La Spezia

OK I admit it - we are all a little weary. The pace is challenging even team Starrett. We tendered today into La Spezia and since we were a little late, missed our group that was going to show us the way to the train station for our visit to Cinque Terre. Bull at a gate, I bought tickets for the boat only to discover that the trip took 1.5 hours and the cost was $100. We asked for a refund and then thanks to Jason's sensible suggestion, spoke to the tourist information booth lady and commenced our walk to the train station. It was an easy 15 minute walk through a lovely itaian street with shops and restaurants. The train cost us $30 for the whole family and took 10 minutes to get to the last fo the five towns. We wandered through two towns a but aimlessly and then did the walk through the national park from town 2 to town 1. It was right along the edge of a cliff over the ocean and Campbell and I were a bit freaked out looking at the huge drop to our right. The walk is called the via amore and couples put locks on the fence to show their enduring relationship. There were a few combination locks ad we wondered if anyone ever came back to undo the lock if their relationship fell apart. We headed back on the train and stopped for lunch at a little italian cafe where the proprietors spoke no English. I got to trot out my "Un tavolo cinque por favore" and we ordered by pointing from the old italian lady. She did all the work cooking while the Husband came out and showed us a laminated photo of his house in Lerchi, and made a toy monkey cry for the boys. Back to the boat then for a rest. Tomorrow Rome.