Italia! Pisa & Cinque Terre

Day six we say goodbye to Florence and drive to Pisa. This is one of those days they warn us we will not be checking into our hotel until very late & will not have access to our suitcases, so be prepared. I wanted to wear a skirt or dress b/c it had been so warm out, but I convinced myself that I needed to wear jeans to do goofy poses in front of the Leaning Tower of Pisa. (There was going to be a crazy photo contest for our tour.) I also quickly talked myself out of wearing my bathing suit all day after Harmony said she wasn't going to go swimming. I don't know how I so easily do this to myself.

I was having fun until I thought I would pass out from the heat. It got extremely hot that day. We had a very long walk from the parking lot and when we arrived, they told us we only had an hour of free time. Only an hour!? I didn't want to waste that time standing in a long line at the bathroom waiting to change. I wanted to see the Leaning Tower!

Harmony and I took a few goofy photos when we arrived but mostly wandered around taking photos on our own. We didn't take a lot of crazy photos so I was feeling upset that I didn't listen to my gut & just wear a skirt b/c now I was overheating & I wasn't doing those goofy photos I thought I would be doing. I brought a skirt with me, but after our hour at Pisa was quickly up, I still wasn't able to change. We waited in line for a bathroom break at McDonald's. Thankfully they always had free bathrooms. A lot of public bathrooms in Italy come at a fee even if they say they are free. To add insult to injury, there was a long line for only two stalls, which were disgusting and smelly. We were running short on time to meet our group so I didn't take the time to try to change. I should have just done it. I would have been much happier.

We walked back to the bus and our next stop was Cinque Terre. We were dropped off by our tour bus to catch a local bus into La Spezia so we could catch a ferry to Monterosso. Unfortunately the public bus would not take us (citing a strike - questionable!) and we all had to walk into town - very far in the hot sun. I was straggling at the back of the line b/c here I am still in jeans, still out in the hot sun & just wishing I wasn't. I was finally able to change in a bathroom when we got into town and from there I was a whole new person & really started to enjoy myself.

We took a ferry ride to Monterosso al Mare and got to see Cinque Terre by sea. I was so excited! I had forgot to stash my swim suit in my bag as a back up in case I wanted to swim & after seeing the water here, I started saying I didn't care if I had to go in my underwear, I was going swimming! It was very beautiful and charming. I rode on the back of the ferry in the sun, even though I had been in the sun all day & miserable, I was now out on the Ligurian Sea & enjoying these gorgeous views!

When we arrived, my arms had popped out every freckle they had despite putting 100SPF on an hour before. We landed in the Old Town but our tour guide walked us over to the New Town. The Old Town was very medieval looking and the New Town was very beach community looking. Food was our main priority at this point, so we walked back to Old Monterosso and found a little shop to sit & eat. We had some pesto & cheese focaccia bread. We walked some more, shopped, stopped for coffee, then went back to meet with the group. Again here we had just a few hours of free time. Certainly not enough!

We arrived early and decided to put our feet in the sea. I had already been so distracted by eating & looking at the sites, that swimming had almost been forgotten. I didn't have a towel with me, so I would have had to go swimming earlier so I could air dry in time to catch the train. Not swimming in the Italian Riviera remains my biggest regret of the entire trip to Italy. The water was so clear and blue, you would think you just filled the bath. Gorgeous. You could see straight through it. I could have spent hours splashing around here. Shortly after we took the train back to La Spezia for the night.