Cinque Terre

i was somehow enjoying my week in belgium despite the broken foot: i had been thoroughly spoiled. we've visited family, i've met friends and they had all been so wonderful and almost not allowing me to walk because of my condition. pieter, who i was supposed to meet for rock werchter, even came to pick me up and drop me off at the airport when i was to take my flight to pisa to join my inlaws and lovro for the tuscan holiday! but the fun ends and the real challenge began as soon as i got in the airport. i managed to do without my crutches, but walking had to be done really slowly and only in short distances. i found myself really tired in AMS airport and eventually had to ask customer service to send someone from customer services. i had to stay overnight in amsterdam and take a flight to pisa very early the next day. 

after landing i had to be the last to leave the plane since i asked for a wheelchair. i have to admit, being pushed on wheels and receiving special treatment was kinda fun 😄 my arrival was around 8am and mams and paps were to pick me up from sorano, which was more than 3 hours away. so we agreed that i will wait for them for a few hours in the airport, and it was not an issue when i was on a comfortable wheelchair, in an air-conditioned room for people who needed assistance. 

once they've arrived, we headed straight to the next item in the F list: cinque terre. cinque terre refers to the 5 coastal towns in the italian riviera. i booked an apartment in the town of riomagiorre, supposedly the most popular one. the view from the apartment was absolutely amazing.

to get there, we parked the car in la spezia and took the train. this train stops in each of the 5 coastal towns and definitely the best means of transport around the area. typically, a trip to cinque terre would mean taking a few days to explore each of the towns, but we had only planned to stay overnight. luckily we opted to go for a private boat tour to see each one, perhaps the best way to do so in a matter of hours. each town was beautiful, i couldn't stop taking photos. conversely, lovro was lulled by the boat ride and was asleep in no time.

riomagiorre

the boat tour started in riomagiorre, where we stayed. as we pulled away from the dock, i could see why i was convinced to stay here. it looked really picturesque. the cliff provides a great platform for the water fanatics to jump in, and it was quite amusing to watch them from the balcony of our apartment.

manarola

of the five villages, manarola is most abundant with grapevines and therefore produce some good wines. the most popular is a sweet one called schiacchetra.  

corniglia

corniglia is the smallest of the five towns but also the most elevated. apparently difficult to reach by car so visitors have to take the train or hike from another village.

vernazza

some would say that vernazza is probably the most beautiful of the five towns, but it was hard to judge as we have not really explored any aside from riomagiorre. from the pictures i found in google, however, it seemed really beautiful. hidden from our sight is a nice beach and a more postcard-worthy view. 

monterosso

monterosso is the last village from the train station, but the biggest and oldest one. apparently the most visited town aside from riomaggiore, and for such a busy town you could expect a very vivid night life. surely not the right town for us as we have lovro. 😀

after a magnificent boat tour, we stayed in to watch the semi-finals between belgium and france. too bad that didn't end well, and in solidarity with our dismay, the weather was a bit sour the next day. the winds were strong and the waves wild, no boats were allowed to sail. it was also the day we would leave anyway.

and so we crossed another one off the F list, and embarked on a 4-hour drive into the heart of tuscany, yet another to cross off.