stripped down to my skivvies and lay on the bed. Not moving. For 30 minutes. I was one tired puppy.

But I did it.

(Click for a "tour"!!)

Cinque Terre – Finding Friends

On the third morning, the girls had to catch an early train, so I got up with them, walked them to the end of town and said my good-byes. As they were leaving, and I experienced my first few minutes of true aloneness in a foreign country, my stomach was turning in knots a wee bit. But by the time I got back to our room, I was feeling much better (perhaps it was only gas?). I took my time gathering my things, spent a little time in the Word and just enjoyed the fact that I wasn’t on any kind of a schedule. I wasn’t sure how finding lodging was going to go, but I reminded myself to just take it one step at a time, and I’d figure it out.

As I was heading down the 400 steps out of Corniglia (augh), I ran into our Floridian friends from dinner the first night. We stopped to chat for a bit and as I left, my load seemed a little bit lighter. I had to hurry to catch my train though and with my bag on my back, that was no easy feat. (Oh and did I mention I’m in a skirt and wedges? It seemed like a comfortable outfit when I put it on that morning…I just kind of forgot about all those stairs…) So as you can imagine, I was huffing and puffing and a sweaty mess by the time I was on the train. It’s only about a 3 minute ride to Vernazza, so I was in no better shape by the time I arrived. So I stepped off the train, set all my bags down, and just took a breather. I had nowhere to go just yet, so why not? One step at a time, right?

As I sat there trying to cool down and regulate my breathing, Erin, my new friend from yesterday strolls up onto the platform. We chatted for a bit and discovered we had quite a bit in common. Not only do we both love Jesus (yay!) but we are both traveling for two months on our own, both quit jobs of 5 years because we were feeling restless and the need to move on, both decided to move to a new city after quitting said jobs, but concluded a trip to Italy was necessary first. Weird, eh? The only real difference being that Erin will be touring more of Europe and I’m staying primarily in Italia. Oh and she’s from Virginia Beach and I’m from Bellingham. In any case, what a blessing! So she and I renewed our commitment to dinner plans and parted ways for the afternoon.

Cinque Terre – New Characters and First Adventures

For those of you who don’t know, Cinque Terre (CHINK-weh TAY-reh) is actually made up of five cities along the western coast of northern Italy (cinque means five in Italian). Each city is only a few minutes train ride from the next and at a little over one euro, one ticket is good for six hours worth of rides. Thus, no matter which cittá you are staying in, you have every opportunity to explore all five. Our first night the girls were booked at a little B&B in Manarola (the second of the five cities). I planned on staying in the local hostel, but decided to see them all checked-in before finding my accommodations.

After a key-breaking-in-the-lock fiasco and an authentic Italian dinner, I ended up staying the night with the girls. As it turned out the hostel had a 12:00am locked doors policy and the waiter at dinner had asked us all to come back for drinks at 11:30pm, how could we pass that up?
During dinner we met the greatest little family from Tampa Bay, Florida sitting at the table just next to ours (husband and wife, son and girlfriend). They were in Italy for a friend’s wedding in Florence next week and were enjoying the Cinque Terre in the mean time. We traded some tastes with them (anchovies for black pasta – yum!) and chatted the evening away across our tables.

Once 11:30 rolled around we headed back to the restaurant for a bottle of wine and some dessert with our waiter and the cook – who turned out to be the owners. We sat and enjoyed the quiet stillness of the evening from the terrace. They spoke very good English and we learned they had lived in Manarola their whole lives and wouldn’t trade it for anything. After a peaceful evening like that, I can hardly blame them. End of CT Day 1.

The girls decided to stay an extra night and we headed to Vernazza to try and find new accommodations (city #4 – which was supposed to be a little more lively). Since I needed the practice, I was in charge of finding a place. But it was raining that morning and we didn’t have much success (plus we were toting ALL our belongings from place to place) and I hadn’t had breakfast yet….do you see where this is going? As if I didn’t already know, I (re)learned something important about myself: Do not try to make difficult decisions on an empty stomach. Right. So a few tears later we settled on staying in Corniglia and hopped back on the train. (In the mean time we met a gal named Erin who was traveling alone and looking for dinner companions – yay for new friends!)

Once we checked in, we got on the train again and spent the day wandering through the Cinque Terre. The weather cleared up and it turned out to be a gorgeous day. We walked through the towns, did a little shopping, stopped quite a bit to enjoy the view, and generally just enjoyed the day. We tried to meet our new friend Erin for dinner, but didn’t make it to the meeting spot on time. We did find her a few hours later at one of the bars and had a glass of wine together. Since the girls were leaving the next morning, Erin and I made plans to have dinner the following day. End of CT Day 2

Cinque Terre – First Impressions

If Rome is big, overwhelming, and pulsing with activity, then Cinque Terre is narrow, romantic, and relaxed. When we stepped off the train, I immediately had a sense of home. Not in the sense that Cinque Terre reminded me of home, or that it felt somehow familiar (because neither of those things are true), but rather it somehow just….fit. I felt as though, if I could just stand still for a few moments, I might be able to absorb the unique character and beauty of this picturesque place into the very marrow of my being. It’s just so shockingly and devastatingly beautiful that when confronted with it, you simply must stop and take a moment. I would imagine that leaving here must feel like having your heart broken. “To have loved and lost is better than to have never loved at all…” If you haven’t, you really must come see for yourself.