Ciao Italia

---

We woke up in Vernazza to a thunderstorm and then the train we needed to get so we could catch our train from Montorosso to Genoa (and then to Nice) was 55 minutes late (note to future travellers: Italian trains are notoriously delayed) making all our connections impossible to make. It looked like we couldn't leave Italy! And as we sat at the Vernazza station waiting for the commuter train to take us the 3 minutes to Monterosso we watched our skookum Genoa train whiz right passed us. It was a good-looking train and we can't describe the frustration of needing to be on it, knowing it wouldn't stop at our platform and knowing that we just needed the stupid 3 min "lift" to get it. Argh!

To make matters worse, once we actually got to Monterosso, the next train wouldn't be until 12:20pm. It was 11am. Fun times sitting at a puny train station for another hour. Well we'd already wasted an hour in Vernazza, what was another one in Montorosso?!?!?!! Glad I made all the reservations ahead of time!

K. So we made it to Genoa at 2:30pm. Yep, we were supposed to be half way to Nice by then but nope...we now had 2.5 hours to kill until our 5pm train to Nice. Again, this was all because our first train was 55 minutes late. It turned a 5.5 hour travel day into a 9.5 hour travel day! Plus, our initial Genoa to Nice tix we reserved 3 mths ago were for 1st class but when we got to Genoa afer all the delays, no 1st class seats were available so again, despite all our planning we got shafted in 2nd class. Yippee! It made us feel like we were on a Conitiki tour with all the backpackers.

To add to our fun day, when I went to the loo in the Genoa train station, I didn't have to pay to get in like in the London Waterloo station. Nope! I had to pay .50 euros for toilet paper!!! I had to check we weren't in Russia. At least the station had a toilet. I've come across more of the trough, porcelin hole in the ground ones (they call them Turkish Toilets but don't let it fool you - there is no toilet!) and I maintain I still have not succumbed to them. John is my official bathroom checker before I make the attempt. My bladder is getting quite strong! I'll be happy to get back to North American plumbing. John is very lucky being a guy!

We finally arrived in Nice at 8:30pm and headed to Gio's. His family's place is great. It's on a hill, overlooking the Nice Harbour. Its 5 mins from Nice centre and 15 mins from Monte Carlo - Monaco.

We went for dinner in Nice - at an Italian restaurant no less. All the shops were closed and had their token graffitti covered gates over their storefronts but the streets were the small quaint type similar to Paris and it had pretty good ambiance. A very different feeling than Paris and we both prefer Paris but it was nice to see a bit of Nice. We walked along the famous Promenade d'Anglaise and stopped for a drink at a bar where everyone was dancing on tables to English music. It must have been about 150 degrees in the tiny place.

Since we'd all been travelling all day (Gio had just arrived from Vancouver), we called it a night.

Miss you all!

---