Pisa, Cinque Terre & Home Again ...

Sunday ... was a joke. 

We were planning to go to Pisa & Cinque Terre and the quickest, best way to get there is by train. Well, that day the Italian railworkers decided it would be a good day to go on strike. Awesome. It was such a mess. We got to the Florence train station {got targeted by a pick pocket who tried to help us get our tickets...punk} then, sat and waited for our train. The first one got cancelled and it was supposed to leave at 9:30. I think the 10:30 one got cancelled also and it wasn't until 11:00 that one actually decided to leave for Pisa. {Bless that man who crossed the picket line}. So ... we made it to Pisa! We just weren't sure what getting back to Florence was going to be like but, I wasn't going to just skip out on traveling!

The Leaning Tower of Pisa.

I have always wanted to see this tower! I think it is pretty awesome. And now ... I have accomplished that Bucket List item. 

When the people would come out they always seemed a little disoriented. It was funny to watch them walk down the slanted steps. 

Kason LOVED this part. We took a good 6 or 7 pictures of him doing this by himself. He was having a grand old time! 

This is what it looks like in the area ... everybody standing in funny poses trying to get the best tower shot they can. It's pretty funny to watch some of the people and see the ideas they would come up with. 

The River Arno: 

After we got back to the train station, we bought our tickets to La Spezia so we could go to Cinque Terre. The scheduled train hadn't been cancelled yet so, we thought we were good to go. We even got to the point where we all loaded the train. Then, it got delayed 5 minutes, 10 minutes ... and then it got cancelled. The next train wasn't for an hour so, we all piled off and just waited. Mostly everyone on the train was trying to get to Cinque Terre and we all just stood around, trying to figure out what the next step would be. Finally, they announced a new platform number for the next train and we sat and waited, crossing our fingers it would actually end up leaving. Once we loaded the train, it got delayed 10 minutes, 15 minutes and then, we heard the brakes release and we were on our way! By this time it was almost 3:00 in the afternoon ... I was hoping to be IN Cinque Terre by 1:00 ... that dang strike really messed up our plans. {and on this stretch of our travels, there was a couple that didn't have tickets, so when the train conductor came through - they bolted for the doors super fast. it was kind of funny. they got yelled at in Italian and then got off on the next stop}

On the way, we passed a mountain where they mine for marble. It was in Massa, Italy. 

In La Spezia, we wanted to just take the train to Cinque Terre but, obviously couldn't. We were told that the strike in that region was ending at 5:00 (it was currently 4:00) and in Florence the strike would continue until 9:00. So, we found a taxi and had him take us up to Cinque Terre. Cinque Terre is an area of 5 coastal towns right up on the cliffs of the Italian Riviera. You can hike in between each town or take the train. The towns haven't been overrun by industries and corporations so, they are all small and quaint. Cars aren't even allowed down into each town. I loved, loved, loved Cinque Terre. It is easily one of my favorite parts of the trip. Unfortunately, because the trains were not running and the trail between the first town and the second town was shut down, and because we had about zero time there ... we were only able to see the first little town. I was a little disappointed but, there wasn't much we could do about it! So ... this is Riomaggiore. Riomaggiore is famous for it's wine that is made right there in the town, by the surrounding vineyards. 

I loved this old man fishing!!! 

I love this boys laugh ... it is so contagious.

The Mediterranean Sea. 

I want to live here ... or at least go back and stay longer. And hike through all the towns. Someday ... maybe. 

After we walked through the town, we found the train station, bought our tickets and crossed our fingers the scheduled train wouldn't be cancelled. It was after 5:00 so, we were hoping they would be done with the strike for good. Thankfully, a train came through at 6:00. It was originally scheduled to leave at 5:00 ... so, it was only an hour late! But, it got us back to La Spezia. 

In La Spezia, we got some dinner and waited on the train situation again. We were thinking that our train was supposed to leave at 7:00 but, it got pushed back 30 minutes so, we were just walking around trying to kill time. But, at about 6:59, I looked back up at the screens, realized we had been looking at the ARRIVAL times and that the train we wanted ... was leaving at 7:01. We booked it to the platform. It was great fun I tell ya. But thankfully we made it back to Pisa. In Pisa, I think we ended up buying a regional train back to Florence (because they seemed to be running more reliably). When we got back to Florence I just wanted to kiss the ground. I was so happy to be back knowing we could get home the next day.

Monday we had to take a train back to Rome. We woke up, got to the Florence station, thankfully to find that all our trains were running normal. Our first one was delayed for about 10 minutes but, it was still running! From this point on, I thank Heavenly Father for getting us to the airport on time. After our train arrived in Rome, we had about 5 minutes before we would need to catch the next train. I quickly looked at the schedule and barely glanced at the platform number before I knew where we were supposed to go. We barely made it on the train before it pulled away. Once we were at the train station by the airport ... we were standing outside for no longer than 5 minutes, trying to figure out how to get to the airport, when a taxi driver pulled up and asked where we needed to go. 10 minutes and 15 euro later, we were walking in the front doors of the airport to head home. I was so grateful that everything went so smoothly on Monday.

It was SO nice to get home Monday night. German soil, never felt so good. 

This picture was taken on the train ride to Rome. Kason was exhausted and he fell asleep in his chair but, they weren't exactly comfortable so, I took advantage and snuggled him up. I love these moments.