Postcards from Retirement
 

We have just returned from a fabulous trip to Italy and France which many of you helped me plan. Thank you, thank you. Your tips, information, and insights all combined to make me really happy with all the decisions that we made. While we were traveling I wrote letters home to our family and friends every day and I thought, if you will allow me to adopt all of you into our family, I will post them to you as our trip report.
We are two Canadian seniors, Stew in his late 70’s, and moi, Jane, who is in my late 60’s We are fortunate enough to have traveled quite a bit around the world, but our continental European adventures have been mostly related to skiing. We were also sailors, in case you find us excessively preoccupied with harbours and boats. We live in the Great Lakes area of central Canada and flew out of and in to Toronto.
When we travel, we try to have a balance of activity representing both our interests. Fortunately, we like to do many of the same things. We are not extravagant travelers, but we will spend money for reasonable comfort and so that we don't miss out on special moments. We are still able to get around fairly well, and our fitness levels improved on this trip with all the walking and climbing.
And...thanks to many of you, we are absolute converts to carry on luggage only!!!!!

Day 1 & 2. Sept 4th and 5th

We were up early to finish off all our preparations. You know...the last minute things that you can only do as you are leaving. We each had quick appointments at 9:15, got home and actually left in the rain about an hour early. Our trip to Toronto was uneventful but there was lots of traffic. We put in our obligatory three hours waiting in Terminal One for our Air Canada flight to Frankfurt, worrying about the potential effect of the Lufthansa rotating strikes on our flight from Frankfurt to Venice. I had managed to move our seats towards the front of the plane to expedite our disembarkation efforts. This turned out to be a shrewd move since we had only 70 minutes to clear immigration, clear back through security and change terminals.
We actually landed about 10 minutes early and were able to grab our (carry on only) luggage and hit the ground running! I had printed off an airport map and instructions for changing terminals, and studied them as we flew along. The airport was easy to navigate and the signage was very good. We were about third in line for immigration and there was no customs inspection. It took about a minute each to scan and stamp our passports. We then started through a long line to clear back through security. If you had less than 30 minutes until your flight, there was an expedited line. We didn't qualify for that, but the security process was very efficient and we moved through much more quickly than in Toronto. Then we were off on what turned out to be about a one kilometer walk to get to terminal A. We arrived, panting, about 5 minutes before we boarded our next flight. Fortunately, we were unaffected by the complete work stoppage of the prior day.
Our flight was only about an hour and a half in duration. After enjoying (!) a dry muffin and a coffee we glimpsed the snow covered Alps and started our descent into Venice. We could only see industrial sites and oil storage areas. We landed in low cloud and light rain. Having already cleared into Schengen in Frankfurt, we just walked off the plane, bought our Alilaguna tickets for the water taxi trip into Venice. There were no signs that we could see so we went back inside to get better instructions to get to the boat. They told us to go out and turn right. When that didn't work we asked someone else and discovered that it should have been "left"! It must have got lost in the translation. We finally settled in on the boat for about an hour and half trip. It's not that far, but there are rigid, police patrolled speed limits for the water taxis. As best we could tell, our captain was the only one who took them seriously. Our first views of Venice were bit misty but captivating all the same. Entering the Grand Canal was magical and I'm convinced that there isn't a bad camera shot in the place! We made our way down the canal among all the diverse forms of transportation. It seems just like the 401 (a busy highway near Toronto) but with amazing scenery at every turn. Our stop was at the iconic Rialto Bridge.
We climbed out into masses of people everywhere, dragging our luggage and peering at our map. As an aside, if you aren't a convert to traveling light, Venice would certainly convince you! It was a bit of a challenge to find our B & B since there are no street names, but we arrived successfully and checked in.
Our room is fine, a good size with a closet and shelves, a safe, luggage storage, a queen size bed (well really two long singles pushed together but very comfy), and a small fridge. There is AC and a small bathroom (think of an airline bathroom with a shower!), but it is spotlessly clean and we are quite happy here. The TV is in Italian as you would expect, although we did see one Jay Leno rerun in English. I can't imagine that we'll have any time to watch TV in Venice! The owners of our B & B also run a restaurant which is reputed to be very good. I imagine we'll try it out.
We settled in and then went off to explore and to try to stay awake. The first order of business was lunch in a little square. We shared a small pizza and decided that we had earned a glass of wine for our travelling efforts! Since we were a little lacking in energy, we decided to take a Vaporetto trip down the length of the Grand Canal. We purchased our pass and managed to get seats outside on the bow, perfect for photography. We were out there for most of the trip until we got chased in by the rain. We went as far as San Marco and, as the rain had stopped, decided to walk home from there.
St. Mark's square is a feast for the eyes, even with some restoration going on. It was absolutely mobbed with the late day cruise ship passengers so we decided that we would explore it later in the day when the crowds tend to dissipate a little. We continued our adventure, turning here and there down little streets, not really knowing exactly where we were. Getting "lost" in Venice is one of the most highly recommended activities. We just continued along following the "per Rialto" signs, sparse as they are. One minute we would be on a high end shopping street and the next turn would see us in a neighborhood square (campo). We stopped for a shared gelato, one scoop of pistachio and one of coffee. I can see where this will be a downfall!
We arrived "home", very tired and decided that showers would perk us up. Stew managed to acquire a bottle of wine and a cork screw, so we were all set! We had a drink and set out for an early dinner. We ventured father into our neighborhood, Cannaregio, which was the Jewish ghetto, and found La Cavello where we dined outside in the square. Jane had grilled chicken and Stew enjoyed lasagna. We shared grilled veggies and a large salad. We wandered back home, almost too tired to move. My first impression of Venice is that it is just what I expected only so much better!
We tried valiantly to get on line, to no avail, and finally crashed at about 8pm. We slept really well until midnight, and both woke up and couldn't get back to sleep...thus the journal was started! It is now 2am, so we'll try again.........

Looking forward to more!

jane1144:

Postcards from Retirement pulled me in. Fabulous start. More please.

Sandy

Enjoying your report and looking forward to reading more about your trip
Would you mind sharing the info about your B&B ,name website etc. I may be in Venice next Spring for a few days and startng to get info.
May I make a suggestion, please use spaces between each paragraph, it makes it easier to read.
Thanks

Hi tdk320n.

We stayed in B & B Barababao in Cannaregio, about 5 minutes from Rialto Bridge. It was not fancy, but the location was great, it was clean and comfortable and the restaurant was excellent. The only down side was that the Wifi in the room was variable.

Thanks for the tip on the spaces...I'll try to remember!

Jane

Thanks denisea and SandyBrit...I'll post the next instalment tomorrow.

I'm really enjoying your report, looking forward to more.

Really enjoying your report, and looking forward to further installments! We chuckled at the vivid description of your small bathroom.

I love Venice and dream of going back, so i will look forward to visiting along with you!

Day 3 Sept 6th

We're in better shape today after some rest. We still aren't quite acclimatized to the time change, but at least we don't look like we should bleed to death from our eyes!

We got up around 7:30 to watch the fish mongers set up at the Rialto Market. The abundance of selection of fresh fish and sea food was amazing. Stew was so upset not to be buying and cooking! We were surprised to see horse meet for sale. You'd never get those ribs in your oven! There was also a lot of fresh produce so we bought some apples and a type of white grapes that is new to us...very sweet. We wandered back to our B & B for a breakfast of juice, yogurt, croissants and jam, and coffee, very strong coffee. That woke us up!

It was a beautiful, sunny day and we decided to walk to the Frari Church through the neighborhoods to our west. We browsed in shops along the way. There are beautiful woolen and silk clothes, linens, masks, and Murano glass. My favorites are the leather gloves but they are unlined and therefore too cold for our winters.

After a fruit smoothie break (kiwi, pineapple and lime), we did an audio tour of the church. When we were finished, we took the Vaporetto to San Giorgio for views back to Venice. We toured the church and wandered around checking out the sail boats in the marina...sigh! We caught another vaporetto and took the long way home, past three monstrous cruise ships. No wonder it's crowded.

We bought a panini for lunch and brought it home to have with some wine. After a short break and more sunscreen, we headed out on another walk to St. Mark's, arriving around 4pm. We got in the line to go in the Basilica and it moved along quite quickly. A couple of young girls in line with us were denied entry because of their short skirts and they were required to wrap themselves up in some sort of fabric that was supplied for a fee. It did my heart good because one of them had pushed in front of us in line!

After the tour we decided to take the Vaporetto home as we were tired. Well, you would have thought we were on the Tokyo subway! We had to wait for several boats before there was room for us to get squished on. We certainly noticed the cultural differences in inclination to push. It really was a super hot, miserable trip which ended up going on longer than walking would have been. Jane got grumpy! Just how good can shower feel?

Revived by our showers and a glass of wine, we decided to have dinner at the restaurant associated with our B & B, Barababao. It's not too fancy but I had read good reviews about it. Well, it was just excellent. We started with prosecco and homemade bread. Stew had a sea food platter which had squid and shrimp along with eggplant, red peppers, yellow peppers and zucchini. It was piping hot and very lightly fried...perfection. Jane ordered grilled monkfish with cherry tomatoes, olives and capers...also excellent. It was very reasonably priced and we got a ten per cent discount because we are guests. This could well be the highlight meal of the trip.

It is now about nine o'clock and we are trying to stay awake at least until ten.

Ciao from Venice!

Sorry about the spelling error. It should have said "meat"!!

Can't wait for the next installment.

How did you find AC service from TO to Frankfurt?

AC was fine. We were flying on points. Meals were typical airline food, drinks included...the usual.

Day 4. Sept 7th

I still haven't mastered my technology. I ended up writing yesterday's note 4 times and managed to lose it three times...aarrgghh! I am writing it in iPad Notes but, although it saves it without any action on my part, I don't really understand where it goes. I am used to being able to find files in "my computer" on a pc. Although my notes seem to open up when I go back to the iPad notes, if I do something to lose one of them, I can't seem to retrieve it and I have no idea what I did. The programme also highlights certain things automatically, such as times, and I can't overcome that feature. It sometimes anticipates what you are typing, like texting on a phone, and it drives me crazy. I clearly should have brought a small child with me!

Our other challenge is our WiFi connection. There is free WiFi all over Venice, but it is certainly not high speed. We have experienced times when things will not download or when we cannot send stuff for several hours. It seems to happen most in the evenings. Perhaps it is affected by volume. On the other hand, I am able to download my pictures each day to the iPad to back them up, and my camera is really getting a workout. I sure am glad that we are past the film stage and living in a digital age. I would have had to mortgage the house to process all the pictures I have taken.

Today was forecast to be sunny and even hotter. Fortuitously, we had planned to venture out to the islands in Venice's lagoon. We were hoping for some sea breeze and fewer people and that turned out to be the case. After breakfast, we took the vaporetto out to Cimiterio. Yup, the cemetery! It occupies most of the island and is very interesting. It also keeps the plastic flower industry alive and well. It is a peaceful and shady place and, among others, are the graves of Igor Stravinsky and Ezra Pound.

We stayed there for a short time and moved on to Murano where they make the Venetian glass. We passed on the tour of the glass factory because it was so hot and we have certainly watched glass blowing in the past. We bought a couple of souvenirs and walked around the island a bit. It seems a little sterile after Venice. The streets are wider and it is more residential.

Next we went out to Burano, a lovely island with very brightly painted houses. We had a panini (brie and prosciutto) for lunch. We checked out all the little shops selling glass, linens, masks and souvenirs. We were getting tired and so we came back to San Marco. We walked home on some of the back lanes which are not crowded and just delightful. Since we had certainly walked enough to earn it, we indulged in gelato. This time we had a scoop of pistachio and one of peach....very yummy!

After a brief break at home, we walked down Strada Nova to the train Station. Strada Nova is a much wider street than any other we have encountered in Venice. It tracks along about a block in from the Grand Canal. Even though it was crowded, it was easier navigating. There are vendors selling just about anything you want, and there are all types of restaurants as well. We scoped out the train station and have a pretty good idea what we will be doing tomorrow when we catch our train to Rome. We just caught the Vaporetto home as we were too tired to walk anymore.

Next on the agenda was showers (the highlight of the day) and a glass of wine....another highlight! We started to get organized for our trip to Rome tomorrow.

We had enjoyed our dinner last evening so much we decided to go back to the same place tonight and it certainly did not disappoint. Stew had scallops in a tomato sauce with fresh basil and Jane had squid ink pasta with pieces of squid. Once again, we had a wonderful meal.

After dinner we took the Vaporetto back to San Marco to see it at night. It was not as lit up as I would have expected but still an interesting experience. The orchestras were playing so we listened for a while. Finally, we took a last look around and caught the vaporetto home. Being on the water at night is certainly scary. Gondolas are very poorly lit and there are still a lot of different vessels milling about. There are enough brighter lights that your night vision is not that acute. Even as experienced night sailors, we both agreed that we wouldn't be piloting any type of vessel here at night.
We got home around ten and packed up our stuff to leave tomorrow morning. Next stop.....Rome. Hail Caesar!

I am really loving your writing style and your reports. Thank you for posting . . . and carry on.

Sandy (in Denton)

Thanks for the hotel information.
I am really enjoying your report and appreciated the airport info, since I may be flying into Venice from New York,
Taking notes and looking forward to the rest of what sounds like a great trip

Day 5 Sept 8th

We were up around 7:00 and had our last breakfast at our little B & B. After checking out, we made our way by Vaporetto to the St. Lucia Train Station. We were able board our train about 30 minutes early which gives one a great luggage storage advantage. People who boarded later were faced with piling huge suitcases one on top of the other. When the train lurched the suitcases came tumbling down and everyone was scrambling to retrieve their stuff.
We traversed very flat farmland at the beginning of the trip, mainly corn, wheat and vineyards. Eventually we got into the mountains and most of that part of the trip was through tunnels. After Florence, our seats were facing backwards. Nothing that a little Gravol couldn't fix. As we approached the outskirts of Rome we were struck with the amount of graffiti. There is no surface that is not painted. We had been alarmed seeing graffiti on the Rialto Bridge in Venice, but the way into Rome is just covered. Even the subway cars are completely painted over.
We arrived in Roma Termini, after a 4.5 hr. trip, and emerged into crowds of people of every color and language. After heading in the wrong direction at first, we arrived at our hotel and checked in. This is a small boutique hotel, one of several in the same old building. The ceiling in our room must be 20 feet high. Our window is roughly 5 x 12, has both interior and exterior shutters and elaborate maroon draperies. We have a good size room with a queen bed and a bigger bath than at the last place.
Once we settled in and freshened up, we decided to do a guide book recommended walk from Campo de' Fiori to the Spanish Steps. We managed to take Bus 64 (the notorious pick pocket bus) without incident. As an aside, Stew was wearing his Tilley pants which have many secret, zippered pockets. They work so well, that even he can't get at his money half the time! When we arrived at Campo de' Fiori, the market was finished (which I expected), but the place was just covered in trash. We were then just swept up the crowd as we walked to Piazza Navona. This is famous for the church of St. Agnes and the Bernini fountains. We stopped for dinner here and just watched the people go by. The guide book did call it “watching Italy's human river”!
From there we went by the Pantheon but did not go in as we will be going there again later. Next stop was the Trevi fountain where I had planned to toss a coin over my shoulder. Well, you couldn't get anywhere near it. I barely saw it. You would have to be major league pitcher to get your coin to the water. Did I mention the crowds? We finished our walk at the Spanish Steps, but, again, you couldn't get near them. By this time I was feeling sick and we had had enough. We managed to get home on the subway, the Metro.
We had expected Rome to be crowded, dirty, loud, and hot. It is actually CROWDED, DIRTY, LOUD, and HOT! Don’t get me wrong, I am thrilled to be in Rome. Showers felt extra good tonight

Day 6 Sept 9th

We felt much better after a night's rest. After breakfast at the hotel, we set out on the Metro for Ostia Antica, an ancient Roman ruin. Ostia was really Rome's port city, where the Tiber River enters the sea. The first settlement is thought to have started in the 7th century BC and survived until approximately 500 AD.
We spent most of the day poking about in the ruins and watched some of the archaeological dig going on. It was beautiful, sunny day with a breeze coming in from the ocean. Although there were quite a few tourists here, it did not feel crowded.
We really enjoyed our trip to Ostia. Originally we had thought of going to Pompeii but the logistics of the trip were going to make for a long day. Many think that the Ostia ruins are the better of the two.
We finally left in mid afternoon and made our way back to out hotel, and it was then that we had our first injury with actual blood! Stew was opening a bottle of wine with our totally inadequate cork screw (purchased in Venice) which broke while he was using it. He ended up with a significant laceration which is right on his knuckle. I always travel with a few band aids but this is going to keep opening up every time he bends his finger. Back to the drug store!
Once he was all disinfected and bandaged up, we set out to explore our neighborhood. The first stop was to buy a better cork screw. You can certainly tell where our priorities lie. We poked around in some other stores and decided on an early dinner of veal scallopini limone and a salad which was a delicious. Back to the room for a little Italian TV.

Sorry about Stew's knuckle. Hope that is the only mishap.

We loved Ostia Antica, we were there on a very, very hot day, so we spent a lot of time sitting whenever we could find a spot!

Day 7 Monday, Sept 10th

We got up in good time and had our breakfast at the hotel. When we were leaving, our little street, so quiet yesterday, had transformed into a market. I have no idea if that is just on Mondays or every day. They were selling mostly clothes, bags, and scarves but there was a green grocer as well.
Our decision to get up and get going early paid off. Today would be another day of ancient ruins. Fitting, since we feel like ruined ancients ourselves. We took the Metro to the Colosseum and arrived, before it opened, to a very small line. We have Roma Passes that would have allowed us to skip the line to enter, but we were expecting the very long security line that I had read about. In reality there was no security line and we walked right in. We followed an audio guide that I had downloaded for free before we left. We were able to stop often to rest in the shade while we listened to the tour. I find it just astounding that these early folks had such amazing engineering skills. It didn't take too much imagination to see the gladiators slaying the lions and each other.

We finally tore ourselves away from the Colosseum and crossed to the Palantine Hill and the Roman Forum. We walked through the site for a couple of hours, taking in the amazing ruins. It was getting warmer as the day progressed and there was less shade. When we needed a break, we just found a piece of ancient sculpture lying on the ground in a shady spot and sat down.

Eventually, we walked past the Capitoline Hill and then the huge white monument to Victor Emmanuel. We made our way through the small "pedestrian friendly" streets to the Pantheon. “Pedestrian friendly” seems to mean fewer cars but more motor bikes. Driving in Rome would certainly require intestinal fortitude, but walking is even more terrifying. The motor bikes go at least twice the speed limit (maybe twice the speed of sound!), and basically don't stop for much of anything.

The Pantheon was even more than I had imagined. We worked our way around the interior. Every few minutes, a voice would ask for silence in several languages. Things would subside for a minute or two. Again, the architecture was amazing. The only light comes in through a 30 foot oculus or opening in the centre of the roof.

By now we were getting too hot and tired to walk all the way back to the Colosseo Metro station. We figured out what bus we needed and waited for it to arrive. After about 10 minutes it came along. Well, it was just packed. I had nothing to hold on to except the waist of Stew's pants while he was holding a bar on the ceiling. At times, I had only one foot touching the floor. An older gentleman kept saying "Scusi, Scusi" to me but there was nowhere for either of us to go. At one point the bus lurched to the left and stopped suddenly leaving me lying on the floor on top of another woman with one more person on top of me. It took a minute to get disentangled and upright with all of us laughing. Of course, I couldn't see outside at any point so the motion was getting to me as well. Finally, we got off at the next stop. I didn't care where we were, I just wanted off. It turned out that we were not that far from the subway so we walked the rest of the way.

We arrived home a little earlier than scheduled so we had showers and took our laundry to the laundromat. It turns out that they take it and do it for you which was not what I was expecting. Two loads cost E17! That's OK, it freed us up to go for gelato...one scoop mixed berry and one of coconut. So yummy! We picked up our laundry, all beautifully folded, and came back to our room for a glass of wine.

Eventually, we went out for another great dinner...seafood fettuccine for Stew and Osso buco for Jane. Then it was home to charge up all our technology for another day.

Really enjoying your report.
Please can you tell us the name of the hotel you stayed at in Rome?

This is a great read! Thanks for sharing. I am looking forward to more!

Our hotel in Rome was Hotel Domus Praetoria. It was about a 6 minute walk from the train station. I know that this area isn't as popular as some others, but it worked for us as we were traveling by train. I felt safe in the neighbourhood and there were quite a few reasonable restaurants in the area. The hotel staff were very helpful, there was an elevator and a pretty good breakfast.

Day 8 Tuesday, Sept 11th

Our day to get religion! Yes, we were off to the Vatican for tours of St. Peter's and the Vatican Museum. We went on the subway to save time and it was very crowded until we had gone about 3 stops. Then you could breathe. It was about a 10 minute walk from the stop to St. Peter's Square. We arrived about 8:30 and headed right into the Basilica because there wasn't much of a line yet. We had airport type security and then the apparel police. One has to have his/her shoulders to the elbow and legs to below the knees covered or admission is denied. We wound our way up the steps and into the Basilica itself. I wasn't completely prepared for the scale of the place. It is just massive.

Immediately inside is the Pieta which is beautiful, however we were kept back about 30 feet. I'm not sure how my picture tuned out with a zoom and no flash. I probably didn't hold my camera steadily enough...we'll see. We basically worked our way around in a counter clockwise direction, following a guide book. I was surprised to encounter Pope John the XXIII in a glass coffin.

Most everything in the Basilica was a feast for the eyes. There were several masses going on, including one with a choir. The main altar, of course, is the centrepiece!!) My personal favourite thing of all was the dove window beyond the main altar. It emits a beautiful golden light. The statues are each one better than the last.There was just so much to see and it was especially amazing to look up at the ceilings and of course, at the dome itself.

We left the main part of the church, and went through another door to arrange to go up into the Dome. It costs E 5 to climb and E 7 for the elevator. No contest there! The elevator gets you to the first level and you actually get off and walk out on to the roof of the Basilica and then climb a flight of stairs to go inside the Dome. You get an awesome view down into the Basilica but it is obstructed by serious mesh fencing. You can, however, get your camera lens through the mesh to facilitate picture taking. If you are much younger, you can climb to the next level and ultimately stand outside near the top. The view of Rome must be amazing from up there...maybe next time!

We came back out onto the roof when we left the Dome. There are very good washrooms up there as well as a snack bar and a souvenir shop. We got two really cold glasses of water for 1 euro. We took the elevator back down and went out into the square.

Temperature-wise, it was like the desert, but we were able to stay in the shade most of the time. Getting all the way back and looking across the square was awesome as well. I have seen TV pictures when the square is full of people and I can't imagine what that would be like.

We had reserved tickets for the Vatican Museum at 11:30. We were a bit early but we decided to walk around to the entrance to get the lay of the land. Our reservation allowed us to skip the line and they let us in early.

Off we went, following our guide book. It was very hot and got progressively hotter and more crowded. One is there to see some of the most amazing art in the world, but you simply couldn't get near it. You are more or less swept along in the river of people, trying to take a few pictures along the way. When we got to the tapestry room, it was air conditioned. The down side was that just about everybody stopped there to cool off.

After another hour or so, we made our way into the Sistine Chapel where no photographs are allowed. It was amazing how many people paid no attention to the rule, nor to the security staff who were trying to enforce it. There were so many people that we couldn't really follow the guidebook or look up. You needed to be able to sit down to see the ceiling but there was no room. We appreciated what we saw, but waited until we got home to listen to the guide and follow along with the pictures in the book.

After the crush in the Sistine Chapel, we were more than ready for a break. We ended up eating in the museum and had the best pizza of our whole trip. The Pope also had the best washrooms!
When we emerged from the Museum, we bought a bottle of water AND it was FROZEN! Today is the first time we have had really cold beverages on the whole trip and it was wonderful. We walked back past St. Peter's Square which was, by now, quite full. Watching the people is interesting. The crowd certainly represented most races, and, I suppose, many religions. We saw Muslims alongside Nuns. We saw Nuns with cell phones! There is no reason that they shouldn’t have cell phones, but they seem a long way from the nuns in black robes of my childhood. I guess, when we see nuns at home now, we just don't recognize them. Most of these black or gray robed, techno savy Nuns seemed to be African or Asian.

We carried on and walked along the Tiber River for a while in the shade. It was a nice change of pace. We happened to find a really good gelato shop and had vanilla and mandarin chocolate with chunks of candied orange in it. Best one yet.

We finally found our bus back to Termini and, since we were in the train station, we checked out where our train will leave from tomorrow. We made our way home and listened to our audio guides that we couldn't use in the crowds. Then showers and a glass of wine...what could be finer?

We had our last dinner in Rome where we ate two nights ago, a little trattoria around the corner. Chicken for Jane and steak for Stew. The dinners also came with potatoes and lovely fresh green salads.

We came back home to pack up for our trip tomorrow. We are off to the Cinque Terre and are staying in the little town of Manarola. I think it will be a pleasant change from the big city.......

What a great trip report! You have made me laugh out loud.:) i am reading this aloud to my family. We are going in May 2013 and I recording some of your information. Thanks!

Thanks willowjane. I hope you have as great a trip as we did. Even though I only asked a few direct questions,I got a lot of help from this board just from reading it regularly. The planning of the trip, for me, is almost as much fun as going!

Day 9 Wednesday, Sept. 12th

We were up early, awakened by voices in the hall. That is the first time we have heard noise of any kind in this little hotel. We had our usual breakfast downstairs and watched the news. The morning TV news is quite different here. One sees an actual newspaper with highlights in yellow. The newsreader reads it to you. Sometimes a finger points what is being read, kind of like kindergarden. Every so often a hand turns the page or substitutes another newspaper. There is little visual coverage of events. Since we can understand next to nothing, we have been checking CBC and CNN on line each day.

We were off to Termini to catch our train for La Spezia Centrale. There was a brass band, heavy on the percussion, playing to see us off. They must have really wanted us to leave. We're not sure exactly what was going on, but there were TV cameras as well.

Our train was to be 10 minutes late leaving and they changed the platform at the last minute. The train employee gave us the wrong info and then a youngish woman looked at our tickets and took us to the right spot, right to our seats and stowed our luggage. We realized that she obviously does this for money (E 6). It's a pretty good gig when you think about it. If she can settle one customer every 10 minutes at E 6 each, she makes a decent hourly rate.

Our train ride was uneventful and we traveled along the coast. We could see the ocean a lot of the time. We had bought sandwiches in the station for our lunch. Note to self...don't do that again! We arrived about 20 minutes late, but we had a seat mate going to the same place and he pointed us in the right direction. We bought our tickets for Manarola for the princely sum of E2 each. This was the type of commuter ticket that you must validate at a machine. We were scheduled to make one more train change. We went to the track and then realized we could get a through train with no changes if we waited 10 more minutes. When we got to the new platform, it didn't have a validating machine. We thought we just didn't have time to go down the stairs, under the tracks, up the stairs to the machine and then reverse, so we didn't. Long story short, the conductor noticed that we didn't have a validation stamp and fined us E5 each. The fine is actually E50 each so we got a really great deal!!!! (says she, tongue in cheek).

By the time that transaction was completed we were at our stop, Manarola. This is a beautiful, little town, built up the side of a mountain, right down to the sea. It is cloudy and windy today so the water is really rough. The temperature is about the same as Rome, but the sea breeze (well wind) makes it seem much cooler. Our room is on the 3rd floor (remember that the entrance is on ground floor, not first floor! It's bit of a hike.) In fact, the whole town is either up or down. One longs for some mountain goat genes.

Our room looks down over the sea and we can hear the waves crashing. We are getting a lovely breeze and appreciating the fresh air after four and half days breathing car exhaust in Rome. The room is small with a queen bed, wardrobe, tiny desk and chair and a reasonable bath. There is a TV and air conditioning which I don't think we will have to use, and it is spotlessly clean. Believe it or not, we can get CNN International in English on our TV. This is the first actual English station we have encountered in Italy and it is in the smallest little coastal town! It is also the best WiFi we have had.

Manarola is the second of the five towns (five lands...Cinque Terre). There are stunning views at every turn. It was raining before we got here today, but tomorrow is supposed to be sunny. We will get a pass and move between towns by train or boat if it is calm enough.

We explored bit before dinner and just happened to find....a wine store! After a drink in our room we headed out for dinner. Our dinner was wonderful, tied for first place with Venice. Stew ordered grilled squid which came on a lovely bed of the freshest greens. Jane had homemade pasta with basil pesto (a local specialty). We shared, so we each got some of everything. It was also one of the most inexpensive meals were have had.

We walked around a bit more after dinner. The wind had picked up and the waves were really crashing in. We actually needed jackets if we were going to stay out. We came home at dark and settled in. We are looking forward to a day of exploring tomorrow.

Day 10 Thursday, September 13th

We got off to a leisurely start and went out for an "English Breakfast". We had scrambled eggs, bacon, toast and coffee. We actually paid about half of what our hotel would have charged for a continental breakfast.

The day was sunny, but cool, and, if you can believe it, we had to start out in our fleeces! We bought our Cinque Terre passes which gave us access to the hiking trails and the unlimited use of the trains to go between the towns if you aren't hiking. We actually did an easy 20 minute hike back to the first town, Riomaggiore. What a delight! This town is a little bigger than ours and sells more produce and goods of all kinds. It seems to be the place where the locals come to shop. Once again, it is steeply set on the side of the mountain and winds down to a pretty harbor. The streets are lined with local boats, about 8 feet long which seem idle at the moment, but which contribute the general bright colors of the town. The houses in all the towns are painted with yellow, peach, rose and orange, with a few darker maroons tossed in. Most buildings are 4 to 5 stories tall and have balconies over-flowing with flowers. Laundry is hanging from lines just outside the windows. It is, as the sign says, "la Dolce Vita".

We took the train back to Manarola, a five minute trip, along with several hundred cruise ship tour participants from one of the Norwegian ships. Each group has a leader at the front holding a sign up and a "minder" bringing up the rear to herd the stragglers. I have no idea how they can keep everyone together when the train only stops for about a minute.

We stopped off at our hotel, dumped our fleeces, and got sunscreen, hats, and sunglasses. Then we were off to the 5th town, Monterosso. This town has a completely different feel. It is the only town with much of a beach and everything is oriented to sun bathing and swimming. The beach is covered with lounge chairs and bright orange umbrellas to rent. There are life guards to keep you safe. It looks like a holiday place and less like an "ordinary" working person's town. We stopped for water and enjoyed watching the world go by for a while.

It was pushing 1:00 pm when we caught the train for Vernazza. This was the town that experienced the worst damage in the flood and mudslide of last October. There was a severe downpour of rain, with which the towns just couldn't cope. Vernazza ended up with about twelve feet of mud right throughout the town and filling the charming little harbor. Three people perished and almost every single business was affected. It is absolutely amazing how much they have recovered. There is still painting and construction going on, but they are basically back in business.

The town is bustling with souvenir shops, art galleries, restaurants and my personal favorite, gelaterias! We decided to have lunch at the Burgus Bar right at the harbor, and shared a foccacia with ham and cheese, washed down with some cold birra. There was a clarinetist playing "What a Wonderful World" and other familiar songs. What could be finer? We eventually tore ourselves away and toured a little church before making our way back to catch the train for the last town, Corniglia.

When we emerged from the train tunnel into the station, we noticed people piling on to a small, green bus. There was at least one more full load waiting and pushing, so we thought we'd walk. We could see some stairs but had no idea that, once you start climbing, they turn into a switchback of flights...probably 40-50 actual flights. Eeekkk! BUT, WE DID IT!! My legs are still feeling like rubber and I imagine I will pay a terrible price for that adventure by tomorrow.
The hard part was that this little town had the least payback for the effort required. What was unique,however, was being at this elevation and seeing the terraced vineyards. It was a completely different experience than being in the sea based towns. We stopped for more water and voila, the bus arrived, empty. Yahoo. We were able to ride back to the station, thereby saving what was left of our knees.

We came back to "our" town, Manarola. We had certainly earned a gelato which we enjoyed down at the harbor. We went for dinner around 7:00. We shared some pasta and a fresh tuna steak, and enjoyed some conversation with fellow tourists from California who were seated next to us. The evening was beautiful, so much calmer than last evening. There was a little chill in the evening air.

Our Cinque Terre visit has been amazing. The other visitors range from cruise ship day trippers to committed hikers, mostly German women with sturdy legs and serious hiking boots, and pretty much everything in between. It is definitely a younger crowd than we saw in Rome. We will be sorry to leave, but Nice is calling tomorrow.

This is such fun! I'm right there with you. Carry on.... CJ

Loved hearing about the cinque Terre. My sister,her husband and I spent a week in Vernazza and loved it. I am so glad to hear that Vernazza is up and running after the flood last year. We have such happy memories of Vernazza and the other towns as well.

Day 11. Friday, Sept. 14 th

W got up and checked out of our nice little hotel. We got some lunch supplies at the restaurant on the way out and took the train from Manarola to La Spezia Centrale, about a twenty minute trip. We were early for our train so we had breakfast at McDonald's. Now before you say anything, it was the ONLY option.

We took a one hour trip to Genoa. The train was running a bit late. The next leg was to the Italian border and we were later still. It turned out that there had been some sort of train/person collision so things backed up. The result was that we missed our last train. There was another a half hour later so we thought we would be fine. The problem was that this next train was then dealing with twice the number of people and was just packed. We happened to be sitting with a young woman who spoke both Italian and English and who was going to the same stop, Nice Ville. It's always nice when someone validates your thoughts on where you are! All in all we were about an hour late getting into Nice, but walked to our hotel with no further problems.

This is more like a chain hotel and we have TV channels in about 5 languages. The room is quite spacious and more modern feeling. We are within two blocks of the Promenade des Anglais along the shore of the Mediterranean. This is also the area of "Old Nice" where we went for dinner. Our meal was fine but nothing special. We stopped at a wine store on the way home so we are set for tomorrow.

It seems a little strange to be in France. I can definitely understand a little more of the language....and I mean "little"!! I at least can ask questions. Italy was slightly harder work, since neither of us has any idea about Italian. We did notice that many words were related to their French counterparts so you could get an educated guess about the signs. Everywhere we went it seemed that someone could speak English.

I don't like sweeping generalizations, but we noticed that Italian children seem to be indulged more than their North American counterparts. There was a lot of whining and outright tantrums that went uncorrected and actually tolerated by the parents. The other thing we were sensitive to was the increased amount of smoking, especially among young women. It was very common to see women walking down the street smoking. Perhaps I am aware of it because it is something that I don't see any more at home. The cigarettes are filtered but are longer and slimmer than ours. The tobacco is different as well. It smells, well how shall I say this? It smells like something previously enjoyed by a camel!!!

We are back in our room now and ready to have an early night.

Jane,

I've enjoyed your trip report immensely, as you have visited some of the places we've been, and your experiences and comments have helped us relive our own experiences.

However, I would take exception to your observation about Italian children being overindulged more than North American children. That might be true for Canada, but as an uncle, grandfather, and observer of friends' grandchildren, I can tell you that it certainly is not true for kids in the U.S.

Super report. Can't wait to read about Nice.

Hub and I were going to set up a lemonade stand on some of the Cinque Terre walks!

Please keep it coming!

Hi Tom18...maybe my comment is just me wishing for the good old days!

Day 12. Saturday, Sept. 15th

We slept in a little today which was a treat. We had breakfast at our hotel and found that they also give you a packed lunch to take with you. They had a choice of sandwich, on reasonable bread, a bottle of water and a package of pre-sliced apple.

We went to the info desk and found the bus for Monaco and off we went. The trip took about a half hour and was really scenic. We got off at the info place in Monaco. We got a map and an idea of where we wanted to go. We had a short walk through the park to the Monte Carlo Casino. It is an amazing building and we got some pictures, but did not pay the 10E each to go in, where you can't take pictures anyway. Instead, we paid 11 E for one American coffee and one cafe au lait!! Stew had been wondering earlier how they made their money, now he knows. Oh well, it was worth it for the ambiance.

We then walked down the hill to the yacht basin where they were setting up for the Monaco Yacht Show which starts on the 19th. We were able to see a lot of the monstrous vessels up close. Stew has serious yacht envy! We spent an hour or so watching the yachts come in, and had our lunch in the shade. We struck by how clear and blue the water is. We could see bottom easily in about twenty feet of water in the harbor...lots of little fish too. Usually marinas are a bit murky.

Eventually we started the big climb up to the Palace. It wasn't too bad a walk and in the shade all the way. The gardens are beautiful and there were wonderful views back over the harbour. Prince Albert had some pretty good public washrooms, but not as good as the Pope's. We wondered around the little town and watched the guards patrolling in front of the palace. We could have been there for the changing of the guard, but we were enjoying the yachts too much! We stopped to have our apple slices in the shade. Finally we worked our way back down the hill to catch our bus home.

When we got home we walked down along the Promenade Des Anglais for a bit. It was quite warm and there were lots of swimmers. They are setting up for the Nice Triathalon which is being held tomorrow, so we were climbing over equipment etc. I imagine it will be a zoo there tomorrow. We stopped for gelato to share and walked home by all the expensive stores. My fav is Cartier!

After showers and cocktails we headed out to dinner in Vieux Nice. Tonight we shared a four cheese bruschetta (more like a pizza!) and a Salade Nicoise. Very yummy, but way too much dinner. We went for a walk along the Promenade at sunset and it was just beautiful, with the wonderful sea air.

On the way home we went by several performing groups, everything from acrobats to a quartet. Well two violins and two accordions playing Pachelbel Cannon does not an orchestra make, but it adds to the ambiance.

We have two BBC English channels in our room but we seem to be watching some sort of Dancing With The Stars. News casts are sparse so I'll check the CBC on line.

Day 13. Sunday, Sept 16 th

We woke up a little earlier today and had our breakfast at the hotel. It was another brilliantly sunny day. We went out to find the bus for Antibes/Cannes at its usual stop. The problem was that they had changed the stop because of traffic detours for the Nice Triathalon. We eventually figured it out and were off to Cannes. Although it is a little farther away than Monaco, it takes much longer to get there as there are more stops for the bus.

We finally got to Cannes around 11:00. We found ourselves in the old port and guess what.....another yacht show! This one was actively going on so you couldn't see anything unless you paid the entry. Instead, we walked around the area, had a coffee and eventually had our (box) lunch. The beach was a bee hive of activity with brightly colored sun umbrellas everywhere. We could see many boats anchored in the harbor. We spent some time in the park watching the families enjoying their Sunday afternoon.

We caught the bus and came back as far as the airport. Our original plan was to stop in Antibes, but we were a little short of time. At the airport we picked up our rental car, a Fiat. It's very tiny, which is a good thing with the narrow roads. We headed back into Nice which was a bit of a challenge because of all the route changes and detours. Nice is full of one way streets, so if you miss something, you must go around multiple blocks. The motor bikes pass you on both the right and the left and never wait their turn in traffic. It is quite nerve racking to say the least. No one but me signaled any turns. It's sort of like driving in Los Angeles where signaling is a sign of weakness! After a few turns around several blocks, we found our 24 hour underground parking garage. Now if we can just find it again tomorrow.......

We got back to the hotel in time for showers and wine, and then went out for our last dinner in Nice. It was lovely, a squid salad and Nicoise beef stew which we shared. Stew is downstairs checking out tonight so we can get going in good time tomorrow, hopefully before rush hour.

We will be in a small village tomorrow night and I don't really expect much in the way of Internet access. We may not talk to you again for a day or two.

TDudette, I'll be your first customer at your lemonade stand!

You were brave to drive in a city. Just think of it as a warm up for Sicily where it's even more frenzied, in my opinion.

Would you mind sharing where you stayed in Nice? Did you like it, was it well located, etc?

We stayed in Hotel Crillon which was within walking distance from the train station and about 50 feet from the tram line. It took us about 10 minutes to walk to the ocean. The breakfast had good selection and the box lunch, while nothing special, was a nice unexpected add on. It was on a fairly busy street, but we were not bothered by any noise.