David's World Tour Begins... The purpose of this journal is to let you experience the world of travel as I have experienced it. I hope that I can educate you about the joys and pains of travel and encourage more people to start exploring!

I guess here I have to fill you in on the Rick Steves book as I had mentioned earlier. I dont know if youve seen his travel shows in the South, but in DC-MD, his shows frequented the travel programs. I used to watch him, as lame as he was, because at the time I was gaining my knowledge of traveling. Who would have thunk that he was a world-wide phenomenon! I found a 2007 Europe travel book of his in our hostel in Madrid and kinda sorta took it... BORROWED it! (I plan to leave it for someone else, but as Alan says.. It will be outdated by then!). In it he had travel itineraries and plans that we didnt have and it was wonderful! One place he mentioned was Cinque Terre (pronounced Chinka Terra) Italy. There were 5 costal towns linked together by several paths and a train station. Many didnt allow cars in. So we decided to check it out and I am glad we did. We stayed at a hostel that was waaaaaaaaay up in the mountains- in Biassa. It was funny because when we booked this hostel, we were told that there was only one bus that went from the hostel to the train station in La Spezia (next to Cinque Terre) and the last one was at 8:10pm. Luckily we were to arrive a bit before then. We were doing great with train travel on the trip so far- a bit tired for having to plan out ahead since several journies needed reservations. The train from Arles was a LONG one, but it was a very scenic one. It took us along the coast past Nice France, Monaco and Monte Carlo. You should have seen the people on the train that got off at Monte Carlo. haha. Oh, la la! The next stop was in Italy. Definitely a language shock. Ciao! Gratzi! Our train changed, going to La Spezia, and when we arrived at the station and walked to the correct platform, a train was pulling in. The sign said it was a different destination (Torino - winter olympics), but it was old info- departed at 16:27 and our train to La Spezia was at 16:40. So, we jumped on the train and found our reserved seats. Alan commented that he wasnt sure if it was our train or not, but I assured that it was and that the display was just not updated. In Italy many platform displays are not digital- they are the flip kind, so I just assumed it was broken. Can you tell where this is going? haha. So, the train like starts moving and like since I still dont have a watch, I ask Alan... so... what time is it? He glances at his watch and nervously says that the train is leaving a wee bit early than 16:40...more like 16:32. Ah, so what... a few min early. Maybe there wasnt anyone left on the platform. Well, I started to worry a bit- after all we needed to catch that bus! So, I walked down to where the conductor was sitting and asked him if we were on the train to La Spezia. He smiled and said.. NO. Torino. Opposite direction. I looked at him shocked and a bit miffed and said.. Nooo Tornio train departed at 16:27 and La Spezia was at 16:40 (as if he didnt know his train schedules). His only reply... it was late. And welcome to Italy! hahaha. Hopefully anyone can attest that the trains here are late. If they arent, then the platform that they arrive/depart on are not the right ones. It is funny. Now instead of relying on departure times as identities for what train you need (since many dont display the full voyage, only the end destination), now we have to ask before we board. Or luckily the stations sometimes announce in english what the deal is. So, we had to change at the next station, which was oh, about 45 min down the road and go back to our transfer station (Genova, IT) to catch our train to La Spezia. We ended up getting there with enough time to spare to catch the bus to Biassa. The bus that came was a short bus and I mean short. There were about 4 girls in front of us with their backpacks and us with ours and several other people on board. We climbed aboard, not knowing what to expect other than this hostel was 16 euros per person, per night for a 4 bed dorm. Why so cheap? We were about to find out. Bwa hahahahah! Ah, it isnt that bad. It was actually pretty cool, though the bus went up and around and up and around these winding and twisting turns, blowing this out of tune horn that sounded like something from a mexican la cooka racha song. It was good that the horn worked as it notified oncoming cars that a bus was coming up the tight winding road. We traveled for what seemed to be forever before reaching a tiny town on top of the mountain. It was funny as they had car dealership flag-streamers (those multi-colored pendant things) zig-zagging across the streets like some festival. The hostel was atop this mountain and thats why it was so cheap. haha. It was actually a 20 minute ride up and there were a total of 2 restaurants. It was beautiful to see the city of La Spezia below in the distant and to see the moon rise over the mountain ridge. The only drawback was the church bell that rang and rang and rang. Youd think that it would ring the appropriate time (maybe it was off for daylight savings), but it had a mind of its own. Sometimes it would chime the correct time and other times it would just chime and chime. haha. It was cool though, I would have to admit to hear it ring and somewhat know what time it was. I guess me, being without a watch, would find it more amusing than anyone else.

The hostel was nice as we met a nice Aussie girl named Natalie. Our first night there we went to the local pizza joint down the street (like I said- only 2 restaurants there). There was already a large table of backpackers there, enjoying their meals and conversation. As we finished our pizzas, one girl invited us over to hang out with the group. It was nice. There were actually a couple of Aussie girls there, but Natalie we liked the best. She had been traveling by herself and had her own agenda- to travel wherever and whenever she felt like it. haha. She had funny stories about traveling around and even leaving Australia and going on some long-assed journey from Australia to Dubai to Hong Kong to wherever and then down to Italy. She said she was traveling on a plane for over 3 days straight, but didnt care. At least she didnt have a Eurorail pass. haha.

Cinque Terra was wonderful. The first town was Riomaggorie and the houses clinging to the side of the cliff was so postcard-like. This is the Italy that I have seen and have wanted to see. The bus ride from the hostel to Riomaggorie was awsome. More windy roads, but this time by the cliffs near the sea. Once in Riomaggorie, we decided to walk to the next 4 towns. The walk was to take a good 5 hours to cover all towns. We started out and it was amazing. Walking along side the cliffs and the sea. The area was dotted with jagged rocks below where people would escape to and lay out or swim. Alan was wanting to swim badly and so in the next town over we found a secluded area down on the rocks where he happily dove in. Me, on the other hand, felt that it was too risky with the rocks and the surf- not to mention I am not to happy about dark water and the area around the rocks was pretty dark. The water is pretty clear, mind you, but it was deep. So of course I weighed my options of going in while Alan called me Chicken from the sea. What can I say? After about 20 minutes or so he decided to get out (since I wasnt coming in) and we proceeded on our way to the next town Corniglia. The hike to this town was a bit more challenging- more rocky and higher altitudes, but well worth it. The sights from these trails were amazing and unforgettable.