Note to self: read the signs near the train station

To this point in the trip, we'd been calling ahead to make reservations at hostels and pensions based on the guidebook's recommendations. After twice finding ourselves with reservations at less than desireable places, we decided the thing to do was arrive early, look at several places, then stay at the best one. This plan works great, unless you find yourself in the Cinque Terre on the Italian Rivera at 5:30 on a Saturday night...

After searching two of the five towns in the dwindling twilight without success, we arrived on the train platform in Riomaggiore, deciding we would try one last town before moving on to unromantic, but booming, La Spezia, the city up the road. It was now 8:30 or so, and nearly dark. Actual homelessness was fast becoming a reality when out of the darkness stepped an oddly dressed, shrunken Italian woman bearing a piece of paper reading "15€," certainly a bargain for a room in the Cinque Terra.

The price caught our eye, and we followed her up the street to her hostel. What we didn't notice was the large sign on the wall suggesting it was unwise to trust anyone who may approach you with accommodations at the train station, "...as they are almost absolutely inadequate." This proved to be the case. However, we had few options at this point.

The woman, a well-known local figure named Mamma Rosa, led us to a room that hadn't been cleaned since fascism was overthrown and a shower down the hall that was actually basically outside. The beds had more in common with hammocks than anything we'd seen thus far. We took one look at the situation and determined a large quantity of wine was in order. Turns out, wine can be had for pretty cheap, and a liter and a half will help you overlook a few health code violations.