By the time we reached Cinque Terre, we had been in Italy for nearly 2 weeks. So, it didn't come as too much of a surprise that there was a train strike on, with only limited trains running. However I did surprise myself by managing to buy our tickets entirely in Italian!

We arrived at midday from Florence after stopping at Pisa on the way for the obligatory cheesy photos. The place is flooded with touts, with sales pitches reminiscent of Thailand - "Australia, Australia, Boomshakalaka!" To be honest that's probably the most exciting thing to report re: Leaning Tower of Pisa.

So, on to Cinque Terre. As mentioned earlier, we had left this leg of the trip open so booked our accommodation fairly last minute. We also booked it after a few vodkas in Venice so the enthusiasm levels were high and the research skills were a little sketchy, if we're honest!

As a result, we found ourselves on a near deserted train platform in Santo Stefano surrounded by shipping containers, 20 minutes from the bus drop off at La Spezia. We had no map, no wireless access, no luck with asking directions despite my most awesome Italian skills, and no patience left. Given there was also a train strike and our time here was short, we decided to head back to La Spezia and hunt for a new hostel, or at least download a map to find the one we had booked!

About two hours later and a bit of legwork compliments of Mark, we found a room at Il Gatto Zorba, just down the street from La Spezia station. We were hot and grumpy, but stepped into the room and instantly relaxed. I collapsed straight onto the most comfortable bed that we've had in weeks, the room smelt like lavender, it had air con and a shiny new bathroom with fancy print toilet paper, fluffy white towels, a hair dryer and a shower clean enough to brave bare feet in. Bliss!!

Our landlady Patrizia was the icing on the cake. What a gem! She is a big bundle of energy, talks a million miles an hour and makes everything into a big story with mad waving Italian arms. She gave us great advice on where to go and what to do, and genuinely cared about our experience. She made us feel right at home and is a real mother hen - on our way out the door she tutted that I must wear a hat and offered quite insistently to lend me one if I needed. I just loved her!

Our 2 days in Cinque Terre were so relaxing - after a massive 12 hour sleep in that mega comfy bed, we strolled La Spezia and browsed the clothing stores, giggled at some crazy fashion sense (Fabios in fluro), and delighted in the huge range, quality and cheap prices in the supermarket deli.

We had planned on walking between the 5 small cliff perched towns that make up Cinque Terra, but unfortunately a large section was closed due to 2011 flood damage. Instead we caught the train to the first town, Riomaggiore, walked the first section to Manarola and then caught the train to the final town, Monterosso.

We walked through tiny Riomaggiore where the local children were playing football in the square, small boats and dinghys were moored in the little cove and old men sat in groups on benches watching the world go by. This didn't take long and soon we were strolling Via dell'Amore - Lovers Lane - where love messages are scrawled on the walls, plants and stones, and the fences are covered in padlocks. It is said that if lovers place a padlock here and throw the keys over the cliff's edge into the water, their love will be eternal. Mark and I had no pen or padlock so if our relationship fails we can now pinpoint the moment where it all went wrong. Superstition/tourism almost got the better of us - we were tempted to go back the next morning with a padlock - but stinginess won out in the end...entry to the walkway is 5euro each..so pffft!

The walk took us to the second town, Manarola. It is a shame the next leg of the walk was closed as the view of Manarola from a distance would be stunning. We stopped here for a lovely relaxed lunch - bread with olive oil and balsamic, pesto gnocchi for me and seafood spaghetti for Mark (tomatoes with locally sourced clams, prawns, calamari and baby octopus). We also shared a pitcher of white wine which was looovely...even the house wine on tap is amazing in Italy. Belly's satisfied, we caught the train onward to the furthest town, Monterosso, which has the sandiest beach and a very summery vibe. As I walked through the town feeling lightheaded from the wine and listening to a busker play a beautiful acoustic guitar version of the Beatles 'Imagine', I held hands with the love of my life, gazed out at the beautiful scenery and thought 'Im in friggen Italy, man'. It was a real 'pinch me' moment. For you, maybe this is a real 'pass me a bucket' moment but you'll deal :-P

For our final night in La Spezia, Patrizia had suggested a free jazz festival in town. We bought some treats - nutella and marscarpone crepe and a frozen yoghurt sundae - and checked that out for a bit before both admitting that we actually don't love jazz and heading home for a big sleep in before our midday bus.

Patrizia gave us a big hug and kiss on each cheek as we left, and said with a grin "you come back soon and you send me your friends!"

Happily!