Day 9

Captain’s log day 9: 5:45 am comes wayyy too early, but we must embark on our journey to Cinque Terre (five lands) and Pisa! We trek about 2 miles to our meeting point where our driver, Mateo, greets us with still water and a ciao. Belle beats us there. We climb onto our lil black cedes van and meet the family who will be accompanying us on this tour. Their daughter, Claire, is studying abroad at the University of Iowa campus. The couple brought two of their four daughters to visit with them. They’re unaware of what they’re in for. We nap on the winding roads from Florence to Riomaggiore and wake up to the most beautiful view of the Ligurian Sea. Riomaggiore is a small, old town with colorful peeling buildings, steep streets and flowers with giant blooms. It smells of jasmine and salt. To see Cinque Terre with my own eyeballs has been a longtime dream of mine. My sister and parents were here many years ago and speak of its beauty often. We walk carefully down to the shore and find some caffe. We have to meet Mateo at the train station soon. We take a quick train ride to our next Terre. We have the option to hike or jump in the water, but only have a few minutes. Belle decides to swim, so we walk around the shops and accompany her to the water. We meet Mateo at the ferry station to our next stop. It’s a beautiful journey and further solidifies my conclusion that ferry is the best mode of transportation on the Italian coast. Mateo has arranged lunch reservations for us once we arrive. Here we partake in the worst meal yet, are yelled at about being American and educated about how coffees in Miami are $8. Note: do not eat at Taverna di Capitano in Cinque Terre even if you see colorful umbrellas. It was weird. We take deep breaths, grab a limoncello spritzfrom a very friendly bar next door and head to the shoreline. We ease our way down the giant rocks, through the algae and into the refreshing turquoise waters. The daughters from our trip join us. We share laughs and stories until it’s time to head to the train for our next stop. We grab another spritz and jump on the train. It’s a double decker and this is exciting to me for no real reason. We make our way back to our original stop to use the toilettes before making the trip to Pisa. Nicole asks me to stand guard and hold the door as she’s afraid she may get stuck. Moments later she screams as the lights go out and the entire bathroom begins to self-clean, covering the toilet and shooting water everywhere. Though I’d just peed, I’m laughing so hard I nearly go again. So great. Once the giggles subside, we board the van to Pisa. The rain falling against the roof lulls us to sleep as we make the hour-long journey. We arrive to a very wet tower of Pisa, but it’s leaning all the same. Mateo has umbrellas for us and we take all the pictures. We get a pizza, a Pisa pizza if you will, pop a bottle of bubbly and load up for the ride back to Florence. Mateo gives us the aux and we jam out for the rest of the journey. We say a tearful goodbye to Belle and walk through the rain to our flat. We get as packed as we can, do one more load of laundry and have another delicious dinner (I ate pheasant!) at a restaurant a few storefronts from where we’re staying. It’s small, family-owned and full of locals. I love listening to people speak the Italian language. We take a tiramisu to go and head back up. Tomorrow we travel to Milan to prepare for our last leg…the journey home!! Ciao pretty little Florence!!