So we are done – with tourists that is.  

On our last night in Venice William and I decided we were extremely dissatisfied with the hoards of tourists, especially in the large cities and we were determined to find a place we could just kick back and relax a bit.  As we waved good-bye to Venezia and the Rialto Bridge we hopped on a train to LeSpezia.

We traveled on a super fast train back to Florence for 2 hours and then on a Regional Train for 2 1/2 hours to LaSpezia on the coast.    William made sure to check out the work-ability of the toillette on the Regional Train.  

We found this really cute artist’s apartment with the intention of staying put for the next week.  Immediately we felt at home in this flat which is a space about the same size as or our yurt.

The owners of the Flat met with us early afternoon, got us settled in, and told us they could do a private boat tour with us later in the week.  We were in bed before 9:00 and happy to be in one place for awhile.

So after a slow start to the morning we found the Market and decided to get a few things for our evening meal.

We saw all the fish at the market but I thought I might leave the fish to the expert chefs and order it out one evening.  I didn’t know you could even eat sting rays.

We ended up with some familiar items and felt good about our market experience.

And then later we found these jewels.

As it neared noon we decided we should probably try to figure out the bus system and see if we could make our way to Portoverne.  It is not included in the Cinque Terre (5 Small Villages) but reportedly even nicer than the five famous little towns.  We bought our bus tickets at the tobacco shop (and newspaper) and after 30 minutes found ourselves in this little paridise.  Away from the rush of tourists in a very relaxed atomosphere.  

Just up the coast here lie the Cinque Terre.  Our plan is to take a boat along the coast tomorrow to view them all.  Until then, we will see ou tomorrow as we continue our travels along the Italian Riveria.