Northern Italy

Italy!! Just listening to this musical language and saying Grazie, Ciao and Buon Giorno in my best Italian accent makes me happy! How can you not love the country that brought us pizza, pesto and Pinocchio? A country where once "all roads lead to Rome" was a true statement. The birthplace of Julius Cesar, Michelangelo, Leonardo DiVinci, Vivaldi and Galileo! The inspiration for Shakespeare, Armani, Dante and toga parties to name a small few. I was experiencing a feeling of excitement for Europe that I hadn't felt since my very first overseas trip in 1989 and it was a wonderful feeling.

I flew into Rome because it was the cheapest option and only had one day there, which I'll tell about in the next post. The following day I hopped on the train for Genova to meet my Camino friend, Antonio. We had plans for Carnaval in Venice so I arrived a couple days early to check out his city. He had sent me rough directions taking me on a scenic route to his flat. From the train station I passed by beautiful fountains, walked down the grand Via XX September with its beautifully designed marble sidewalks, past the striped San Lorenzo cathedral to the boat-filled harbor before arriving at his door across from the university. What a great place! I certainly wasn't expecting Genova to be so interesting. The guidebook describes it as a "tough, cosmopolitan port", which is accurate. It has the grit that gives it the 'real feel' which, as you should know by now, I love. Enough grafitti and trash in the streets to know this isn't a prime tourist place; to me it is a hidden gem. Nestled at the foot of the Appennino mountains, it was obviously once home to a lot of nobility. There is an entire street of palaces, most of which have since been converted into expensive flats, banks, and other businesses. From the looks of the buildings, the surrounding hills also once housed a large amount of wealthy people. Christopher Columbus was born in Genova and his home is preserved as a tourist spot. I took Antonio's suggestion to "get lost and look up." It was the perfect advice. Between the small size and water to orient, it was impossible to actually get lost but the exploring was great. So many details everywhere! Grandeur within deterioration. I also enjoyed to 'go up and get lost'. In the hills surrounding the city center there is some great architecture, nice parks and beautiful views of the city below and sea beyond; a great place to end the day watching the sun dip into the Mediterranean Sea.

There are 40 forts in the mountains surrounding the city that once acted as lookouts and protection from the enemy. Now abandoned and dilapidated, one can walk between them all on connecting paths. I went to the recommended Diamanté, the highest point in Geonva for a beautiful view all around. My directions to get there were little better than "just walk up". So that's what I did. I walked up random stairs and hills, whatever looked interesting as long as it was taking me higher. It was an hour before I made it out of civilization and another hour of walking up through nature before I arrived. It was absolutely worth it; I was completely alone and at peace with the world. I sat on the edge of a decaying wall and enjoyed the view of sea, city and mountains from this little slice of heaven. I walked to another fort then down, down, down to the city until I reached the funicular. The longest one I've ever ridden, there were three well-spaced stops between the top and bottom.

After work on Friday we caught a bus for the five hour trip to Venice for Carnaval. I was so excited! Venice has long been my most favorite place on earth and 25 years later nothing has changed; it still is. There is a magic about Venice that can't be conveyed through word or film. I couldn't contain myself and literally jumped up and down as we walked through Piazza San Marco on the way to our flat. Occasionally we would pass people dressed in their 18th century masquerade ball attire. I wish I were on a different budget and was able to join the parties but I was quite content to simply admire the stunning costumes. One of my bucket list items was to go on a gondola ride. I didn't do it last time I was in Venice because I felt it was a romantic activity, not something to do alone or with a group of strangers. So at dusk we paid an exorbitant amount of money to make it happen. For 30 minutes the gondolier gently toured us around the canals of Venice and when Antonio kissed me the gondolier began to sing a beautiful Italian song. It was absolutely perfect. Afterward we went to a cello concert and art show. We didn't actually do much else besides that apart from walk around, window shop, eat and take pictures, but for me it was enough.

Cinque Terre was the next stop and the only place with a hostel open was in Portovenere. I've really enjoyed the benefits of traveling off-season, such as low cost accommodation and fewer tourists, but this was one place that it wasn't so beneficial. Most of that town was closed in the off-season and the few eating establishments that were open were pricey and you had no choice. Still, it's a cute little town. The hostel sits high on a hill (90 steps to get there) with a lovely view of the harbor and the rest of the town. At the top of the town is a castle and it its base is a cemetery with the most stunning views. I love that they put photos with the crypts, some over 100 years old! I also found an inordinate amount of graves belonging to WWII victims. I say inordinate because there were a lot and in such a small town it must have been devastating to the population. Below that is a church and at the bottom (town level) a most spectacular chapel sits on the rocks jetting out to the sea. I loved this little chapel made out of the grey rock from the surrounding mountains and felt the power of it as it stood deserted with the sound of the crashing waves below thundering through the rocky interior.

On the first night the only other person in the hostel was a young girl from Alaska. Even the staff left after 8:00 which was a little concerning since that night there was a storm with such strong winds the power flickered several times. The next day, however, was beautiful! I loved lying in bed and waking to the sunrise over the water. I joined Alaska for a six hour walk through the hillside to Riomaggiore, the last and biggest of the five towns. But when we arrived, anything that would provide sustenance was closed. Even the supermarket! And due to recent damage, so was the trail that went along the coast to the other towns and parts of the trails in the hills. It is most certainly a place I'd love to come back to, when places are open, with a small pack and walk from town to town and stay in whichever one I wanted. For now, however, hungry, discouraged and a forecast ahead of a week of rain starting in two days I decided to head to Florence. At least there I could stay dry in museums.