Itlay - Pisa and Cinque Terra

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Italy!

We arrived in Genova late in the evening, dead tired from riding the trains out of France. All we wanted was a cheap, decent place to rest our weary bones. Of course we didn't have anywhere to stay, again.

We wandered around for close to an hour, visiting a few places near the train station that were listed in our guidebooks. They were universally full, expensive or both. We eventually found a complete dive of a place, but at least it was a bed. Funny that after six months of travelling in South America and Asia, one of the worst places we slept was a back alley dive in Italy. We left early the next day (we just didn't want to spend another minute in that hotel room).

We were headed for Cinque Terra, a string of five little villages on the rocky coast. The place is an old-world paradise. The towns don't have any new construction in them - no stainless steel superhotels here. It was off season, so everything was quiet and the hiking trails were empty. We found a complete apartment, with a full kitchen and in-house laundry for dirt cheap from Francesco, an old guy that we met on the street who didn’t speak much of any English…great fun. It was surprisingly relaxing to cook a meal for yourself while the laundry is hanging out to dry on a clothesline in the street. After a few days of pizza, pasta and wine, we were rejuvenated and ready for some culture!

We hopped a train for Florence, with a little stop in Pisa along the way. Our train was an hour late, so instead of a relaxing stroll through Pisa, we jogged the kilometer from the station to the tower. It was very odd to witness the iconic leaning tower with our own eyes after seeing it so many times in the media. The lean is pretty spectacular, far more than you would expect from the photos. We only had time for a couple of pics before we ran (literally) back to the station, carrying our full backpacks the whole way. We arrived, huffing and puffing, on the platform just in time to see the doors close! The damn train was early!!! Maddening..... But then we took a deep breath, remembering that we were in Italy and not at work...

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Photos

Vernazza
Waves pound against the pier as a fisherman prepares to head out for the day - crazy Italians!

Pizza and wine
Jen enjoys the local fair as we watch the wild seas

Vernazza
Home base during our soujourn on the Italian coast, Vernazza is the middle of the five seaside villages that make up the Cinque Terra national park

We were here
Jen relaxes at a picnic table that bears the marks of previous Canuck visitors

Bridge over troubled waters
Taking a break on the hike...

Wine Country
Every possible patch of land is covered with vines

Fresh Lemonade
This enterprising italian serves up fresh squeezed lemonade to the passing tourists through a hole cut in the fence...it was a slow day, so we had a great chat with him as we savoured his concoction

Monorail
Slender tracks run everywhere

Ride em Cowboy
Andrew checks out the monorail carts that snake their way up and down the steep slopes of the vineyards

Riomaggiore
Nice place to load up on snacks for the trail

Party time in Cinque Terra
Jen is in her happy place -hiking along the coastline towards another Italian lunch

Winner - Most Scenic Train Station
nice view from the tracks

Grapes...
Every inch of land has been terraced to plant more vines

Olive Grove
The nets are ready to be spread out under the trees to catch the falling olives

Sunset view
Almost back to the apartment....anticipating another bottle of the local vintage

Pisa
Our train was an hour late - so we had to run from the train station to the tower to see what all the fuss was about

Sunset in Pisa
Taken as we started running (literally) back to the train station