La Spezia & Lucca

Ran out of things to do in 5Terre, not much to do in La Spezia, let's take some time and do some blogging!

Right, I guess I was there for a while...

Guess I might as well eat here too?

I was hungry...  blogging is hard work :P

I was still hungry the next day so I had this for breakfast...  :)

So I spent 5 days in 5Terre and it turns out this is a bit too much.  It took me 2.5 days to do all the hiking and then I ran out of things to do there, so I took the 4th day to visit La Spezia and get a haircut (seriously, the villages of 5Terre were so small that people recommended that I go down to La Spezia to get my haircut).  Then, I went to check out Lucca on the 5th day.

Why is this outside the train station in La Spezia?  I dunno...

The big iron door outside the castle

View from the top of the castle in La Spezia

hahaha game over



La Spezia:

• Honestly, there's a reason most people pass by here on their way to 5Terre and don't stick around.  There's not much to do here...  Though I was pretty happy to get my hair cut (it was way too long at this point) and I did have a hilarious experience at the castle!
• The castle is probably the only highlight in La Spezia (though highlight may be a bit of an exaggeration).  When I got there, I heard the alarm going off and two people pushing at the huge iron doors.  Turns out the door had jammed and they couldn't get it open to turn off the alarm.  Being a helpful Canadian kid, I asked the two staff to step aside and helped them get those doors open (it wasn't really that hard, it's just that they were standing straight up and you generate more forward force when you get lower...).  Anyways, they were super appreciative of my help and comped entrance to the castle for me (I tried to pay but they wouldn't let me).  As I was leaving, I noticed some hilarious marriage-related artwork around the castle.  Apparently, a nice couple (Silvia & Silvano?  Though I'm guessing Silvano wasn't actually his name hahaha) were getting married and his buddies wanted to make sure he knew what he was in for, lol.



The walls of Lucca

It gets creepy inside (and under) those walls...

Puccini chillin like a villain...

Lucca:

• Nice little medieval town with the old walls still standing.
• It was pretty cool to be here because it's a very musical town.  Giacomo Puccini (apparently a famous composor - I don't know anything about him, but then again I don't know anything about most composors) was from Lucca, and the town definitely made a big deal about that.  The day I was there, they had a free outdoor concert in front of the main cathedral in town and I also attended a Puccini concerto in a deconsecrated church.  I was a bit skeptical when a short blind guy came up on stage (assisted by a sighted person), but when he started belting out the hits, I was definitely on board!

Lucca wine festival.  Yes, I may have enjoyed a few glasses...  :)

Free outdoor concert!

The Puccini concerto

Short fat blind guy, as promised

But he sure can sing.  Take a bow and enjoy the applause, you earned it!

5Terre - Levanto to Monterosso to Vernazza

Right, so maybe I need to explain Cinque Terre a bit (my last post on it, probably a good time to do so right?  lol).  "Cinque" is "Five" in Italian, "Terre" is "Earth" or "Land".  So Cinque Terre = 5 lands, which basically corresponds to the five villages that make up the Cinque Terre (from North to South, Monterosso, Vernazza, Corniglia, Manarola, and Riomaggiore.  It is a UNESCO World Heritage Site on the northwest coast of Italy, pretty close to the French border and has been designated as a national park by the Italian government.  I hiked all 5 of the villages and made it all the way up to Levanto, which is a larger city outside of the National park (on the northern border) because I spent quite a bit of time out there.  I ended up staying in Vernazza, based on a tip from a buddy (thanks Kelven!) and I think it was the nicest village to stay in (based on a combination of the sunset views and amenities for tourists), though my favourite village to visit was definitely Corniglia. 

The beach at Levanto.  As you can see, it's a bit more developed than the villages of the 5Terre

Where's the trail???  Then again, who cares...  such a gorgeous walk!

OK but seriously.  Wtf happened to the trail...

Delicious lunch on the promenade in Monterosso.  Best seafood pasta I've ever had in my life.  Monterosso was probably the most "developed" of the villages.  Nice to visit, but I think Vernazza was a better place to stay.  Thanks for the tip Kelven!



That huge cliff is known as "El Gigante".  What a creative name...

Would have been a gorgeous spot to eat!  Except I found this just after I finished eating and had to hike the trail back to Vernazza before it got dark (and catch the sunset).



Vernazza at sunset

Gotta end the day with dinner and wine of course!

Too much hiking, had to load up on carbs!



 

5Terre - Riomaggiore to Manarola to Corniglia

Day 2!  You know how they say things get worse before they get better?  Yeah, it feels like Day 2 was hotter and my physical fitness deteriorated overnight...  I figured I'd be a genius and avoid all the crowds by doing my hiking in the middle of the day (ie, at the hottest time of the day).  Of course, that means that I'm doing my hiking at the HOTTEST TIME OF THE DAY.  Due to landslides, part of the easy coastal trail was closed and I had to cut inland, up the mountain and through the hill paths, which added 2 or 3 hours to my day (but totally worth it, the views were fan-freaking-tastic).  And since there's nobody else (dumb enough to go) out on those trails at mid-day, the mosquitos feasted on me.  Percy = genius!  :D

Check it out!  Even the old people here do graffiti!  Naw, actually this is known as the "Path of Love" where couples walk it together and write a message on the walls.

Apparently it's not just for romantic love...

Hahaha some people leave hilarious (but not necessarily nice) messages on other peoples' graffiti...

 

Part of the famous Manarola Christmas display.  Wish I could have seen it (but obviously it's at a different time of the year).  There's thousands of these things up in the hills and a bunch of other decorations.  They don't look like much, but they're all made by a local artist out of readily available materials and really showcases the creativity and ingenuity of the local people.

I was so tempted to reach out and grab a few grapes...  especially because it was so friggin hot out there and the grapes looked so juicy but of course, these vines beside the trails are privately owned...  And I didn't want some angry farmer chasing me around the hills with a rifle (it's bad enough walking the trails, didn't want to have to run lol)

These trail markers let you know that you're on the right path (because honestly, sometimes things get a little sketchy and you really can't tell) but they're a bitch and a half to find!

These little lizards are everywhere, but they're super skittish and will run like hell every time they see/hear a person.  Had to be all ninja-stealthy in order to sneak up and catch a shot of this guy!

Believe it or not, I actually intended to deliberately time it to catch the moving train and the sunset.  NAILED IT!!!  :D

Yeah I was at the train station waiting for a while (trains run hourly).  But I didn't mind, the sunset was gorgeous!

No better way to end a long day than...  dinner!  Had grilled swordfish steak.  But I got juice because I was too tired and dehydrated for alcohol...  I know, I'm a failure :(