Italy in review, part 1: La Spezia, Marciaso, and the Cinque Terre
We celebrated the 4th of July in Genova. After a bleary eyed first day in Milan, the coastal view was quite refreshing. We only stayed in our "Castle Hostel" for a single night, but would later return to the city for an extended stay. Then, after a brief pause in La Spezia, we began our trek to Marciaso.
Marciaso is a beautiful Tuscan village deep in the mountains, only accessible by bus. Upon arriving in Fosdinovo, the village where we expected to catch a 6 pm connection, we discovered that that bus... didn't exist (take away: don't take google's "we don't have up to date time tables for this area" message lightly). Luckily, with the assistance of locals and t-mobile's unlimited roaming data, we managed to walk the rest of the way in a mere 3 hours.
Marciaso made an excellent meditative retreat, and we managed to take the connection through the nearby Monzone in to La Spezia for groceries, as well as to get some work in the first cafe Iād found with incredible espresso pulls (more common in Italy than the US, though still not pervasive). There wasn't cell reception in Marciaso, but a few times I ascended the nearby mountain to push code for work.
After Marciaso, we drifted around the coast again - first up to the Cinque Terre, then down to Livorno - then set out to Siena
