Civitavecchia - Pisa - L'Ago, L'Ago - Cinque Terre and L'Ago - Milan (days 16, 17 and 18)

After a good night's sleep we had a small breakfast. After breakfast we went on our way by car. On the way to Cinque Terre. On the way there, after driving for four hours, we stopped in Pisa, where we first had lunch on a terrace. Then we viewed the world-famous leaning tower of Pisa from the outside (it is very touristy here!). I have been to Pisa before, so it was not something new for me.

We then continued driving to our next place of residence, the mountain village of L'Ago. Located near La Spezia. Once we arrived, we first took our things to the apartment. Then we drove to the next village to do some groceries. Once back in the apartment we made and ate spaghetti. We didn't do much after dinner. Tomorrow we will get up early to visit Cinque Terre. More details about that tomorrow of course, I'm certainly very curious! It seems to be very beautiful…

L'Ago - Cinque Terre (day 17)

The day started, after eating breakfast and packing lunches, with a drive to Levanto. We parked the car here to visit Cinque Terre by train. Cinque Terre are five coastal villages that look picturesquely beautiful, but are also very touristy. First, after buying a train ticket, we drove with the train to Vernazza. This is the second village (seen from Levanto). From this village we walked back to the first village, Monterosso. This is a tough walk of about two hours on very narrow but also very busy paths. Once we arrived in Monterosso, we grabbed a terrace to take a well-deserved drinking break and then sat on a bench to eat lunch. Then went back to the train to get off in Riomaggiore. Here we walked to the small harbor and enjoyed the view for a while, then back to the train to visit the next village: Manarola. In this village we walked a bit through the center and got a real Italian ice cream. This tasted excellent and it was a nice way to cool down. With the ice cream in our stomach we walked back to the train to visit the last village: Corniglia. In Corniglia there are a lot of stairs leading up to the center of the village. Once at the top we sat on a wall with a view of the coastline (where you can see Manarola, among others). Finally, we took the train back to Levanto, where the car is parked. As soon as we got back to the car we drove to a supermarket to do some groceries, then drove back to the apartment in L'Ago to cook dinner there. After dinner we decided where we are going tomorrow, we decided it's going to be a metropolis (great contrast to the old and authentic mountain village where we are now). You can read which city it is (and more) tomorrow!

L'Ago - Milan (day 18)

With a tasty breakfast in our stomachs and the packed lunch ready, we first took a short walk through the authentic village of L'Ago. We then drove to Milan, where first we first stopped at a gas station for a cup of coffee. Once we arrived in Milan, around noon (check-in to the apartment is only possible from 3:00 PM), we first went to Stadio Giuseppe Meazza (popularly known as San Siro), this is the stadium of Inter Milan and AC Milan. It turned out that today is a match day (Inter Milan plays against Sassuolo), so the museum is closed, and a stadium tour is therefore not possible. Opposite the stadium we had coffee and ice tea at an American diner. We then took the car and parked the car close to the apartment. From here we took the metro to the center of the city. When we arrived in the center, we got off the metro, right at the famous cathedral of Milan. We went in here (after buying tickets). The cathedral looks very beautiful both inside and out with many details (and beautiful stained-glass windows). We then walked through the shopping mecca of Milan where all the expensive brands are located (think of Gucci, Prada, Armani, etc.). This shopping center also looks beautifully decorated, with a mosaic floor, glass dome, etc. Finally we moved on, we walked to Sforzesco Castle, this is a large and beautiful castle in the middle of the city. We exited through the courtyard at the back of the castle, behind which there is a beautiful large park with (it seems) an exact copy of the Arc de Triomphe of Paris. After seeing this we walked back to the metro and got off near the apartment. We first walked to the car to eat our last sandwich (we had forgotten to take it with us). Finally checked into the apartment and then did some groceries. Once back at the apartment we cooked and ate dinner (with a view of the full moon over the city!). After dinner we worked on arranging accommodation for the next day, which we still haven't decided on. At the time of writing we don't yet know what tomorrow will bring us, that will be exciting!

Day 15

Travel overview

Day 19