Italy days 4-7

Italy Day 4-7

Leaving the literally PERFECTLY romantic and inspiring city of Venice, we made our way out of the city into Verona, the setting of Romeo and his Juliet.

We arrived just before lunch time, parked on the cute little streets inside the beautiful and clearly ancient city walls and began our brief affair with Verona.

We could have stayed all day, and most likely a few days here, especially if we wanted to really see it all, but instead we stayed a few hours and walked up a never ending set of old stone steps to what seemed like the top of the world. We walked up these steps that were guarded by the most beautiful floral trees and hidden little door ways to this beautiful look out scanning the full city of Verona, including the famous outdoor Opera house, that sadly was closed until August.

After spending some time soaking in theses fabulous views we walked back down and found the closest Risorante to fill our happy bellies for the long road ahead.
Kevin experienced his first ever Italian Pizza today, and what would be a 'slice' at home, you all know, was a FULL pizza here, for the same price:)

I of course settled with a salad:)

( Now I may or may not have helped finish the basket of bread...may or may not have;)

We began our drive and our new relationship with TOLL BOOTHS.... Thinking that a car rental would save us money in the long run has been a clear mistake, and this is where we begin to learn this.

First toll booth was in Italian, obviously, and we had really no idea what to do, and so we drove right through.
You see the cars here are pretty small, we're in a Fiat Punto and its slightly larger than a mini cooper. We managed to sneak around the toll bar and speed away.

THIS however cost us $57 Eu at the next gate.... which we have yet to pay. Every time you pass into a new region, or city you have to pay at the toll booth, which makes sense, and is fine.

There are SO MANY regions and cities to go through in this country, it feels like you are paying every hour.

Monterosso, Cinque Terre

What could have been a 3-5 hour drive to the cliff side town of Monterosso in the Cinque Terre, turned into an almost 8 hour travel day due to having NO CLUE where we were going hahahaha.

Yes I can laugh now, but I assure you there was little laughing today from either Kevin or myself.

You see there was a horrible flood October 2011 that ruined the two northern Terre's (towns) of the Cinque Terre, and because of that, the coastal road were closed.

Now the parts of the roads that WERE open, we drove, because the signs all remained up pointing to Moneterosso ( our destination) and so on we went.

This road was of a bikers dream, or perhaps that of a sports car lover ( thinking of my Dad right now) switch backs and steep narrow cliff hanging paths just wide enough for a car for miles. When I say miles..... I mean miles long enough to take us 2 hours away from where we wanted to be.

When the sun began to fade and our check in time cut off drew near, we pulled over and made the phone call, that neither of us wanted to make.

When the woman answered the phone on Monterosso responded to where we were with a “Oh Noooooo” in Italian, I knew that we far from where we wanted to be, and this meant back tracking those last 2 hours of mountainous roads.

I would agree that there are plenty of worse places to be lost, but when you've been driving for 8 hours already, its night time, your hungry, very lost and struggling to not pee yourself, this felt like the WORST.

Just after 9 pm we landed safely and happily in the gorgeously lit up sea side town of Monterosso and with great joy found we had what was to date, the best hotel yet!
Top floor with wooden shutters that opened into the town square and roaring ocean, a comfortable bed and full bathroom... .Our hearts were happy, and our bellies HUNGRY.

We threw our bags down and found the closest restaurant, which ended up being highly recommended by Rick Steeves. Our dinner was wonderful, the wine tasted like gold at this point, and the bed felt like a pile of clouds after a long day on the road.

We woke up around 8:30 the next morning and enjoyed what was also the best breakfast offered to us by our hotels so far. Fresh fruit, juices, granola and yogurt ( of course the fresh sweet bread rolls with Nutella flirted with us, but we continue to ignore her teases)

Nutella is EVERYWHERE in this country....... I'm serious, EVERYWHERE!

We decided to try the popular hike to the next town, Vernazza. This is the other town that was upset by the flood last year, but the path has recently been re-opened to walkers, just not the road for drivers.

We quite clearly had no idea what we were getting ourselves into with this hike, and thankfully we had proper shoes on, and layers to remove if needed.

The weather was on and off beating sun and sprinkling rain for the 3 km hike through the PHENOMENAL coastal hike. The signs suggest the hike will take 90 minutes, I'm pleased to say Kevin and I hoofed it in 65.

The whole time, all I could think about was the upcoming Tough Mudder race that we are doing, and after that hike, I think we could do it with our hands tied behind our backs:)

The hike was a mixture of foot wide paths straight up, rock steps also straight up, beautifully created stone arched bridges over canyons, waterfalls and panoramic views of the coastal towns to no end.

Perfectly positioned half way through the expedition was the sweetest Italian woman squeezing fresh lemonade from the human head sized lemons that grow locally through the hills. The cost was $1Eu per cup, and each cup used about 3-4 lemons, about 1/4C sugar (which WAS optional thank God) and topped with water......The perfect combination of sweet and sour, and on we went.

When we did finally arrive at the decent of the hike into the stunning but devastated town of Vernazza, we pointed out our lunch location at the tip top of an ancient watch tower that sat a good 20m above the town. There were vivid scenes of the flood path as we walked down into town with one house torn straight through the center. Where there once was a family kitchen and living room, now sat a few pictures hanging crooked on the wall, a rug on the floor, one chair and the beginning of a kitchen counter next to where the land stole the home. You just prayed that no one was cooking at that moment, because the kitchen was torn away from the home in what I assume was mere seconds.

Taking a moment to pay our respects to the families who were effected, we remained quiet for a minute while we took it all in.

When we made our climb up the steep stairwell to the watch tower top dining area, again we were blessed with a view that took our breath away.

Here we had what up until that point, and perhaps STILL.... the best pasta of the trip.

After hiking intensely for the 65 minutes and then immediately sitting for an hour to eat, we had the leg shakes so bad that the thought of attempting the same walk home, was more than we could comprehend , and so we took the $2 Eu train ride back to our home.

The days and nights have began blending in together, and so these stories may be slightly mis matched, I apologize.

We spent the next day enjoying the whole area, as we took the train down to the furthest south town in the Cinque Terre, Riggamiore. This town sits so perfectly into the mountain side, you'd think it was a painting. In fact all of these fascinating towns resemble artwork. This is a town that if you are wanting to work the glutes, you will book your hotel at the top of the town, as you have to walk everywhere. Think San Fransisco on crack lol. Hills so steep you have to really phsyc yourself up with each step.

I loved it! We only did lunch here however, not a lot of energy at this point in our trip. The amount of walking and hills and stairs over the last week has been much more intense to the body than either of us imagined. Its FABULOUS mind you, our legs are sore everyday, but it has drained our energy to a low low level.

Our last morning in Monterosso, is of course the most beautiful. The sun has come out in full force and is tempting us to stay just one more day. Instead, I wake up early to have a beautiful and quiet workout on the sun beaten water front before grabbing breakfast, espresso and hitting the road, with our sunglasses and map to the Tuscany.