You get beggars in every country that you go to and Italy is not the only country to have them, but I saw one old lady that was priceless. Since I arrived in Italy I’ve mostly seen our Black Business Men doing this kind of work, but when I reached Rome is seems that there are many more different ethnic groups doing this kind of work and their is a lot more competition for your Euro. Now some are quite genuine, you only have to look at them and see the sadness and despair in their faces. Their whole demeanour tells you that they are having a bad time.

But then you get the other ones, the chancers and they are no more a beggar than I am. This old dear pictured below was a prime example. Her clothes were very clean but made to look old. She moved with such perfect grace in are shaking of the walking stick and crying “Grazie Grazie” and other things that I don’t understand. She knew how to work a crowd, but I noticed that she kept her face well covered, but her scarf slipped a little and you could see that the eyes behind this wee woman were very shiny and there was no sign of despair or sadness. The rhythm of her voice matched the rocking and shaking of her frail body, in my opinion she was full of shit and this was her day job and no doubt makes quite a bit of money by doing so. I should have got her on video to let you see this Oscar winning performance. And you know when they say” Grazie” their voices just break enough to make you think they are going to greet. There were about 3 old women working at St Peter’s but this one was the most active, the others were either sitting or begging beside a pillar. This guy above, well I don’t what he was on.

Around the Coliseum our Black Business men, or BB for short, were selling the usual selfie sticks but they had sub contracted some lighter skinned workers to help. They had moved into selling bracelets and cubes with etchings, you know the kind of thing? I just ignore all of them when they approach me as I find it the easiest way and to be honest you get sick of saying no. But one tactic they were doing here was this, they come up and say “Hey I like your shoes” “Hey I like your hat, beard, whatever……..” “are you from……..?” Now I know they want to engage you in conversation but I was not sure after that what angle they were playing, but as I did not speak to them I will never know. If you do speak with them you will not get rid of them so easily, it’s a bit like stepping on shit and you have to scrape it from the sole of your shoe, you will get rid of it eventually but it will stay with you for quite a while. My advice………ignore them.

Oh I did hear one of them saying, “Why won’t you help me feed my baby in Africa?’  and this is another scam that you will see more with younger women. They approach their mark and then show a picture of young children and/or baby and plead with them to help. As soon as the money has exchanged hands she is off like a shot to her next victim, the urgency that was there moments before has disappeared in the wind. This is also a big problem in London and it seems to one ethnic minority to blame but of course these days you are not allowed to point the finger at the blinding obvious.

When you are standing in one of the many queues to get into venues you are approached by another kind of leech, and these are the kind folk that will let you jump the queue by joining a group tour. Now these guys are not all bad but remember that you are just a means of a making money, you’re another meal so don’t be coerced into something you may later regret. I have been on some tours in my life but to be honest, after listening in to a couple of tour guides in Italy rambling on I know it’s not for me, especially when English is not their first language. A racist you say, I say no it’s just bloody annoying if you have to listen for an hour to someone killing the language when it’s supposed to be informative and especially if their idea of fluent is different to yours.

For fucks sake,  not only did they steal ma erms but they stole ma dick!!!!!

The sun was out and the sky was blue but there was a nip in the air but it was a great day for a wander. And that’s just what I did today with no set idea of where to go or what to see, but I headed for the Coliseum to see what it was all about and so had half the planet. 

After here I headed to the Tiber and then looked at any old Roman ruin that I stumbled upon as I wandered around. Mind you many of the older women here were looking like ancient relics too.

I’ve never seen so much heavy make up on women for ages. I saw one old dear that would have been a rival for Alice Cooper.

I then headed to the Pantheon which is an amazing building and so much more than just a huge oculus, but that’s what most people seem to focus on.  It’s a stunning piece of architecture unsurpassed and to make it all the better there was a Pink Floyd tribute band playing outside.

After they packed up so did I and I headed to the Trevi Fountain that was absolutely full to the gunnels so I will return tomorrow to see if it’s any quieter.

Cinque Terre, which means Five Lands, five small coastal villages which are Riomaggiore, Manarola, Corniglia, Vernazza and Monterosso located in the Italian region of Liguria. They are listed on the UNESCO World Heritage List

You can walk the coastline between these towns by following the coastal path but at the moment it is incomplete. Instead you have to leave the lower path and head up into the hills surrounding the towns where you will walk through the vineyards and follow the paths that are used daily by the farmers tending their vines. It’s not an easy trek and the paths are very steep and narrow in places and you have to be careful. Yesterday the weather was atrocious, it was very wet and the winds were fierce and so the paths have become quite muddy in places. 

Then I got to the top of the first vineyard I stopped to look at the view while I listened to my heart and heavy breathing. I thought my heart was about to burst out my chest.  And then there was this strange noise as a bird flew over my head travelling at a great rate of knots and dived towards the town below which by now looked like a Lego town, I near shit myself. 

Some of the stepped paths were almost like waterfalls which made them treacherous at times,  but by being steady and surefooted I was able to trek the length of the Cinque Terra in about 6 hours covering a distance of at least 24km but my phone tells me that it was more like 32km after you take in to consideration the distance up and down the hillsides from sea level and to the top of the hills and then returning 3 times to sea level. All these towns are perched in the outcrops and are exposed to the elements. They look very similar in nature and they are all connected by a railway which for the most part is through long connecting  tunnels. 

If you don’t want to walk the full length then it’s easy to jump on the train to get you to the next town. I planned to go to the first town and start my walk from Riomaggiore, but I could not get off the train because my carriage was not on the platform and so I had to get off at the next town which was Manarola. I walked down to the small harbour and then tried to find the path to the north. The main coastal track is only about 200 m long and so I headed up and through the vineyards to find the path to the north.  Finally I saw the small marks which are one red line and one white line. You can follow these markings all the way along the Cinque Terra. You are supposed to buy a Cinque Terra walking ticket but I did not as I’ve realised that in Italy buying a ticket isn’t always necessary. For instance I got the bus the other day and was told to buy my ticket at the tobacconist because it’s half price of the price you pay on the bus. I got a return and then went for the bus.  No one checked my ticket,  the bus driver never even gave me a glance. Most people getting on the bus just got on and sat down. Not once did I see anyone buy a ticket and so I wasted 5 Euros and so there was no way I was going to do the right thing walking the Cinque Terra and buy a ticket. And you know not one of the checking stations was open, so happy days. 

The weather was really perfect, it was overcast and cool but climbing up these steep trails it didn’t take long for the sweat to begin to roll. It was great to get away from the city’s and the people and to get out into nature.  I only met about 10 folk on the trek but as soon as you ventured into one of the small towns there were hoards of people walking through ghost towns.  Most cafes and shops were closed for the winter months and the locals seemed to have vacated, only the tourists were to be seen. 

A short bus ride from La Spezia and we arrive at Portovenere which is on the UNESCO register. The weather has changed and the seas were being very reflective of that. 

I got off the bus and the wind just went through me and chilled me to the bone but nevertheless I headed to the end of the prom where there was a little church exposed the elements. 

The waves were battering the rocks and the seas were huge and you certainly wouldn’t want to be out there on a boat today. 

Byron apparently visited this spot many years ago and spent time in this little grotto which has been named after him. 
Like most of these small towns along this coast they follow the terrain which makes it an area where you will get plenty of exercise walking up and down the narrow staircases.

I only stayed here for as long as it took me to walk to the tower and walk back to the station. I was a little underwhelmed with the whole thing, but I took a few customary pictures and then I was on my way. 

I’m sure Pisa has a lot more to offer than just the tower but I don’t have the time or the inclination to find out. 

A canny hold it any mair, it’s gonny go!!!!

A quick expresso before getting on the train for the next leg of my journey. 
And in Pisa our African Businessmen were up and wandering all along the route to the tower from the station, only this time they were selling umbrellas. It’s good to see them diversifying and being able to adapt at such short notice.  Selfie sticks oot and umbrellas are in. 

As I walked to the station this morning there was a smir of rain and it felt a lot warmer than the last few days. The hoard of black African businessmen were not at there usual spot outside the station, I guess 9.30 is outside their working hours. There main trade here apart from begging was selling selfie sticks in the main tourist areas.  But I did also see them liasing with the local Italian’s in some kind of medicinal business. 

I enjoyed Florence and it was great to finally see some of those places that you have only seen on the TV and to be honest nothing disappointed me in what Florence has to offer in regards to history and culture, but I was a bit disappointed with the amount of passive smoking that you encounter. Some parts of the city smell like used ashtrays and I was also surprised by the amount of women that smoke here,  I think you will find that it’s more than men. Of course it’s all about style in Italy. 

To see everything that Florence has to offer you would have to stay for at least a week and be prepared for a lot of walking and you would have to bring lots of money to cover the everyday costs such as food and also the entry fees to the many attractions.  Mind you may walking around the city you can marvel at the architecture on offer and there are also many art works to see for free. 

But for me 3 days is enough and so now I’m in the train heading to Pisa.