Hola todos,
Day 6
It was time to head out to my next Italian destination: Cinque Terre. I first grabbed some espresso at El Pulcino, a cute little cafe in Siena that I really enjoyed. (And their WiFi was reliable.) Then, it was off to the train!
I was very excited to say ciao to Cinque Terre! I had heard so many good things about it, from the scenic views to the sandy beaches to the delicious seafood restaurants to the small town(s) feel.
The trains had major delays getting there, so my 3.5-hour train ride turned into a 5-hour adventure (some of which was standing-room only...). I was in no rush, though, and I had a good book, some podcasts, and scenic views to pass the time.
But then, for whatever reason, they stopped my train a few stations early and announced it had reached the end of the line. There was a mad dash of passengers to a connecting train across the platform that quickly became packed--I was lucky I got a seat, much less a space on the train at all!
It was raining in La Spezia, the main train terminal and larger town to the south of Cinque Terre, when I finally got there. And my plans were almost immediately thwarted: I was hoping to buy a Cinque Terre Pass that allows travelers access to the hiking trails and unlimited train rides for about 20 euro per day. But since there was a weather advisory for the next day, I wasn't able to buy a ticket in advance. They told me to come back tomorrow and check if the advisory was lifted.
I expected to be hiking a lot here, but I decided that I probably wouldn't because I only have one pair of sneakers and the mud would put a serious damper on things over the next two weeks. But I still wanted to see the five towns! I got a ticket up to Monterosso al Mare, the northern most town of Cinque Terre, and took the scenic 20 minute ride.
Our first view of the Cinque Terre coast through the train window in the rain.
When I got to Monterosso, it was *pouring*. I walked around a little to see the town until I realized how soaking I was.
Dark and stormy, but beautiful.
The one church in Monterosso provided a brief respite from the rain.
Lots of restaurants and bars were closed for a mid-afternoon break and wouldn't reopen until dinner. No late lunch for me... I would have to wait until dinner.
I needed to get checked into the hostel before check-in closed, so headed off to Riomaggiore, the southern-most town in Cinque Terre, to get settled in.
The view from the hostel. The view was fabulous; the hostel--not so much.
After getting my stuff tucked away, I headed out to walk around Riomaggiore and see what the town had to offer.
It was cute, but it was super touristy. There seemed to be almost no local culture, even if you went a few streets off the beaten path. Two-thirds of the houses were hostels or hotels or B&Bs. Along the main commerce strip, every other store front was full of souvenirs. It was also super tiny--I finished seeing most everything in Riomaggiore within 15 or 20 minutes. (Including the scenic bar/restaurant I wanted to check out Bar e Vini a Pié de Ma. It was closed!)
But I did find a little restaurant for dinner: Pizzeria da Mam'Angela. The menu was in Italian and English (not usually a good sign), but the prices were low enough to be worth a gamble. It was totally worth it. The dinner was incredible!
The best spaghetti al ragu I've ever had, hands down. Accompanied by a glass of Cinque Terre white wine (they have some kind of regional labeling protection) and followed by a dessert I had never heard of before, called profiterol. Yum!
Not the start I'd wanted in Cinque Terre, but I hoped that I'd be able to see more of it tomorrow, or, at the least, eat some good seafood and get my laundry done (which I desperately need to do).
Day 7
It wasn't a restful night, since the rain did not deter the partying masses in Riomaggiore and the hostel was *loud*. When I did finally get up, it was confirmed: the trails were closed and there were no train passes being sold today. Major bummer.
I went to grab an espresso to start my day, only to find that there was only one cafe open in the entire town of Riomaggiore! And when I went to drop off my laundry, the laundromat was closed. Hoping that it would open later, I carried on with my to-do list.
I had an errand to run in La Spezia (Long story short: I had a lease for my new NYC apartment shipped to a DHL store in La Spezia since the leasing company won't accept online signatures. On the night before I flew to Italy, I grabbed the last notarization appointment at the U.S. consulate in Florence while I'm there--I need to safely get this lease to Florence on time for my appointment in order to have a place to live when I land stateside. This becomes a relevant and dramatic plot point over the next 24 hours.) so I headed into La Spezia to pick it up.
I was pleasantly surprised by how local and non-touristy La Spezia felt. Yes, the train station was full of tourists and there were a bunch of hotels near the station. But walk just 5 minutes into the town center and there was a market with fresh caught fish and fisherman washing and preparing their catches, freshly baked pastries and breads, and fruits and vegetables.
The cafes were clearly populated with locals going about their morning, not just Americans lined up for their morning caffeine fix. (And yes, I know that I am one of those Americans. But I want to *pretend* like I am hiding in plain sight as a local, you know?)
A successful trip to DHL and one package of documents heavier, I headed back to the train station. Which had gotten even more chaotic since I had disembarked into La Spezia. At first, it appeared that all of the trains were shut down entirely, and I had just stranded myself away from all of my belongings! Fortunately, that turned out not to be the case, and I got a ticket back up to Riomaggiore. (I did manage to shepherd several groups of confused tourists through the ticket-buying process. Somehow, I was already the local pro.)
I was stressed about getting my lease safely back to my stuff (the rain was coming down again) and navigating the chaotic station. But one brief moment of levity occurred when an Italian woman next to me was sprayed with rain and, I kid you not, said "Mamma mia!"
After getting back to the hostel through the rain, I knew my plans to tour the other towns were not going to materialize. It was raining too hard, and I had a train early the next morning to Florence: I couldn't have soaking gear.
So I caught up on the blog for you, dear readers, and then headed out to grab some food (either some fresh seafood or some anchovy bruschetta--not my thing, but a local specialty I was willing to try) and do my laundry.
But the laundromat was still closed.
As were all of the grocery stores.
And the restaurants and cafes (except for the cafe that was open this morning, which had turned into a bar).
I was stranded in a shut down beach town, stuck in a subpar hostel, facing bad weather and potential train delays, and an urgent and important appointment in the morning that I couldn't miss. I initially thought I had built in enough time for train delays in my early morning train to Florence but I was getting worried. Which ultimately became the real deciding factor: Murphy's Law was in full force, and with everything else going wrong, this would inevitably, too.
So I booked a last-minute hostel in Florence for that night, changed my train ticket, and fled Cinque Terre less than 36 hours after having arrived.
I'm not sure if Cinque Terre was just over-hyped, or if I just had a bad experience because of the weather (or because it's October and it's a beach town) but Cinque Terre was a definite miss on this trip. That's all a part of traveling though--not everything can be the best experience or your favorite town. (And, to be honest, it would be hard for anywhere to follow Siena...)
The rest of the story goes as you would expect: the train to Florence was delayed due to weather. While I had built in a buffer so as to not miss my hostel check-in time, I had not built in over an hour. So while the train was slowly making its way towards Florence and I could see the delay increasing, I had three painful hours knowing that I was going to miss the hostel check-in window. Meaning I had to find yet a third option for increasingly last-minute (and increasingly expensive) housing.
I won't lie, dear readers: I did think that my absolute last back-up plan could reasonably be sleeping in a door stoop. But only for a moment. (Don't worry, Mom. I'd never *actually* do that...) I was jostling between Expedia, HostelWorld, Airbnb, and hotel apps trying to figure out where I could stay in Florence last-minute for one night that wouldn't cost an arm and a leg. It was a pretty stressful few hours.
I found a few back-ups options (but even they slowly started to dwindle as remaining rooms were taken by other last-minute travelers) and emailed the hostel I was heading to in Florence (but who knows what black box that disappeared to) and hoped and prayed that I could run from the train station to the hostel and beg mercy for late check-in. (And my poor mother was on standby, ready to make last-minute hotel reservations through her Expedia account to get an affordable, discounted rate.)
My first view of Florence and the famous Santa Maria Novella church outside of the train station. I took this pic while running by, thinking: "I'd love this view if I wasn't so stressed."
And I kid you not: as I was walking around Florence trying to find this hostel (the building numeration is really counterintuitive), I got an email reply from the hostel! They explained they would wait and gave me additional directions to find the front door.
Phew!
I basically sprinted up four flights of stairs to get checked in before they changed their mind. And was only able to breathe easy when they ran my credit card and gave me the building entry codes. (I've never been so happy to shell out money in my life. They could have tacked on some fake fees to upcharge me and I would have just handed over the plastic.)
I got settled in, knowing that, at the very least, I'd make my notary appointment in the morning and have a finalized lease.
But I *still* had laundry to do if I didn't want to wear gross clothes to the consulate. So I walked a few blocks to the laundromat, which was open! Yay! While I was there, I even met a woman from small-town Virginia who gave me some tips for Florence since she was finishing her week here.
This day was one of the more stressful days of my life--there were so many crises that were narrowly averted and so many dominoes that had to fall *just so* and yet were beyond my control.
So, on the way home from the laundromat, I stopped by a bar and got a glass of delicious wine to celebrate having arrived in Florence despite the Italian train system's best efforts. Strangers Bar, near my hostel, had the sweetest bartender who gave me local recommendations, had a heavy pour, and undercharged me.(And he put on music that he (correctly) thought I would like: Taylor Swift and High School Musical.)
The bartender's recs.
Tomorrow will be a bit stressful until I get the lease notarized and shipped back to the States. But after that, I'll have an extra day in Florence to start exploring! It really can only go up from here.
Besos,
Tina the ExploraDora
Cumulative steps: 142,564
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