Almost 30 years ago, Mum and Dad also climbed the tower of Pisa. Here are a couple of photos from their trip. This was way (way, way!) before digital cameras so there are only two photos (compared to the hundred or so Andrew and I took).



I love how there is a little, orange car parked right in front of the Tower. (Please excuse the dodgy photoshop job. There was a smudge on the photo.)



When Mum and Dad climbed the tower it actually had more of a lean than it does today. Recent restoration work straightened the tower by 45 centimetres, returning it to the position it was in 1838. So Andrew and I actually climbed an older version of the tower than Mum and Dad. We're time travellers!

More photos on Flickr

To get to Cinque Terre, we had the option of flying to Genoa or Pisa. In the end we decided on Pisa because it was cheaper (0p flights! yay!) and really who could resist a visit to that most famous mistake, The Leaning Tower of Pisa. On our last day in Italy, we left Manarola early in the morning and caught a train straight to Pisa. We left our luggage at the deposito bagagli at the train station, along with the rest of the tourists who'd also alighted from the train. It would seem that a quick pit-stop to see the Leaning Tower is the thing to do.

I think the word that I'd use to describe the Leaning Tower of Pisa is fun. When you arrive at the Piazza one of the first things you see (apart from the Dome, the Cathedral and the Tower) is tourists all lined up doing the famous "pushing the tower" shot. I'm sure you've seen it. You stand with your hands up in the air, and take a photo which makes it look like you are holding the tower up. Either that or you lean with the tower, or hug the tower. It's all a bit of silliness but who can resist this bit of fun? (Not Andrew and I, you can see our examples below. For once I didn't stand out as peculiar when I took the photos of the kids.)


Climbing the Tower is lots of fun too. It's a little bit expensive at 15 euro a piece but it's an experience I wouldn't have missed for the world. Just walking through the front door is a disorientating experience. After walking through a door that is slanted at a ridiculous angle, you've entered into an Alice in Wonderland like reality. You technically climb up the spiral staircase but it's more like up, up, up, then flat, flat, flat, then down, down, down... and then back to the up. I found walking the terraces that encircle the outside of the tower a little bit scary. The photos we took just don't manage to catch the strange perspective you have of the world around you. The world is right and you're just a little bit crazy. It was better than a ride at a funfair.



Later that evening when we'd finally made it back to London (after a typically crap Ryanair journey) I said to Andrew... "don't you find it surreal that at lunchtime today we were standing on the Leaning Tower of Pisa and now we're at home in our bed." And it's the same with all our trips. I'm very grateful to be lucky enough to see these places. Places that I've wanted to see since I was a little girl.

Some Tower Trivia for you:

• the tower leans to the southwest at an angle of almost 4 degrees.
  
  
• the tower started to lean shortly after construction begun in 1173 due to a poorly laid foundation and loose soil.
  
  
• Engineers built the higher floors (fourth floor and above), with one side taller than the other to try to compensate for the lean. This means the tower is actually curved. (You can see curve in the photos.)
  
  
• In May 2008, after yet another round of restoration work on the tower, they announced that the tower had stopped moving for the first time in history. They declared that it would be stable for the next 200 years.
  
  

More photos on Flickr

Recently our travel agenda has changed. Originally, we'd planned to do a month long driving holiday through France and Italy before returning home to Australia for good. Unfortunately, that holiday was planned for September or October 2008. Thanks to Mr Credit Crunch we've spent the months of both September and October working instead of gallivanting around the continent.

We realised that travel plans could only be made tentatively. We decided that there were must-see places that we should probably just go and see rather than wait for that elusive block of vacation time.

First up, Cinque Terre. This was definitely on our must-see list. It's a favourite place of some of our favourite people.


Cinque Terre is a series of five villages lining the Mediterranean coast of Northern Italy. It's an hour south of Genoa and an hour north-west Pisa. The rugged landscape of the region means that the five villages, Riomaggiore, Manarola, Corniglia, Vernazza and Monterosso, are built into the cliffside. It's also famed as a wine producing region. Grapes are grown on terraces which have been cut into the cliffs. (At harvest time in the olden days they used to lower buckets of grapes down the cliffs to rowboats waiting below. Now they use stairclimbers... boring!).

We had an idyllic weekend in Cinque Terre. We stayed in a modern apartment in the small village of Manarola. The apartment was built right on the edge of the cliff. At night, I was lulled to sleep by the sound of the sea; waves crashing on the cliffs. It's a sound from my childhood, a sound from summer holidays at Budgewoi. It was very relaxing.


The apartment also had roof-top terrace with a beautiful ocean view. We ate breakfast on the terrace every morning. A baguette with prosciutto and cheese, a banana and a glass of orange juice. We purchased the supplies from the local deli in very broken Italian. (For example, to order 10 slices of prosciutto - "Prosciutto per favore, dieci" *make slicing motions with hands*. Ashamedly, our broken Italian is sometimes snippets of Spanish or French. Told you it was very broken!).


Oh and did I mention the weather! Apart from the rain on the first day, we had beautiful weather. Three days of sunshine and temperatures in the mid 20s. It's only 11 degrees in London today. As I write this I look out the window at a view of a very grey London. Sometimes I wonder why anyone would live in London.

We booked a 4-day mini-break to Cinque Terre which meant that we could work at a very relaxed pace. Our first day we spent mainly napping because it was raining. On Day 2, we hiked from Manarola to Corniglia and then to Vernazza. The first part was easy, apart from the 300 step climb up to Corniglia. The hike from Cornigilia to Vernazza was more challenging with a steep climb up and then steep climb down. On day 3, we took it easy, catching a train to Monterosso and then a ferry to Riomaggiore. We then walked Lovers Lane from Riogmaggiore back to our village, Manarola. That was a very easy stroll compared to the other Cinque Terre hikes.


What makes Cinque Terre special, is that the best way to see it is to walk the trails. There isn't a road which easily links the five villages. There is a train but it spends most of the journey between the villages inside tunnels. There isn't even a funicular or a cable car. To really enjoy the view you have to make an effort. And the effort makes the view all that more enjoyable. There was nothing better than the view as we hiked down into Vernazza after a two hour trek. Well, except maybe the view of the large scoop of lemon gelato that I awarded myself afterwards.

More photos on Flickr

We stayed at Arpaiu in Manarola. The accommodation was clean and modern. All the rooms had a sea view. The accommodation was recommended by Sue and J. Thanks for the fantastic recommendation guys.

Everyone loves Italian food. What's not to love about a delicious bowl of fresh pasta, or a crusty pizza, or antipasto. (I'm drooling just thinking about it.) In Italy, at every meal, when the food was delivered, cameras would suddenly appear and the experience would be thoroughly documented by everyone at the table. It's what happens when you eat out with other bloggers.

I thought I'd nominate the three meals I enjoyed most while in Italy. Not just the best tasting meals but the best overall experiences.

Pizza in the home of Pizza
Everyone knows that Pizza is an Italian dish but did you know that it was invented in Naples? Poor people in the 18th century used to supplement plain flat bread with tomato. Voila! Pizza! We were lucky enough to eat pizza in Naples.

Day 1 -- we arrived in Naples, parked the car and decided that pizza was our priority. We were in Naples, we were hungry and luckily we had some time to spare before meeting up with Sue and J. We turned to the Lonely Planet for direction. It nominated Da Michel as the best pizzeria in Naples. They are famous for asserting that there are only two types of pizza: the Marinara and the Margherita. They stand for what they believe in, as these two pizzas are the only two items on their menu. Unfortunately, we arrived at Da Michel to find a crowd standing outside. Not a queue, but a mass of around 30 people. We were limited for time so we opted for another LP recommendation, Trianon, which was just down the road.

Day 3 -- Back in Naples to catch a train to Rome. J and Sue were yet to try authentic Neapolitan pizza. We decided to give Da Michel another go and drove by to suss out the situation. Sadly, it was not to be; closed on a Sunday. Trianon was due to open at 11. We dropped off the hire car and headed back to Trianon, timing it perfectly. We crossed the threshold at exactly at 11am.

Obviously, turning up at opening time is not the done thing. When we entered the restaurant the staff looked at us incredulously. Our waitress rudely directed us to tables and gave us some menus. We ordered and then watched, as the rest of the staff, including the pizza chef, turned up. Obviously the opening time really means 11 for midday.

We ordered several pizzas including the Margherita DOC. The DOC stands for Denominazione di Origine Controllata and means that the product is made by set methods and that it satisfies a certain standard. (I love that DOC is pronounced dok-ah. It's impossible to be monosyllabic in Italy.) It was an authentic Margherita. It was gooooooood.

My favourite pizza from our order was the 7-cheese pizza. I love cheese so much. (But being slightly lactose intolerant it's a love/hate affair.) Nobody else really liked the 7 cheese pizza as a blue cheese was included among the seven. I scored a few extra pieces this way. It was gooooooood.

Was it the best pizza I'd ever had? It's hard to say. Even when pizza is bad it's good. While I can't pinpoint it as the best, our meal at Trianon certainly ranks among the finest pizza I've ever eaten.

Lunch at Dino and Tony's
After our visit to the Vatican museum we were in serious need of sustenance. We were very exhausted from standing in queues, hiking through the museums and also from gazing upwards in wonder.

Unfortunately, our designated lunch spot was closed. We should really learn to read the guidebook carefully. After a flurry of text messages between the sightseers and the slackers, we finally managed to meet up another LP recommended restaurant, Dino and Tony's.

Unfortunately, Dino and Tony's didn't have a menu. Unfortunately, the waitstaff didn't speak much English. Unfortunately, we don't speak much Italian.

Our waiter arrived to take our order, a conversation of sorts followed, more hand gestures than words, and our waiter left. Apparently we had ordered. We know the important words: birra, antipasto, pasta.

Our antipasto arrived and after the meal was properly documented, we tucked in. Our waiter returned and conveyed that he was going to bring two types of pasta out for us to try. We agreed, "sure, why not!" Little did we know that he meant that we'd actually get two rounds of pasta. First, a bowlful of spaghetti carbonara. After the dishes had been cleared another plate of pasta was delivered. This time a bowl of penne matriciana. By this stage we were struggling.

Plates were cleared and our waiter returned. "Carne?" he asked hopefully. Sue replied, "no no no Carne!". We were already full to bursting. Another round and we may not have fit out the door.

A traditional Italian meal has several courses. Antipasto, Primi (usually pasta), Secondo (usually meat) and Contorno (a side dish of salad or veggies), Formaggio (cheese), Dolce (dessert), Caffe (coffee), Digestivo (liquers). We only made it to Primi (although we did have a double helping). We'll have to practice being Italian before returning to Dino and Tony's.

Dinner with the cousins
I prefer to have my family close by, but there is one benefit of having overseas relatives. It's a floor to crash on when you head abroad. My mum's cousin Rosyln lives with her husband Antonio and two daughters, Elide and Daniela in Rome. Although, we weren't lucky enough to stay with the Gravina family, we did manage to dine with them at their apartment in Rome.

At Rosyln's, we were able to enjoy a bona fide, home-cooked Italian meal. Six courses in all: antipasto, risotto, a pasta (bolognaise and an unidentified noodle), a meat course. A fifth round consisted of some Aussie lollies we'd brought along as a gift. Fantales were the favourite. They weren't sure want to make of the chicos (Andrew's favourite.) In true Jess style, we were able to squeeze in a sixth course, another round of dessert. Daniela and her boyfriend Claudio dropped us back at our accommodation via a gelateria. It was the best scoop of pistachio gelato I had while in Italy.

It was lovely to catch up with my Italian family. (Someone needs to invent a teleporter so we can hang out with the Italian cousins more often.)

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And that's it. It's time to say arrivederci to Roma, Sorrento and Italy. Until we meet again!

Shall I sum up? Allora, Good -- Neapolitan pizza, Pompeii, Raphael, Pantheon, Catacombs, pistachio gelato, caprese salad... Bad -- driving in Naples (bad but fun), queuing, pushy Italians in queues, not checking the guidebook.

And we're nearing the end of the Italy posts. We had said goodbye to Sue and J the previous evening (with a few rounds of Set and a couple of games of 500). It was now our last day in Rome. We had decided to venture outside the city walls and head to the Catacombs. We certainly picked the right day to head underground. The weather was dreadful. Our last remaining hours in Rome and it was cold and wet.

We had originally decided to visit the Catacombs of San Callisto. However, on our way there we had to quickly change our plans when we discovered they were closed. (We must really learn how to read a guidebook properly.) Luckily, we were able to visit the Catacombs of San Sebastiano instead.

I'm morbidly fascinated with catacombs. I'd imagined exploring musty, dark, underground tunnels filled with skulls and bones, hearing the scurrying patter of rats. I might have been holding a flaming torch in my vision too. My mind had obviously been heavily influenced by Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade.

My mental picture wasn't quite accurate. There were tunnels, but they weren't filled skulls or bones. (Respect for the dead and all that *G*). Didn't hear any rats either. But, I wasn't disappointed at all. Our visit to the catacombs was fascinating and very interesting.

Highlights:

• We've visited another word origin. The Catacombs of San Sebastiano are the origin of the word catacomb, meaning underground cemetery. The word catacomb, derived from Greek, actually described the terrain around San Sebastiano. Our guide told us that it meant "near the cave" (there is a quarry nearby) and it was used as an location identifier for these particular burial grounds. Over time it has come to mean any underground burial ground.
  
  
• The catacombs are the original burial place of St Peter and St Paul. The St Peter and St Paul from the New Testament. These kind of details really put it into perspective the lengthy history of a city like Rome. It's easy to say something is 2,000 years old but what does that really mean? To learn that St Peter and St Paul were buried there makes me think "wow! That's old!"
  
  
• More Roman graffiti. This time from visitors on religious pilgrimages. They would scrawl the names of St Peter and St Paul on the walls as a form of prayer.
  
  
• In the basilica above the catacombs, you can see evidence of fossils in the marble floor.