Day Fifty-Seven - Rome

I wasn't going to post a blog today but we do have time and I wanted to upload some photos from our walk to the Vatican this morning. It is buzzing with excitment and I must admit it was quite something to see Mary MacKillop's poster hanging high on St Peter's Basilica. There was an aboriginal contingent from Broome, Western Australia being interviewed by Channel Seven.
Photos: St Peter's Basilica; Souvenir shop putting up the Australian flag.

Day Fifty-Six - Rome

This was our last full day of sight-seeing in Rome before catching the plane tomorrow and heading back to Australia. We have been progressively ticking off a list of the ten “must sees” in one of the guide books left in the apartment.
Today we ticked off the last one on the list which was to walk around the Palatine Hill near the Roman Forum. It has sweeping views over the ancient ruins. We took two trains to get to the Colosseum to walk to the hill and we are getting very nifty at sorting out our way on the train system. There were a lot more people around the Colosseum and in the city today and we could hear many Australians which is a change. We usually only hear Italians, Germans and Americans. We overheard talk of the canonisation of Mary MacKillop on Sunday.
Where there were no people we observed from a distance a young gypsy woman transform herself to an old woman by putting layers of old, bulky clothing over her modern ones. She covered her hands with gloves and her face with a scarf. We later saw her stooped and begging along the pavement on Palatine Hill. She was a very convincing old woman and we saw people giving money.
From Palatine Hill we walked to Piazza del Campidoglio where there is a statue of the legendry she-wolf with Romulus and Remus, the twins credited with the foundation of Rome. We walked through the Victor Emmanuel building which is commonly called The Wedding Cake and has very good views over the ancient ruins on one side and the city on the other. We were going to have lunch at the café on top of the building as suggested by our friend Pam but it was crowded and very hot which was a shame as it would have been good to overlook the ancient ruins. We later chose a cool shady laneway café back in the city.
On the way back to the train we went passed the Column of Marcus Aurelius which is very impressive at twenty-nine metres tall and was erected between AD 180 and AD 193. A frieze runs in a continuous spiral around the column.
As we had a large lunch we opted for our busy local sidewalk café and had bar food with the other Italians. Once again it was good to just sit and people watch.
Before we head for the airport tomorrow we will walk to the Vatican City and see how the preparation is going for the canonisation ceremony on Sunday.
This is the last posting to this blog. It has been a wonderful nine weeks. No doubt we will return to Rome as we have thrown our coins into the Trevi Fountain.
Photos: “Old” gypsy woman on Palatine Hill; Roman Forum; About to knock down the Colosseum; The Column of Marcus Aurelius.

Day Fifty-Five - Rome

We decided to roam the streets today and check out the shopping. Our guide book told us there are two major streets for shopping. Firstly, near the Vatican where we are staying is Via Cola di Rienzo where there are many fashion shops where the prices can be top of the range and also reasonable. It is where many Italians shop for their clothes. Secondly, there is the long street of Via dei Condotti near the Piazza di Spagna, the place of the Spanish steps, in central Rome. This is probably equivalent to New York’s Fifth Avenue and has all the designer shops such as Valentino, Gucci, Bulgari, Prada, Dior, Amarni and Yves St Laurent.
There are very few large department stores but rather small specialist shops in categories such as shirts and ties, coats, gloves, lingerie, shoes, watches, and sporting wear shops.
We set out at the later time of ten thirty and walked about twenty minutes to get to Via Cola di Rienzo. There was one small department store called Coin which was recommended in the guide book. We found a great shirt for Henk and he will look particularly Italian when he wears it!
From this street we walked into the city centre past the Piazza Popolo where there was a large number of uniformed people practising for a parade. We couldn’t make out what it was about except it wasn’t the armed forces. They looked more like forestry workers but they did have guns on their belts. The Italians do seem to like their guns and uniforms!
We had lunch at a sidewalk café near the designer shops watching the very well-dressed Italians parading past with their designer bags. There was not a plastic bag in sight but large tasteful paper bags with the designer name printed on the side and cords or ribbon for handles.
We had fun looking into the designer windows and noting the prices. I particularly liked the Yves St Laurent green dress for seven thousand eight hundred Euros. It made my little black flat shoes I bought later in the day for thirty-nine Euros a very good bargain!
After walking into the city from our apartment which was a fair way we decided to catch the train back to Ottavania and walk the short distance. We used to get off at the Lepanto station as recommended by the agent but it is far easier to go one more stop at Ottavania as it’s a straight walk.
Dinner was at the restaurant, “Nuova Fiorentina“ where we had dinner last night. It’s close by and the food is excellent and many Italians eat there. We arrived at seven thirty and were finished by eight thirty. As we left the Italians were arriving. They eat much later than Australians.
Photos: Scooters everywhere on the way to Via Cola di Rienzo; Me with my very expensive Yves St Laurent dress; Valentino shop window; Philosophy di Alberta Ferretti shop window.

Day Fifty-Four - Rome

Today was a day of walking. We walked from one end of Rome to the other setting out at nine thirty and arriving back at the apartment at four thirty. We eeked out the remaining time on our twenty-four hour “hop-on hop-off” bus ticket and caught the bus near the Vatican and getting off at Piazza San Silvestro close to the Trevi Fountain.
Our first destination was the Campo dei Fiori to see the large market. We walked passed a quiet Trevi Fountain and Pantheon to get to the square which was filled with many different stalls selling fruit and vegetables as well as the usual stalls with the Roman souvenirs. We sat at one of the many cafes surrounding the square and “people-watched’ for quite a while. The Italian women have a particular style with their ankle-length trousers, flat leather shoes, stylish coat and leather strapped bag hanging across their body and all this on a bike at the markets.
I was particularly keen to see Bernini’s sculpture of ‘The Ecstasy St Teresa” at Santa Maria Della Vittoria which I had seen in 1989 on a one-day trip to Rome. It was at the other end of the city and we walked for about an hour through lovely side streets and sometimes very busy roads to get there. We are getting very good at negotiating the traffic on the busy roads. A crossing does not mean a car will stop but it will stop if you force the issue!
On the way we walked through the beautiful Pizza Navona with its large Fountain of the Four Rivers designed by Bernini in 1651. Interestingly the four main rivers were those known at the time - the Danube in Europe, the Nile in Africa, the Ganges in Asia and the Rio del la Plata in the New World!
When we finally arrived at the church it was closed. I then I checked the guide book which said it was closed between noon and three-thirty and it was one o’clock. Henk said he could cheerfully strangle me! We sat on the steps and ate the Italian-style sandwich and drink we bought and moved on to nearby Villa Borghese where we spent a very pleasant couple of hours walking around the parkland. It’s an oasis in a very big, busy city. We had afternoon tea before returning to the church.
A small throng of people had collected outside the church just before three thirty. They had obviously read their guide books! A monk dutifully opened up and we all walked in and stood silently as we gazed at the exquisite sculpture. It would have to be my favourite piece of sculpture. It represents the moment of ecstasy when St Teresa’s heart was pierced again and again by an cherub’s flaming arrow, a symbol of true union with God. Henk thought in modern day terms she was probably having a coronary or heartburn!
In the evening as we had only eaten lightly during the day we were eager to find a restaurant for a good filling pasta. We left our apartment at six thirty and strolled around the nearby very large and very busy Piazzi Mazzini round-about which has about eight roads and many lanes coming off it. For fifty minutes we walked around the entire ring and we could only find one restaurant which wasn’t opening until seven thirty. The rest of the places were side-walk bars filled with Italians eating and drinking lovely nibbles of mini pizzas and olives amongst other delicacies. Henk was nearly out of his tree with hunger and we returned to the restaurant and waited until they turned on their lights. Suddenly Italians came from everywhere all dressed in their stylish winter clothes. It was a mild evening and we sat outside on one of the many tables watching a storm come across whilst the majority of Italians sat inside. The meal was delicious. I had stuffed zucchini flowers for entrée and saltimbocca for mains. Henk had melon and ham and a spaghetti which he ate slowly and savoured. I think we might have to go back there before we leave.
Photos: Fruit and vegetables at the markets; The Nile River, part of the Fountain of the Four Rivers, Piazza Navona; ‘Ecstasy of St Teresa’, Santa Maria della Vittoria; Sandwiches Italian style!

Day Fifty-Three - Rome

The weather bureau forecast rain from tomorrow until the end of the week and we thought it best to make the most of a fine day and catch one of the “hop on, hop off” buses to see the major sites of the city. The tour around twelve major sites took two hours but it could have been quicker except for the Rome traffic. The congestion is on all the streets with scooters and pedestrians weaving in and out of cars and buses. We hadn’t noticed the traffic problem before as we have been catching trains and walking largely in pedestrian only areas. We were in awe of our double-decker bus driver as he was able to come within centimetres of traffic and people and make his way through.
The bus took us past St Peter’s Basilica and large numbers of chairs were being set out. We also passed a poster of Mary MacKillop where the tickets for her canonisation are to be collected.
After our bus ride we visited the Colosseum, the Roman Forum and returned to the Pantheon to have a look inside. The hole in the dome which is 8.3 metres across was much larger than expected and I could well see how the rain can fall through it.
It was a long day as we left at nine o’clock and got back to the apartment at five o’clock.
We had our first set lunch menu of three courses for fifteen Euro each at a little restaurant near the Roman Forum. The service was slow as it was very busy but the wait was worthwhile as he food was very tasty.
After our big lunch we had an Italian-style meal of bread, cheese and sliced meats for our dinner.
Photos: A lane near the Vatican City; Traffic congestion on our bus tour; The Mary MacKillop poster with a gypsy woman sitting behind it begging; The dome of the Pantheon.

Day Fifty-Two - Rome

Today we spent six hours touring the Vatican City including the Sistine Chapel, the Vatican Museum and St Peter’s Basilica. When we returned to the apartment we were a little weary!
It only took us twenty minutes to walk to the Vatican City which is the world’s smallest nation covering just fifty hectares with five hundred and fifty citizens headed by the Pope. We mistakenly walked to St Peter’s Basilica and had to retrace our steps for about a kilometre around the city’s wall to get to the Vatican Museum and the Sistine Chapel. The line-up at a quarter to nine was already long and three to four abreast. Thankfully, the on-line tickets arranged by Brian meant that we walked right past the waiting throng and through security to start our tour. We hired audio guides to talk us through the different areas.
The highlight was obviously the Sistine Chapel. We were able to get a seat on the side wall and sit for about half an hour taking in Michelangelo’s masterpiece with the help of the audio guide. It was very busy but as it was still early in the day the guards were not pressuring anyone to move on which they apparently do. The Sistine Chapel is the Pope’s chapel and it is where the Cardinals meet to elect a new pope. In the old days when a vote wasn’t successful straw was put onto the ballot papers to make black smoke. These days a chemical is added.
The Vatican Museum is extensive and covers a vast range of time periods including Etruscan, Greek, Roman, and the Middle Ages. The Raphael Rooms where Raphael decorated Julius II’s apartments between 1508 and 1524 are very impressive. The audio guides were very useful in explaining each of the paintings.
We had a pizza lunch at the museum and after going past countless souvenir shops we emerged to find hundreds and hundreds of people in two directions lining up. It was unbelievable and many must have spent hours slowly moving forward to the entrance. We were doubly pleased Brian had bought the tickets online!
We walked past the very long line back to St Peter’s Basilica. By this time it was raining and we lined up with everyone under umbrellas. The hawkers were doing well selling their umbrellas. The line moved very quickly and we were soon inside and immediately came across Michelangelo’s ‘Pieta’. It is unbelievable that Michelangelo carved this masterpiece when he was a mere twenty-five years old. It has been protected by glass since 1972 when a man screaming, “I am Jesus Christ!” attacked it with a hammer, damaging the Virgin’s nose and fingers. Needless to say the crowed around the statue was very deep but we eventually made it to the front to have a closer look and take a photo.
After having an afternoon rest I ventured out in our neighbourhood and did some grocery shopping for dinner. I made “breadcrumb mental notes” in my head of where I was going to retrace my steps so I wouldn’t get lost. I returned to last night’s little café and bought half a dozen little cakes as they as irresistible.
Tomorrow may be the Colosseum.
Photos: ‘Pieta’ by Michelangelo; Henk in front of Bernini’s huge bronze altar canopy at St Peter’s Bascilia; Inside Vatican Museum on the way to the Sistine Chapel; Ancient Roman mosaic tiled floor.

Day Fifty-One - Rome

This was our first full day of sight-seeing and we took it a bit slower as Henk has come down with a head cold. It’s not serious but he is not feeling too energetic. We left the apartment at ten o’clock and caught the Metro train two stops back into the city getting off at La Spagna. We are getting proficient at buying tickets at the automatic ticketing machines especially as they give the option of English! When we walked out of the station we were very quickly at the Spanish Steps. There were people everywhere. We walked to the top to get a good view down the steps and over some of the city. The Keats-Shelley Memorial is a pink stuccoed apartment alongside the Spanish Steps. Keats died at the age of twenty-five at the house in 1821.
From the steps we walked with crowds of people to the Trevi Fountain. It too had masses of people around it and we were determined to get to the front of it to throw our coins in. The guide book from the apartment says that the movie ‘Three Coins in a Fountain” taught us that we had to throw the coin in backwards over our shoulder to ensure a return visit to Rome. We duly did this taking photos of the opportunity.
Our next stop was at the Pantheon. It is under renovation and half of it was obscured with netting and scaffolding. By this time we were getting hungry and we had a pizza lunch at a nearby outdoors café in the Piazza overlooking the Pantheon before taking a closer look. Unfortunately, a mass was being conducted and we couldn’t go past the massive bronze doors but we are hoping to return later in the week to view the dome from the inside. Emperor Hadrian, apparently an amateur architect, designed the building in AD 118-125. He not only did walls as we saw last year in England!
By this time Henk was flagging and we returned by train to our apartment. We are in an area which has very little tourists and another guide book left in the apartment suggests the area we are in is very middle class. Certainly the people are well dressed.
We were going to have dinner in the apartment but the little grocery stores we have found in the area were all closed on Sunday afternoon. This forced us to go out to dinner and it was very pleasant. We found a very busy sidewalk café frequented with well-dressed Italians. It was a balmy evening and we enjoyed watching the passing parade. We indulged in wonderful miniature pastries. We will have to go back for more.
Henk has re-tuned the television for all the English programs and we can get BBC which is a good thing for a news freak like me!
We will need to get away early tomorrow as the Vatican tour Brian booked from Australia starts at nine o’clock. The sun is coming up much later and we tend to sleep in.
Photos: Spanish Steps; Trevi Fountain; The Pantheon.

Day Fifty - Manarola to Rome

The bells woke us up at seven o’clock and we still hadn’t managed to find out why they struck thirty-five times. The best answer we got was that the bells were computer driven and that’s what they did! We caught the eight thirty train to La Spezia. This only took twenty minutes then we waited for the ten o’clock train to Roma Termini. Although the trip was four and a half hours it went quickly as we had good views of the countryside.
Arriving at Roma Termini train station was such a contract to the little villages of Cinque Terre. There were thousands of people all dashing everywhere. We made our way to the underground metro and quickly worked out which train to catch. During the past week Henk and I frequently have been eavesdropping on conversations at the little railway stations whilst waiting for the train. There were often discussions on the gypsies and their pick pocketing tactics in Rome. When Henk went to buy the tickets from the automatic ticket machine each machine except for one had a gypsy waiting offering assistance. On the train a gypsy accordion player and a little girl walked through begging. It can be tricky!
We only had to go five stops and walk six hundred metres to our apartment called ‘Strange Days’. We arrived at the arranged time between three and four o’clock and our agent was waiting for us on his scooter. He quickly showed us around the apartment and all its idiosyncrasies and then asked to be paid. We had very little money as the ATM at Manarola had been out of service for a day. No problems! He told us of three banks nearby and after an episode of Keystone Cops with the agent on his scooter and Henk and I walking the yet unknown streets Henk finally made the payment near a very busy roundabout. It looked like a drug deal!
The apartment is in a good position to the many sites of Rome. It is old; large with two main rooms; one is a bedroom and one a large sitting room, a kitchen and bathroom. There are two balconies; one overlooks the street and one over the many other apartments in the complex. The apartment walls are covered in large paintings. In our bedroom we have twenty-four and most are painted by an amateur artist who just doesn’t quite make it. I find it jarring!
We bought dinner provisions at a local grocers and had dinner at the apartment. We then walked the blocks nearby to get our bearings. There were many Italians sitting on the pavements having dinner at the local cafes and we have quite a few to choose from.
It was an early night for us and we start our six days of sightseeing tomorrow.
Photos: The view from our back balcony; the paintings in the apartment!

Day Forty-Nine - Manarola

We started the day with coffee at the café overlooking the harbour. It is peaceful in Manarola until the first tourists arrive by train at ten o’clock. This was our last full day at Cinque Terre and we went to Corniglia, the middle of the five towns. Corniglia is very different from the other four towns as it is a hilltop town and the smallest. There is probably a reason why the trains don’t stop as frequently at this town. From the little railway station we had to climb three hundred and eighty-two steps to reach the township.
We spent a couple of hours in the village walking around the tiny lanes before returning to Manarola. We walked down steep steps to overlook the tiny, undeveloped harbour. On the steep hillside on the other side there were three workers abseiling down and clearing as they went with machetes and then rolling wire netting over the hill. Occasionally, they would loosen rocks and these would roll down the hill and crash into the water. It didn’t look like our kind of work!
We sat in the sun in the middle of a piazza and had a tasty lunch. We walked down the steps back to the railway station rather than catch the occasional green bus. We needed to walk off our lunch but we did eat a gelato on the way down!
We purchased some more Wifi time at the Mararola Information Centre as we needed to get the details of where we will be staying in Rome and deciding how best to get there. It costs five Euros for one hour of access which we think is reasonable.
For dinner we returned to the restaurant we went to with Rod and Helen. We had a table overlooking the main street and we watched the children of the town skating and riding scooters up and down he steepish street leading to the harbour. The piazza and the streets and lanes are their playground as there is nowhere else to play. There was even a child’s birthday party this afternoon in the town’s piazza and we realised there would be very little elsewhere to go to have such activities.
Tomorrow is an early start to travel to Rome for our last week of our holidays.
Photos: Looking down over the steps from the top of Corniglia to the railway station; The piazza at Corniglia; The calm waters of Manarola Harbour.

Day Forty-Eight - Manarola

Today was quiet. There were no more crashing waves on the rocky headlands and now we could hear clearly the villagers talking to each other from the lanes below. Each day at seven o’clock in the morning we hear the church bells strike seven followed by further thirty-five tolls. We are yet to find out why the number thirty-five. The sea is now clear and turquoise and we can see through to the rocks at the bottom. It is such a contrast to the past few days.
We are making the most of the three day Cinque Terre pass. We caught the train to Riomaggiore at about ten o’clock. We firstly went to their wifi hotspot and loaded our blog and read our emails. Bigpond.com is driving us crazy with its slowness. All other websites we are accessing are very quick but not Bigpond!
Riomaggiore is similar to Manarola as it has only one main street which goes straight down to the harbour. Once again there were many boats lining the harbour and lower main street. We had a wonderful morning tea of coffee and home made jam tarts high on a rocky outcrop overlooking the Riomaggiore harbour. It was a perfect day.
We walked around the headland to a very stony beach where a family was swimming in the cool, clear water. From here we walked to the far end of the town up the steep main street to a little museum which described the establishment of the five villages which make up the Cinque Terre. All were established as independent, small villages in the thirteenth century. Life seemed to be hard right up to the twentieth century until the railway was installed and tourism became an industry.
Riomaggiore is a town which attracts young backpackers and much of the accommodation advertised in the main street was targeting this market.
From Riomaggiore we decided to take the train to Levanto. It is about twenty minutes from Riomaggiore and only five minutes from the northern Cinque Terre town of Monterosso. Although it is very close to Cinque Terra we felt we were in the “real Italy” as it is not a tourist town. It has a wide, gritty beach and the town is largely flat. It was afternoon siesta time as we walked around the streets. We even found the Italian equivalent of a laundrette called a lavendara and is open twenty-four hours a day!
The trains to Manarola from Levanto were infrequent so we took a train to Riomaggiore and caught a train from there back to Manarola. When we arrived at Manarola late in the afternoon we had a gelato and sat in the main street watching the passing parade.
We had dinner in a restaurant overlooking the sea and watching the sun set. I felt like Shirley Valentine! At one stage in front of our view was one of the many little boats which was lowered into the harbour with an overhead winch.
Tomorrow is our last day at Cinque Terre before we move on to Rome. We have one last town, Corniglia to explore.
Photos: Riomaggiore’s main street and boats leading to the harbour; Me on stony beach of Riomaggiore; Levanto at siesta time.

Day Forty-Seven - Manarola

We bought a three day Cinque Terra card which enables us to make unlimited train trips between Le Spezia Centrale and Levanto and includes the five towns of Cinque Terra. It also allows us use of the walking paths between the towns which has changed since we were here last time when it was free. We caught the train mid morning to Monterosso. It only took us fourteen minutes to get there and we spent a few hours walking around the very pleasant seaside town. It is different from the other Cinque Terra towns as it sits flat by the sea rather than being a hillside town. For lunch we had our first pizza in Italy. It had the wonderful thin, crispy base which we prefer to the thick bases.
After lunch we caught a five minute train to Vernazza. It has a feel to it like Manarola with its single street leading down to the harbour. The town was very busy with tourists mostly having lunch at the outside restaurants. Most of the tourists seem to be Italians, Germans or Americans. We occasionally hear Australians or English. I heard an American make a joke against the Canadians yesterday. She said, “How do you make a Canadian apologise?” “You step on their foot.” All the Americans laughed and I did too!
We intended to catch the train to the next Cinque Terra town of Corniglia but we got on the wrong train as we caught the train at the correct time but it was the previous one running late! It skipped Corniglia and Manarola and delivered us at Riomaggiore the first town on the Cinque Terra trail. By this time we thought we had done enough touring and left Riomaggiore for tomorrow. We walked from Riomaggiore to Manarola a distance of one kilometre. We came across hundreds of padlocks hanging off fences which have been left by lovers. We had seen this practice on “Getaway”.
Today was washing day. Our washing machine is still not fixed so we are washing by hand. It was a good drying day and the sun is finally coming out. The washing line is off our little balcony and I double-pegged everything fearing the washing would be blown all over Manarola.
Late afternoon we set out to buy some groceries at our little grocery shop. We are getting used to the opening and closing times as the shop isn’t opened mid afternoon. We watched a fantastic sunset from the harbour.
Photos: Vernazza Harbour; Sun setting on Manarola; Hanging out the washing Italian style; Sunset off Manarola.

Day Forty-Six - Manarola

As we were meeting Rod and Helen at twelve thirty we had the morning free but not enough time to visit one of the other nearby Cinque Terra towns. To make the most of the time we decided to catch the train into Le Spezia to buy our train tickets for Saturday to Rome. We are slowly deciphering the ways of the Italians and learning through elimination, asking questions and making mistakes.
We couldn’t buy our train tickets from Manarola to Le Spezia at Manarola but the Information Centre said we could buy the tickets on the train from the conductor. There was no conductor so we had a free train ride. We shared the train compartment with six very tired hung over young Australian women. It was not a good look!
Buying the train ticket to Rome was easy but getting back to Manarola was another matter as we didn’t see the asterisk next to the time noted on the timetable and patiently waited for the Sunday and holiday train on a Tuesday! Needless to say we and others waiting on the wrong platform missed the next train leaving at a nearby platform. We then had to wait another forty minutes for the next train. We were getting anxious as we were getting back to Manarola at twelve fifteen and meeting Rod and Helen at “twelve thirtyish“. And we thought we had all the time in the world!
Helen and Rod drove from Chianti which took them about two hours and parked up the top of the mountain and walked down to the village. It was lovely to see them. After a quick tour of the main street down to the harbour we had long lunch at Il Porticciolo where Henk and I had dinner the night before. Once again the food was simple but delicious and the restaurant was busy as ever. We also had the local Cinque Terra red wine which was also good. We then showed Helen and Rod around “our village” walking around the headland up to the cemetery and back down to the harbour. The small village cemetery has the best views over Manarola. The sea was still wild today crashing on the cliffs and the little fishing boats which are parked on the main street haven’t moved since we arrived due to the weather.
At five o’clock we walked Helen and Rod (with gelattis in our hand!) to the car park. It’s a steep, long climb to the top and we can now say we have done it.
It was a light dinner for us of hard Italian bread, cheese and ham.
Photos: Henk, Rod and Helen at lunch; Our local grocery shop; A local laneway near our unit.

Day Forty-Five - Manarola

Today was a day of resting and re-grouping. We didn’t wake up until eight thirty and we had no food except for a few teabags and coffee sachets. We ventured out at nine o’clock to find yesterday’s closed little grocery store in the main street was open. We managed to buy our essential items of milk, cereal, bread, butter etc and decipher some of the Italian words along the way. This is where we were going to rely on Brian for assistance.
Yesterday’s tourists were gone and there was a calmness over the town. The morning was overcast, very windy with the occasional shower and we spent the time doing jobs and finding our way around the little town. We found the washing machine in our apartment didn’t work or maybe the electrical point doesn’t work so we couldn’t do any washing. We reported the faulty machine to our friendly agent when we walked down the steep lane and back into the main street. We got the instructions to the ATM which was well hidden near the tunnel to the railway station and got some much needed Euros. We located the only WiFi in town at the Manarola Information Centre near the railway station. We needed to email the managers of the apartment in Rome and notify our time of arrival this Saturday. Before doing this we had to find the online train timetable to find a suitable train to go from Manarola to Rome. This will take about four and a half hours. We found we can’t buy the tickets at Manarola but only from La Spezia so we may go back there later sometime during the week to book our train tickets for Saturday.
We had a take-away lunch of tasty pizza and spent the afternoon relaxing. We haven’t done this very much on this holiday and we enjoyed it. Later in the afternoon the electricity tripped. We had lights but no power and the circuit breaker wouldn’t re-engage. We had to ring our agent to notify them of the problem. They came around straight away and after much turning on and off of switches the problem seems resolved. However, it has worked in our favour as an electrician is coming around tomorrow morning and the washing machine will be checked as well.
As we are only two instead of three the agent has reduced the cost to two people so that is very kind of them. I think the electrical problems may have helped here!
We spent an hour strolling around the outskirts of the town overlooking the sea. It was quite wild today in contrast to yesterday’s calm. Dinner was at Il Porticciolo in the main street near the harbour. We were given a table that was reserved for Brian. So he is here in spirit! I had lemon marinated anchovies which were delicious and we both had a tasty seafood risotto. Tomorrow we meet up with our friends Rod and Helen who are also travelling in Italy.
Photos: Manarola from the distance; The coastline near Manarola; Henk walking down a wet main street; Rocks on the roof to hold the it down!

Day Forty-Four - Hatton Cross, London - Manarola, Cinque Terra, Italy

We were up at five-thirty and caught the six o’clock “hop on, hop off” bus to Terminal 5 at Heathrow Airport. The bus was chaotic with people and bags scrambled throughout and one German chap having strong opinions about how disorganised it all was. The bus driver let everyone sort out their own problems and simply drove the bus. It took us no time to get through the self-serve check-in at British Airways and through security to the other side. It was about seven fifteen when we sat down to breakfast and had our first cuppa for the day. The flight to Pisa was an interesting one as it flew across central France, over the snow-capped Swiss Alps of which we had stunning views then turned to fly into Pisa. The pilot said there were on-going congestion problems flying in a straight line to Pisa.
Travelling within the European Union is easy and we were soon out of Pisa passport control with our bags and sorted out the train system. Thankfully, the train ticket seller within the Pisa Airport spoke English and we managed to get one ticket for the entire trip from Pisa to Manarola. We had to change trains at La Spezia and once again at Riomaggiore arriving at Manarola at three thirty. It was a sunny afternoon and the place was busy with tourists. We found our friendly, young Italian renting agent in the only main street and she walked us up a steep lane to our little apartment. Brian found this one on the internet and it is in a great position with views over the harbour out to sea and up the hills and the main street.
We spent a couple of hours just strolling around getting our bearings and taking in the wonderful scenery.
The agent suggested dinner at a trattoria called ‘Dal Billy’ (www.trattoriabilly.com) as it was the only place in town which made its own pasta. It was only five minutes away further up the lane, tiny with options for inside or outside dining. As it was a lovely balmy evening we opted for the outside area as it had stunning views over the sea. The recommended dish was a tomato based pasta with local lobster and I had the local Cinque Terra wine. The meal was exquisite. We went to bed happy, little bunnies.
Photos: The view from our balcony with the main street in the middle and the lane we walk up to our unit; Henk looking very Italian; Me with our unit behind. Our little deck can be seen above the pink house’s pointed roof on the left.