We rest, we hike, we train

day 7 - Today started off slow (thank goodness) with all of us sleeping in. Michelle and Tim were awoken around 8 by all of the construction at a nearby residence. Greg and Brenda had a chance to sleep in a little bit. The best thing about our apartment was the outdoor balcony, so Tim and Michelle had a chance to enjoy the view. Overnight someone had decided the beach was a good place to camp, as there as a red tent on the beach.That might have been enjoyable, with the crashing waves to lull you to sleep. If it wasn't for the mosquitos. Michelle was hoping they were just a Florence thing, as there were a number of them in their apartment there that came at her in her sleep. But alas, they have found their way to Vernazza as well. Thankfully there are only 2-3 new bites and none are near where her backpack will sit. After a breakfast of pizza (hey, don't judge), yogurt milk and a chocolate cake looking pastry (again, don't judge) we were off on the last hike of the original lower hikes through the Cinque Terre. This one starts with a straight up portion, then once you crest over the hill there are small ups and downs along the way. We are still amazed at the number of older individuals (70+ years old) and young babies on the trail. Hiking the Cinque Terre would not be something we would want to do with a 4 month old. It is hard enough as it is! But we admire those who are advanced in age who did it smiling all the way, and those with wee ones who are exposing their kids to adventure early in life. After 2 hours of hiking we found ourselves in the final city, Monterosso al Mare. The ocean breezes felt pretty good, and the gelato we ate tasted even sweeter after the long hike. When you buy your ticket for the Cinque Terre (yes, you have to pay to hike the lower one AND the price has not been reduced even though 3/4 of the trails are unavailable) you also get free wifi access for 24 hours. After a few minutes we were able to connect and see the latest adventures of Alexander with his cousins. Yesterday he got a haircut from Tim's sister Susanne and he looks so handsome. He also has been enjoying their pool, waking his cousins up at 6 am and playing with their bubble maker. We miss him like crazy. Ok, back to the trip. After grabbing a take and go lunch for the train we boarded the first of 4 trains we need to take to get to Venice. Hopefully none of them are delayed. Once we arrive in Venice, which will be late in the evening, we will likely grab some dinner for back in the room and catch an early nights sleep. With all of the hiking and training the last few days we are all feeling the need to rest and relax. The rest of our trip should be a little more relaxed with some movement between cities but less on the "we must do this" list. Ciao for now! Update - after i wrote the above description of our evening we indeed had a train that was late. Because of this, our connecting train waited for 3 minutes for everyone from our train to run to the connecting train. Imagine almost an entire train running down the platform, down stairs, through a tunnel, up stairs and dashing for the next train. We were in the very last car and had the longest to run. Thankfully Tim took the stairs two at a time and yelled to the conductor to hold the train as we made our way up the stairs. As soon as we were on the doors closed and the train left. Talk about a close call! Once we made it into Florence we checked the departure board and saw that there was a train leaving for Venice in 16 minutes. That gave us only 16 minutes to collect and pay for our baggage at left luggage, then buy the ticket then get on board the train. Not a lot of time at all. We managed the first 2 in 10 minutes, then looked up the tickets but could not find the train we wanted on the options. We rushed over to one of the conductors who sold us tickets right there. Again, the train was held while the credit card was processed and we were on our way. Michelle hates to rush for trains, so this was not her favorite experience, but it all worked out well in the end. Once in Venice (around 8pm) we checked into our hotel (which was beautiful!) and had dinner at a little restaurant recommended by the man at the front desk. The food was delicious. Michelle had spaghetti with bolognaise sauce and spinach with butter and Tim had a veal steak and gnocchi. Both were amazing and tasted even better after the long day we had finished. Now we will finish out the day. Ciao!