The Cinque Terre

Where to begin?!?

Wednesday:
I had class in the morning and raced back to the flat to meet M,D,L to catch our bus to Gatwick. Mom booked a hotel near the airport so that flying out on Thursday morning would be easier. Hotel Cambridge was a sight to see. It's not typically a good thing when the hotel you're staying in reminds you of the Bates Motel...We walked into our room and instantly got the giggles - or something. We were literally in the attic...ha! The walls were slanted funny, the tv got 3 channels and the phone didn't work. Luckily we got out a bit for dinner, watched a tv special called "Tourettes: I swear I can't help it" and went to bed early...what else were we supposed to do?

Thursday:
We had a flight to Genoa in the morning, caught a shuttle from the airport to the train station, rode the train for 2 hours, got off in Levanot to purchase our Cinque Terre passes and rode the train to Manarola. Well, as the train sped through the platform I got a glimpse of a sign and realized we had gone straight through our stop! Great. Our time was counting down, as we were supposed to check into our apartment by 7:30pm and had no idea where to go once we got there. Luckily, we got off at the next stop and took a train heading back towards Manarola. We got caught between a train security guard and an old, crotchety woman who wouldn't get off the train. She came right up to me and spewed some fast Italian. I spit out, "Non parlo Italiano" and she left us alone. Just our luck. Our apartment was up a steep flight of stairs and looked as though we were entering a broom closet. We got inside and it was great - there was a bedroom with a balcony, a kitchen, bathroom and living room. Laurann and I each had our own bed in the living room. It suited us well. Manarola is BEAUTIFUL and just as you would picture a quaint, Italian, coastal village. We ate seafood at Marina Piccola and went to bed. Quote of the day: Dad, "The only thing I haven't ridden today is a camel!"

Friday:
Out of convenience we ate breakfast at the hotel. What a joke - 10 euro and all we got was bread. Not kidding. A plate of bread and different jams. We couldn't believe it! Haha we all just sat there waiting for the second course that never came. Luckily, in the end, we didn't end up paying for it. We hiked to Vernazza after "breakfast". We passed through the little town of Corniglia and made our way through the mountain and along the coast to Vernazza. The weather was wonderful and we worked up a sweat as we made our way. The views were spectacular! Absolutely stunning. In Vernazza we ate pizza, got gelato and sat in the sun. Perfection.

Saturday:
We walked to Riomaggiore along the "love path" and it wasn't nearly as grueling as Friday's adventure. We witnessed a wedding - the bride and the guests started near the sea and processed up to the church. We could hear the celebrations all throughout the town. I love the deep tradition that exists throughout the area. We climbed to a point in which we could see all 5 towns - amazing view! We took a train to to Monterossa. That town is very resort-y and different from the rest. I really liked it! The best part of the day = dinner at Billy's! What a mess we were. We went all out and ordered seafood, pasta, wine and desserts. We were served by a charismatic, old, gnarled, Italian man with a heavy accent. Lud and I couldn't get over how much food we ate! Yikes! It was delicious though. I ordered shrimp that were as big as lobster - it was insane! Seeing as though there were only 4 tables in the whole restaurant, we quickly made friends with some Swedish people. We were definitely a scene! It was a memorable, fun night!

Sunday:
16 hours of travel is enough to make me cranky! BA strikes were the least of our worries. We caught the early morning train to the central station and then easily caught a bus to the airport in Genoa. After waited 4 hours, we were asked to head back to the check-in counter. We instantly knew something was wrong. The plane couldn't land due to weather and fog so they bussed all of us 2 hours to Pisa! It was crazy - but we made it fine. We eventually got to Pisa and on our flight to London. We were thankful that we got a flight. We finally made it to my flat, collected the family's belongings and I directed them to the Holiday Inn. They had to cancel their hotel near Heathrow because we were delayed over 4 hours. Best part of my day = Joe Mauer's 8 year, $184 million contract!!!!!

Sorry this is so long - there is so much more to add, but I'll spare you. I LOVED seeing Mom, Dad and Lud. Our time together flew by and I loved every minute of it :)