September 1, 2010
Can we believe that I have been on the road now for 2 months? (this also means that my Eurrail pass is about to expire). That I've been traveling on trains, changing beds every few days, always planning my next destination just a few days in advance? My main source of news consists of the links to "interesting stories" my friends put up on facebook, and my only source of music is my iPod (one of my headphones has since broken off -- I need to replace those). I also may have lost some weight.
On Tuesday I made the very long journey from Oppede, France to Cinqueterre, Italy (specifically the town of Riomaggiore). Cinqueterre is a collection of five towns on the western Italian coast, about an hour and a half away from Genoa, in a nationally protected area. The ocean sparkles, the hills are green with vinyards and trees, the cliffs are steep down to the sea, and the oceanside mountains are criss crossed with narrow stone steps, permitting foot travel throughout. As you may recall, I visited Cinqueterre (specifically the ton of Riomaggiore) on my last big trip to Europe, and loved it so much that I couldn't resist returning. I also felt that I had unfinished business -- between the 5 towns is a twisting path through the mountains, popular with tourists, extremely scenic, that I walked only about half of last time -- I wanted to complete the entire path.
So, even though I was still feeling somewhat tired, I got on that 7:40 a.m. train in Avignon (thank you E and D for dropping me off), and took a series of 5 connecting trains (Nice, Monaco, Ventimiglia, Genoa, Riomaggiore) to arrive in Riomaggiore at around 7 p.m. This leg of the journey felt nostalgic in a strange way, as I had made the same journey before from Nice 5 years ago, stopping also in Ventimiglia. Unlike last time were I spent lunch conversing with a Dutch couple, this time I stood on the street and ate a vanilla gelato for lunch.
And I finished Infinite Jest finally. Despite having been terrified of it at the outset, semi hoping to finish it just for the sake of completing it, by the last few hundred pages I became so attached the various stories, characters, running jokes and unresolved tensions, that I didnt want it to end. And the ending itself was disappointing, although not exactly surprising for DFW, as none of these stories were ever resolved, beyond implications of some very dark endings for some of the characters. I suppose for anyone with the time and willing to make the commitment, I recommend the book. Because, as they say, it's a Great Work of Literature, and despite many signs to the contrary, a lot of fun.
I arrived in town without a reservation. But I remembered that last time I had walked up the street, and a woman had stopped me, asked me if I needed a place, and then led me to a hostel full of fairly funloving Australians and 2 really annoying Canadian girls. I really wanted to find a similar place, but didn't know how to ask for it. I did find a shop where two girls were waiting to be led to their "room" by the proprietor, and though I would ask hi if he had any space, which he had. So I followed the three of them through Riomagiorre, down the main street, near the harbor, down an alley (that looked so familiar), up some stairs (that also looked familiar), and then into a room THAT WAS THE EXACT SAME ROOM I STAYED LAST TIME! I was delighted.
I put down my stuff, went into town and had a pizza (at the same place I had a slice of pizza for my first night 5 years ago), and sat at Bar Centrale (the same place I used to sit 5 years ago). But after a beer and a glass of wine, I realized I was too tired to keep my eyes open much longer, and went back to the room, setting my alarm for 1030 pm, planning on just taking a short nap. I did not get out of bed until about 830 a.m. the next day. This is unlike 5 years ago, where the first night I ended up swimming in the freezing harbor with strangers.
Tori Amos -- Etienne Trilogy
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