[48] ... continued

I woke up at 9am. We got dressed, ate some granola bars (no 4,50 euro breakfast this time), and headed downstairs. We were told we had to check out by 10 am, so we ran back upstairs and grabbed our bags. We ripped the sheets off the bed, grabbed our towels, and headed back down. We were given back our deposits and charged for the room and breakfast. They allowed us to store our bags in the cafeteria, thankfully.

We headed out for the second day of our hiking expeditions. We walked to Riomaggiore and was able to see the town during the day. We walked through the various stores, and then down to the marina. We got some strawberries and ate them while we walked around. We spent about an hour there before boarding the train to go to the opposite side of Cinque Terre, to the fifth town: Monterosso. I forgot to mention that when we arrived in Corniglia the day before, we found pieces of bamboo that we used as walking sticks. Also yesterday, we left the bamboo sticks outside the restaurant in which we ate the anchovies and mussels. So, before we actually got to Monterosso, we stopped in Vernazza to get our walking sticks. We had to wait an hour for the train to get to Monterosso (sure, we could have hiked, but rumor had it that its the most treacherous, and takes 2 hours, and we were sore, and, and...) Upon arrival, we were pleased to see a sandy beach. The weather was perfect for the beach too. I didn't feel the water but it surely looked refreshing. We ate at a small cafe there. I got bruschetta and a panini with proscuitto (ham) and olive sauce. We walked around for a bit longer and then, once out of money completely, headed back to Manarola. It was around 3:45 when we returned to the hostel, however they were closed until 4. Once they opened, we grabbed our bags, said our goodbyes, and headed down to the ocean. Alonzo watercolor painted and I sketched the town. I read a little bit more of the book and then we headed to the train station to go back home.

We left Manarola at 5:46pm and headed to Pisa for a 10 minute layover. We then got on the train to Florence and I again read. Oh, I've been reading a book by Nick Hornby called How To Be Good. I'm diggin' it. We arrived to Florence at about 8:30. We each went to our respective apartments. I stopped at the supermarket on the way home to get some much craved apple juice, as well as some cereal and milk. I got home at about 9, and made dinner. Pasta with tuna and mayonnaise mixed with various spices. I checked my emails, talked to Greg about the Scotland trip, said hello to some friends, said goodnight to Mom and then went to sleep.