I arrived in Florence but surprise surprise i wasn't allowed to check in yet, so I dumped my bags, headed to the pool and who should i bump into but Lucy and James! After all my panic about trying to find them! We sat and chatted and worked on our tans (apparently I had 'plateaued'- and that simply would not do). After some serious rays, we beautified and got into the drinks, and two cocktails later, lightweight georgie was giggling away. A Rome reunion was in order so we headed out for dinner with Megs and a new addition to the group, her infamous boyfriend Gareth. I opted for the cheapest and gluten free option of risotto bolognaise, an interesting concept, and resisted the urge to try the famous Florentine steak which didn't come cheap at 34 euros per person! Saving even more money I skipped out on the wine considering how drunk I already felt! It was a wonderful feed with even better company, and ice-cream completed a fabulous night! Some emotional farewells occurred, but luckily I was getting a new friend delivered the very next morning, express from Paris, Zoe!!!
An early start to head off to the campsite to meet Zoe but the giant hug and huge grin that met me there was more than worth it. We couldn't check it for 4 hours but they flew by as we filled each other in on our last 5 weeks worth of travel. It honestly was so surreal having company that was actually going to last and not be gone within a few days, we were both in a weird place and couldn't quite come to terms with the fact that for me, I finally had a friend from home who would provide weeks of company and for Zoe that her contiki group of 50 friends had diminished to simply plain old me. We finally checked into our glamorous room for the evening... A tent... and quickly headed out for an exciting adventure, a hunt for a gluten free restaurant (lucky Zoe!). Unfortunately the restaurant I had found on trip advisor which was RAVED about by my fellow coeliac compatriots was closed, so we settled for a place next door that happened to do gluten free pizzas, hooray! Although I will never ever complain about finding gluten free food, this pizza was far from the heavenly one in Rome, but tasty all the same! After some fuel we walked to the Duomo (huge HUGE church) and decided to climb to the top for a panoramic view of Florence. My fitness levels had definitely declined as I was huffing and puffing by the top of the tower, and I hate to say it but Zoe was in an even worse state than me. We used multiple photos as am excuse to catch our breath, and then noticed something interesting a huge festival was going on a few hundred metres away. We decided to check it out and the rain decided to make us hurry up as it began to pour down on us. We found the site of all the chaos was am annual festival which concluded with a traditional sports match I can only describe as rugby/boxing with no rules whatsoever, use your imagination... Or, check it out on YouTube! ( ) Zoe and I naively asked the security guard if we could please go in, we were rudely sent away and told abruptly tickets were booked months in advance, woops! We opted instead for a pub directly next door to the action where the opening ceremony was depicted on a tv inside, and the fans raucous activities and flares could be seem and heard through the windows and doors. After nearly an hour of flag waving, preparation and a lot of screaming from drenched fans awaiting the bloodshed, the famous event was called off due to the weather, what a let down!
To lift our spirits, gelati once again was our medicine and we took full advantage of the free wifi to plan our trip to Cinque Terre the next day to meet up with my favourite Rome gang for the final time. I was being a sook and in shorts and a T-shirt honestly the last thing I wanted to do was brave the elements and walk to the bus stop but Zoe forced me into the rain and we made it there and leapt onto bus 12. After about half an hour, I realised bus 12 wasn't taking its usual route and in fact within 5 minutes of this realisation we were back where we started at the bus stop. I asked the driver 'mi scusi, what's the deal?' and he explained due to fireworks no buses could get to anywhere near piazza michaelangelo (which conveniently was where our campsite was). Our only option was taxi or a 30min walk and as I looked at Zoe shivering, it was clear our pockets were being emptied. We joined the enormous taxi queue and finally when we piled in we were refused a journey to our campsite, 'no, no, the roads are closed' while we begged ' please, please, as close as you can'. He replied 'no,no' but in the end our begging won out, and funnily enough when we arrived at the barricades and said we were staying at the campsite, the barriers were moved aside and the taxi dropped is directly at our campsite. All that fuss for nothing! However to the taxi driver, it was not nothing, and he demanded a 5 euro tip for his generosity and hard work... I was not a happy chappy. The unseasonal cold weather was not ideal for a night in a tent so I donned jumpers jeans and runners (so fashionable, I know) and headed to the terrace to watch the stupid fireworks, which in the end were absolutely incredible!!!
If the previous nights dramas hadn't been enough, today was definitely going to hit the mark. We needed an early start to make it to Cinque Terre at a reasonable hour and to make our triple train connection. I woke up and was ready to leave in 5 minutes. Zoe om the other hand was slow to get started which i hadn't accounted for in my plans, so i began to stress and subtly hurry her along. ( Much easier travelling on your own and not having to wait for someone!) I was panicking on the bus and knew we would miss our train but I was trying to remain optimistic but of course, we missed it. I decided however to sprint off and that we could simply hop on any train to Pisa and try and catch up with our original train itinerary, Zoe was unsure but I sprinted and held the doors open for her while she struggled with her enormous pack and left her no choice to follow. We just made it to Pisa in time to jump on our original train and be back on track. Zoe was in awe of my skills, and I suddenly realised travelling solo had taught me a lot, and i had actually learnt not to panic and how to sort things out myself. Happy travelling moment!
Our troubles were far from over though, making this the hardest 24hours of my trip to date and the worst possibl introduction for Zoe to the non-contiki backpackers life. We arrived in riomaggiore and it suddenly hit Zoe she hadn't actually booked accommodation for our nught in Cinque Terre. Homeless and hot, we trekked up the hill hunting for somewhere to stay until we came across the name Patrizia, where my Rome friends where staying! We decided to settle in there, despite the 35 euro each price tag, we were too hot and lazy to find anything else. Karma can truly be a bitch sometimes. 357extremely steep steps, three ramps later, 20 kilos on my back and Zoe still half way down the hill we made it to our room, covered in sweat.
Things took a positive turn from here. Showers, a picteresque 2 hour hike from corneglia to varnezza along the cinque terre coastline, and a stroll through beautiful monterosso before spotting the Rome gang along the road- reunited once more! We decided to go and kayak back in our home town of riomaggiore, only after some gelati of course but when we finally got there, it was closed for the day. As usual, we still managed to make swimming in the beach and jumping off rocks seem like the most entertaining activity in the world and I nearly drowned from too much laughter while swimming. Our next plan was dinner so we freshened up at the actual Patrizia, which was right next to the beach.. And headed to manarola for an incredible seafood feast- grilled calamari and fresh salad!! Another climb up the horrendous steps, and we collapsed into bed for a well earned sleep.
Chickpea based zucchini pizza started the day and we marched on down to the station for our next adventure, Pisa. The town itself was packed with tourists but we walked through the crowds and saw the tower, did the classic cheesy photos and then turned back to make our train, which once again was a struggle to make as Zoe's backpack slowed her down (luckily she sent stuff home!) We filled the afternoon with super exciting activities like sending postcards, laundry and repacking our bags. I decided to treat myself to an Italian feast while gluten free was still a known concept, and opted for Ciro and Sons which had amazing trip advisor reviews, and boy did it live up to them. A entree of bruschetta, followed by the best lasagna I've ever had, and topped off with a choc-caramel banana cheesecake, words could not describe my happiness!
Our final day in Tuscany turned out to be one of my absolute favourites. Our roommates mentioned they were going on a food and wine tour, and being our two favourite things on this trip, Zoe and I immediately signed on also. There was a small group of 6 of us who all piled into a minivan and sped along- literally, crazy Italian drivers- to our first stop, Montereggio. It was such a cute little Tuscan town, exactly what I had imagined. Surrounded by seemingly endless vineyards, it was a tiny little walled town with small shops selling local produce, little villas and of course a local band practising their acoustic relaxation music in the main square, I sat with a gelati and could have stayed their for hours soaking up the amazing and calm atmosphere. From there we headed to a much larger stop, Siena. My legs began to hate the hilly landscape quite quickly but we managed to score two free glasses of wine from a cake shop which lifted my mood and I could then appreciate the beautiful town. From there we went to a winery where we sampled 6 kinds of wine and 2 types of balsamic vinegar, one of which was 30 years old and was incredible. The last stop of the day was to a Tuscan farmhouse where an old Italian, Gianni prepared a traditional Tuscan feast for us- antipasto platters, spaghetti with the freshest tomato sauce and of course unlimited litres and litres of his homegrown red wine- the perfect finish to our day. The wine flowed and so did conversation, then sadly, Gianni kissed us all goodbye and said we were always welcome to return, which I think I will take him up on! Another pleasant addition to this perfect day was on arrival back to our hostel Mish was there waiting for us, we were finally reunited and ready for our next adventure, sail Croatia!
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