Covering Pisa, La Spezia, three towns in Cinque Terre, Levanto, and Genova. Part one can be found
here
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| With Pedi, giving Pisa a chance |
3:04 PM
21 November 2015
Vernazza
Pisa was a surprise. I was so sure I was going to find nothing
special about it. There’s a tower that’s leaning. So what? But childhood
memories are a powerful thing. I remember reading about it and seeing pictures
and wondering what it would be like to stand there and see it for myself. And
there I was, and there it was before
me: an architectural wonder that went wrong, which caused it to be celebrated
more than it should have been.
The town itself is charming and laidback. It was
unexpectedly enjoyable.
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| Walking the streets of Pisa |
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| More coffee |
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| Pedi insisted on taking this shot. Came out pretty well, methinks |
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| My joke was there was't anything special about this Piazza in Pisa. "Parang Liliw, Laguna lang," I said. |
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| Light rain started to fall while we were walking around |
I’m with Pedi on this leg of the trip. He’s an old friend
who’s been living and working in Europe for about nine years now. I gotta say,
I so appreciate him taking me around to see the sights, although a big part of
the reason why I'm in this part of the world in the first place is precisely because
there’s somebody to show me around. Traveling solo is fun sometimes (I’ve done
it on more than a few occasions), but having someone else there to talk to, walk
around and share these experiences with (not to mention take your picture), it’s
pretty cool, too. I think it helps that we get along so well, too.
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| The full complex at Pisa |
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| Chocolates overload |
We’re in this tiny ristorante in Vernazza, which is one of the towns of Cinque Terre. I’m having risotto ai funghi (mushrooms). Maybe it’s the fact that I’m in Italy, but it’s one of the best versions of risotto I've ever tasted.
5:38 PM
21 November 2015
Levanto train station
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| Outside the La Spezia train station |
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| Quick see-through of La Spezia |
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| Just outside the train station at Riomaggiore |
Pedi and I are sitting in a near-empty train station in the
town of Levanto. Delays wreaked havoc in our schedule, but strangely I’m quite
chill about it. He’s the one getting all stressed out. When a country’s
transport system goes haywire, there’s really not much you can do about it. But
overall, today has been a series of breathtaking moments, one after the other.
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| Riomaggiore. The stormy weather helped make things a bit more, er, dramatic |
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| The approach to Riomaggiore |
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| There I am admiring the view |
The plan was to see all five towns of Cinque Terre, but because of the train
delays, we ended up seeing just three, which is plenty. Riomaggiore’s colorful
houses are perched on a cliff overlooking a wild, restless sea. I’ve seen
countless coastlines and waves stubbornly slamming into rock or sandy beach,
but there was something poetic about the eternal dynamic between sea and land
in this corner of the world. The Mediterranean seemed to be hellbent claiming
the land for her own.
We had time to check out Vernazza and Monterosso al Mare.
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| Near the beach in Monterosso |
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| A street in Monterosso |
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| Rest stop in Monterosso |
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| Photo op in Vernazza |
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| Guy taking a selfie in Vernazza |
Afterwards we caught a train to Levanto, where we'll catch another train to Genova, and then on to Ventimiglia, which is our jump-off point to our ultimate destination: Nice, France.
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| A memorial to Christopher Columbus outside the Genova train station |
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| We had dinner in Eataly, where else? |
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| Genova is in the Liguria region, which is famous for its pesto sauce. This one was pretty good. |
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| Stomach full, all smiles |
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| Building in Genova |
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| I couldn't deny being exhausted. It was a looong day. |
To be continued...
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