(Kyla) So today started out pretty early since we knew we had to catch a train for Pisa as soon as possible to allow us enough time to see the Tower and get over to Cinque Terre before it got dark!
We made it over to the train station in pretty good time and got on the train WITHOUT forgetting anything! A victory in itself...
With a breakfast of granola bars, fruit juice boxes, and a shared plum, we set off towards Pisa. However, before we arrived, we had thought we needed to change trains in the town of Empoli so when our train pulled up we immediately hopped off. Turns out we could've just stayed on - it was the correct train headed towards Pisa afterall!! Luckily we only had to wait another half hour until another train arrived and this time we stayed on until the very end!
When we finally got off we were able to store our luggage in the station and then glanced at a map in a convenience stall before trekking over towards where we thought the Tower would be! Unfortunately I looked at a sign and decided to steer us in a different direction which ended up getting us more turned around, but eventually we began to see the spires and the dome of the Baptistery and our step quickened quite a bit!
Pisa itself was nice and had a familiar Tuscan feel to it, but it really was the Tower and the adjoining Cathedral and Baptistery that were the main attraction!! Hundreds of people dotted the "forbidden lawns", all trying to take the same iconic photo.
(We also did ours, and worked hard for them!)
(Tibby) Our time in Pisa was soon up as we headed back to the train station to catch the cheap euro train to Corniligia, one of the five small towns in a place called Cinque Terre! It happens to be the middle, and the smallest, of the five towns along the Italian Meditteranean coast line. It is absolutely GORGEOUS!! Kyla and I exhausted the batteries on our cameras from taking so many gorgeous photos!! Seriously, this coast line is stunning! Cliffs that go straight into the sea of crystal clear blue waters, with brightly colored homes in clusters, and small cobblestone passageways; it is beyond ideal.
There is a walking path that connects all 5 towns, from cliff top to cliff top. The ONE other town that I REALLY wanted to see is one of the "next towns over", Manarola. We decided that we were going to start walking towards Manarola, and we knew that it was supposed to take about an hour. So we started out for it. Unfortunately, it turns out that it is actually the only path closed (between all the cities) because of a landslide. Bummer! We're hoping to head to Manarola via train tomorrow morning!
Since we couldn't get to Manarola walking, we knew that the only other thing we could do was hit the beach!! And around here, "beach" doesn't mean sand, but boulders. Literally, Kyla and I traversed boulders to reach a comfortable spot where we could park ourselves for the evening. And we did. It was SSSOOOO nice to get to swim in the Mediterranean and relax in the crystal waters while staring up at a rocky, cliffy, coastline. It was truly what we needed.
And to balance the chilled waters, we layed out on the piping hot boulders to soak up the rays of sun. Twas so wonderful and beautiful!
After watching the glorious sunset over the horizon, we wandered back up the cliff and found a quaint cafe right near our hostel for dinner. Kyla consumed a plate of gnocci, and I had a round of lasagna with a few glasses of wine.
Today was, once again, another amazing blessing of this trip!!
(we'll post pics soon! but we currently are paying for internet so we're using our time as sparingly as possible!)
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