Cinque Terre
".. just south of Portofino, five towns on the Ligurian Sea maintain the charm and character of Italian villages of the past. They are vintage settlements where life moves in the key of easy -- each town clinging to the rocky coast, defying gravity and, most of all, defying time....." - Sergio Ortiz
Today's Agenda:
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Off to the Cinque Terre! Our bus safely delivered us to the train station, we hopped on the train and a short time later we are on the Italian Riviera! The sea is blue, the sun is shining, and we are in heaven! Our plan for Cinque Terre was to spend the first day in Monterosso al Mare and the next day we will explore the five villages! Some of the people on our group hiked the one trail that was open; others took the train between the villages. We chose to take the boat!
We arrived at our Hotel, Punta Mesco. After checking in we all had the same idea, laundry. RS Advice: Use the full-service laundry. We all dropped off our laundry and by the end of the day we picked up clean laundry at our hotel! Using our RS guidebook we took the RS Welcome to Monterosso Self-Guided Walk. Strolling the waterfront promenade you can breathe in fresh sea air, soak in the sun, and relax, relax, relax! Our stroll took us from the new town, through the tunnel, to the old town. After a wonderful day we met up with our tour group at the hotel for happy hour. We all shared our adventures of the day. Many laughs along the way! |
Dinner with a Sea View
We ate dinner both nights at RS Advice: La Cantina di Miky. We chose to sit at the outdoor cafe with views of the sea! This was our favorite place! Fresh Advice: Order something with Pesto! Pesto is the specialty of the Liguria region! We had pesto lasagna and gnocchi with asparagus and shrimp in a light tomato sauce. Larry and I always shared our meals, that way we were able to try more dishes! I retired as a Culinary Arts high school teacher. I used to teach about the regional specialties of Italy. I love making fresh pasta and sauces, but to experience this in Italy was a real treat. For a more elegant meal you might be interested in Miky, another family restaurant just down the road. My nephew and his wife loved this restaurant on their honeymoon! They also went back to the restaurant both nights. Amazing food, elegant environment, and great people!
"If you wish to travel far and fast, travel light. Take off all your envies, jealousies, unforgiveness, selfishness, and fears"
-Cesare Pavese
Today we took the boat to the villages of the Cinque Terre. We ran into our new friends from our tour group. We started at Riomaggiore. RS describes it as "a fascinating tangle of pastel homes leaning on each other like drunken sailors". We wandered through town enjoying beautiful views. The Via dell'Amore trail between Riomaggiore and Manarola was closed. Looks like we will have to plan another visit to the Cinque Terre! Our next stop was, Manarola. RS describes this town as "fills a ravine, bookended by its wild little harbor". We took the RS Welcome to Manarola Self-Guided Walk. This was a lovely walk through the town and vineyards, and ends at a beautiful viewpoint. If you want to go to the next town, Corniglia, you would need to take the train. We chose to continue on the ferry to Vernazza. RS describes Vernazza as, "the jewel of the Cinque Terre". I couldn't agree more! We wandered the back lanes, had my first Italian cappuccino, and found the most amazing bakery! RS Advice: Forno Bakery had the best focaccia! Fresh Advice: Try some! We took the RS Welcome to Vernazza Self-Guided Walk. Vernazza was the town hit hardest by the flood of 2011. The town survived and is so beautiful! Our last stop was back to Monterosso then off to dinner with friends. Wonderful day, great friends!
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Today's Agenda:
Once a year, go someplace you've never been before.
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Best RS Advice:
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Best Fresh Advice:
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Wow Moment:
Sitting in the Piazza watching the local cat soaking up the sun. Enjoying the moment. |