From Florence to Cinque Terre

Wednesday March 3^rd 2009:

We awoke early in hopes of catching an 8:00 train, one of the first out in the morning to Cinque Terre. We woke up on time, packed up, and headed out into the street. We were a little ahead of schedule so we decided to have an Italian espresso (they are the best, I don’t know how they do it). We were still on time after the espresso, but in an attempt to take a “short cut” to the train station we got lost. European streets are tricky, since they are not parallel and in fact quite twisty, tiny and turney. Plus they were around before “city planning” existed. We ran into the station and ran onto the platform as our train pulled away. Merde.

Slightly forlorn we waited another hour and a half for the next train (and caught it) to La Spezia, to get to Cinque Terre. Cinque Terre is a region of five little fishing villages (Riomaggiore, Manarola, Corniglia, Vernazza, and Monterosso al Mare) and Cinque Terre literally means “five villages”. They are all connected by a regional train and hiking trails along the sea. It is one of the most beautiful regions I the world, and I loved it despite the rain. (Although I really would like to go back when the weather is more ideal.) We stayed in Corniglia, and walked literally 467 steps up a mountain to get to our hotel, since Kevin had booked the one with the best view. However when we got there, the owner told us that he had fumigated our corner room we had booked and gave us a key to a room with a somewhat substandard view. This more than annoyed Kevin (and me frankly) and after fighting with the owner for a while, he found us a different room with a little better view. He said, “I didn’t think you would want this one because it has a smaller bathroom.”

After the small fiasco, we decided to explore the villages. We first explored our little village, which is mostly picturesque, with rolling mountainous cliffs, (covered in grapevines and lemons) which crash into the sea. We decided to head all the way south and work our way north. All were equally beautiful, but each little village had its own unique character. Some were right on the water, while others were set further back on the mountain, but with an equally breathtaking view. It was fun to walk some of the paths that were open (some were closed due to rain) and explore the little villages. It was far from prime tourist season, so it was fun to just see the locals and feel as if we had the entire five villages to ourselves (and a few others.)

We stopped for coffee in a cute local place in Rio Maggiore. We ate a seafood salad, of mostly squid, with soy latte’s. The owners were very nice and welcoming, they even went next door to buy lettuce for us when they didn’t have any. We enjoyed watching the congregation of locals (fishermen I think) talk and play with a little kid running around while enjoying our salad and soy latte’s. We finished with a little bit of lemoncello (made right in Cinque Terre!) and then headed back to our hotel to put on dry clothes. We climbed up and down the stairs again, and then headed back into Rio Maggiore where to check out a good seafood restaurant we had found earlier. The restaurant was very warm and cozy, and we enjoyed fresh tuna, and a sort of white fish with fresh tomatoes, capers and olive oil. This was my favorite, so full of flavor and even cut up and presented right before our eyes. We enjoyed a lovely dinner complete with a Sacchetra, the famous desert wine of the area (made with almost raisons.) It was sweet but full of flavor and very satisfying. After dinner we hung out at a local “backpackers stop” and enjoyed a glass of wine while watching some of the young Italian workers excitedly watch a soccer game.

The next morning we packed up, and headed back into Manarola for breakfast, where we enjoyed scrambled eggs, coffee and fruit at a little breakfast place. Our server was quite comical and teasing the other guy behind the counter, it was a good way to start off the day. We explored “Monterosso al Mare” the furthest town north on our way out. This town was the beach town, with large beaches and little ice cream shops right along the road. Although our stay in Cinque Terre was quick and rainy, it was nonetheless magical. It uniquely combined the old and funky fishing village style with beautiful rolling mountains filled with lemons and grape wines, with beautiful beaches and rocky cliffs. Besides the rain and injured foot, it was a majestic day and a half, and I would highly recommend it to anyone wanting to experience some true Italian beauty!