It was a chaotic trip getting to Cinque Terra!

First a super early flight, meaning up at 445 OUCH. Our wonderful driver, from Eagle Garage (www.gozo.com/eaglegarage) was a godsend. He got us to dinner, to our motel, and luckily to our flight. Highly recommended.

Travel of Nightmares

The check in was remarkably easy, it was all going so smoothly with our extra baggage. On the flight we get. The luggage is checked through to Florence! How awesome is that, not have to do the Auckland gauntlet and run everything between terminals.

BUT, what we didn’t realise was we did not get a boarding pass for the second flight, AND Rome airport is a nightmare. In the words of a local “it’s f*ck-ed” I had to write it that way to get an idea of the accent. They were not wrong. All our flights were connected to terminals with the use of buses, even if the terminal was within 100 metres!

So, with our transfer time of 1h25m, I thought we had plenty and plenty of time! Alas no. They took us to an area where we all alighted the bus, went through passport check and round a corner TO THE SAME BUS! This took nearly 35 minutes. It was a little like watching the Monty Python show.

Once we had done the meaningless loop of the non-terminal, we all got delivered to the proper terminal. This one was complete with no help, no signs, no boarding pass, and no ideas! There was a lot of swearing and running! Eventually we printed our own boarding passes, found the terminal (not going to swear, not going to swear) – we made it all sweaty and gross with 2 minutes to spare.

Then we sat on the runway for 20 minutes. You have to LAUGH!

Landing in Florence was exciting. We were so happy to be there. The weirdest thing was seeing the armed men on guard outside the airport. Brought recent events in Europe to a stark reality.

All was calm however, other than tempers regarding the queues. Oh god! The endless queues. To get the shuttle to the rental car was 30 minutes, we thought we would walk. A very helpful ticket seller informed us “yes, you can walk, but it is suicide”. So we waited for the shuttle.

The rudeness of travellers and locals alike started to show.

Another hour in a queue at the Avis we got our car, brand new Ford CMax, we were very excited. I got to drive, lucky me, because I had driven on the left before. After a few navigation issues and intense conversations we got there. YAY. Only to find our car was a broken piece of stuff, AND that Avis Italy’s roadside assist is in fact “roadside abandonment”. Not going to share the negativity here – go to Facebook for the full rant.

In a nutshell, Rome airport = nightmare, Avis roadside assist = terrible service, Cinque Terre pizza = happy place.

But yes, we made it and were shown to our beautiful little apartment in the Cinque Terre marina. OMG the view, the rooms, the balcony, all so quaint and amazing. Just how I remembered it. We spent, what was left of the day, exploring, eating, and drinking. Early night so we could set off on adventures the following day.

We stayed at: http://www.appartamenticinqueterre.net/en/

Perfect location, clean, friendly, and complete. Be warned there are no lifts! So five flights means 5 lots of stairs with luggage.

On the upside there is an awesomely amazing dude who does luggage delivery: Roberto Pecunia, Roberto_pecunia@libero.it +39 329 8966219. Saves you a world of pain for 5 euros per bag.

Cinque Terre – Day 2

We awoke to a stunning view and cold pizza – life cannot get any better! We decided it was hiking time – ok I decided and Jason just went with it.

About 13 years ago I hiked the trails with friends and family. It was amazing and I wanted to show it all to jason. Unfortunately 2 of the trails are now closed due to landslides. Embezzlement of funds, according to a local, has meant any repairs are unlikely.

So our first walk (Riomaggiore to Manarola), rather than 20 minutes of seaside stroll, took 1 hour of heart thumping, leg killing, muscle ripping work. Goats would turn down this track in parts, but the views were amazing and the sense of achievement worth it.

After some consultation with a local guide (who continued the theme of unhelpfulness) and our legs, we opted to take the train between Manarola and Corniglia. Wise move I believe, the trail states 1h45m.

Corniglia was stunning and we loved walking the streets, staring with a pure uphill set of steps from the train station. Every one of these towns has something a little special, a little different, and completely appealing. I wish everyone could visit to just to say “awwww”. And drink the wine 😀

Corniglia – Vernazza

Wow, bloody wow, and wow again.

This track, whislt not as hard as the first, was pure beauty. You have seaside, farm, and village views at every stop. Some of the cliffs were pure terror but at least now, unlike last time, there are hand rails. YAY.

The trail is well marked and easy to follow, if you have hiked you can do this, you do not need to be super fit to make it work. Take plenty of water, or fill up your bottles in any of the beautiful and tasty drinking fountains in Corniglia, and enjoy yourself. It is not a race – but it can turn into one J

We stopped to take photos all the time, and still made it within the time frame allotted. Be warned though, in NZ the walking times are based on a 3 legged, blind dog. In Italy they assume a level of fitness. If they say 2 hours, it will be pretty damn close!

Once we reached Vernazza we looked for a lunch spot and found one close to the water front. Again we were very happy with the food and wine/beer. A hard life. Really.

Jump back on the train, which travels between all the towns, and we headed back to Riomaggiore for a rest and a… a wine J

BTW: there is a day ticket you can get, it covers all your train rides, free wifi, access to the Vernazza walk, and use of the toilets for a day. Well worth it.

Needless to say we were pretty shattered, so we got some takeaways, extra wine and beer, sat on our balcony and hung out. Beautiful. Just sitting there watching the sun set was enough to fill your heart and wine glass.

Sleep of the dead.

Day 3

First things first, get rid of the car and get a new one. Sorted.

By the time that was done it was nearly 1030 and time for a late breakfast. Pizza from Mamamia – worth it. Reasonable prices and very tasty.

One of the locals, the owner of the gallery on the marina, suggest we do the walk between Monterosso and Levanto. He said it was easy and would not take long so we thought, what the hell!

We caught the train to Monterosso and did a bit of sightseeing. After some discussion and internal clarity we both decided that catching the bus to the top of the trail was the right thing to do, at a cost of 2.50 euros and the fact the bus appeared in front of us – fate agreed with this decision.

However, this did not make the walk “easy” but not as hard as the day before. There was a 20 minute uphill section, and the rest was down but with nasty rocks and some precarious paths. Yet again the views were magnificent and we arrived in the Old Town of Levanto. Jason’s new favourite question “how old do you think this is”.

We found a place to eat, quite average, and then walked around the village. It is beautiful and nowhere near as busy as the Cinque Terre. Well worth the extra miles if you can be bothered. The train runs there and a trip from Levanto to any station, only 4 euro!

Our evening was planned with a sunset cruise (HOW ROMANTIC) and it was FABULOUS! If you are lucky enough to be there please do this, you will not regret it. We had the most amazing guide, Stefano. His English brilliant, knowledge 2^nd to know, entertainment value could not be measured, and really, really fun!

I booked this through Viator.com (don’t, I do not recommend this site). I booked the day before but then got the date wrong (using a computer that had NZ date set) anyway. When I tried to change I was told “2 days cancellation or you lose everything” but I only booked the day before so that was an actual impossibility. STAY AWAY.

I got hold of the tour guide, they changed the day for me and I can honestly say amazing. Do it. Over 2 hours and the cost of going to them directly will be less than the 260USD I paid (remember we had the guide and the boat to ourselves).

ARBA BOATS – DO IT: https://www.facebook.com/pg/ArbaBoats/

Really, really.

Another sleep of the dead. Busy day on the 16^th, drive 400 kms to Venice, drop off rental car, check into boat, and hope for the best.

Cinque Terre has been amazing. We were both so sad to leave and definitely want to come back.

I have to say that driving 400 kms on the autostrada, at anything between 130 and 150 kms an hour is quite the thrill. Plus everything just flowed. We made it in less than 4 hours, in good spirits, even stopping for a break and some photos. NZ you have some learning to do.