Bonjour de la Suisse: Relaxing in the Italian & French Riviera!

Good church going girls at the Florence Duomo

At the hula bar (across from the Duomo)

Florence was a quick stop on the way from Rome to Cinque Terra, but we certainly made the most of it. It was even hotter here than in Rome! Most of the day we were inside museums and the cathedral (although we weren't dressed correctly, thankfully the Catholic Church provided us with blue smocks to cover our shoulders.). We split up for a couple hours while J was at the Uffizi museum and I walked around town.

I was so hot I decided to head to our meeting spot a little early. I was sitting there and this mime started following people around and making fun of oblivious pedestrians walking by. I'm usually not a big fan of mimes (I think they are a bit creepy), but this guy was hilarious! Good thing he finished his act before J walked up, she could have been his next victim!

Before dinner, we decide to hunt for Vivoli's, the most famous & best gelato in town. It certainly was! It was probably the best I have ever eaten, well worth the trouble! After dinner we seemed to find the most American bar in town, some hula bar in the shadow of the cathedral. But it was an early night, since we had an early train to catch in the morning.

After a long, hot train ride we were finally in Cinque Terra! I have wanted to come here for a long time. It is stunningly beautiful with picture postcard views of tiny, brightly colored villages dotted with fishing boats, hanging off cliffs over turquoise blue seas. Our first order of business (after checking into our beach-front hotel) was hitting the beach! This part of our journey was all about rest & relaxation (well, except for the 4 1/2 hour hike we would be taking the next morning). We had a lazy day, ate an exceptional dinner, and watched the locals play bacchi ball. This was also the day of the festival for the patron saint of Vernazza (the next town down), St. Margaret and we had a great view of the firework show!

Friday was the day of the big hike. You can walk from our town (Monterosso, the northernmost town) all the way down through all five villages. The seven mile hike is most difficult on the North end, so that is where we started. Of course in the first half hour I was stung by a bee! But it wasn't too bad and I pressed on. At lunch we met a nice Canadian gal who we saw on & off for the rest of the day. All of the villages we walked through were so charming. I loved every step of the way, even though it was starting to get scorching hot!

Almost 5 hours later we descended upon the last town. We were hot & tired and ready to hit the beach again. This beach was mostly made up of hot rocks (our beach up North was nice and sandy), but we didn't care, we just wanted to get into the cool, Mediterranean water before heading back to our village. We had to catch the boat, since the trains were on strike (just for the day, we were told the strike would be over by 5pm). While in line for boat tickets, we met a great couple from, where else... Redwood City! The guy is actually a history teacher at G's old high school! Small world!

The Redwood City locals were actually staying at the hotel two doors down from us! We ran into them a few more times that evening, but I was running around trying to get our train tickets printed (to no avail) and could only talk to them in passing in between my bouts of slight panic. We went to dinner in town and met up with the Canadian gal from earlier in the day and a Texan traveler she hooked up with. Both were great company and after we all headed down to the beach in front of our hotel for the big beach party.

Twice a month the town throws a huge beach party which rotates around the three beaches of the village. It was our luck that this time it was literally in front of our doorstep! It was great!! Fun music, good drinks and lots of friendly people. Unfortunately we never did find our Redwood City friends, but the music and dancing went on until well after 3am... when I turned in for the night.

The morning came all too soon and we were on the train to Nice, France. Since our tickets were not printed, we had a little trouble with the train conductor. But we never did get kicked off the train... something we were sure would happen at any stop. Then we got off at the wrong station to catch our connecting train. Thanks to a frantic cab ride and the fact that the train we were trying to catch was 10 minutes late leaving the station, we made it!! No joke, I never thought we would make it to France, but somehow we did!

And how did we celebrate? We went to Monaco and ogled over the vast amounts of wealth there. We only had half a day in France, so by the time we made it back to Nice it was time for dinner. I couldn't believe how fast our two weeks had been! In the morning J was flying back to the US and I was off to Geneva. I went through a little bit of friend withdrawals at the airport when we parted ways. We had such a great time!

Off the plane in Geneva, I'm in baggage claim and there was G & Chica! In baggage claim!! I wasn't even sure I would see them at the airport at all, but inside a secure area?!? Turns out Chica's bag had been "delayed" a couple of days and they were picking it up. (I'll let you read her story...) Chica was starting her four week European vacation, and our adventures were just about to begin!