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This journey is finally coming to an end. Stay in Milan for one
evening, then make my way to the airport in the morning the next day.
Last visit in Milan was about 18 month ago, so no sightseeing
necessary and the only thing to do is just shopping! Expected lots of
big sale, but probably too late. In the end, I only bought a few
pieces of clothes and lots of Italian canned food from the
supermarket. It's not a bad way to end a 2.5 weeks vacation, eh?!
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Easy day after the big hike yesterday. Leisurely stroll in Manarola.
This may be a better town to stay if you want to avoid the infinite
stairs that you find in Riomaggiore. But it gets really quiet after
7pm (summer time), not so convenient for daily supply shopping and the
train doesn't stop here as frequent as Riomaggiore and Monterosso al
Mare.
The Cinque Terre Card allows free train rides to Levanto, so I decided
to have a look. Unlike the 5 villages, the beach/waterfront is about
15 minutes walk from the train station. I guess this place is a good
alternative if you are stuck with a car. Nothing much here really
grabs me (had a gelato though), so I caught the next train back to
Cinque Terre.
Vernazza has a grey sand beach with cloudy water. Not wanting sand in
my clothes and bag, I decided to lie on the rocks (like lots of people
here) by the pier to work on my tan and read the book. By dinner time,
I headed back to Manarola and had a delightful meal. The day was
nicely wrapped up by a relaxing walk on the Via Dell' Amore back to
Riomaggiore from Manarola.
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Started the hike from Riomaggiore at 9:30am and finished in Montrrosso
al Mare at 2:15pm. The trail is 12km that connects all 5 villages. The
route from village 1 to 4 was not too difficult, aside from the 365
steps uphill in Corniglia. The path from Vernazza to Monterosso al
Mare was the most challenging part of the hike. Not only you're
starting to get tired, but you have to go uphill for quite some time
before you get a little bit of flat path, then a very narrow (12"-14")
path with no railings to keep you from falling off the mountain. Glad
I'm somewhat fit enough to do this hike. The scenery was absolutely
stunning! The Lonley Planet 'Hiking in Italy' guide mentioned this
hike is expected to last 2.5-5 hours! I maybe unfit, but can't
imagine how anyone can finish this hike in 2.5 hours except for running!
After the hike, I had a decent lunch and then lie on the beach for
some reading and sunbathing for an hour and a half.
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Arrived at 1:30pm, slightly later than expected due to broken train!
Italy is far behind on their train system compared to other countries
in Europe. So I've been warned about the steep slopes and infinite
stairs. Fortuntely, my knees are still functioning quite well but it's
enough to make me sweat lots more than I already do. Must hit the
hiking trail before my legs go on a strike.
With an afternoon to kill, I took the train to go along the other 4
villages. Each one seems a little different, but each seem to be
packed with tourists. Not complaining, because it actually make me
feel safer being a solo traveler! By the time I hit the 'beach' back
in Riomaggiore, it was 5pm. To me it wasn't a real beach because
there were no sand, instead there's big pebbles/rocks...quite painful
to walk on without shoes. The unexpected benefit: no sand in all my
belongings after being to the 'beach'. ha ha
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Had a perfect plan of using the free day in my rail pass by taking a
day tour to Orvieto. Somehow, I couldn't find the train/platform
becaused the schedule moved up by 2 minutes! By the time I found the
train, it was to late and I missed it even though I ran for it. Two
other women ran and missed the train as well. So I decided to take
the next train (plan b) 1.5 hours later, but it was delayed again and
again. Seeing this plan wasn't meant to be, I decided to stay in Rome
and take the public bus around town. It was good because I got to see
a few place I hadn't seen, i.e. The Palatine, Vitroeiano, Elefantino
and Campo De' Fiori. I also visited Trevi Fountain for the third time
(first two time I went them in one day-early morning and afternoon).
I like it that much!
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Finally went inside the Colosseuo. So thankful for the opportunity to
step inside such an amazing structure built almost 2000 years ago.
The ticket is also a good deal (which you don't get very often here),
that includes entrance to the Foro Romano and the Palatine. The Foro
was remarkable, but the ruins in Pompei was much bigger, more well
kept, and better labelled.
Seeing Michaelangelo's Genesis with my own eyes is very important to
me, so I went to Vatican City again in search of the museum entrance!
Found it and saw what I came to see and a lot more. Their art
collection is incredible, in terms of quantity, variety and quality.
Can't stop repeating this in my head the whole time, "They are SO RICH!"
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Went to Vatican and visited the St. Peter's Church. Massive building
and impressive art works inside. Couldn't find the entrance to the
Vatican Museum, so went to Galleria Borghese instead. Impressive
collection but smaller compared to the galleries/palaces I visited in
Venice and Florence.
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Everything in Rome is so grand, magnificent! The buildings are big
and the roads are wide! Compared to Rome, Florence seems so cramped
and small. The bigness of this city overwhelms me beyond believe, and
there's so much of it. The guide booked says every major site/
attraction is within walking distance. It's true when you visit only
2 to 3 sites per day. After taking a walk from my hotel to the
Colosseum, I immediately bought a 48hrs hop on hop off sightseeing bus
(110open bus+Archeobus) ticket. Took a ride on the 2 routes already.
So much studying to do before some indepth sightseeing tomorrow.
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To some, it may be pathetic. A good evening to me can be enjoying a simple home cooked dish with a glass of red wine in front of my laptop and 42" LCD TV.
