Cinque terre
Trip Start
Jun 09, 2007
1
8
12
Trip End
Aug 08, 2007
Vernazza,
Italy
Wednesday, July 4, 2007
Happy 4th to those in the US!
We visited the town of Pisa and briefly toured its leaning tower. The tower itself was amazing to see but the rest of Pisa is pretty unremarkable. We left for Cinque Terre in the early afternoon. It was about an hour drive north to La Spezia which is a large town just south of the Cinque Terre. We did not have hotel arrangements for Cinque Terre so we decided to leave the car in La Spezia and take the train to Vernazza, which we had heard was the prettiest of the Cinque Terre towns. It was about 4:00 pm when we got to the La Spezia train station. It was very busy and confusing with a less than helpful tourist office. They circled a free parking lot on the map that was turned upside down so I left the family in search of the parking lot
Laney on the beach
. After going the wrong way at first, then ending back up at the train station, re-orienting myself and following the non-existent signs to the parking lot, I finally made it back to the train station about 45 minutes later and a little frazzled. We then waited about 40 minutes for a train to Monterosso, which was about 10 minutes late, which meant we missed our connecting train to Vernazza. When the train to Vernazza finally came, there were so many people waiting for the train that we literally squeezed ourselves into the train. My backpack got caught in the door but at least we were on our way. The problem was we still did not have a place to stay. Laney just wanted to stop in Monterosso!In Vernazza, we walked down the main street that is quite small but very cute. The girls desperately needed Gelato and Kenna minded the luggage while Micki, Delaney & I started knocking on doors looking for private rooms in the village. After a few "no rooms available" we were getting a little nervous. Micki and I split up and started walking up through the small corridors of the town and I met a young man named Cristian. He said he did not have any rooms but did have a flat. When he took me up to look at it, I just about fell over. It was perfect in every sense of the word. I took it on the spot and went to try and find Micki and Delaney.
Our flat was at one corner of the base of an old castle or fortress overlooking the south coast toward Corniglia, Manarola and Riomaggiore, the southernmost towns of the Cinque Terre ("5 Lands").The flat had two separate bedrooms, one overlooking the Ligurian Sea (northern Mediterranean Sea), as well as a kitchen and a nice bathroom
Laney--Very Strong!
. In addition it had its own private terrace with a table and chairs overlooking a small cove and the coastline. We are in heaven here in Cinque Terre! That first evening we went down to the marina area and sat and watched the waves, as well as people swimming and jumping from the cliffs. I enjoyed a large Birra Moriette, Ah! It was complete and utter bliss!!! We met another very nice family while sitting there with two girls Lauren and Robin who were the same age as Makenna and Delaney. We met up with them later that evening for dinner at a fabulous restaurant and had dinner together. Micki and I shared the best fried-Calamari! It was finally about 11:00 pm when they asked if we were done since they were closing. We completely lost track of time! The girls were off running around the town together while the adults were talking, drinking wine and sharing a glass of Limoncello. It was a perfect end to a stressful day.
When we finally retired for the evening, Micki and I slept with our window open listening to the sea below gently rolling against the rocks with a full moon shining through the window. Could you ask for anything more? Or maybe you just had to be there.
The next day we spent in Vernazza just hanging out and swimming at the beach. Makenna's heel was really hurting her , so that limited some of what we could do; so she read her books. Delaney took to the ocean like a fish, and met a couple of friends, Juliana and Charlotte. They swam and played for about 5 hours. Micki and I also went swimming in the harbor. Again, a perfect day! That evening instead of going out to dinner, I cooked dinner consisting of insalata Caprese antipasto, trophie pasta with Cinque Terre-made fresh pesto, pizza from the trattoria down the stairs and of course local Cinque Terre white wine. We ate out on our private terrace
Makenna--equally as strong!
. Again, another perfect evening. We may not come home! The following day the weather starting to turn a bit stormy and the sea picked up. Micki and I got up semi-early and hiked to Monterosso, while the kids slept. The hike was a bit strenuous but beautiful. We took a bunch of pictures for the kids and toured Monterosso. Monterosso is much more touristy, but has beautiful beaches. We were glad we had not stayed there, however. We made it back for lunch with the kids. Then we all took a train and toured Corniglia and Riomaggiore. Both were nice places, but still not as nice as Vernazza. That night I cooked dinner again consisting of another Caprese antipasto, some more trophie pasta and pesto, melon and Prosciutto, bread and of course, local white wine finished off with a little splash of limoncello, which we picked up from a local farmer on our hike to Monterosso in the morning. What can I say, our third perfect evening in a row!
Today is July 4, 2007 and it is our last full day in Cinque Terre. We had a nice breakfast in town and met some other travelers who are traveling a lot faster than we are. It makes me feel glad we are taking the time to travel more slowly and spend 3-5 days in each location. It allows for some down days just hanging out and playing cards. By the way, we have played more card games than I thought possible while not watching (almost!) any TV for the past 3 1/2 weeks. The kids have adapted well without any complaints for the most part except that they miss their friends. Micki and I hiked from Corniglia back to Vernazza in the early afternoon.
Tomorrow we leave the Cinque Terre and are going to head for the Lake Como region and then on into Switzerland and maybe Germany for a few days. Who knows, at this point we just see how we feel and go from there. It is a nice state of mind! Ciao.
