My next blog describes the last destination with my parents before they headed home. Italy was a great ending to our time together. We all ended the trip with the highest of highs. We spent our last week in Northern Italy, seeing Turin, Pisa, Cinque Terre, Florence and we separated in Milan.

Our first destination was Turin, which was a stop on our way to Cinque Terre. A very short stopover, but we still made an effort to take a walk around the area and take a quick walk around. We stopped by a big town market, and also discovered a smaller, more exotic Parisian market nestled behind a very grand fountain. However, it was a very short visit, and that afternoon, it was time for the next train onwards.

Perhaps only one of the places that could equal Paris, after such a great time there was Cinque Terre. It was one of the most lovely places I’ve ever been. It’s location on the side of the coast really makes it a unique sight. We stayed in one of the five towns of Cinque Terre, Riomaggiore. In hindsight, it was probably not the best idea to try and take all our bags with us, as there are hardly any car services in Cinque Terre. We had an Air B&B here set right of the main street. There was also a view of the ocean from the balcony. We only had three nights and two full days here. I think that another couple of days wouldn’t have gone astray. Although I still feel that we were able to see a lot. Its just so beautiful that the places you discover would be nice to return to, if you had the time. There are also a lot of hikes in the area that I’d love to discover one day, if I was to return.

On our first day, we explored Riomaggiore in the morning, making sure to check out the views as well as the main street where there was so much hussle and bustle and much to entertain. It’s also hard to avoid the delicious aromas that assault the senses in the most delightful way.  A mixed array of sweet and savoury pastries in the windows, or the clever cups of the most lovely, fresh seafood. Also the smell of coffee which is ever present on top of it all. I don’t think I’d ever get tired of it. In the afternoon we explored the neighbouring town of Manorola. Each of the five towns are easily reached by regional train or by ferry. On the first day, we caught the train to Manarola, having made plans for the next day to visit the other three towns by ferry. Therefore we had to do Manarola on the first day so that we could see all five of them. The feeling of all five towns is very similar as their themes are very alike in building design, colour and attractions. There were definite favourites though. Riomaggiore and Manarola were two of my favourites. Their setting against the coastline were two of the more stunning images. These are two of the more famous postcard picture towns of Cinque Terre. They definitely live up to the hype. I still remember walking along the walking trail which traced the coastline of Manarola and turning back to take in a quick breath. You don’t really believe that these places look like they do in the pictures. But they do. It’s better actually. I just stood there for a long time, trying to capture it all in my mind.

The next day was equally impressive. Luckily the weather behaved very well, and I was able to do the Coastal Trail hike which usually runs through all five towns. Unfortunately the area is prone to damage from nature. So two of the legs, from Riomagiorre to Corneglia were closed. So I caught the regional train in the early morning to Corneglia. This began my three hour hike from Corneglia to Monterosso. It was one of my favourite walks to date. The sun was out, there was not a cloud in the sky and the ocean was the most beautiful colours of blues and greens. The trail itself was very interesting, and challenging in some areas. Some parts of it were almost completely concealed by trees and vines where you feel as though you are walking through the forest, and other parts are almost directly on the coastline next to the ocean. I took my time on the trail, as the beauty of my surroundings was very distracting. I also don’t know if I’ll ever return, so I made the most of it. I walked through the town of Vernassa along the way, which was really lovely. Seeing the towns from afar, nestled into the rocks of the coast is also something truly amazing.

Mum and Dad met me in Monterosso,  not before I arrived however. I was ravenous, and proceeded to find the first good smelling bakery, where I devoured a foccacia with delicious roasted tomatoes and rosemary, all coated in Italian olive oil, which I will give no more description…because everyone knows how good Italian olive oil is! Mum and Dad arrived by train after this and we set out in search of some proper lunch. This turned into a very delectable spaghetti marinara with mussels and a grilled seafood platter with a whole array of local seafood. The rest of the day was spent exploring the town of Monterosso and then taking the ferry back towards Riomaggiore, but stopping along the way to visit Vernazza. This was unfortunately my least favourite, it was incredibly crowded, and didn’t really seem to offer anything unique. We still enjoyed some delicious Gelato there though. It did begin to grow cold, and we arrived back in Riomaggiore just in time to have a quick nap before heading down the main street to our last dinner in Riomaggiore. We feasted at a beautiful Italian seafood restaurant with lots of local seafood being the heroes of the dishes. We were also ‘spoiled’ for conversation as we had a very ‘vibrant’ American couple sitting across from us who were apparently dying for a bit of varied conversation…lol. Anyway these seem to be the things you remember for some reason. Well that was that for Cinque Terre. The next morning it was time to head to the train to begin our journey to Florence.

On our way to florence, we happen to be stopping in Pisa. This was a great opportunity to visit the Leaning Tower of Pisa, as this would be one of the famous attractions that I wouldn’t have gotten to see. So we had four hours to kill before our final train to Florence and we used the time well. I didn’t really have a big urge to spend much time in Pisa anyway, so I’m glad I have ticked it off my list, so to speak!

Finally in the afternoon, we arrived in Florence and made our way to our second to last accommodation in an Air B&B in the very heart of Florence. It was a great location and it was super easy to get everywhere everyday. We only had two full days in Florence, but I loved every second. It was such a picturesque city and I could imagine myself being very happy there! We spent the two days checking out the main town with all the different squares/piazzas and also checking out a few different viewpoints in the city. One such viewpoint was called the Piazzale Michaelangelo where you can see the whole city very well. We also visited the Boboli Gardens which again sported magnificent views, but also had some interesting museums in which we strolled about for a while.

We also did a small spot of shopping during our time there, where I got my much loved new Gucci sunglasses. Yay. It’s hard to do much shopping at all when your traveling with a backpack. So unfortunately I was limited to small items…but I think I still did pretty well!

One of the last things we did, was a must see. The statue of David. Now I have to mention that while the Mona Lisa was a pretty underwhelming experience, David lived up to all of my expectations. While the Mona Lisa was shockingly small, David was shockingly big for a statue! I had no idea how big the statue actually was. So I say kudos to Michelangelo for creating such a man! He also has an amazing bottom. Just a side note that I feel should be mentioned. Haha.

 

After such a short time it was already time to head on to our final destination, Milan. I didn’t really get to see much of Milan, except for heading in to the main square for lunch with Mum and Dad.

That afternoon, it was now time for me to continue on my journey and for them to head home! I can’t believe how quickly the time flew! We had some ups and downs, thats for sure. But even now, I look back and I wouldn’t change it for the world. The minute its over, you see it all with rose coloured glasses. The amazing parts become great memories to share, but the bad parts also become very funny looking back, and are ever better stories to tell sometimes. It was a surprising challenge to have to get used to being with other people again. I thought I would just slide right back into it, but I don’t think I realised how much I had gotten used to being completely responsible for myself and no one else. You forget that there are people with you, and that they have opinions and things that they want to do. I can completely identify that I was a bit of a pain quite frequently! So thanks for putting up with me, Mum and Dad. It was such a nice experience to share with my parents, and I’ll cherish it always.

xx