Planes, Trains, and Dirty Rotten Scoundrels

Riomaggiore, the road less traveled
Originally uploaded by h2okatcher.

This holiday has given me the valuable opportunity to revisit some of my favourite places in Italy, and show them to my parents and aunt. But it hasn’t all been deja-vu; in fact, tomorrow we’re off to a place even I haven’t been yet. And I can’t wait.

The Cinque Terre is the Italian Riviera, and is a group of five towns, connected by Italy’s regional rail network. But this is not the most ideal way to see them. You can also take a small boat between each town, or hike between them on the neat walking trails. And it is on this route that we plan to see the five towns over the next four days.

Looking back, I can’t complain about anything we’ve done or said on this trip.

We haven’t lost anything or anyone important (bar a pair of prodigal underpants – that turned up somehow; pyjamas; a water taxi ticket; and some body spray).

We’ve stayed in a vast array of accommodation (convent, palazzo, caravan park, youth hostel, hotel, private home), all with different showerheads and toilet flushers.

We’ve eaten a variety of foods (Italian, Chinese, Turkish, Maccas), and our stomachs had to adjust. Sometimes they protested.

We’ve met friendly nuns, disgruntled railway workers, and colourful gypsies.

To this end, we've been understood and then completely MISunderstood.

To get around, we’ve walked, caught planes, trains, buses, the metro, boats, water taxis, normal taxis, a funicular, and bus coaches.

We’ve tried house wines, local aperitifs, Italian beers, and we’ve come to appreciate that ‘full breakfast included’ is a very fluid concept.

Our bodies and cameras are getting a mighty workout. This has been a holiday of sensory overloads by day, and exhaustion by night. And the next 4 days in the Cinque Terre promises more such experiences. So I say, BRING IT ON.