Genova - the longest hitchhike so farSo from Firenze we managed to hitchhike to Genova. First an amazing italian mother took us to close to Pisa. We were next to the superstrada where actually you can not hitchhike, but the petrol station seemed safe. We had to wait about 20 minutes and two trucks came. First we were hesitating to go or not because we had to sit in 2 separate cars. Well we didn't want to wait more so Tairi went with 2 italian guys, Ruta and me with one. We told them that we want to go to Pisa but their destination was almost Genova. So we started thinking about going to Genova without visiting Pisa. The way was so long because they were porting wine bottles and had a speed limit. After 2 and a half hours we were out from the trucks in Sestri Levante, quite close to Genova. Came out that they were not going to actually in the city of Genova. We were again next to the superstarda. We started to write a new poster with the name of Genova, but we couldn't even finish the word before two guys picked us up and we reached Genova finally within 30 minutes. The guys were super nice and the story is not yet ended with them. We were very lucky (as always) because we had a pleasure to stay with two volunteer girls Ana Karen and Brenda form Mexico and Argentina. We arrived quite late so it was time to have dinner. We made the typical dish from Genova - pasta con pesto. After that, the girls recommended a festival. They live in the historic center, but the place was a little bit far so we took a bus. It was a festival about peace and culture. A band from Chile was playing and we totally fell in love with the South-American rhythm. After the concert we visited a Genovese Erasmus party in the port. We had so much fun there and met people even from Salento. Nope, the party didn't finish, we went to a local pub in the center. It was a very strange place, it's similiar to hungarian ruinpubs but it was totally ruined. The citizens don't like the noise (ofc we can agree with that) so to scare off the people they are throwing from the windows plastic bags with water (they have also other options instead of water, but better to not know it). As the night was so long we didn't wake up early, but we knew that we have a meeting with Giuseppe and Marco (they gave us the last ride to Genova). We went out from the city by car into the woods and mountains. The road was beautiful. The fresh air and the colourful houses in the green "jungle" were amazing. After 1 hour of driving we arrived to a small village called Maissana. We had lunch in a restaurant that was run by a local family. First we had ravioli as a primo piatto. The second one was a kind of steak with zucchini. The dessert was ice cream with panna. Everything was so delicious and the place was really cozy. Giuseppe then took us to Baia del Silenzio in Sestri Levante where we first met. It was a small but very cute place with a beach, port and a nice view. Actually we wanted to go to Cinque Terre, but with a car it is very complicated, so he could not take us there. It was already half past five, we were thinking about going back to Genova, but at the same time we really wanted to visit Cinque Terre, so until the last minute of the train's departure we couldn't decide what to do. A few minutes before the train left, we decided to make the trip, so we were running to catch the train and for that reason we couldn't buy the tickets. We were so nervous during the whole 40 minutes, but fortunately the ticket controller didn't come. Firstly we arrived to Monterossi. It has a long beachline and a cute city. We were thinking to take the train back to Genova, but we checked that if we would go to the next stop of Cinque Terre, we would still catch the train and could see Vernazza. So we ran again to the train and arrived to the second village - Vernazza. This one has no beach, but it's still possible to go to swim from the rocks, there's a ladder. 10 minutes before the train we double checked the info and found out that it is not going to Genova, but a town near Genova. So we had 2 more hours to spend before the next train. We sat down to watch the sun go down. After 20 minutes we figured that we could also visit another village. There was only one more train so we decided to skip Gorniglia, which is the only one with no access to the sea, and take 2 stops to Manarola. We didn't have tickets and with two stops it was more risky. When we got on the train we saw the control guy coming to our direction. We became very nervous and Tairi immediately sat down with some random Americans and started having a conversation. It was more like throwing out words from a machine gun than a conversation. I (T) was so nervous that i forgot what i was saying in the middle of the story and was telling them random things and facts about Cinque Terre and our travel. They probably think i was nuts. But the Americans were very nice, and i would have loved to speak with them longer than 6 minutes train ride and while feeling normal. They were on a car trip in Italy and had stayed in Salento a few days ago. Anyway, the ticket guy just passed us and was not asking tickets from anyone. Manarola was beautiful as well, the sun was hidden behind a mountain and we could see full moon. We managed to visit 3 out of 5 five villages. But Corniglia we could see from Manarola, because it's on top of a hill. Unfortunately we had no time for the last one - Riomaggiore, that from the google photos looks the greatest. The coastal area in Cinque Terre is beautiful, but we were expecting something more incredible. We guess we are spoiled with the beauty of Salento. But, the villages are amazing. The colours and buildup of the houses are so cute and interesting. We are very happy that we decided to make that trip. But then.. We went to buy the ticket from Manarola to Genova and found out that this price and connection didn't exist. So we wanted to buy a ticket to Sestri Levante, but since the time of the train was passed by then (the train was 15 mins late), we couldn't. According to the ticket machine, the train had left. We were nervously waiting for the train, not knowing how we will get to Genova, because the train only went to Sestri Levante and since it was late the next train to Genova would have been left before our arrival. A German couple Elizabeth & Dani and a Canadian guy Nathan had seen us before fighting with the ticket machine, so they asked if we managed to buy the tickets. We told them our situation and they said that their car was 3 stops away in Levanto. They were kindly offering to bring us from there to Genova. Such a release, we are so lucky all the time here. But we still had the problem of no ticket. The ticket controller came after one stop. She was a bit angry, but we explained our problem and she sold us the tickets for normal price (4€) and let us continue the trip. Super fortunately! We had a great time travelling with our new companions for the next 2 hours. We were talking about our countries and travelling. Their stories were amazing, they have made a trip around the world and visited Italy many times. It was so great to share stories with them, remembering all the nice people who have ever helped us and them. If you read this guys, know that we are super grateful and hope to see you again somewhere in the world, hopefully in Lecce before November. Day 9 This morning we walked around Genova, because we actually hadn't had time before to see the city. It would have been sad to leave it, without seeing anything. On one narrow street we met a super cute dog named Anakin, he was on the doorway of a popular barbershop in Genova. We stopped to pat him and met his owner Francesco who came out to be from Gallipoli. We are meeting people from Salento all the time, that's very nice. They are always so warm. He offered to make us a city tour, but because we didn't have much time we had a small walk with him and his lovely dog and talked about Genova and Salento. We just arrived to Verona in this moment. We have been writing this post the whole time in the bus - more than 4 hours. Also we managed to find someone through couchsurfing to make us a city tour when we arrive.
New town, new adventures. We'll keep you posted!
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