Cinque Terre to Venice

The strike was over Monday morning and we were able to take the train down to Monterosso on the Cinque Terre. When we arrived there were huge hoards of people everywhere, which did not bode well for the fact that we did not have a hotel reservation. There were no hotel rooms available but the tourist agent was able to arrange an apartment for us to rent for 2 nights. It was up on the hill and suited our needs quite well. There were ripe lemon trees in the yard and a bella vista of the village.  The whole arrangement was very informal – the owner didn’t even ask for our name or anything. She just left us the key and asked us to pay her daughter and that was it. When we left we were told to leave the key in the door as that’s the only one they have. Very trusting people. The only drawback was that there was no WiFi. I felt so lost without it. One of the young fellows we met from Vancouver yesterday actually went to Florence Monday so that he could sit in an internet café and listen to the Canucks games. Now that’ a die-hard fan.  The stairs going up to the apartment were fun, especially in the pitch-black last night. Thank goodness for the rope bannister that we were able to hold on to in order to make our way up.

Monterosso from the trail

The stairs on the trail

The Cinque Terre is a group of five villages and there are walking trails between them all. It takes about 4 hours to walk between them. The middle part of the trail was closed so we were only able to hike between Monterosso and Vernazza and then take the train to Riomaggiore and hike to Manarola, then train it back to our apartment. The first hike was challenging and very, very hot, even though we were done by 11:00. It was a neat experience to hike along with other couples and chat along the way. We chuckled at one group of Italian school teens that passed us as a number of them were smoking and others talking on cell phones. There are lots of Canadians and Americans here. Quite a contrast to where we just came from where no one spoke English. We would have liked to spend one more day here so that we could take the boat over to Portovenere but we have reservations in Venice Wednesday and I want to be there for my birthday Thursday.

We’ve met some lovely people. It’s such a small world. The couple we were sitting with last night at dinner are from Stratford and her father lives in the house across from the laundrette that we did our laundry in when we were in Moreton-in-Marsh.  There are connections everywhere in this world. Everyone seems to be having a good time and manages to struggle through the language and cultural differences. When we tell people we are from Vancouver, everyone comments on what a wonderful city it is and if they haven’t been there, it’s on their list of places to go. It’s really nice to hear that we have such a (deservedly) good reputation. The woman from Singapore that I was chatting with today on the train said that we have the best Chinatown in Vancouver by far.

We took the train to Venice today and with a little delay of about an hour due to “an incident on the track” – sound familiar? – we arrived. It’s interesting how every train we have been on has been different. Each of them has different seating configurations. Some have signs on them saying where they are going, and some don’t so you just wing it and hope for the best. So far we’ve managed all of our trains alright. Lugging the suitcases up and down the stairs is really building up my arm muscles J Next time when I say I am travelling light, I will really travel light.

St. Mark's Basilica

Venice holds true to its claim to fame of being the most beautiful, romantic city in the world. The buildings are absolutely fantastic. We were in awe in St. Mark’s Basilica. It all just gets a bit overwhelming after a while. We walked and walked and walked down street after street. Every street seemed to bring a new breathtaking scene. We made reservations at a lovely ristorante for my birthday meal. Very authentic Venetian food. The fish is very fresh. Because it’s on an island they have to bring everything else in so fish is their strong point. It’s an interesting infrastructure they have built with the canals. Hopefully the island won’t sink as the experts are predicting. What a shame. I made Ira dance with me to the band playing in the St. Marco Piazza last night and embarrassed the heck out of him as we were the only ones dancing. I told him that since it was my birthday he had to do what I asked for once J  We took the vaparatto (water bus) down to the end of the line last night and then back to our hotel, which took about 2 hours total. A nice way to see the city.  Today we’re off to the Doge’s Palace and Murano Island.

A typical street in Venice

Talk to you soon.