Europe Day Thirty Four - Cinque De Terre Travel Day

We woke up on our last day in Florence not wanting to leave but at least we had a few hours before the train left so we decided to go and see the real David statue instead of the replica. We walked the streets in the rain and the cold and promptly got lost. We asked a few people for directions but not many of them spoke English so we kept moving and from the little bits of directions we picked up along the way we walked for what seemed like an hour before we found the museum. Once we finally got to the front gate we saw the entry way blocked off with a sign that said that the museum was closed on Mondays so we took shelter from the rain in a nearby church.

We sat in the warmth for a few minutes before continuing forward to get something to eat. We found a nice place to get some hot chocolate and gnocchi before hitting the road to the train station. We did make a quick stop at an Italian belt stand because with all the walking we were doing the pants we had brought with us didn't fit us and were falling down. So we got some synthetic belts made of fake leather before heading over to the train station.

 We all said goodbye to Dad who was going on a business trip to DC in the States and had to catch a train to Milan. We were leaving Florence to relax in Cinque de Terre for five days until he got back. Dad boarded his train within a few minutes after we boarded ours. The train ride wasn't that long but we had an hour delay because we missed our connection by a few minutes (trains aren't always on time in Italy like they are in Switzerland.) So instead of moaning and depressed like Eeyore the donkey we decided to go down to the grocery store to get some food for dinner.

 Within the hour we were back at the train station with what felt like twenty pounds of groceries. We got on the train and within 5 minutes we were there. Now I know you guys might be thinking "How lazy are you people?" but the train is the best way through the mountain unless you want to hike a mountain for an hour and a half with groceries and backpacks so just put it in perspective. Once we got off the train we started the climb to our apartment. So we climbed with our backpacks and the groceries (which for some reason I was carrying with Mom) up and up and up and up.

(Our apartment was to the left of the church - yes, way up there!)

Cinque de Terre is a National Park on the west coast of Italy with 5 small villages in it all joined by train tracks or hiking trails. Four of the villages are at the bottom of the cliffs by the water and one (ours!) is up on the cliffs.

So we walked into the apartment tired, and out of breath just to find that it was super tiny. We plopped our bags down on the floor and checked out the apartment. It was cute and clean but had one bedroom stuffed with a queen bed and a small pull out couch, a living room with just enough room for another pullout couch, but the worst of all was the kitchen which had a tiny two person table, a stove and sink and a mini fridge that if the door was open would take up half the kitchen. And right next to the stove there was a door to the apartment's super tiny bathroom. On paper the apartment was the size of a medium sized living room. So we made ourselves at home and relaxed for what seemed like the first time on the trip. Mom and I cooked some simple pasta with tomato sauce and fried onions for dinner and then we all took turns eating dinner at the two person table. Once we all had dinner it wasn't long before we went to bed for the night.

Total trains: 3

Total miles walked: 5.1 miles