When I mentioned that my feet were itching again, I already said the destination wouldnt be far. In Europe, luckily, you neednt go far to see loads of interesting things. Its what I love about the continent. Its so diverse! And a lot of it I havent explored, always concentrating on the far away. Jenni and I had various plans when we first started talking about a trip together. Morocco was mentioned, but with Covid and the country shutting its borders at short notice, we decided it perhaps wasnt quite the time yet. I thought about Spain, particularly the south, Grenada, Cordoba that way. I havent seen those places yet, and I figured now might be the right time, with less tourists. And then it became Italy! Easier to reach from Jenni, and cheaper to reach as well. A direct train to Milan for 45 euros.
So Italy it was. We had two weeks. Short perhaps. But thats how much holiday Jenni had. And I had a trial to catch after. Milan the first stop. With so little time, we decided to spend most of it, not in the cities, but in the villages of Cinque Terre. However, just passing
through Milan also seemed stupid. Since we were there, we might as well see something. As a taster for another time. We just wandered around for a day. We didnt go into any museums. We felt it would be rushed if we just sprinted from one museum to another. And we wanted to relax. So simply strolling around the place was all we did. Its a beautiful city, but as we discovered, that isnt saying much. Many cities and towns in Italy are beautiful and for most you would need a week at the least to really explore them, not a day. Still, it was pleasant, the main cathedral was impressive, the food good, the people friendly.
From Milan we left to Cinque Terre via Genua, where we only had lunch. A pity, because Genua, me thinks, is a very pretty and interesting port, which gets little press. I have noted it, and we shall return some day, as we shall to all the places we visited.
Cinque Terre is well known, and in season and during times, I have heard its full of tourists. Even now, towards the end of the season it was busy. But
not disturbingly so. We based ourselves in Corniglia, the only town which doesnt lay directly on the coast, but on a hill. This means it is less touristic and more pleasant. We got ourselves a nice apartment, with a small view of the sea from our bedroom window. And from here we made some easy walks. Nothing too strenuous. Jennis foot unfortunately was not in a good state. Due to work: long hours standing had it, and something was inflamed. What it needed was rest, but at the same time, this holiday was important for us. Yes, staying at home would probably have been much better for her foot, but for our soul this was what we needed. We went knowing it probably wasnt going to help her foot, but we tried to mitigate it as well as we could, and simply hoped for the best. Jenni sat a lot in between, to give her foot what it desperately wanted: rest. I would say it worked She had good days, and painful days. In the end, I know all we will remember is the many beautiful places we visited and the amazing views and food we had. And
We were lucky with the weather. In the whole two weeks, we had only one day of rain. The second day in Corniglia. And we were happy with the rain. Jenni was able to give her foot a well deserved rest. The next day we clambered up and down a steep hill between Manarola and Riomaggiore. Jennis foot was not pleased!
In Florence, our next stop, it protested loudly and forced Jenni to stay in the hotel most of the day. I felt very bad about this. She did manage to see something of Florence, and as with Milan, we will return one day to do it properly. Even without her foot, we would not have seen much, given the day we had. We were like those group tours that do Europe in 5 days! Two days, here, two days there, just enough to get a glimpse of a city, but nothing more.
