"qui micio micio" "here kitty kitty"

What a busy weekend! We didn't do much last week other than trying to stay warm and dry. Terry, of course, worked every day, but Meryck and I were pretty much lumps.

We planned all along to visit the Cinque Terre on Saturday, but at some point on Friday, we decided we would head up that day so we didn't have to wake up early on Saturday and make the 4 hour drive. I think it was the right decision, even though the hotel was overpriced and loud and not remarkably clean. With a name like "Jolly", you would think they would make an attempt!

Anyhow, when we arrived in La Spezia on Friday night, we decided that we should go have a beer or two. So we wandered toward the water and stumbled upon a *gasp* karaoke bar!! Of course, most of the music was in Italian, but it must have been top 40, because many of them were songs that we'd heard on the radio here. So it was great to see the words as we were hearing them. I think I will have to find out where the local karaoke bar is once we settle into the new place and start my "Italian lessons"!

After listening to a few songs, drinking a couple beer and even singing one song (in English, Bryan Adams Summer of 69), we made our way back to the hotel for the night.

The next morning was September 20, my niece's birthday - Charlotte turned 7! So even though we didn't get a chance to talk to her, we had to celebrate big! We caught a boat to Riomaggiore, the closest of the 5 villages (furthest east). We figured we would just gradually make our way west, as far as we could. Each of the villages was like something out of a fairy tale. Since I'm not a poet, I won't try to describe the towns - it's best just to look at the photos on facebook.
In Riomaggiore, we explored the town from bottom to top and back down again. I don't think we went into a single church, which made this particular trip a little easier for Meryck to take! He was amazed at the number of cats that live in the villages - they are everywhere, and they are totally at ease with the tourists. They all seemed to sleep the day away, and half the time they didn't even wake up when we petted them.

From Riomaggiore, we walked the easy 1km to Manarola, taking our time to admire the views. In Manarola, we again walked to the top of the town and back down, browsing in shops along the way. We had a fantastic seafood lunch with a bottle of wine, then made our way to the third town. Corniglia is smaller than the other villages, and is on a cliff rather than at sea level. We climbed 33 flights of stairs (according to wikipedia) to get to the town and found that there just wasn't that much to see! After a drink of water, Terry was ready to walk on to Vernazza, but Meryck and I had had enough walking. (I'm pretty sure that it's more than 1k between Manarola and Corniglia, plus the "evil steps") So Terry went on his way, and Meryck and I explored the *very* small town and browsed in some shops. We missed one bus down the hill to the train station. (yes, we could have taken that same bus up, but we didn't know that!!) We thought it was no big deal, because the bus comes every 10 or 15 minutes... unfortunately, the train doesn't run on the same schedule, and we ended up waiting an hour for a train. Which meant Terry waited an hour for us in Vernazza!

Oh well, we finally made it and by then Terry knew a bit about the town and showed us some of the best sights (which were amazing!). After soaking our feet in the sea for a bit, we ordered pizza and beer and watched the sunset from above the beach. We jumped the next train for La Spezia, then walked a couple more km to our hotel, enjoying the local nightlife/bar scene. (not like "bar scene" in Canada - just people having their late dinners and drinks with family and friends) I think we all slept surprisingly well that night, even though we were back in the Jolly hotel! Next time, we'll start in Monterosso, which is the one town we missed - and we'll just take what we can carry on our backs so we can find a room for rent in one of the towns. There didn't seem to be any shortage of accomodations!

On Sunday, we drove home, rested for a few minutes and freshened up, then Terry and I went to Assisi again. This time we met up with Beverley and Jack and Michelle, who just arrived a few days before. We had a great time on the ABC Tour, as they called. I finally had to ask what it meant. "Another Bloody Cathedral" (I love it, and Meryck loves it more..) We had a bite with B & J & M before saying good bye. They gave me their only facecloths, then went to check into their convent. I think those are two of the steps toward sainthood, aren't they? (thank you thank you thank you for the facecloths!) I didn't take many pictures that day, but what I did take I put on facebook.

Finally, we got some bad news and some good news on the weekend. Apparently, our new landlord-to-be had some second thoughts about renting her apartment (or about renting it to us), so the lady who is helping us apartment hunt called us on Saturday to give us the bad news, but said she had another apartment to show us on Monday (today). So we had a look at another flat - also near centro. It is on the 7th floor of an older apartment building, and it is 10 times better than the old place for about the same price. It is bright, with views of Centro and of the city, a huge balcony and two bathrooms, both with showers. It also has lots of room for guests - 3 bedrooms plus a dining room that can be separated with a curtain. Best yet - this is also walking distance to the Belgian beer place that Terry loves!