Romantic Cinqua Terra with Squat

Thurs 18 October
4am cab ride to Gatwick airport, so tired as had been to see the musical Wicked with Saskia the night before, so only had about 4 hours sleep. As i lifted my suitcase into the cab i had a mini panic attack - i was sure my suitcase weighed more than 20 kgs (yes I know I was only away for 10 days). After a slight bag reshuffle and carry on weighing 6 kgs we made it on the plane. Was about to throw something at the little kid sitting next to me however because every time he killed something on his gameboy it made the most irritating sounds - not what you want at 7am!

Arrived at Rome Ciampino. Not a nice airport but its the one that all the cheap air lines fly into. Straight to Roma Termini and on the train to La Spezia. Word of advice - 70 cents to use the loo and macca's didn't even have one. Was already cursing the weight of my bag as was Saskia, thank god for chivalry because its a massive step up onto the Italian regional trains. Another word of advice - the train guards are not helpful at all so make sure you find the little yellow validation machines and validate your ticket before you get on the train. Also book yourself first class ticket, not much more expensive but guarantees you a comfy cabin!

Turned out we were sitting in the same cabin as Paul from the Melbourne Dragons (little bit of eye candy didn't hurt for the 5 hours train trip). Saskia and Paul talked AFL (foreign language to me) for ages so I caught some shut eye.The best thing about the train was the food carriage. Not because of the food but because the bench tops were bright orange - exactly like my ones back home ahhhhh. Tried my first Italian beer (tasted exactly like VB) and prinngles. This was the beginning of our really health Italian diet.

Arrived La Spezia at 6pm and after slight altercation with the train guards because i ran across the tracks (promise I didn't see the massive sign that said 'Do Not Cross Tracks' - hey when in Rome! or close enough anyway). Again not very easy to figure out how to get a ticket to Riomaggiorie. I went to information and asked where I buy a ticket. He kept saying Tobacco to which i replied no i need a train ticket - Tobacco, Ticket, Tobacco and then it finally clicked - you buy your tickets at the tobacco store at the end of the station - woo hoo.

We arrived at Riomaggiroe and I was instantly in love. The village is so sweet, its on a step hill and the apartments cascade down the mountain. The colours are reds, and yellows and sweet oranges. Its old but has a very much loved charm about it. The village wasn't big but had a few Italian deli's, few restaurants, a bar and some cafes etc. Again I was cursing my heavy bag. Word of advice - light bag or catch the shuttle bus up the hill (we didn't know about it till we had reached the top of the hill.)

Our room was small but had everything we needed and the bathroom was brand new. Word of advice - Bring your on bath towel. There towels look and feel like super sized tea towels. The village is small so we weren't far from food and the wharf and the train. However we didn't have a view and it was a very step hill every time we ventured back to our apartment.

It was getting late so we headed out for dinner. without realising Saskia and I looked almost identicial in our striped tops but were to hungry and tired to care. Our adventures began at this point and I realised just how easy it is to meet people and have a chat as everyone is so happy and excited to be there. The restaurant was fantastic. The pasta was fantastic, although I expected nothing less. The two old men who owneds the restaurant made me laugh. There wasn't a single Italian in the restaurant. We had a table of loud American kids on term break, an Aussie couple living in London (the husband was an accountant with EY), Aussies on another table, some English people and another table of Americans. The owners then sat down with us for a chat and explained that they though Aussie girls were beautiful and American girls - not so much and then said all American men are gay, oh so wise!. it was so un PC but really funny.

A bottle of wine and a well earned sleep after a huge trek up the hill, past the church, round the corner and up lots of stairs, 10 minutes playing with the keys trying to get into our room and we were ready for day 2.

Fri 19 October
The sun was shinning, breakfast was good (we brought our own vegimite) and hit the spot and we were ready to start the Cinque Terra walk. The walk through all 5 villages takes approximatly 5 hours. We took a walk to the marina and bought our walking passes, took a deep breath in and just looked out to the sea. The Italian cost line was breathtaking. It was low season so we almost felt like we had the place to ourself. It was warm and peaceful and the water was glistening and the air smelt so fresh and clean (big change from London). I finally was getting the much needed burst of vitamine D that I was lacking in London. We started towards Manarola, it was up and down the cliff side but was an easy walk. We passed lovers lane where couple bring locks and keys and hang them in a lovers lane tunnel near statues of two lovers kissing. It took about 20 minutes to Manarola, where we stopped for a quick coffee and sit to soak up the sun. We ran into Paul again - small world.

Then it was up again and on to Corniglia. It took about 1 hour an at one point we had to climb over 400 stairs. We were bit peckish but not realy pasta and pizza hungry so we stopped in at a little hole in the wall cafe that turned out to be perfect. The owner makes all the food orgaincally and brews the beer as well. he suggested the fingre food which was house specilty Lingne bread and veggie toppings. it was sensational. we sat there looking over the ocean eating bread and pate and sipping home brew Italian Beer. There was lovely Italian music playing and we just soaked up the sun

We then walked down to the wharf which was about 200 steps down so i meant it was going to be 200 steps back up - yuck. we soaked our feet in the water and took another opportunity to just sunbake. After over 800 stairs we decided to catch a train to Vernazza. even catching the train is lovely becuase the train tracks ran perpendicular to the coast as well. Wandered around Vernazza and met a lovely Candian couple. People where swiming and we ate gelato as we wrote postcards. We decided to catch the ferry back to Riomaggiorie to enjoy the sunset. Sat at the tapas cafe on top of the hill and watched the sunset with some sun downers. The people sitting next to us turned out to be from Byron Bay and we had a good old chat. We wandered to our local bar and then headed to Manorola for dinner by the beach.

Manorola is much larger than the other villages and had a long beach and a nice vibe. There were plenty of people around and a few buskers adding to the atmosphere. We ate at the Belvadere and I had the best veal I have ever had. after stuffing ourselves with entres, mains and desert and chatting to an unemployed Canadian man who had just decided to pack his job in with Ford, we headed back to Rio and chilled at the local meeting more travellers and a few locals. We attempted to chat to some locals who didn't seem to mind that we had no idea what they were talking about. One of the American dudes we meet, Brandon, was trying to communicate using spanish - was so funny.

Sat 20 October
What a bummer after our amazing day yesterday - The rains came! The locals said the rain marked the begining of winter and it was likely to get colder by the day. We decided to take a boat to Portovenere for a wander. Portovenere is more of a port for rich people and there yachts. Not my favorite place but it did have a really big beach and probably goes off in summer. We walked along the water and ended up and a cafe chatting to the owner who used to work as a captain on the PNO in Sydney. He didn't want to let us go, he would have been happy talking about his love for Oz all day. But our bus awaited. Word of advice - really plan your trips each day becuase trains and buses and biats don't necessarily match up when it comes to timing and we found we wasted a lot of that day waiting for transport. We really wanted to get to Portofino but timing wise it just wasn't going to happen. Such a shame but looks like i will have to go back to italy now to see it.

Headed to Montorosa for cocktails at BarDavi and free tapas. WE headed back to Rio for dinner at another restaurant with more of a seafood menu. WE ended up having dinner with one of the American lads we meet the night before. He was travelling for a few months on his own so was happy for the company. Saskia had flaming spaghetti and I had really good vegitable pie.

Sun 21 Oct

Time to leave and make the long journey back to Rome for the begining of our contiki adventure. I will miss this place, honestly one of the most beautiful places I have ever been.

Stay tuned.........