EUROPE
PART 3:
ITALY
- Venice, Florence, Cinque Terra!
Friday,
September 14
VENICE!
 |
| It was really hazy, but a final view through the train electric lines to the Dolomite peaks from whence we came! |
 |
| Rick not sure how enraptured he is with train travel! |
We
wait with a young couple, bicycles absolutely loaded with sidebags
and bags strapped on top AND two small blond haired children in a
bike trailer. I couldn’t imagine. Traveling? Displaced? They
were attentive parents. Rick helped lift one of the bikes onto the
train when it arrived and he said it was HEAVY!!! Rick later saw
them in the station in Verona, so they made it off!
We
got to Verona right on time, but were confused on which train to
Venice was the right one. Having gotten on a business or reservation
only train once, we were leery. Our hesitation caused us to miss the
obvious one leaving minutes after our arrival, and eventually we
figured out how to upgrade our tickets and purchase reservations for
$10 each and get on the 11am high speed. Otherwise it was going to
be 12:30 for the next train, scheduled for at least 15 stops! Twenty
dollars well spent!
The
day is very hazy and overcast, so photographs are not of the highest
quality. And it is warm! Trains are full and in general Rick keeps
thinking driving is really nice! :)
On
time into Venice at 12:10 and we walk out into a muggy humid hothouse
of people! Wow! Right at the height of the daily tourist crowd!
(Oh wait, that would be US!) While I baggage-watch again, Rick gets
in line for our Vaporetto tickets, the ferry taxi that will take us
down the Grand Canal to San Marco Plaza. Asking many times as each
ferry arrives, “San Marco?”, we finally get an affirmative and
hop aboard.
 |
| Leaving the train station on the vaporetto to San Marco Square. |
What
an experience to see Venice from the canal. The water level is
indeed just 10” or so below many doorways (sometimes higher). You
can see that many bottom levels have been vacated due to rising
waters, especially during the winter months. The designs and
architecture of the buildings is varied, old, new, modern, ancient,
plain, decorative. Church steeples and towers poke about the horizon
here and there. And the narrow canal streets between the buildings
host small landings, boat tie-ups, etc. We see our first red or
black striped gondolier drivers, poling up and down the canal,
through the side channels. Bridges arch up over the canals (high
enough to allow MOST boats through). A steady crowd gets off and on
at each stop.
 |
| I finally spot a gondolier with his classic red striped shirt! |
 |
| Bridge over the Grand Canal and Palazzo Grassi (I think) |
 |
| One of many steeples we pass. |
Finally
we arrive at San Marco landing, debark, and begin to wend our way
through the narrow alleys, lined with designer shops, toward our goal
– the Hard Rock Cafe, which marks the corner of the plaza where our
hotel is nearby. Foiled. The walkway doesn’t go through like it
shows on the map. We have to enter the plaza, and find the alternate
passage that will take us to Albergo San Marco Hotel.
Checked
in! They expected us! The room is tiny and weirdly shaped, with the
windows overlooking a rooftop that separates the sides of the
building. Oh well, it is light! And we have air conditioning which
we wish we could set just a little cooler! Double bed (not the best)
but it does have a little fridge with cold drinks! I don’t want to
buy their drinks, but it is a place to chill my wine again!
 |
| St. Mark's Basilica on San Marco Plaza. |
 |
| Across the lagoon to San Giorgio's Fortress |
 |
| Campanille on St. Mark's square |
A
quick unwind, and then we are off to find some food and exercise. We
walk through the square, admiring the Campanille and St. Mark’s
Basilica (way too ornate a building for us!) and out to the edge of
the lagoon. Tour groups everywhere, every nationality! We find our
locale to meet for tomorrow’s boat tour, and then find a sidewalk
cafe to sit and order a pizza. Didn’t realize it had a $3 cover
charge per person as well, but live and learn! We enjoyed our pizza,
and then later, our gelatos!
 |
| Old walls along one of the side canals. |
 |
| Beautiful, yet unknown, flower in front of one of the cafes. |
It
is only 5pm when we get back to the hotel, but I think it is time to
relax. Tomorrow will be another full day with the tour, vaporetto
back to train station, train to Florence and check into our Hotel
there.
 |
| You can see that some of the building's ground floors are slightly under water level! |
 |
| On San Marco Square, the government offices, plus evening dining and concerts in preparation. |
 |
| One of the narrow side 'streets' of Venice. |
Saturday,
September 15
Venice
Islands Tour – Murano and Burano
Glass
and Lace!
We
sleep better than expected on the somewhat marginal mattress in our
little room in Venice. Thankfully the air conditioner worked fairly
well! I got up around 6:15 and took the laptop out into the sitting
room parlor to write for 45 minutes or so.
Breakfast
downstairs in the restaurant, and then we get our stuff together to
head downstairs and make the arrangements to leave our luggage in a
secure place while we tour the islands!
 |
| Group gathering in front of Chiesa |
Already
at 9am the plaza is filling with people, but much less than yesterday
afternoon (and WAY LESS than when we returned this afternoon during
Saturday prime time!) It didn’t even look fun to stand in the long
line to enter St. Mark’s Basilica!
Our
group slowly gathers – our tour guide, a very attractice young gal
whose name I never quite caught, expected 24, but only 22 showed up
by the appointed time! We then walked a short distance to the boat
waiting for us. Her English was definitely Italian tainted and at
times was hard to understand!
 |
| Guide and boat captain |
We
slowly made our way out of the main harbor area and through the
various channels (which are the roads here) and to the island of
Murano. On the way, our guide highlighted all the other islands we
passed. Many of them started, or still exist, with monasteries on
them. Many monasteries were destroyed or removed during Napoleon’s
reign in Venice.
 |
| Glass studio courtyard sculpture |
 |
| Old lighthouse welcomes us to Murano Island |
Murano,
as opposed to Venice with its 500 bridges and 100+ individual
islands, has just 5 bridges! And we crossed three of them during the
day! But first we visited a glass factory and watched the artisan
fashion a costume order for a pitcher of red striped glass. It was
fascinating to watch. Then he showed us the technique to make the
many smaller glass animals in the shops. You hardly blinked and he
was done with a horse with hoofs up. Time in the gift shop then,
when was MANY rooms filled with glass items ranging from 3Euros to
5000E!! We picked up a small gift for Rick’s mom. The shop gave
everyone who came through in a tour a 20% discount. I think some of
our group spent a thousand dollars or more!
 |
| Our guide interpretor, the glass artisan, and his apprentice in background - just before the demonstration began. |
 |
| Church bell tower welcomes visitors |
 |
| Blue glass and goblet musician |
 |
| Over a bridge in Murano |
 |
| Very plain backside of Santa Maria e Donato |
 |
| Pictures from inside the Basilica |
 |
| The front of Santa Maria was much fancier....most arrived by boat and this was the canal side. |
 |
| Our guide as we arrive in colorful Burano |
 |
| Lace demonstration |
 |
| As we arrive in Burano, we comment on the lean of the bell tower. Our guide assures us it really does lean... it is not the prosecco! |
 |
| Rick enjoying the cruise |
 |
| Pulling into Burano - a colorful side channel. |
 |
| Plaza fish cafe |
 |
| Our entre .... that was enough fried fish to last awhile! |
 |
| Old church in Burano |
 |
| Much of the center of the lagoon was low lying 'fill' - sandbags holding up rocks and dirt. |
 |
| Church enroute back to Florence |
 |
| Photo across channel toward ....? |
 |
| Not the Rialto Bridge, but the one close to San Marco square. It was packed with tourists. |
 |
| One more classic building as we head back to train station |
And
it was a packed ride! People got off, but it seemed even more got on
each time! The city is BUSY today!!
 |
| I loved all the porches filled with flowers. |
To
the train station where we confirm our 8447 Train to Firenze
(Florence) at 4:35. Rick picks up a couple of cold drinks for us,
and we watch and wait for the board to reveal which platform we need
to go to for the train. Finally at 4:20 or so, I see the 3 show up!
We find our coach and seats and settle in. Riding with reservations
has its advantages – the car is not full and even with the
additional passengers on the mainland station of Venice, we have
empty seats next to us clear to Florence.
 |
| We stand and watch the departure board....waiting! |
 |
| Venice Train Station is more open than some. |
We
find the Hotel Aurora right across from the station, get checked into
a small room, and then head across the street to the small market
located next to the train station. No cooking facilities here, but
we do have a small mini fridge we can use! We grab some treats and
eats and unwind after a full day! (I had to make an emergency run
back to the run quickly to pick up a grocery bag! Got to remember to
take the bag with us!)
Sunday,
September 16
MICHELANGELO’S
DAVID and MORE!
Well,
the air conditioning works in this room. The temps outside only got
down to 65 degrees or so during the night, but I was slightly chilled
toward late morning! We’ll figure it out!
Down
to get breakfast around 8. I don’t think there are more than 15
rooms in this hotel – a few others down eating in the outside
terrace – but it appears only the third floor has rooms. Not sure
WHAT is on the second floor, but the elevator doesn’t even have a
button for it!
The
usual fare – cheese, meats, sweet breads, rolls, croissants, fruit,
yogurt and order your coffee. “Americano, please!” It is good
quality coffee, so I don’t need a lot of ‘doctoring’!
 |
| Ah, the old and the new! On one side McDonald's! On the other? Gelateria! |
Narrow,
brick paved streets, that wind around the Medici Chapels and then to
the Accademia. What a zoo! Long lines already for the
non-reservation folks, another “Red” line for reservations, and
another “Green” line for Groups. And boy are there groups –
each tour leader holder up their respective signs to gather their
flock. Most tour groups are armed with personal speakers and ear
phones, so the leader can speak in the determined language and
doesn’t have to talk ‘loudly’ and disturb other groups. Fairly
effective, although I had to laugh at the number of old ladies who
kept forgetting to turn their little monitor on.
 |
| Waiting for our tour outside the entrance to Accademia |
Rick
did a great job reading and appreciating more Renaissance art than he
has probably ever seen! I found much of the explanations more
extensive than I could handle as well, but I always enjoy good
sculptures! I took pictures of many of the Madonna-Child paintings,
figuring I could make a collage of interpretations of Jesus over the
years. Jesus was usually portrayed as a very chubby little guy!
 |
| We have tickets! |
Before
heading in to the main room with David, we foray to a side
chamber that houses a collection of early musical instruments –
violins to pianos and harpsichords, early brass, hurdy gurdies,
percussion, and more. It was really interesting, especially to
follow the progression of some of the instruments.
Then
back to see David – standing tall and alone in a large domed room
built just for him. As long as you didn’t use flash, you could
take pictures to your heart’s delight! And people did! We walked
all around and I took shots from various angles. I notice on his
left foot the toes are slightly damaged. :(
More
paintings, then into a room that houses multiple plaster casts for
various sculptures. MULTIPLE casts of busts lined the upper walls,
and many more secular plaster models. I found a short video that
described the transition from clay sculpture to plaster to marble.
It explained all the little nail marks in the plaster statues.
 |
| So much artwork to see....so I concentrated on all the Madonna and Child ones. Most of these just the baby Jesus. We liked the one in the lower left that looks like he is scratchig his nose! No scrawny babies here! |
Finally
out through the bookstore (I bit on a book about Leonardo written in
a very fun way). Whew! It was getting warm in places inside. All
in all, considering the number of people in the crowd, it wasn’t
TOO BAD!
We
then wandered the streets of Florence, with one destination in mind
but ended up at the Duomo instead! WOW! The third largest church in
the world (behind St. Peter’s in Rome and one in London) it is 502’
long. By the time you take a facade that huge, the dome, the
bapistry (a separate domed building) and the bell tower, campanille,
it is a massive complex, all with a green, white, pink marble stripe
pattern. (One book we read said some regard it as the church decked
out in pajamas!) We didn’t go inside, but instead just marveled at
the details and ornamentation of the outside – statuary everywhere,
decorated windows, arches, friezes. We read that Michelangelo’s
David was originally intended to decorate one of the high points, but
then it was so uniquely special, they put it in a courtyard instead.
(It was moved inside to the Accademia Gallery in the mid 1800’s).
Now an imitation David is in the courtyard!
 |
| Street cafe action! |
To
Santa Maria plaza – beautiful with lawns edged with small roses.
The part of the front being renovated (train station side) has a wrap
on the scaffolding with the image of the tower on it!
 |
| Santa Maria Novella |
Then
I took us down a very narrow little alley/street toward the river. I
thought we would get some views of another church, but no, just very
dark alleys, laundry hanging on the balconies, and a little street
cafe where I think some families were getting lunch after attending
mass!
What
a difference a street makes. We emerged down near the river and into
an area of some very posh hotels, plus a plaza with a sculpture of
Hercules slaying the lion (which Rick identified before we read the
sign!) Across from the plaza was our goal, a simple (comparatively!)
Chiesa de Ognassanti, also with a tall bell tower that didn’t match
the front of the church!
 |
| Chiesa de Ognassanti |
Short walk back to the Hotel! We are ready to get off our feet and relax! (Instead we did some laundry, and THEN kicked back!) Spent the afternoon reading up on what we had already seen and hope to see tomorrow. So much, but we are mostly doing it by foot and low cost. We can appreciate so much just from wandering. Mondays many of the big name museums are closed.
Monday, September 17
CHURCHES, BACK ALLEYS, AND MORE
Florence by Foot
A leisurely morning! We headed down for breakfast around 8 and didn’t come back until 9:30! Enjoyed conversations with a couple from north of Seattle in Washington and a very talkative but nice guy from Wisconsin. We shared our boo-boos of travel and a few trade secrets of places we had been where they were headed and vice versa! The WA couple had been burned in Rome by sending their laundry out for service – only a partial load and it cost them 69E (that’s$80 for a load of laundry! Yikes!) They will be doing it in the sink like we are for the rest of the trip!
Bapistry doors which face the front of the Duomo itself.
We had mapped out a tentative plan for the day….with allowances for changes along the way as we saw what we saw and felt like doing!
Our first stop was back at the Duomo. We realized yesterday that we hadn’t really walked around to the front or to see the Bronze ‘Gates of Paradise’ by Gilberti that graced the east entrance to the Bapistry. I had left my explanation of each panel back in the hotel, so we spent a little time trying to figure which Old Testament story each portrayed – some successfully, others NOT!
Random sampling of the panels, separation pieces, and little figures looking 'out' from the
On down to the Orsanmichele, a church that was originally the grainary for the town back in the 700’s and then converted to a sacred use. Each guild of the city was given a niche and their patron saints statue was placed in the niche. Entry was FREE! And it was worth ever cent and more (we put a donation into the box!) The church itself is open daily, but the upstairs museum of the original statues and the top floor overlooking the city is only open on Mondays (with volunteer docents) SCORE! It’s Monday! We got views overlooking the town, over to the Duomo (we weren’t quite as high up, but almost!) and in general thoroughly enjoyed this treasury of sculptures as well as the stained glass in the church itself. The ceiling of the church was ornately decorated with painted panels, while the ceiling of the second level was a brick masterpiece of design.
Across the street from the Orsanmichelle was a very nondescript front to a chapel. We wandered over and entered. Wow. A beautiful cathedral inside. I never did get the name of the church, but it was scheduled for mass at 1:30pm, so obviously an active, in-use chapel.
We then walked down toward Piazza Vecchio, the huge clocktower, and the Uffizi Museum. This is where Michelangelo’s David stood for centuries before being moved to the Accademia Gallery. A replica stands in the plaza now, along with a couple dozen other marble figurines. One huge fountain complex of Neptune, other gods, and horses, is under renovation and hidden behind tenting. We walked up to the terrace with many other sculptures, but most were of women and titled “Sabine”.
One fun aspect of the walk down the Uffizi promenade was two statue ‘interpretors’ - a man and a women dressed in white, with white faces, etc. imitating statues. The lady was Cupid, and I’m not sure about the man. It was fun to watch them hold still and then suddenly move and interact with someone walking by. I loved it! Art in action!
You exit the Uffizi through an arched promenade and are suddenly right at the Arno River, the main channel that runs through the middle of Florence. We walk along it until we reach the Ponte Vecchio, an ancient bridge lined with jewelry shops. (It used to be butcher shops, who dumped all the ‘innards’ into the river, but Napoleon put a stop to that!)
One thing we have noticed is active beggars, especially in the areas where tourists gather. It is hard to ignore as some are downright persistent (which makes me feel like they are a scam). Rick did put money in a cup for a young lady in Venice, who wasn’t pushy and had a picture of her kids…..children can push us to action I suppose. But the beggars on the bridge were not of that sort. At breakfast this morning, the Wisconsin guy said one actually punched him yesterday when he refused to donate. Hmmmm. We crossed the bridge without incident.
On the other side, Rick saw a sign for a WC (water closet!). Not knowing when we would find another we wandered through back street alleys until we finally located it. Attended by a young man whose sole job was to collect 1E each for you to use the restroom!
Palazzo Pitti
View through palace 'portal' Down to the Palazzo Pitti – a huge fortress like brick building that now houses numerous museums and galleries. It also has a large garden in the rear that looked interesting, but we opted not (E20 for both of us and we weren’t sure when the rain was going to come!)
Chiesa de San Felice
So we wandered down the main drag a little further and found another nondescript church facade. This one I did get the name - Chiesa de San Felice. We went in! It had some interesting artwork, including a
‘reposing Jesus’, but also had music as a nun was giving either organ or voice lessons to a lady.
Nave of San Felice
Then down a side street to another piazza, that looked like a playground for a school, and back toward the river. Enroute we veered off to see another church and the plaza in front of it was totally EMPTY!! What??? Are we still in Florence? This was the Chiese de Santa Maria de Carmine. We were on what is considered the back side – the unfinished side. It was very plain brick. Nothing more. As we left, I could see parts of the dome and pillar from the front in the distance.
A main street in central Florence!
An empty plaza???
Backside of Santa Maria de Carmine
Just before the river we passed another church facade, back side, and again very plain. Later I could see its dome and tower as we crossed over the river.
Dome and tower of church by river
Interesting sculpture of wood in
the 'empty' plaza
We admired the bridges and a small water drop of the Arno before crossing back over, having made the decision we were hungry and the little cafe where we ate yesterday sounded GREAT! We returned and were greeted by the waiter with ‘Welcome Back!’ Love it! I had told Rick yesterday that my next order was going to be ravioli (having tried tortellini and gnocchi) and sure enough! On today’s menu is Ravioli de Funghi y….something else! I know funghi is mushrooms so good enough! (The else proved to be lots of little grape tomatoes cut in half!) It was delicious! Rick ordered Penne de Aggribata (Angry!) which is a spicy sauce on penne pasta. I could come back here every day!
Arno River and bridges as we cross back over to north side.
Another good meal! The raviolis were HUGE!
We stop at the Conrads grocery, located just beside the train station, to pick up a few evening snack supplies (and more wine!) and head up to the room. Quiet late afternoon, going down to the terrace for awhile to read and enjoy the garden area (altho they could use a good lawn mowing!) Discover some gorgeous passion fruit flowers blooming in a back corner of the garden.
I needed help the next morning from an Italian woman at breakfast to
identify these flowers. Through broken English, we got there!
Quiet evening as we prepare for our cooking class tomorrow! Bon Appetite!
Our travels for today!!
Tuesday, September 18
Italian Cooking Class in Tuscany!
WalkAbout Tours
What a fun day! After breakfast, during which we talked again with the folks from Seattle and ‘compared notes’ we walked over to the train station taxi stand where we met Isaac, our WalkAbout Guide for the day. Our group was much larger than I anticipated – about 27 of us! We were given the little receivers with a single earpiece (MUCH more comfortable than ‘ear plugs’) so that Isaac could talk to us as we walked to the Central Market to pick up the ingredients for our class.
The market is located about 4 blocks east of the train station and as we wove through traffic, Isaac shared a little of the prep for the day and the background of the market, Italian cooking, etc. Before the food market, we had to go down the narrow isles of the leather goods sales. It smelled good, but expensive!
What a jumble of booths inside the enclosed permanent central market. Vendors of nuts, breads, cheeses, vegetables and fruits, meats, and seafoods. Several have seating available (for maybe 10 people!) We bought bread and pine nuts, tomatoes (27 of them – 1 each!), parmesan and pecarino cheeses, ground beef (very lean) and a rack of pork. Folks in the group were carrying lots of bags by the time we left! It was fascinating to see and perhaps a place to revisit on Wednesday. I learned you can stuff zucchini blossoms plus saw an enormous swordfish about to be cut up. I can’t say the weird meats were that appealing – the cow penis, mammary glands, tripe, etc.
We then walked past several plazas to a major road and a bus parked waiting for us. Everyone piled in and we drove over the Arno River and up the hill past the Plaza Michelangelo (another nice bronze David replica there) overlooking the city (the clock tower and Duomo REALLY stand out). Enroute Isaac shared a little of his background. He was originally from Seattle area where he got his culinary school degree. Worked abit there, and then took a backpacking trip across Europe with a friend and fell in love with Italy. Stayed and has been here for about 10 years. Eventually fell into the job with WalkAbout Tours teaching these classes.
We continued on uphill through some gates to a country villa where the WalkAbout Tours purchased a small portion of the estate to hold some of their classes. It was beautiful, lush and green, and overlooked the city and surrounding hills. A neat little vegetable garden below with olive trees (providing an endless supply of olive oil for the group) stretching over the hillside. The property is owned by Carmella and her husband. She also teaches part of the class, with Isaac providing translation since her English isn’t that great! She was very animated and fun to watch. Very expressive and demonstrative. (Steve T would tell me that’s Italian!)
We washed up, donned aprons, and got busy! Our menu for the day was to include bruschetta, pesto sauce and a ragu meat sauce to put on our homemade pasta, pork roast with potatoes, and tiramisu for dessert. Whew! Oh...and pretty much an endless supply of Chianti Classico red wine! (Which to my amazement I found I liked – a red wine!)
First we prepared the vegetables (celery, onion, carrots) with fine dicing to add to the pot for the ragu. It needed to simmer and cook for several hours, so first order of business! We got to try the U shaped chopping tool that is really basically an oversized ulu knife with handles on either side! Kinda fun to use, but my ulu works! No garlic in the pot, as Carmella doesn’t believe in mixing garlic with beef! When Italian cooks say add a drop of olive oil – they mean about a half cup or more! Incredible amounts! About 3 pounds of double ground meat went in along with three containers of Italy’s most popular tomato sauce.
For the bruschetta we chopped up tomatoes, plucked apart fresh basil leaves, crushed garlic cloves mixed with salt, and mixed it all up! The bread was lightly toasted on either side, leaving the middle soft. Rub garlic on the bread, drizzle with oil, liberally spoon on the tomato mix, more olive oil and a drizzle of a fine balsamic vinegar (special type that was exceptionally sweet – using cooked grape must).
We used a heavy mortar and pestal to make our pesto sauce – pine nuts, basil, garlic, parmesan, pecarino, and an unbelievable amount of olive oil! We didn’t roast the nuts, but could have. I asked Isaac about using other nuts and he said he had used almonds, walnuts, etc.
Next we prepared the pork for roasting, rubbing it with rosemary and sage herbs and stuffed garlic cloves between the ribs and the meat. The potatoes, which had been pre-soaked for a half hour, were also sprinkled liberally with olive oil and rosemary and sage. It will cook for about an hour.
Wow! I got a picture to load!
Time to make pasta!! Isaac gives a great demonstration – I captured parts of it on video – good reminders of the process, but also the fun interplay between Isaac, the group, and Carmella. Then we go out to the terrace where tables were set up and ready for everyone to make their own little batch (all of which will be combined!) One egg, about a half cup of flour, and mix away! It was easy, especially for one used to kneading and making bread, and fun. Rick really enjoyed it as well, which is good because he specializes in eating pasta! I would like to make tortellini and ravioli – the stuffed kinds. (MEMO note – Florentine stuffing is usually a little spinach, garlic, and ricotta cheese – information that WON’T be in our recipes!)
After everyone cleaned up from the pasta, it was time for a tiramisu lesson! We separated eggs, beat them, whipped them, combined them, and then all made their own individual bowl of tiramisu!! I wish I had sprinkled the cocoa powder between every layer! Isaac said you can whip up riccotta cheese and use it instead of Marcapone cream cheese which would cut the calories a lot! We each decorated the top of our own so we would recognize it before putting them all to chill in the fridge!
There is a team of workers behind the scenes that magically clean everything up after us and then set the stage for the next part of the class. We turned around after making the tiramisu and found the patio was now elegantly set for our meal!
Rick and I sat next to a young couple expecting their first child in January from Germany, next to them a young couple from eastern Canada (also expecting!), and an older couple from Texas. The two pregnant gals bemoaned that they hadn’t been able to enjoy any of the wine, and I think they both left their tiramisu untouched, not wanting to eat raw eggs. We enjoyed the table conversation as we first dined on our pesto pasta (first course), then the ragu pasta (second course), then the pork and potatoes (main course) and finally, our tiramisu was brought out! All with Chianti bottles on the table – fill your glass as you wish! Fortunately also plenty of water bottles! We were stuffed when finished! But it all tasted SO GOOD!
Looking down on the gardens of the farmhouse
View of city as we wound around Palazzo Michelangelo, up high on the hill
We walked down the hill to our waiting bus around 3:30pm, which took us back to town, dropping us off on the far side of the Arno River near the Ponte Vecchio – the bridge with the little buildings on it. We walked back to the hotel via some different routes.
Ponche Vecchio bridge from next bridge down. This is the one with all the jewelry sellers.
Unwind time and time out in the garden relaxing. A great day….and the thunderstorm still hasn’t arrived!
Rick will tell you this is what I look like every night as I try to catch up with the day!
From the WalkAbout Web Site:
First discover Florence's historical food market where the locals do their daily shopping. Blend in with the locals. Meet the bakers, the butchers, and the farmers selling vegetables from their fields. Their stalls are full of items such as fresh fruit, vegetables, cheeses, cured meats, balsamic vinegar, sun dried tomatoes, olives and many other Italian food specialities. Shop for the ingredients to use for the cooking class and learn to choose the best seasonal products.Then it's time to start your cooking lesson at a farmhouse in Tuscany. This isn't just a demonstration, you will actually take part in creating a full traditional Tuscan meal with our chef's help. You will learn to make real Italian fresh pasta by hand with freshly laid eggs and learn to make a traditional meat sauce using ingredients from right outside the door!Learn to prepare classic bruschetta with fresh bread, homegrown tomatoes and the farmhouse's own extra virgin olive oil and then take a break to enjoy the bruschetta with a glass of Chianti wine.After the break it's back to the lesson where you will learn how to prepare traditional Tuscan roast pork, arista and Tuscan roast potatoes using fresh herbs collected from around the farmhouse. To finish the class, you will learn the secrets of the wonderful Italian coffee and cream dessert, Tiramisù.At last sit down to enjoy a wonderful meal. Each course will be paired with a carefully selected wine from the region to compliment the flavors of the food you have prepared. At the end of your meal, your driver will be waiting for you for a short drive back to Florence, so it's time to say arrivederci after an unforgettable experience in Tuscany.
Wednesday,
September 19
Bargello
National Museum and More!
Florence
by Foot….Again!
Our
last day to wander Florence! We visit once again with ‘Seattle’
during breakfast and shortly after 9:30 we are out the door of the
hotel. Our first destination today is the Bargello National Museum –
located east of the Piazza Vecchio and south of the Duomo. It was
written up well in Rick Steeve’s guidebook as ‘out of the main
tourist crowd’ and no lines! Plus mostly sculptures rather than
paintings! Perfecto!
Through
the crowds packing the front of the bus station and train station
(not to mention construction taking place at this busy intersection)
and back towards the Duomo, where we will find our street leading
down to the Bargello. The building is ancient, having once housed a
prison and a police station before renovation several hundred years
ago to the Italian National Museum. Collections of artwork,
sculptures, metalworks, ivory, fabrics, etc. that had no other home
found a resting place at the Bargello. The building is a huge square
with an open plaza in the middle – three stories high (with each
story about 30’ in depth!) There is a tower attached with a castle
like motif at the top. All around the interior of the courtyard
large stone “Coat of Arms’ from around Italy are on display.
 |
| The ceilings of the Bargello were as awesome as what was on the walls and the statues on the floor! Upper right is the chapel with fading frescoes. A huge center courtyard. |
Works
by Michelangelo, Donatello, and other premier Renaissance sculptures
are on display. We spent two hours winding through each level (had
to get our money’s worth for the 18Euro entry fee!) and never did
find the special Islamic and Arabic art display! But by then we were
tired and thirsty!
The
old chapel for the prison houses furniture and pulpits, old frescoes
on the walls (that are in a state of partial restoration),
crucifixes, and other religious art. One room was filled with
painted clay bowls and other dishes of refinement (not exactly our
favorite room). Another held a collection of carved ivory. I took a
picture of an ivory, iron, and jade chess and backgammon board (about
2’ square!) Also found a cosmometer – which looked like the
hands of a clock on top of a circle painted with sections marked off
in months, years, seasons, and a bunch of other numbers with stars
and planets. Maybe Jed can explain it to us!
We
found statues of Greek gods we have never heard of, plus several of
Bacchus, the wine god! Plenty of statues of David and John the
Baptist, both by Donatello and other artists. Donatello’s bronze
David was a first – the first nude statue to be created in about
1000 years of the church-influenced middle ages.
And
then there were Madonnas and ‘Bambinos’ - statues, bas relief
carvings, glazed terra cotta, and paintings – all of Mary and the
baby Jesus. Some included the whole nativity scene, but most were
just Mary, Jesus, and often, John the Baptist (identifiable by the
fuzzy cloth he wore). Mary is often seen with a book in hand,
especially in the Annunciation art. Jesus often has a bird. I need
to research those features further to understand the significance.
 |
| So many to choose from! Rick's favorite was the smiling Jesus in the center! We loved the glazed terra cotta white and blue ones as well. |
 |
| Another 'tiny' chapel along the way! |
 |
| Statue in Anunciation Plaza with all the food stalls! |
 |
| In front of all the white roses on St. Mark's Square and church |
 |
| It's gelato time! |
We
tried to check out the gardens located behind San Marco, but
discovered they are closed on Wednesdays. So it is back down toward
the Central Market where we find some aracini’s for sale! Perfect!
Rick gets a ragu one, and I try the spinach. Delicious – although
we take them back to the room to eat! I’ll have to add that to my
Italian cooking ventures at home!
 |
| Upstairs Food Court at the Central Market...a BUSY place! |
Back
to the hotel by 2:30 – enough walking for the day and it is once
again muggy and warm. Plus I thought we might be going into some
churches, so we wore long pants. (It is customary to have knees and
shoulders covered when visiting the churches of Florence. I don’t
know how much it is enforced at the smaller churches, but rather a
sign of respect which we followed.) We were supposed to get
thunderstorms the past two days, but nothing has materialized. I
don’t think it is happening today either.
Lazy
afternoon. Spent a little time down in the garden, but it was still
warm down there. Thank goodness for AC in the room. Rick only
lasted a half hour in the garden….sun still too high. I didn’t
think I would last much longer, but as the sun went down a breeze
came up and it became very pleasant! However, I couldn’t get wifi
service out there, so I finally gave up, went upstairs and finished
my aricini!! (And wine!)
Good
evening looking ahead to Cinque Terra, etc.
Thursday,
September 20
TRAVEL
DAY to CINQUE TERRA
On
the train again!
Another
day of travel! We enjoy breakfast conversation one last day with the
folks from Seattle – they leave today for Venice and then Croatia,
but we will both be traveling west again by plane on the 1st
of October!
 |
| Rick sat on his suitcase most of the way to Pisa...I was on the little jumpseat. |
 |
| Carrara is marble country and you can see the hills are still being quarried. We saw marble slabs lined up along the railroad. Michelangelo said this was the BEST marble to be found in all of Italy! |
BTW….we pulled into Pisa Central, raced to find our Intercity Train to Levanto which suggested reservations, but a nice man assured us we could get on anyway! We did. Never were we asked to show tickets all morning! There were seats available on the Intercity, but since we didn’t have reservations, we stood most of the way at the entrance to the car. It worked and we got to Levanto around 1:15.
 |
| First view in Levanto - a church across from the train station! |
We
had contacted the hotel last night by email about the shuttle
service, receiving a very prompt reply with the phone number to call
when we arrived. I did so and within 10 minutes the youngest son of
the owners pulled up to pick us up. It is only 2 km from the train
station to the hotel, but it is UP a rather steep hill at the end.
Since we came by train we are afforded one round trip, or two shuttle
rides a day, down to town for free. Nice. We’ll take advantage of
that.
We
get settled into a very nice room and begin to read some of the
information we have been given. Both of us take the opportunity to
wander the grounds and admire the many terraces and patios over
looking the valley. Our room opens up to a very small narrow patio
and the olive orchard!
 |
| Chiesa Della Guardia, Levanto - we pass this on every trip to the hotel! |
Around 4 we walk DOWNHILL to town to survey the locale and
 |
| We pass some gorgeous bougainvilla plants! |
The
beach is about a km long and I think you have to pay for parts of it
– they provide umbrellas and lounging chairs, etc. We are thinking
that the swimming pool at the hotel looks good instead! Too many
people on the beach and it isn’t even the weekend yet!
 |
| The Levanto beach - ready for the weekend crowd. |
But
there is a nice promenade walkway/bikeway along the beach. A new
rails to trail has been opened between Levanto and the next town to
the north – using the old coastline rail route. It is supposed to
be really nice and only 6 km between the towns.
 |
| Down near the city park there are beautiful arches and towering aleppo pine trees |
Walk along the parkway south toward an old military building jutting out into the water. Kids were diving off the pier and you got a good view back toward the beach and the town in the glow of the setting sun. We passed at least three classic old estate like villas right above the water’s edge – ornate and fancy. Up above we could see some of the ruins of the old fortress. We sat for quite awhile in the shade of the rocks watching the sun on the town while we perused maps for tomorrow. (I believe we are going hiking, train riding, boating?)
 |
| This old building juts out into the bay - kids were diving off the end. .... |
 |
| ....but I used the opportunity to stick my feet into the Mediterranean. It was warm! |
Walk
back through town and to Piazza Mazzini. We sit out along the beach for 20 minutes while we watch the sunset. The shuttle arrives
promptly at 7:30 and picks us up (after dropping off 4 people). Back
up to the hotel.
Wine
and a bit of a struggle to get the AC unit to cool the room off to
our comfort level. Showers felt good. BTW….wifi is MUCH improved
here. I might be able to post a few things and catch up! Or at least keep up!
Friday,
September 21
Hike
to Monterosso
A
Bit More Up Than Planned!
Up
and ready to roll this morning for our 8am breakfast! We signed up
for a shuttle to take us down the hill at 9:15.
What
a breakfast spread! Lots of fruits, granolas, yogurts, and add-ins,
eggs, bacon, cheese, meats, and plenty of pastry choices! Too many
choices! But we could pour our own ‘American Coffee’ from a
regular coffee maker! (Gal was also busy making cappachinos for
folks!) We could eat out on the little patio, nestled among oleander
trees and the olive orchard. Very nice.
 |
| Breakfast area (photo taken NOT during breakfast!) |
We
left today rather open, not knowing how far we would want to hike.
Well..we didn’t make it far in terms of distance...only to
Monterosso. But the trail we took (#752) took us from sea level to
the top of a pass at 361meters. It went UP!! Probably not the most
used of the Cinque Terra trails either as we never saw ANYONE on it
until we merged with some of the other paths. But….we went through
one gate that said be sure to close so the boars don’t get out,
past hidden homes way up marginal roads, through stone walls, past
some ruins, and enough flowers to keep me happy also! The view back
down on Levanto was great at first, then we veered into another
canyon and could only see across to where we THINK the hotel might
be. It was hard to tell!
 |
| The start of the trail....a little questionable! |
 |
| Ah! We are on the right path .... 50 minutes to the top! |
 |
| Our best view back down into the Levanto area before we turn up another canyon. |
 |
| This is a tele of the castle in Levanto from the hill. |
 |
| One of the 'ruins' we passed on the trail. |
 |
| We made it to the top of the pass! |
 |
| And this sign confirms we got to Colla Bagari. |
Dripping
with sweat (high today 82, low 70!) we finally made it to the top of
the pass. I think Italy only indicates distance in their literature
and signs, because the elevation gains would scare people away. This
trail simply said it would take 50 minutes. I think we might have
been just over an hour! Then out on a busier trail toward the end of
the rocky point that juts out into the Mediterranean between
Monterosso and Levanto, Punta Mesco. We got out to the point just
around the same time as a tour group! Great timing!
 |
| Rick along ridge trail heading down to point. |
 |
| Crossroads of trails on Punto Mesco. The monastery ruins are just 5 minutes further out. |
The point is the site of a monastery, San Antonio, which was abandoned around the 1300’s. A military camp took over the location, using some of the materials from the monastery. All is in ruins now, but the monastery is free of the grafitti that marks the other part. We didn’t stay long, but did grab a quick snack of apples before heading down the trail to Monterosso.
 |
| Approaching the ruins |
 |
| Inside the old nave area |
 |
| Not much left when seen from this angle. |
 |
| Photo by random French couple! |
 |
| View of Cinque Terra coastline from Punte Mesco |
Down
into Monterosso, considered probably the least scenic or most
commercial of the Cinque Terra towns, around 12:45, having hiked
steady for about 3 hours. We were hot and tired and sorely in need
of some more water!! We wandered along the sea front street,
checking out some restaurants, before settling on Nuevo Eden, a busy
place with outdoor seating that seemed to have a nice breeze! We had
to wait abit to get a table, but finally were seated and a large
water ordered!! Rick had penne salmone zucchini and I tried a
stuffed pasta (ravioli type?) with a walnut sauce. Mine was good,
but the walnut sauce didn’t have as much flavor as I had hoped.
 |
| Our eatery in Monterroso |
I
called the hotel when we arrived to secure a spot on the 5pm shuttle,
but then we decided we really didn’t want to ‘kill’ 2 ½ hours
in town (I can’t eat gelato for THAT long!) so we hiked back up the
hill! I have to admit the last really steep part was a slog, and I
was very overheated and dripping when we got to the hotel. BUT….it
was only 3pm and the pool was waiting for me!
 |
| Huge prickly pear with ripe fruit on path down to pool |
 |
| Two 'sunning areas' high and low by the very 'cool water' pool! |
Around
7 we headed out to the terrace when I reminded Rick that I had worked
hard for my gelato today! The hotel doesn’t have a full service
restaurant (other than breakfast!), but does serve drinks and cold
meals (cheese, meat plates) plus some desserts. We finally just
ordered the mixed ice cream – one to share. Good thing because it
was 3 scoops of gelato, which included one of chocolate! That’s
the part I ate! We watched the sunset behind the hill (view slightly
lessened by the huge power lines) and the moon rise behind us. Took
time to sign up for the 11:15 shuttle down to town tomorrow where we
plan to rent some bikes and ride up to Bonassola, the town 6 km north
of us. A new rail to trail has been built. (I didn't take a picture of our giant gelato bowl!)
 |
| I don't have most of these identified! Lower left is bougainvilla, growing profusely in Monterosso! Bottom is Hibiscus with other flowers around it. |
Saturday,
September 22
Biking
to Bonossala
(and
Beyond!)
 |
| Our beautiful breakfast table. |
What
a great day! A little more relaxing of a morning as we didn’t sign
up for the shuttle until 11:15! Ate a great breakfast out on the
patio and then I spent an hour plus updating pictures on the blog –
the internet here is so incredible I really want to get caught up
before we leave!
We
hop on the shuttle, armed with directions to the bike shop, and a
‘more or less’ plan to head on the new bike trail toward Framura
(that’s as far as it goes!) Find the shop and are soon outfitted
with two bright orange/red bikes – single speed but with hand
brakes. Just 6 euro for 4 hours (and we’re closed between 1:30 and
3:30, so if you make if around 3:45 that’s fine!) Can’t beat the
price. He wrote down our names, but took no money! Wow.
 |
| Rick checks out the sign at the beginning of the trail. |
Within
the first 100 meters, I could tell I would be right at home – the
brakes squealed horribly just like my old bike did! (Rick would
always know when I was turning into the driveway!) We stopped to
readjust our seats and take off!
The
Rail to Trail follows the old rail path right along the edge of the
cliff, darting in and out of tunnels all the way. It is beautifully
paved and lined with two lanes for cyclists and one lane for walkers.
Lighting provides illumination in the long sections, which also
prove to be delightfully cool and refreshing!
 |
| So many little coves and cracks in the rocky cliff. |
 |
| Along an open stretch of trail |
We
stop in several of the opening to watch the waves crash against the
rocks. The route to Bonossola is much busier than beyond.
 |
| First view of Bonossola |
We
pedal through Bonossola, having decided to go on to Framura and check
out the whole path before returning for food and a visit to the
church on the point just outside of Bono….
 |
| Beautiful view down to the rocks and the crashing waves. Water is such a glorious color! |
 |
| A pause on the trail - one of the rare 'outside' sections! |
The
trail on to Framura is just a series of LOOONG tunnels with very
short breaks inbetween. We ride at a very leisurely pace, admiring
the brickwork, wondering about some of the structures we see, and
stopping to check out the water whenever we could.
 |
| Awesome tunnel section where the walls seemed to form a horseshoe shape. I loved all the various brick colors. |
 |
| Crashing waves on rocks is amazing to see! |
 |
| Pirate's Cove harbor in Framura |
 |
| As we wind up the steps, we look down on the train station and the tiny harbor. |
 |
| Morning glory flowers and an old turret in Framura |
 |
| Small, seemingly abandoned church in Framura |
But
we aren’t staying here long! The hill was a hot hike and a meal
awaits us in Bonossola! Back down to the bikes and through the
tunnels again, welcoming the cool breeze and dampness of the tube
after the heat of Framura.
 |
| The clock tower on top of the hill in Framura |
 |
| Top of the hill in Framura |
 |
| A stop at a viewpoint for a selfie - ah the vast Mediterranean behind us! |
 |
| Chiese de Santa Caterina in Bonossola |
Once
back in Bonossola, we park the bikes again and I consult my Google
maps for where the road or trail is located to take us out to the
point and the little chapel there. Finally I ask a local “Parlay
inglesa?” She says no and then a long string of Italian. I say I
am looking for the trail to the church and then I indicate out to the
point. She nods and points to the path above us! Then she watches
as we walk back to it and gives me a thumbs up when we are on it!
We
basically walk out a narrow road, past some small little villas and
rustic garden areas, to an open air chapel built on the rocks. The
tiny altar area is sealed off, and there are a number of people just
sitting inside enjoying the peaceful view and breeze. You can see
back toward the harbor at Bonossola and around the tip of the point
that separates the town from Levanto to the south.
 |
| I took this picture of the Chapel of Madonnina della Punta early from the other side of the bay. |
 |
| Rugged coast north of the chapel. |
 |
| Taking a break inside the chapel walls. |
 |
| Rick joins the many visitors inside the chapel. |
 |
| Photo time! |
 |
| Photographer Rick captures Ginger and a sailboat passing by from the chapel. |
 |
| Out by the blue Mediterranean! |
 |
| Narrow streets of Bonassola |
We take some
pictures and then head back toward town, in search of a place to eat!
It is 2:30 and we are hoping we aren’t too late to hit the ‘lunch
crowd’. As it is we find several places open, but too expensive,
others closed, and then finally Della Rosa with a beautiful open
patio underneath trained sycamore trees growing like a giant
umbrella! AND they have 8 euro pasta plates! Rick gets ravioli this
time with a ragu sauce, while I have gnocchi with pesto. My gnocchi
this time are much bigger than in Florence. I share some of my plate
with Rick as it fills me up. An excellent pesto sauce! We enjoy our
meal and then when paying, the waitress puts a two scoop gelato cone
in Rick’s hands! I had seen her make it for someone and it had the
wrong flavor on top (chocolate – how in the world could that be
WRONG??) Rick was puzzled, but the bar tender smiled and said,
‘Enjoy! Usually I have to eat her mistakes! This time, you!’
So we did! No gelato tonight for us!
 |
| Della Rosa Cafe for lunch |
 |
| Rick stopped enroute back to Levanto and had fun trying to capture the breaking waves. |
|
| Last shot before we reenter Levanto and turn in the bikes. |
Quick bike ride back into Levanto where we turn in our bikes right at 3:45! Pay our 12 euro and we have an hour to blow before the shuttle will come and pick us up! So we find the grocery store to pick up a few staples (cheese, carrots, and the snack cracker mix!) and then I wanted to do a little souvenir shopping, so we roamed a few shops. Picked up a little something for Liz and Dave and ourselves.
On
the shuttle, back to the hotel, and I have nearly 150 pictures to
deal with. As I type I sit in my bathing suit out on the terrace
watching an incredible sunset. Better go grab the camera! Worth
the trip as I grab a glass of wine and a piece of chocolate and
simply sit back and enjoy the celestial show from the terrace. Life
is good. Thank you, God.
 |
| The cathedral (that I still can't find a name for) just down the hill from the hotel and sunset. |
 |
| Too bad they built the power lines right past the hotel....kinda mucks up the view! |
 |
| Life is good. Very good. |
 |
| Mystery flower of Italy! |
 |
| Wisteria seed pods |
BTW...I asked the son of the owners to identify my mystery white flower (also on site in a red version) and struck out once again. It's common, he said after also asking his parents, but we don't know what it is! The mystery plant of Italy! At least I found out what the velvety pods were this morning - they are the pods of the wisteria that graces the breakfast terrace with purple blossoms earlier in the year!
Sunday,
September 23
A
Train (or Three), A Hike, and a Boat
On
the Cinque Terra
Well,
we wrapped up our final day on the Italian coast with a little of
everything!
Once
at the station we also picked up our Treking Pass for the day,
necessary to hike the trail from Montesorro to Vernazza. With
several questions, we found the train to the next stop and hopped on
for the 8 min ride through the mountain!
Found
the start of the trail! (It helped they wrote Vernazza with an arrow
on the pavement!) Wow! I think today’s 3.6 km venture (it seemed
WAY longer than that!) was just as tough as Friday. It was the
middle of the day, no cloud cover, and the trail was crawling with
people. And steps, roughly cut into the rock, up and up and up.
Leveled off for a little and up and up some more. We did pass small
villas and olive orchards, vineyards, and old places. A few tiny
grottos in canyons, one even with water!
 |
| You can see from the bottom pictures, we were NOT down along the shoreline! |
Between
Monterosso and Vernazza the trail leveled out somewhat along the
contour of the point, walking along the edge, often with a railing of
wood on one side, through aleppo pines, olives, and shrubs.
Viewpoints were much rarer than I anticipated. The blue waters were
WAY down below us when we could see them.
One
small highlight was an old couple sitting by the trail playing a
flute and accordion – music to entertain the hikers. The melodies
floated on the air for some time. I put a small donation in their
box – I appreciated the diversion!
Passed
a villa for sale – at first we couldn’t tell if it was inhabited
– but saw the laundry out and ripe cherry tomatoes in the garden
patch on the other side. Had fun putting together a sales promotion
for Rusty and Anne!
Down
more steps into Vernazza (what goes up, must come down!) At least
the train station wasn’t at shore level! Wandered through town and
found a gelato place and indulged! We’ve worked it off already!
Refilled our water bottles from the town fountain.
 |
| A few of the flowers we saw along the way today (and at the hotel!) |
Back
on the train having decided that was enough hiking – too crowded!
Short trip down to Corniglia. This is the one town that has NO
harbor at all, so only accessible by train or foot. It sits up on a
high rock above the coastline. We walked along level for aways, and
then you climb stairs to the city – 380 of them to be fairly
precise! It looked like Walter’s Wiggles from Zion – the steps
switchbacked up the hillside to reach the town center. Once into the
plaza area, the ‘Centro’ sign pointed us into a narrow alley
lined with shops. It curved around to the top of the hill, a
bustling area of shops and little diners. However, Sunday afternoon
in September on a beautiful day was NOT the time to find the quiet
village setting.
 |
| Corniglia is remote, but quaint once you huff and puff your way up the steps! |
Our
time was getting short, so we hustled back down the steps, happy to
find the train was 5 minutes late or we would have missed it. We got
off in Manarola, saw we would have to climb back up and over to that
village, and re-entered the train another 4 cars back! Unfortunately
this was the one time since Florence we have been checked for
tickets. Each time the conductor entered the very door between cars
in which we were standing! I pulled the tickets out of the pack
twice! Oh well! Tomorrow we will use up our days on the Italy pass.
 |
| Festival time in Riomaggiore! |
 |
| Pesto Pizza! |
Down
the streets, narrow steps leading into the tiny harbor tucked between
rocks. We found the boat ticket office and paid the 32e for our ride
back. Cash only! I had read that somewhere but scoured the
website this morning to verify and it never said. Glad we hadn’t
spent more for dinner! Rick had enough, but as we waited for the
plane we decided perhaps we would pull another 50e from the ATM when
back in town. Just to make sure!
I
am impressed with the boat captains. All the boats nose straight in
to the concrete dock – rocks and rolling waves on either side. A
huge gangplank is lowered off the front end and while the boat rolls
with the sea, everyone gets off and on in single file! I found a
seat along the front edge on the shoreline side – perfect!
We
were down to Rick’s camera and my phone at this point – my camera
had decided the battery wasn’t very well charged. (Confusing
because when I put it into the charger later, the green light came on
in about 5 minutes!) Disappointing since that is the camera with the
good telefoto for capturing the villages from the sea. But we did ok
with the Canon. The light was perfect with the lowering sun.
We
passed right by Manarola and Cornigli – both beautifully tucked
into their hillsides – boxes of pastel colors. The ocean water so
blue, the breeze felt marvelous after a hot day. By boat you can
really get a feel of the whole coastline terrain – seeing it all at
once. You don’t get that from the train or on foot.
 |
| The boat ride was wonderful - you could see all the villages at once (barely in terms of Riomaggiore!) |
We
stopped in Vernazza and Monterosso, the majority of the boatload
debarking in the latter. Only 25 or so going on to Levanto.
Monterosso was in the shadow of the point (the one we went to the tip
of on Friday’s hike), but the point itself glowed in the sunlight
with its sheer wall of rock.
Back
in Levanto 15 minutes early! We found an ATM (thank you Google
maps!) and then walked over to the pickup point, hoping that the
shuttle might be making a 7pm run and we could catch a ride then. We
were scheduled for 7:30pm. Rick waited while I ran around the
building to catch a few sunset pictures. By 7:10, no shuttle, so we
both sat out and watched the waves (sunset a bust by then) for a few.
 |
| Sunday night sunset |
Shuttle
picked up four of us, then four more at the train station, so it was
a FULL load again to pull back up the hill. Showers felt so good
after another sweaty day!
Goodbye
Cinque Terra – Levanto was the perfect choice to stay. The other
towns would have been so crowded!
Monday,
September 24
TRAIN
TRAVEL TO MILAN
Preparation
for the New Segment – Iceland!
We
left the hotel at 10:15 this morning and arrived here at Milan Crowne
plaza right around 4pm! Reserving those seats on the Intercity train
was more than worth the 6E – although Rick and I didn’t end up
sitting next to each other. Our seats were facing backwards, and
Rick really rides better facing the direction he is going, so he
moved to some unnumbered seats and let some others take his reserved
one. I had the computer all out putting together yesterday’s
collages, so I just stayed where I was.
While
we waited for our train in Levanto, we struck up a 20 minute
conversation with a couple from Australia traveling the 3 winter
months with their three year old daughter. Very nice family and we
talked about where we each had been, tips of travel, life with a
little one on the road. The little girl pipped in occasionally to
share her input, but mostly cuddled a bedraggled stuffed animal –
she told me his name was Boris!
 |
| Found ONE photo from today - of a church we passed along the coast! |
Into
Milano Centrale and I had written down the Train Number for our
regional train out to the airport, so we were able to quickly
identify it on the board. It was on the side track 1 as we suspected
it might be and headed over there. Boarded in plenty of time and
struck up conversation with a couple from Virginia Beach who were
traveling Italy. I have enjoyed these random encounters along the
way!
A
few assurances from fellow passengers when we arrived at the Malpensa
Airport terminal and we found our Exit 10 where the hotel shuttle
picked us up (another conversation with a couple from Arkansas!)
While walking through the airport, we stopped at a small pizzeria and
picked up a couple of sandwiches. It was 3pm and we hadn’t eaten
since breakfast!
Our
room at the Crowne Plaza hotel is very nice – she said she upgraded
us! Basically an evening to read up on Iceland, relax, and get a
good night’s sleep. I caught up on a few emails. And now I
suddenly realize, I don’t think I took ONE picture today!! What???
Our train window was so dirty, there were so many tunnels, and...I
didn’t take pictures of all the folks we visited with!
So….that
wraps up Europe Part 3. On to ICELAND!!
No comments:
Post a Comment