18 Sept

With an early rise, I got a ride to the train station. Once in Firenze, it was a mad dash. If youre ever in a rush to get train tix at a major Italian stazione, fuhgeddaboudit. The line up was at least 2 hours long. Luckily there was a much shorter line for the automatic dispensers. I joined in the tourist crowd of all stripes to help decipher it for the line of travellers ahead of me. Dropped my extra bag and managed to make my train to Levanto in good time. Phewwww, what insanity!

Levanto, my first taste of the Italian Riviera. Que belleza! Now I get what all the fuss is about. Layers upon layers of mountain coves disappearing in the distant mist, who knows what gems their secret beaches will reveal. The blue sea stretching out as far as the eye can see and colourful fishing villages hugging the rugged cliffs. Life here seems to have remained more or less unaltered since medieval times when the "sentieri" were used by villagers as escape routes when under attack.

Now the Cinque Terre - literally the 5 Lands - attracts all manner of tourists but many like me who wish to hike the ancient trails. These trails arent for the weak of heart. The terrain is technically challenging, there are no guard rails and the roller coaster climbs and descents will give your ticker a run for its money. Are the vistas worth the effort? Can Italians make decent pasta??!

Hiked a couple of hours to a lookout with a sensational panorama overlooking Monterosso. After my rainy hike, the skies were clearing up. This was where I wanted to lay down my hat for the night and mow down on the uber-awesome eggplant parmeggiano that Id hauled all the way from Camucia! Wanted to awaken to the sound of Monterossos church bells and view the sensational sight of the town from high above.