Today was full of beautiful scenery, so please check out all the photos.
We started off with the breakfast buffet at Cabana's and headed to the entrance of the port of La Spazia on the shuttle bus. My parents took the tour to Florence, which they have been excited about for a while, leaving us on our own. Our mission was to find the train station and take a train that would take us along the coast to the 5 little towns known as the Cinque Terre. Our goal was to trail run the trails that connect the towns along the coast. Up until rather recently, walking the trails was the only way to travel from town to town, so we decided to get a taste of the area in the old-fashioned way. Finding the train station in La Spezia took some time and was about a mile and a half from the port. This turned out to be a beautiful walk in the cooler morning air, with the shops just opening up for the day.
Katherine did some research on the trail system before the cruise, so we kind of had an idea of where we were headed. In the train station we had to get the combined ticket to use the protected park trails and have unlimited train travel. There was a nice lady that helped us out and sent us on our way. The train did not leave for an hour and we had some time to kill in the station. By the time the train came, the people developed into a large crowd. Once we boarded, it was shoulder to shoulder, standing room only inside the cramped train. We were standing in the small section of the train between two cars where the doors are. We were trying not to be pushed against the door by our stinky fellow train travelers. Hello busy season!
We found signs along the way in La Spezia directing us to the station.
This was our first time in Italy and it is very beautiful. Not too hot and very lush.
This is the Main Street in La Spazia. We followed it all the way to the station. Very easy.
Yes, all the people behind us are going to cram onto the already packed train. Somehow...
This is the area between the train cars. The cars themselves were packed, so we took every available space. It was a short ride of 12 minutes and was not a problem.
We got off at the village called Monterosso. Saying the village is beautiful is an understatement. The ocean comes right up to the dramatic cliffs on which the town is built. We found the trail and started climbing up and down the path along the coast to the next city.
The park has little stations to check your ticket as you get on the trailing each village.
Views and more views!
This was our first glimpse of the next village, Vernazza. After 50 minutes of running up what seemed like an endless amount of steps, we reached the town. The water is super clear and inviting. Once again, I wish we had planned for some diving or snorkeling.
The path brought us into the Vernazza through tight houses. The village contained a mix of locals and tourists. After purchasing some more to drink, we started off on the trail to the next town, Corniglia.
I sure wish the wires were not in this shot. It still looks nice though.
You can see Monterosso in the cove in the back and the second village of Vernazza just below. We were now off to the third village of Corniglia.
Oh, the Nissan Patrol. This is something that never made it to the States. We definitely missed out on this one.
When we arrived at the third village of Corniglia we were sorry to find out that the trail we wanted to take is closed to the final 2 villages. A series of large mudslides wiped out the trail two years ago and they are not yet repaired. Our trail run was now limited to about 6 miles and the train was our only way back. Oh well, at least the sights were amazing. We took an hour to sightsee in Corniglia, and then headed back to the port on the train.
The cliff jumping kids provided some quality entertainment.
Katherine enjoying a post run slice of pizza. Yum!
Since we did not run the trail between the last two villages, we decided to run from the station back to the cruise shuttle bus. Yeah!!!
We were in desparate need of a shower when we got back on the ship.
After cleaning up and some relaxing, we changed into our fancy duds (like my yellow pants) for a live show and a meal at our third roatation restaurant called Animator's Palette. Looking spiffy, we checked out the musical Villains Tonight in Walt Disney Theater. The theater and production quality of the show were great. We enjoyed the sound, lights, costumes, etc. The actual content of the show was pretty poor, however. Shows with barely-there plots do not tend to hold my attention. At least it was only 50 minutes long. I wouldn't consider the show a waste of time, it just was not really my deal. We listened to Tim play some piano in Keys again, and then went to our first meal in Animator's Palette. Dinner included a transformation of the room from black and white with rough sketches on multiple screens surrounding the diners to full color and final animation accompanied by music. The venue is pretty cool. If I were a kid, I would think it was really mind blowing, but as an adult, it was spectacular. The meal was presented nicely and tasty once again. To start Katherine had baked potato and cheddar cheese soup and I had black truffle pasta purseittes coated with Champagne sauce. Next, I tried the lemon-thyme marinated chicken breast with sour cream mashed potatoes, roasted root vegetables and grain mustard jus while Katherine ate seared red snapper with scallops, crushed new potatoes and salsa verde. We both really liked our choices. We shared a crunchy walnut cake for dessert. Overall, a nice meal.
Tomorrow we are headed to Rome and can't wait to see the ancient Colosseum. My parents need to write up a report on their Florence adventure for sure. It sounded really fun!
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