The beginning of travelling around Italy; Cinque Terre & Florence

After sitting in a hall way slaving away at Uni work for hours on end we decided to treat ourselves to a day at the seaside otherwise known as Cinque Terre. The early morning start at 6:05am would ensure us get there at a reasonable hour in order to enjoy a long day trip out. Due to travelling plans I have been researching places along the Italian Coast In particular Portofino and little did we know it was on route to Cinque Terre, with the early start and our brains like mush we arrived at the Portofino station and with much deliberation as to whether it was our final destination despite arriving an hour earlier than expected...we decided to exit the train as the door was closing, absolutely hilarious seeing Jess almost stuck between the doors (hilarious for me - not her of course)

With 2 hours till the next train to our actual final destination we decided to have a wander round Santa Margarita Portofino. This beautiful seaside port town was ghostly quiet at 9am with few locals roaming round, catching the sun and avoiding the busy tourist filled streets. The market was being set up amongst the brightly coloured buildings through the twisty back streets of the town. We walked along to find a coffee to sort our brains out and admired the mistake we had made, there is most definitely worst places to get lost.

We got back on our Harry potter train and spent the entire journey avoiding the ticket man only to scurry like mice to the next carriage when he arrived, he finally caught up with us much to our disappointment and after many hand gestures, 'sorrys' and 'it was a mistake' comments he let us continue our journey to 'La Spezia'. Cinque terre is made up of 5 small villages along the coast of Italy. The main town is called La Spezia and is home to a huge port bringing visitors in daily. The train that takes you to all 5 villages costs €12 and is unlimited for the day, you also have the option to walk along the coast- an option that was not sensible for 30'+ degree heat much to my disappointment as the trains were so unreliable and unclear. We managed to visit 2/5 villages with the guidance of trip advisor. Each village has its own properties which make them all so different and unique. Vernazza is a gorgeous village with shops aligning each side of the street all an array of colours. The street leads you down towards the sea where you are placed In a small square faced with different coloured parasols of alternate restaurants and a beautiful church built on the waters edge. Restaurants placed high up in the cliffs with the premium of the view and tourists flooding the cliffs edge, jumping into the sea and absorbing the sun. We moved onto Manarola, the smallest but most picturesque village of the 5. The buildings aligned the cliffs edge as if by magic and clustered together to form layers of houses upon houses, the spectrum of colour and pure perfection of the view is unexplainable, certainly the most beautiful place I've yet to witness.

The 3 hour journey home was unavoidable and definitely unwanted but we couldn't have been more blessed with the weather and the views we had seen. Cinque terre is tourist ridden and busy but is such an experience and I without a doubt will return to and enjoy in the future.

Our final hand in came and went and before we knew it our travelling trip was finally upon us after months of counting down, it felt so surreal. Living in Milan for 4 months had continuously felt like a holiday however now we were actually going on holiday. Both very excited and apprehensive we set off early Thursday morning towards San Siro stadium to begin our ride. We have decided to use the bla bla car service for most of our travels around Italy. This modern day hitch hiking service is cheaper than a train and offers a chance to meet people. The 3 hour journey to Florence flew by and in no time we were being dropped off at the station. However being naive or hopeful or both we soon realised we were not In the centre of Florence and had to catch another train. Fine, cool, we can do this ... Shit the machines not working ... Jess JESS. Panic over and we caught the train and arrived in Florence. After walking in completely the wrong direction at first we were finally on the right track towards out hostel. Bags on our back like little turtles we walked the streets of Florence almost melting in the heat. Our hostel was so snazzy! We had a chandelier! It also included a fan - this felt like someone had almost given us a personal butler or something due to so many sleepless hot nights in this heat. How can two people be so excited over a fan- Sandra the host looked amused especially after the fiasco of trying to explain the keys in broken English to two over excitable English girls. We also had a private balcony overlooking Florence, it was fabulous.

After dropping off our extremely heavy bags we made our way towards the city centre. The duomo cathedral was so beautiful, encrusted in shades of pink and green along with the white marble, teamed with a bell tower and huge dome (both of which you could go up.) Enjoying a beer In the square we planned out our day and headed to the campanile to voyage up and experiences the views, we also ventured into the cathedral. The dome was host to a beautiful religious mural. So high up and so impactful, we ventured down into the museum and viewed tombstones and parts of the cathedral that had been removed for renewal and continued to look round the tranquil squares of Florence. Walking along the river back to our hotel we stumbled upon the Ponte Vecchio. The bridge was unique with shops and buildings placed along (apparently it was for some royal person who didn't like the idea of crossing over water so they made it look like a street instead- fancy ey!) the views either side was spectacular especially on a summers day and the bridge almost had a Medieval feel with shop fronts which had wooden pull shutters and flags flying at different points. It was totally unlike anything I've seen before and gave Florence such an original feature. We came across a tiny bar for dinner which offered wine tasting of Tuscan wine along with a plate of traditional Tuscan food. We enjoyed 3 whites of which the most expensive we preferred (duh) and a plate of antipasti with the nicest cheese we've tasted since moving to Italy in March. Florence at night is almost as beautiful as it is in the day. The cathedral and main square is lit up with lights bouncing off the white marble and adding to its already impactful presence.

Having a mug of tea at breakfast was definitely one of my highlights of the day, our 'breakfast included' option gave us the choice of a brioche with jam (someone had already has a spoon out of jess' pot.,. Yummy) or cheese triangles and bread. So after copious amounts of bread we left feeling moderately content with our carb intake.. We were advised to cross the river and climb the hill to see Florence from a completely different perspective before we left for Rome. Florence is a large city which is surrounded by hills. Anthony Gormley an installation artist had an exhibition on at Forte di Belvedere, an amazing historical fort overlooking the city. Seeing Gormley's work in such a beautiful location was so memorable and so unique. The city felt like It was sunken down with a wash of terracotta and 'rapunzel' towers protruding with the dome as the impressive and focal point. Viewing the city in such a unique way was amazing. We sat and admired whilst also catching our breaths as we watched the city from above that we were soon to depart from.

Our next stop; Rome.

Ciao

S x