I think I'm in love. I have absolutely been blown away by the people of Italy. Perhaps it's because I have been so dependent on them with various travel blunders, but regardless of the cause, I have been so impressed with their warmth, their kindness, and their generosity.
Yesterday was quite the day. I had traveled up to Florence with a group of friends for the weekend. Saturday morning I had breakfast with 2 Australian girls at the hostel. The topic of celebrity sitings came up, leading to our general agreement on the hotness of Johnny Depp.Then four from our group headed to see the David and check out the museum where it's housed (Galleria dell'Accademia).
I decided after the museum that I wanted to head on my own for Cinque Terre, a series of 5 coastal cities that are connected by train, bus, or fabulous hiking trails. I knew the day was going to be great, when they were giving away free Coca Cola Lights at the train station (the nectar of the gods, in my opinion). I ran into 2 guys from our group that had just come up from Orvieto, so that was a fun coincidence. I took 3 trains for a total of 3 hours to get to Vernazza, which was absolutely beautiful.
There's a main walkway with shops selling wine, gelato, postcards, pretty jewelry, etc. You come to a small beach area first but a little further on is a whole beach front composed of giant rocks. I was determined to go for a swim but had no one to watch my stuff. After watching a little while, I noticed people climbing out on to the rocks and stashing their stuff there, so I did the same. The water was perfection. After a long, hot train ride, jumping into that water was heavenly. I had goggles along, so I was able to see several schools of fish swimming along beneath me, not minding my company a bit. I got a kick out of a group of older men standing in a circle in their speedos just chatting it up.
I could have stayed in that water for a week, but I finally decided to head back around 7:30. Unfortunately, I just missed the 7:30 train, so I caught the 8:30 train into La Spezia Centrale station. I tried to get a ticket to Florence but accidentally purchased the wrong kind of ticket. I decided to just chance it and get on a train to Pisa, which I knew had connecting trains to Florence. Luckily, I met a train driver about my age in the station, who first helped me find a bathroom (by letting me into the employee's only one) and then after chatting a bit and finding out I was headed to Florence, let me know I'd be missing the last train out to Florence from Pisa.
I was a bit anxious at this point, considering the train I was taking into Pisa left at 10:17 p.m. but my new Italian friend told me of a bus I could take that would be leaving for Florence at 12:59. Grrrrreat.... I wasn't thrilled about having to wait for a bus in the middle of the night, but he walked me all through the train station and to the bus stop. Along the way, we met 2 teenage couples heading to Florence as well, so I waited with them for most of the time. I really enjoyed getting to use my limited Italian/Spanish to communicate with my friend the train driver, and I cannot tell you how much I appreciated his help. When we said good-bye, he gave me the kiss-on-either-cheek farewell (When in Rome, right?) and we exchanged emails. I made it on the bus eventually and arrived in Florence at 2:30 a.m. only to find that my hostel had a 2:00 a.m curfew (or at least that's what the door said). Fortunately, when I rang the buzzer they let me right in and said that there wasn't a curfew, so I lucked out there.
All in all, it was an exhausting day, and I am really ready for some rest now, but it was a fun adventure all the same. Ciao for now!
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