Florence charm and Mediterranean magic, Cinque Terra, Italy

The next morning we were up early & out the door still rubbing sleep from our eyes. Luckily we didn't have to go far, & we dived into the ocean for one last swim. We showered, packed up & headed to the port to catch the 1pm ferry, & after a smooth ride we arrived back in Piombino Maritima. We bid Cristina & Jane farewell for now, as we would be seeing Cris in the Cinque Terre the following day, & both again up in their lake house in a few days! 

We casually strolled around the port before jumping on our train bound for Florence. The trip thankfully wasn't a long one, & we arrived two hours later. Checking into our hotel, we dropped our bags & headed out straight away to find one of the replicas of the statue of David, & dinner afterwards. We walked into the heart of the city, past a beautiful church, & arrived at a square with the statue, & a whole ensemble of orchestra music. After snapping a few pics & enjoying the soft Italian music, we walked down a series of back roads until we arrived at a cosy little restaurant at the front of a house. 

Dinner consisted of a large salad, a tasty prosciutto pizza, & a delicious, crisp Tuscan white wine. After settling up, we walked a little further until we reached a river. Wandered aimlessly across one bridge & back over another, we eventually set our sights on home & bed. 

After a great night's sleep, we woke up & were all packed by 9. Thinking that we could get breakfast in our hotel until 9:30, we ducked out of room to grab some nourishment. However, the woman who was on shift had other ideas, & was already nearly packed down when we asked if we could eat. She aggressively started to get things back out & feeling uncomfortable, we told her not to bother & left to find somewhere else. We did find a place for a brioche & a coffee, & after heading out for a quick look at the second Statue of David replica, we returned to gather our things from the hotel, before walking to the train station & boarding the train, bound for The Cinque Terre.

Scoring a cabin all to ourselves, we set off & after another few hours, reached our destination, Levanto - a town just past the fifth fishing village of Monterosso. Exiting the station, we wandered up towards the hills - luckily taking a left before having to ascend - & reached our bed & breakfast, 'Fattore.' Meeting the friendly owner, Christian, we dumped our bags & got onto wifi to track down Cristina's whereabouts. Unsurprisingly, it was beachside, at a bar right at the edge of the ocean. We set off back down, through town, & reached the joint. We met Cristina & were introduced to her friend from home, Patricio. We wasted no time in ordering an Aperol Spritz each, & it shortly arrived with some complimentary nibbles. 

Patricio asked if Sean wanted to head out for a surf, & Sean jumped at the chance without hesitation! Cris & I watched on, (even borrowing someone's binoculars!) as the two new mates hit it off attempting to catch the Mediterranean's unusually giant waves, they ventured back in after a good hour & we were back to drinking & socialising. 

As the sun set over the hill, we begun to feel hungry for dinner. We left the bar & headed home for a quick change. Walking back to town, we stumbled upon a tiny pizza restaurant that was packed full. Thinking it must be great, we waited patiently until the elderly waitress ushered us to a table. After waiting patiently again to order, a hot, fresh & delicious anchovy pizza was placed on our table. We devoured the meal with an average local white wine & then headed to another bar for another Aperol Spritz each & a cigar.

We got a hold of Cris again & agreed to meet at another café bar. The cocktails were strong & tasty, & we drank & laughed the night away with inappropriate chat! We decided to call it a night after a few cocktails each, & stumbled home at 1am. 

We woke the next morning drearily, the cocktails definitely came back to bite us. After slowly getting out of bed, we got our things together & headed out to visit Vernazza, one of the Cinque Terre. We hopped on the train & after a short while, arrived at our destination. We checked out a few of the stores, had a delicious sandwich at a place called 'lunch box,' & climbed up a tower which provided magnificent views! 

After taking in the beautiful scenery, & itching to get into the deep blue - if a little rough - ocean, we headed back down to the marina. Sean jumped off a ledge where huge waves were crashing onto, & then we both dived into the much calmer marina. 

We splashed around for a little while, then decided to head back home, picking up a few supplies for a salad dinner at home on the way. I tossed together a delicious, healthy salad, & still feeling rough, we decided against having a drink with dinner. After dinner, we hopped into bed to watch the BBC news, & shortly fell asleep. 

The next morning we arose still feeling the effects of the two nights previous, but pulled through, dressing in comfy, active gear & headed to Levanto station. We purchased a Cinque Terre national parks card which we required in order to hike from one village to another, & hopped on the next train bound for Riomaggitore. 

We disembarked the train & walked down towards the marina. Stopping briefly for a café macchiato whilst taking in the sights of the bustling bay, we finished & walked over towards the allegedly picturesque Lover's Walk. Unfortunately, the path was closed due to landslides which was a massive shame, however we did check this beforehand so as to avoid even greater disappointment. 

Figuring that the next walk would start in the next village along, Manarola, we hopped back on the train & in no time we arrived. Walking down towards the beginning of the cliffside trek, we bypassed it for now in search of a pristine swimming spot. We found one of the edge of a rocky boat ramp, & we wasted little time in stripping off into swimmers & diving into the crisp, clear blue water. The swim gave us a massive renewed energy, & after we climbed out & dried off, we were straight up to the cliff trail with our sights set on Corniglia. 

Oh, if only the trek was as flat as the inconveniently closed coastal paths!! We soldiered on up the mountainside under the unforgiving hot Italian sun through grapevines & up raggedy steps. Our only tiny bursts of energy came in the form of the local white wine grapes Sean kept picking sparingly straight off the vines! After a couple of hours of sweating & pushing hard, we reached the cliffside village of Corniglia. 

Because the marina required a lot more effort than the others to reach, we opted for a delicious gelato in the town centre, before continuing on our journey. Thankfully from Corniglia, the coastal path was open, so no surprises at all in the fact that we didn't hesitate to join it. Funnily enough, the walk was still quite steep, (I fell hard and fast) but thankfully more so coming the other way! We praised a higher power as tourists passed us up the hill panting & sweating, knowing all too well how it felt.

We reached a familiar looking village in Vernazza after a good hour & a half, and stepped up the pace towards the ocean! We jumped into the deep blue and it was refreshing and crisp. We found a spot on the rocks and sent the good part of the next hour enjoying the Rays and splashing around. After a much needed rest and romping, the late hours of the afternoon aroused our appetites and we climbed back up the through the town to a restaurant we had passed on our descend. We had a gorgeous view of the Mediterranean from 🌱 & service with a smile. The food came out promptly and we were super satisfied with our tasty seafood cabonara and tomato/olive stuffed mussels! The sun was beginning to set and with my bung knee (from falling) we opted for the train to take us to the last village of Monterosso. 

The last time I had been in the village with my sister was 8 years ago.. And after far too much limoncello, we stripped off and skinny dipped!! Opting for a far more sober experience of it this time we walked around the bustling little town that seemed to attract the dressiest of the 5 villages! Women were kitted out head to toe in designer tack, face full makeup and Stilettos on cobble streets.. Good luck with that! Limping and resembling a drowned rat after a day of hiking and swimming Sean and I decided to head home on the train.. Not before taking a moment or twenty to be captivated by the gorgeous full moon over the water!

One night in Rome and endless sunshine in Elba, Italy.

After an easy but delayed flight we flew into Rome, grabbed our bags and jumped on the train into the city. We arrived at Termini station at about 9pm and set off in search of our hotel which conveniently was only a few blocks away. We were greeted by an extremely friendly lady who showed us to a comfortable room where we dumped our bags, quickly changed and ordered an uber. Rushing to meet a friend, Alex from home, we arrived to the pub we had previously agreed market at campo square.. but we were an hour late. We crawled between the raging contiki and top deck tours in search of him but their high pitch screaming and sweaty bodies got the better of us and we left unsuccessful and feeling old. 

The square was bustling with people as it was lined with cafes, bars and buskers, so we decided on dinner just near by so we could see if he was to leave the pub. Ordering a few well deserved beers, and a tasty starter of creamy mozzarella and salad, followed by our favourite pizza; napolitana. Just as we were finishing off our beers a familiar face caught my eye and we found Alex! The rest of his group decided to head home so the three of us headed to a few more bars for more beers before sending him home in a cab and putting ourselves on a bus after midnight! 

We woke around 8 and headed for the train station, with a quick bite to eat there we found our train and scored some seats! A few hours later we arrived at campagniola maritime and had to run to make our second train due in at Portimbo maritime at 2pm. We jumped off the train and into the hot, salty, summer air and crossed the road into the ferry office. Booking two tickets, departing at 2:30 and arriving into Portoferraro, Elba at 3:30. 

We were greeting by a super smiley beachy beauty; Cristina, whom I met in Bondi a few years back. She had invited us to join her at her holiday house in Elba for the weekend, and obviously we greatfully accepted the kind invitation! We all jumped in her big soccer mum car and drove about 20 minutes to a small community set up by the beach, booming with tourists! Arriving at her house, it was adorable and authentic, like stepping into a set from the 50's, complete with drawings on the wall (that her grandfather had done) to Rosemary beads hanging over the beds. She showed us to our room and opened the shutters.. Which literally showed us the beach! The water was a stone throw away, needless to say we changed quickly into our swimmers and ran down to splash in the sea. 

We met her mum Jane, and her friend Steph, who was also staying for a night! The beach was completely lined with deck chairs, and umbrellas and stretched for a few kilometres until it escalated into the township area full of bustling restaurants and pricey boutiques.   We swam into the early hours of the evening and soaked up all the sun we could before walking the few metres back to the house for an outdoor shower (with a forest view!) and to get ready for dinner. 

After popping open a bottle of one of the champagnes we specially brought with us, we drove (the whole 2kms) into the township area and arrived to our reservation at a friendly authentic pizza place. We ordered an eggplant parmigiana, followed by a massive Nepolitana pizza to share! It was delicious and was washed down with a tasty, cold draft beer! We then followed the cobble streets down to a happening little bar, ordered cocktails and watched an incredible band! She took requests and when Sean asked for 'what's up', she insisted he have the microphone for the chorus! She shut down at midnight and so too did we! 

After a little lie in, we opened the shutters to see the sun was in full force and the beach was already packed! We headed back into town to the garden beach cafe (where we were the night before) for a few macchiatos (they do this well, but not so good at cappuccinos), and a few brioches (perhaps we are just fussy but they taste like a sponge cake compared to anything in Paris). 

On island time it was already past midday and we had barely finished our breakfast before making our way back to the beach for a good few hours of splashing around! Steph took off to catch her flight back to the UK so we had a late snack at one of the beach shack cafes to tie us over until dinner. We strolled all of the twenty metres home & set up some Campari spritz for apertivo hour. 

Feeling a little tipsy we ventured back out, fortunately not far at all as we returned to the same café from earlier, however it had now been transformed into a fine dining seafood restaurant. We took our table with a gorgeous sea view & ordered a whole fresh sea bream, which was filleted & plated up right at our table. The fish was incredible, & the matching local white wine, a viogner, harmonised perfectly. Finishing up with a digestif, we left feeling full & fantastic. We headed home for a much needed sleep.

The sun poured through our shutters again the next morning, & after a dip in the ocean, we decided to walk into town for some brekky. We returned to the garden café for macchiatos & brioches, & Christina joined us halfway through. After we split from Chris, & browsed the local overpriced shops we decided to hike over the hill to another beach on the island. After walking for 20 mins we reached a beautiful blue rocky beach, & we dived into the cool sea without hesitation. We floated around for awhile before getting out & making the journey back home. 

We returned to the beach out the front of the house, sunbaked & swam for a good few hours, & before we knew it, it was time for aperitivo hour yet again. This time we shared Campari with orange juice & soda, & just like the day before, we each had a few, got ready, & headed out for our last dinner in Elba. We walked back to town as the sun set, painting a picturesque scene across the water. 

We made it to Jane & Chris' extended families restaurant, with the exhausted owner standing outside fishing for customers, & doing it well. We sat down & ordered two different homemade pastas. The gnocchi was fluffy & delicious & the crab spaghetti was decent as well. Our meal was accompanied with another local white, this time a vermentino, & it was all happy days! We paid up & left, & after Christina went shopping at 1am on a Sunday night(!), we returned home, ready to leave the island the following afternoon, our next stop being the Cinque Terre, via Florence! 

Parisian Strolls & Romance, With Old & New Friends, France.

As the lush fields and vineyards rolled away we delved into Parisian traffic around 3, and headed for our air BnB in Bastille area. With a few wrong turns we still arrived in good time and found it quite easily. We were greeted by a super friendly Natashja who showed us around her two bedroom, sunlit and colourfully decorated flat. We carried all our luggage up the 4 flights of stairs, made friends with our new feline friend who lived there then headed to Gard D'Lyon to drop off our cute little Fiat. 

We caught the efficient metro back to goncourt which was only about a 10 minute walk to our Parisian flat, picking up a few snacks and wine on route. Sean then ducked out to get us coffees while I make a cheese plate to greet Bridie with on her birthday! To my excitement he came back with coffees and two smiling faces!!! I hadn't met Tam (Bridie's Scottish fiancée) before but immediately felt like I'd known him a lifetime as he was warm and lovely, and as for seeing Bridie, it seems no matter the distance between us she will always remain such a treasured friend and it was so lovely to see her gorgeous face!

We all sat around on the floor catching up, snacking on cheese and even popped a delicious bottle of Veuve Clicquot for the occasion! Hours went by before we realised we should head out for dinner before everything had closed! We stepped out and walked up the canal until we came to a busy little bar which offered us cheap delicious spritz and free Aperol sunglasses before we settled on a buzzing little Italian place for some hearty food and tasty wine.  Following that we found a trendy nightclub in an old factory by the canal for a beer then home to bed.

The next morning we rose slowly and set off in search of a crispy chocolate croissant from an adorable little corner patisserie. We washed this down with an overpriced ($7 Aussie dollars) bad coffee and a waiter with an attitude before hiring bikes and taking to the streets. With a little difficulty at first we finally managed to hire out 4 'working' bikes, with sean in the lead we drove around crazy round-abouts and down cobbled streets along the canal. The sun was shining and it was a gorgeous morning seeing Paris by bike in the best of company! We passed the Notre damn and wheeled into luscious green gardens (not allowed to be walked on) until we stopped by the fountain to catch some sun. 

Hungry for lunch we found a little brasserie and patisserie a few blocks from the Eiffel Tower for a fresh baguette and coffee. Fuelled and feeling thirsty we all rode home in the afternoon sun, swapping up to route and delving down unknown streets and dodging traffic. Sean and I picked up a tasty white wine while Tam and Bridie brought home another cheese plate! We kicked up our heels and devoured all that we had until it was time for dinner. 

We ordered a trusty uber to take us to a trendy little area full of busy bars and tasty looking restaurants. Not being able to resist yet another happy hour we enjoyed a spritz in the sun then stumbled upon Le Restaurant Mimere au Piano for some delicious French cuisine! The boys were super satisfies with their tender steak fillets while Bride's and I shared salmon and kingfish ceviche, with a delicious buttery mash and a wine to match.

Adamant to make it to a free concert near by to see Mika perform, we ordered another uber to take us there. We then braved the big crowed of people despite the falling rain and found ourselves a little spot. Shoulder to shoulder the square was packed with excited and rowdy fans as Mika came on stage. It was Devine eve dancing in a wet drizzle trying to work out if Infact the French speaking man onstage was actually Mika.. Which was only confirmed when 'love me' was performed to us! 

The four of us were swept away with smiles as we jumped on the tube and headed back towards our area. We all agreed on one last boogie and a drink at Le Tiki lounge! This is literally a bar we by chance stumbled upon as it was down an unsuspecting quiet street across the way from our apartment. As soon as we walked in I felt as if we stepped back into the 50's. The bar was crowded with slick hair styles, black jeans and tattoos, and the ladies complete with tailored outfits and high heels! We found ourselves a empty corner, sipped away at our strong cocktails and danced to well selected rockabilly music until we couldn't groove any longer and a step back across the street found us to our beds, smiling at our beautiful jam packed day! 

Our last morning with Bridie and Tam was far too brief as we set out on the sunny Sunday to find a nice breakfast spot. Bridie led us to the perfect place which served eggs, pancakes, real coffee and even Vegemite?!?! An unlucky 45 minute table wait and restricted by time we settled for a nice croissant and coffee down the road before they ran off for their train back to London.  

Sean and I then ventured down the canal to Bastille Sunday markets which were hundreds of little stalls selling food, drinks, crafts, jewellery and more! We found ourselves some delicious local wine and fresh produce before running back to the apartment to pack up and move to another air BnB in monmatre area. The rain started to fall and we ordered another uber to take us across the city.. Only to climb 5 flights of spiral stairs to finally reach 'the sweet nest'.

Our new room was barley that.. It resembled a wooden sauna and was fitted with a single bed and a shower that I would barley fit a thigh in. The roof was slanted so we couldn't stand in the room and spent most of our time in the sunny lounge area. Off that was another common shower.. Which I had great difficulty getting in (having to squat down..) so you can imagine the pain Sean's long legs had. 

Exhausted, hungover and missing Bridie and Tam already, after a tasty and expensive Burger up the road we spent the afternoon in a deep sleep waking in the early hours of the eve. Hungry again we cooked up all our fresh veggies from the market and made tasty veggie stacks topped with delicious melty Langres cheese and wine! Spending the eve booking further travels we called it a night and headed back to our single sauna to spoon. 

The heat of our wooden shoebox room sent us out to face the day early! We jumped on the underground and headed back toward Bastille area to visit all of the opshops I had frequented at before! Picking up a smooth macchiato and croissant at a busy little cafe we set off in search of Parisian pre loved items! To my disappointment the prices of these goods had doubled so we left with fewer items than I had wished! Tired of rummaging through massive bargain bins we settled on a tasty bagel for fuel. We then headed up one of the main drags to browse some of the high street shopping on route back home.

We had previously read about secret well kept flowery streets that are open to all but tucked away behind what looks like a private gate. We took our chances and explored some of the gated communities finding adorable little pebbled streets untouched by traffic and rubbish. 

Under the summers sun and after a big day shopping (with not much to show) we followed our thirst to the Main Street in monmatre for happy hour cocktails. This area is always buzzing with tourists, street artists and next to none locals. The main attraction in the area is the moulin rouge and the sex shops that line the busy road, and of course with that comes the 'cheap drinks' and 'typical' French cuisine like escargot and frogs legs.. (However the quality of these are very questionable.)

We then stopped by the famous Le chat noir cafe for a few beers and crisps before calling it a night, heading home for left overs and a bottle of French wine. 

Another pretty day in Paris we ventured down the back streets of monmatre to find a cafe Sean had read up about. Soul kitchen served us up a delicious salad and coffee on brightly coloured tin tables. The food was organic fresh and tasty and the staff were friendly. We then climbed the steps to view Sacré-Cœur and the view over Paris. Spotting the Eiffel Tower from a far we decided to head back across the river to spend some more time with the unwanted gift. (she was originally gifted to Barcelona but they didn't want her so Paris got her). 

We sat on the grass and sipped away at an expensive and tasteless iced coffee, refusing selfie sticks and eiffle tower key chains from hundreds of sellers and watching a bunch of suited men pop a bottle of champagne worth hundreds of dollars. After a few touristy photos and no proposals (much to the disappointment of my friends and family.. Although should it have happened here I would have rejected such a cliche thing), we went home to freshen up before dinner. 

We set off to meet Marie (who used to live with my friend Lucy, and could be described as French Lucy therefore will respond to 'Frucy') at a pub she chose called dirty dicks in Pigalle area which is a funky bar/cool crowd area. Unfortunately dirty dicks was closed so we headed down to street to a funky dark bar, we were welcomed with big smiles and a cocktail list. They were flavoursome, strong and unusual.. Just what we wanted to kick off our night, however the price kept us from ordering another and we headed down to a busy bar down the road for a tasty beef tatare, salmon steaks and a bottle of wine. We had one last nightcap before farewelling each other and heading back home. 

Our last full day in Paris was spent exploring by foot, we walked all the way to the other end of the city in search of pretty gardens and train tracks converted to more gardens! Like any city you really feel the change from one area to the other they change dramatically; culturally and visually! As it was a sunny summers day the parks and train walk were sprawling with people enjoying the warmth. We picked up some lunch en route and walked the entire way back but along the canal.. Which took us the good part of the afternoon. 

We headed back to Pigalle area for dinner, in search of snails we settled on a place which served us well. The snails were how I remembered.. A little chewy and taste of what they are drenched in which was a pesto like oil, they were tasty but I was happy for Sean to finish them off. Our main courses followed, my salad was generous and Sean's tatare was bland, we washed it down with a boring bottle of white and went home to pack. 

Happy to leave our sauna we left after lunch after a lazy morning and headed on the train and Orly bus to the airport. Our easyjet plane was delayed so just after 7pm we were finally flying and looking forward to tasty Italian food and juicy wine!! Ciao Rome.