Cinque Terre

Now that the weather is brightening up, we’re headed out on another train trip. This time along the Mediterranean coast. First stop: Cinque Terre or Five Lands. This is a very popular tourist destination, but since we are visiting at the beginning of March, we are still in the off season. The five towns that make up Cinque Terre are Riomaggiore, Manorola, Corniglia, Vernazza, and Monterosso. From Lucca, it theoretically takes us only two hours by train to reach our AirB&B in Monterosso, but because of train delays, it became more like a three and a half hour journey. No worries, everyone is in good spirits and ready to hit the trails for a hike around the cliffs and mountains of this beautiful countryside.

Each town is connected by hiking trails from easy to difficult, the blue trail being the easiest, much like on the ski slopes. Since we are staying in town five, Monterosso, we hiked first to town four, Vernazza. It took us about two hours and was so beautiful! Lots and lots of stair steps, but well  worth the journey. We saw tons of yellow flowers, lemons, waterfalls, bridges, and a little wine trolley that is used to haul equipment and workers up and down the mountainside. The weather was about 55 degrees F, but in the sun felt more like 70. Perfect for a hike! Along the way, Dave even got us some lemons to snack on from some farmers, which if you know my girls, is a perfect snack! We also saw the first of what would become numerous cat sightings in Cinque Terre. Along the trail there was set up a food station for “unloved” cats, which were very obviously far from unloved.

Getting to Vernazza, we enjoyed some of the best Gelato yet! Why does ice cream always taste the best after a hike? This statement does not stand alone. I have said it over and over again through the years. We enjoyed wandering the little village, soaking up the sun, and taking in the views before heading back by train which took all of five minutes.

                                    
                              (Look closely, Ash is laying on the rock in the bottom right corner)

Low and behold, because it is still the off season, not much was open for dinner. We were lucky to find a place just across from our flat with delicious pesto, a dish which originated in Cinque Terre.

The next day our plan was to train to town one, Riomaggiore, and hike from there through town two, to town three or four depending on how the girls were holding up. Sadly, we found that all the blue trails except for the one we did the day before, were closed for maintenance. That’s what we get for coming in the off season! We talked to a local guide about the possibility of doing a harder trail but ultimately decided against it. The blue trail between town 1 & 2 takes about 30 minutes. The red trail between town 1 & 2 takes 3 hours and is all stair steps. Ugh. We decided instead just to enjoy our day wandering the different towns and taking the 2 min train ride between each. It worked out perfectly!

Here we go climbing down to the rocky beach in Riomaggiore (1). Dave climbed around the cove and got a great view of the beach “crowd”. He even gave an impromptu lesson on rocks and the rock cycle!

In Manorola (2) the girls enjoyed scampering along the rocks and we enjoyed focaccia ligure another local speciality. 

Corniglia (3) is unique because it is the only town not with direct access to the water. After we got off the train, we still had to hike up switchbacks to get into town for lunch. As expected only a few places were open, and we were trying our best to find pesto for Arya and lasagna for Ashley. After walking up and down alleyways between homes, restaurants, and shops, we finally found a little place to settle in for a bit that met the girls requirements. Dave and I generally just go with the flow!

Did I mention that there are a lot of lemons in Cinque Terre?! Oh my! When life gives you beautiful sunshine, hillside terraces, and sea views, grow lemons! And then make them into limoncello and sip it with your Honey in the afternoon. Our AirB&B host gave us a bottle of homemade limoncello that was delicious. Dave texted her to thank her, so she brought us another bottle! The bottles were only 3 ounces or so, but still so good!

Our last afternoon the girls enjoyed some beach time back in Monterosso while Dave worked out one small complication: Money. We got a message that morning letting us know that our credit card had been compromised and was being cancelled. Okay. He called and spoke to them and they were sending another arriving in 7-10 days. We will be traveling for the next 10 days… Our debit card works, but does not have a chip on it. In Europe, most machines and stores use that chip. We do have a back up card, that was just renewed but has not arrived to us in Lucca. Dave’s mom had just mailed it from CA. So now we’re relying on this chip-less debit card for the next two weeks. Dave went to three ATM’s before he found one that worked. And in Monterosso that’s how many ATM’s there are! It was a good thing we had a big lunch, because I was beginning to think that we may have to forgo dinner. But what’s a trip without a few snags?

Onto our next stop - the French Riviera - home base Nice. Dave said to the girls, “Tomorrow we’re going to be in France!” To which Arya replied, “YES! I’ve been wanting to go there my whole life!” Ha ha ha tough to be her :-)