And, on top of that, our apartment had no internet. Now, I know there are worse things in the world but, you are all liars if you tell me that you don't rely on email or instant communication via the internet.
Prior to my knowledge of my trip being canceled, I met a girl at the gym name Myriah, who has been studying here all year. She had told me all about the fabulous places to go while in Vienna and Salzburg and told me about her favorite bars and restaurants as well.
By coincidence, I ran into her again later that afternoon and told her the bad news. She immediately invited me to the beach with her and her roommates that Saturday. She said it was called Viareggio and it was only about a 45 or so minute train ride from Florence. I told her, I would check with my roommates and see if they wanted to come too but to count me in!
Perfect. My weekend plans were not looking up...or so I thought...
Saturday, March 31, 2012
After some miscommunication on my end, I found myself without internet and no way to communicate with Myriah to let her know that I had a change of plans and to still count me in for Saturday. The last I had heard from her was that she was going to try and leave around 9:30 or 10 Saturday morning.
On a complete whim, I woke up Saturday morning, packed my bag for the beach and headed to the train station, hoping to run into her or at least someone I knew.
After I did a quick survey of the station, I saw no one that I recognized. As I started to make my way home, I decided to check one last place. Perhaps they were still buying tickets and hadn't gone to their platform yet. It was worth a shot at least!
As I walked into the crowded ticket room, there in the far corner stood Myriah. And, to top it off, also standing there was Andrea, another familiar face.*
I ran over, practically out of breath and shaking at the miracle that had just occurred. As I got closer, I realized that our "small" group had suddenly become a small posse but hey, the more the merrier!
It seems that I had come at just the right time as they were all discussing where to go. We could either go to Viareggio for 8 Euro or Cinque Terre for 16 Euro. I had not been to either place so I was up for anything!
And just like that, after several minutes of conversing it was decided. We were headed to Cinque Terre for the day!
After transferring trains in Pisa, we finally made it to Cinque Terre. While, the weather was no beach weather, (I was glad I wore pants and a sweatshirt over my bathing suit) the view was absolutely breathtaking! We decided to train to the farthest town and work our way back to the main one where we would catch the train back to Pisa.
We began in Monterosso, which is the most "touristy" town in the sense that it has a lot of restaurants and of course, the beach! It is also known for its pesto...
After a short walk from the train station, Myriah took us to Ely's, a cute lunch cafe with amazing pesto pizza! After ordering what we thought was a small pizza for one, our waiter brought out 5 pizzas, which looked like this..
(Pesto Pizza)
Three hours later, our stomachs sore from laughing so hard and full of pesto pizza, we decided to walk around a bit more before taking the train to another spot.
And here is what I saw...
(Monterosso)
(Absolutely gorgeous)
(Beach at Monterosso)
Next stop, Vernazza!
Unfortunately, Vernazza was hit the hardest by the October 25, 2011 mudslides and boy was there evidence of this. However, by no means was the view any less breathtaking.
(A sign encouraging visitors to donate to the various relief funds)
(A small portion of the damage...)
(Me and Deb, Photo courtesy of Andrea and her "hip-stagraming")
(Photo courtesy of Andrea--Deb, me, Kate and Hannah. Best picture of the day by far!)
From here, we took our last train to Manarola, where we enjoyed bevs by the water before beginning our hike to the last town to catch the train back to Pisa.
(So pretty!)
(A little dark but still absolutely beautiful)
Now off to Riomaggiore!
(Just me and my friends)
(The first few steps of our hike)
We began our leisurely hike stopping for the occasional photo...I mean, how could you not with a view like this?
(On the hike to Riomaggiore)
(What a view!)
(And again...)
(Almost there!)
(So pretty!)
(Ahh, the lovely town of Riomaggiore)
No sooner had we arrived, was it time to head back to the train station to catch our train to Pisa! Thankfully, we all made it on the last train of the day back to Pisa. However, after arriving in Pisa, we came to find out that the next and final train was leaving in an hour. Oh what to do in Pisa at 10:30 P.M...
Of course, with us 5 that would not be a problem. All five of us indulged in Hairbo gummies and licorice as we told even more stories that kept us in stitches the entire night. There's nothing like a spontaneous trip to Cinque Terre on a cool Saturday morning with good company!
XOXO,
Meggie
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