Beware, this is a long one so get a cup of coffee (glass of wine) and settle in. Where were we? Cinque Terra was a lot of fun and more walking…

Didn’t really realise just how the whole region was layed out even though Weeden and Jenny tried to tell us. After finally finding the train station (did you know that in Italy, only the street signage has less rules than the roads!) and having an abortive attempt at parking in Stresa (Stresser!) we wound our way down a small mountain goat track to Riomaggiore (well not really Riomaggiore but the parking for it which was a short walk and about 200M uphill from the main township). When I say small mountain goat, it needed to be both small and of the mountain variety to get there and an Opel Astra was a real challenge, especially when we met some larger mountain goats (or other cars) coming back up!

Being the start of the day, we had great plans to walk off all excess kilos we have put on on the Italian (not to mention American) travels. We headed off on a 1.5 Km trail that talked about being an historical trade route (straight up a bloody big hill) at around 10am. The day was hot and after about 3/4 Km we found a sanctuary and decided that was where we were heading.

From Riomaggiore, we took the local train to Vernazza and had a look around. Like all of the Cinque Terra, it has stunning coastal vistas and more bloody stairs. Really though, this area is, as everyone who has been there says, not to be missed. We again took the train back to Corneglia and then to Manarola before walking back along the via d’amore (lovers’ walk) to Riomaggiore. Truly a memorable and wonderful day!

That night, Rob cooked a few of our Aussie favourites for our hosts who made some sounds he hopes were of approval.

Leaving there, Rob felt a bit crook and the car was making some interesting grumbling noises, so we decided to head straight for Florence and an Avis agency. Dredding the inevitable fight about cars in Nadia’s limited Italian (she doesn’t know enough expletives), we found our way (eventually) through Florence’s maze of one way streets to within a walkable distance from the agency and then just gave up and parked. Five minutes walk was well worth it when we found the agency not only cooperative but English speaking and suggesting that we just take another car.

Having finalised this, we headed for the next destination, our B&B. About one hour later, we arrived (after what should have been a 10 minute drive, and no, it wasn’t our navigator’s fault – rather the maze Florence has instead of roads and a map that bore little resemblance to the maze) at the B&B to be told “Oh yes, they make the roads like that to stop tourists driving on them”!!!

After settling into the B&B, we packed all our dirty laundry (all our clothes minus what we were wearing) into plastic bags, we headed off to get some lunch and then to a “Wash and Dry”. Sounds too easy, doesn’t it! TRUE!!! Nadia had this image of a relaxing lunch in a nice green park. She chose a nice green spot on the map and we headed off, buying a nice Chianti on the way. WELL, the green patch may well be nice but wasn’t open to any of the public, tourists included. We ended up finding a patch of greenish stuff beside the cemetry which was in the middle of the road. We sat on a park bench, eating our paninis and guzzling from the bottle (we forgot glasses) looking like a couple of winos and feeling very self concious until the couple of girls that had sat just opposite us eventually left.

Not withstanding the manner in which we dined, it had the desired effect and Rob’s stress levels (from a road system that was designed to make stress levels soar) dropped to manageable levels and we headed off for the laundromat feeling much better.

A shower (sort of), a sleep and we were off to find a spot of dinner in the streets of Florence. It was a lovely atmosphere in the piazza, music playing, old buildings lit and after deciding the house wine had seen better days so a bottle was better, we had a reasonable meal. We really had been spoilt during our stay with relatives and food that’s around most major tourist sites isn’t quite up to scratch. What did make this evening and the next very memorable and beautiful, was music performed in a church we stumbled upon on the way back to our B&B. Organ & flute the first night and Organ, violin & oboe the next night was truly gorgeous in the confines of the church who had found a great way to source funds for renovations.

The next morning after an exercise by our hostess (whom Rob has dubbed the B&B Nazi) in thrift……otherwise known as breakfast (minature dried toast biscuits, butter & jam with coffee), we were off to see the real statue of ‘David’ by Michaelangelo (another contact with teenage mutant ninja turtles). Nadia had only seen the copies in the Piazza overlooking the town or in one of the open piazza’s in town. One the way, we found a beautiful garden spot quite close to where we were staying (too late).

The line which slowly (we’re talking geologically here) moved towards the Galleria’s entrance eventually paid off in spades when we got in. The original statue is housed in a spot specially built to highlight Michaelangelo’s genius in transforming marble into flesh. I bet the Florentine’s are happy that Michaelangelo persuaded them to let him use an old block of marble that was lying around near the Duomo to do the carving! For all its brilliance, the rest of the galleria was an anticlimax in comparison.

For the next few hours, we looked at the sights of Florence which included Ponte Vecchio (the only covered bridge in Florence that escaped Nazi bombings in WW2), more churches, Piazzas, statues, more churches, the city walls and the Piazza Michaelangelo at the top of (you guessed it) more stairs. This area gives the best view of Florence and we will drop some pictures in here when we have the opportunity to download them.

After all that walking, we headed off to another church, but this time it was the Duomo which neither had been through on our previous visits to Florence. Seeing the lines in the morning, we were anticipating a good rest while we waited. When we got there, we thought it must have been closed as there was NO line (a momentry lapse of reason on the part of all tourists in Florence, we’re sure). Like all “churches” in Italy, this was a truly impressive and beautiful structure. Unlike most of the churches, we were allowed to take photos in the building with a tripod and/or flash. The small flash on digital cameras is useless in a building of this size so Rob spent a good deal of the time there grovelling around on the floor getting the best shots from the only stable platform. Here we really need to thank Gianni and Angelica for their gift of the pocket tripod. It really was the only thing that made our pics here possible. Again, however, you will need to wait until these pics are not confined to our camera.

The next day saw us leaving the B&B Nazi and heading off toward Montenero (just inland from the south west coast of Tuscany). On the way, we called into Lucca which is a beautiful little walled city with all battlements still intact. A couple of hours wandering and we had seen most of the city so we headed off to Pisa so Nadia could see some tower they have there. A most unlikely park (just across from the major attraction) saw us just wandering in the highlight area at about 4pm. We decided not to climb the tower (more stairs and 15 euro EACH!!!) but went into the Duomo (another church) which was again just stunning and we’re sure responsible for encounters with another teenage ninja turtle or two.

Montenero saw a new low in findability. It was nowhere near where the instructions said, instead being at the top and then just down the other side a bit of a place that the mountain goats just shake their heads at and avoid. That being said, our hostess, Eugenia (the grand daughter of the original owners), couldn’t have made us feel more welcome in the palacial 3rd floor apartment of the “fixer-upperer” villa. On top of being most hospitable, she let Rob use the kitchen and, after a visit to the local Co-op (with directions written by the same author as those to the villa), he really enjoyed experimenting with the local mushrooms and other produce.

The next day saw Sienna and San Gimignano and heaps of winding roads (as if we needed more challenge!!!).

Sienna is a huge version of Lucca – another walled city that was a real treat to wander around. Eugenia had told us about the local horse race run twice a year in the “Il Campo” which is a clam shell shaped piazza. Apparently, in true Italian style, riders representing all twelve segments of the city get random horses and STAND on them in a race around this cobbled and slippery area three times. The first horse (rider or no) wins! This is so chaotic that the owners of adjacent buildings strap matteresses and the like to the walls to minimise collateral damage (they should try this for the cars too!). There was no mention of deaths but we’re not sure whether this is just because there was no MENTION of deaths.

San Gimignano is a small version of Lucca on the very top of a hill and surrounded by typical Tuscan countryside. You park the car outside the city and walk (no cars allowed at all – yes, more steps). This small city is just great to wander around with no real agenda. We found ourselves in all sorts of picturesque and interesting locations that reminded Nadia of Meg Ryan’s words in French Kiss while looking at the scenery “OH, OH, BEAUTIFUL!!!”. Vineyards, olive groves, and patches of earth that (from all the paintings for sale) we believe hold sunflowers at some other times of the year.

The next day (sunday) saw us up early (well 8:30 is early on holidays) and heading off to Pompeii. This is a more serious trip of about 650Km but is mostly on Autostradas. We left at around 9:30am and, after numerous stops, got to Pompeii at around 4pm thanks to the 130(ish)km/h speed limit. This was with minimal assistance from road signs to Pompeii. There was one about 50km before and another about 500m before the exit. Odd for a major attraction!

We checked into Hotel Forum which has been very good to us. It is great to shower in a shower recess. It is great to have privacy. It is great to have free Internet access. It’s great to have eggs for breakfast. No B&B Nazi’s for us, it’s just great to be in a hotel!!!

Pompeii is a not to be missed experience. We spent most of today walking around the dig and being emersed in another culture and time. It is really astounding just how much has been preserved considering how it ceased to proceed. They have even made plaster casts of people whose bodies left cavities in the lava and you can even see their clothes and facial expressions! It is amazing to see whole streets and to go through peoples’ houses and public buildings seeing how they lived. A tip if you visit… get the Audio Tour. It is only 5 euro and is WELL worth it.

Seeing archeology students painstakingly working on the dig, we have decided to not include this in our career plans for the future! We can’t believe the city has been excavated using paint brushes and trowels!

Tomorrow sees a mad dash for Rome to get the car back by 10am. We are following some advice given to us by an American in Florence at the Avis counter “DOOO NOOOOT DRIIIIIVE IIIIN ROOOOME!!!!!!!!! Drop it at the airport and take the train!”

Hopefully photos for this section will appear in the next few days. Next update should show our travels in Rome!