Two nights based in Nice and we set off for Italy, first stopping over in Milan to pick up two of our friends while taking the opportunity to peek around Milan town for a bit. The train left really early from Nice and the 5hr train journey across the border went unnoticed as I was still recovering from my upset tummy, so I slept the whole way. The food poisoning made me so miserable that at certain points I felt like I just wanted to go home. And all the time too, I wish I had my travel buddy with me. When I had pressure sickness scuba diving and skydiving, he was there to nurse me back to health, and there was a time when my backpack got too heavy for me to carry and he carried both his and mine, cause he wanted to show off. That lasted 10 minutes at most. It felt weird travelling this time around, I really missed my travelpartner.
For the shopping enthusiast and someone with a wad load of cash just sitting around, Milan would definitely have been an irresistible haven but for a student, on a budget backpacking trip, even with PRADA and SALVATORE FERRAGAMO screaming out at me, I hardly batted an eyelash! But... in all honesty, one day, I do wish I could afford them. I'll just have to remember to overcharge my patients and cut down on the family discounts. Lol!
I was highly irritated in Milan due to the abundance of pesky immigrants in front of the famous Duomo, who were literally in our faces trying to give us pigeon food, and silly charm bracelets and then end up harassing us for money, not taking no as an answer. And to make it worse, they gang up on you! So, anyone planning on going, take note. Bring some pepper spray to ward them off. Lol maybe then they'll get the point!
Because we had some time to kill, Wowo wanted to try one of the most talked about Gelatorias in Italy; GROM. We got a bit lost trying to find the place and we had to drag our feet for about 40 minutes, down 6 blocks of unknown territory, nearly giving up at one point! All that walking though... totally worth it! GROM was uh-mazinngggg! Its not like any other ice cream I've tasted so whenever you're in Italy, try and look out for this Gelatoria, I promise you wont be disappointed.
That same evening, we took a train to Cinque Terre, arriving at the Hotel in Riomaggiore for just after midnight. We couldnt find our hotel, the town was dead and we had to desperately flag down a passing car for directions. He was such a Godsent, he even turned his car around to drive us to the hotel, and if it wasnt for him, we would have been walking the whole night in the opposite direction! So when we made it into the hotel, (the owner had left the keys out on the porch for us because she couldnt stay) the first thing everyone said was Alhamdulillah, syukur!
Cinque Terre means The five lands in Italian and they're named Riomaggiore, Manarola, Corniglia, Vernazza and Monterosso Al Mare.
Unfortunately though, weather wasnt on our side for this leg of the trip. It drizzled on and off for the whole two days that we were there and that hampered most of the things we had planned. The supposed hiking trail that we wanted to take was ruled out due to the wet weather and the famous Via dell 'Amore (Lovers trail) has been closed for quite some time now due to rockslides. Even our plan to find the secret nudist beach in Corniglia had to be put on hold! Hihi. I dont know what its like during other times of the year, but Cinque Terre felt really quiet and sleepy while we were there. I think between all the five villages, Manarola was prolly the most liveliest one. It also had the best view, in my opinion. It was beautiful.
Peja xx
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