The Beautiful Cinque Terre

For those who haven't heard of "Le Cinque Terre" (or the five lands), they are these beautiful, quaint, traditional fishing villages on the Italian Riviera (about an hour southeast of Genoa). In Medieval times, this area was described as "the five castles" because each Village had a castle to protect them from possible attacks by Turkish pirates!

They remained fairly isolated until the Italian government brought in the railroads (in 1870) to unify the country.... blasting their way through the mountains and connecting the five villages with the rest of the world. Until then, there was very limited transportation other than boats and walking along the mountain paths, so they were basically isolated from much of Italy. Thus, they have held onto their rustic charm and beauty....and are now mostly accessed by train and hiking!

Le Cinque Terre are known for their beautiful pastel-colored houses which are regulated by a "Commissioner of Good Taste" (according to Rick Steves - my new travel guru who has tons of YouTube videos on Italy)! Here is the link to his video on this area if you want to watch it and imagine me climbing up and down the streets of the villages....but not hiking BETWEEN the villages, of course, since I barely survived the village climbs!! (https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=WP316ABiTt0) 

So....off I went on Saturday morning to catch the train! Stefano kindly offered to drop me at the train station on his way to take Valentina to her piano lesson.... whew!!...no steep hills and bus rides to deal with.... yet!! I rode on the train for about an hour to the first little village of Monterosso! I had tried really hard to book the PERFECT window seat, but unfortunately I got the complete opposite seat I wanted (backwards and on the other side of the train)! I enjoyed the backwards trip nonetheless, and I'm sure there is a metaphor here about taking in more of the present moment by giving it context from the past, but that kind of pondering is for another time!!

I travelled through long, dark tunnels for what seemed like ages as I anticipated each exquisite, breathtaking view of bright sunlight glimmering perfectly on the Ligurian Sea! We passed one quaint city after another with pastel houses built into the mountains...and that was even BEFORE we arrived in Le Cinque Terre!! 

Monterosso was the first village I visited, and I think it was my favorite!  I walked out of the train station and was met with the most picture-perfect view of the sun glimmering on the sea!!  (I've included SOME of the pictures I took over the weekend, but I didn't want to overwhelm everyone with the TONS of pictures I took because every view demanded at least one photo!!)

After 10 days of being COLD, the warmth and sunshine felt glorious!! I started walking into the main part of the village, but on the way there I came across this cute little store/restaurant with tables on the street - looking out over the water and just waiting for my arrival!! I decided to walk into town before stopping (just in case there was something better - although I couldn't imagine it), but after wandering around the main town square (up and down a few steep hills and stairs), I decided this was where I wanted to relax and enjoy the sun and sights! 

The owner of the shop kindly let me use his bathroom (whew!!), so I was able to take my time and enjoy a glorious lunch (participating in the "slow food movement" that is a part of how I envisioned my time in Italy)!! My view was GORGEOUS (have I used that word too much?!?!), I had sunshine on my face for the first time in days, and I savored the fresh pesto on foccacia and fresh-squeezed orange juice - followed, of course, by gelato (Nutella for one scoop and dark chocolate for the other) and a cappuccino! All I can say is....it was DIVINE!!! 

I had told the people in Vernazza that I would be checking into my hotel room around 3:00 pm (since I wasn't sure how long it would take to see Monterosso), so I decided to take the train to Riomaggiore at 12:30 since I wasn't sure the weather would be as nice on Sunday (which it wasn't - so I'm glad I went on Saturday)!! The total travel time between the first village (Monterosso) and the last village (Riomaggiore) is about 13 minutes, so it's not that far.

A lot of people hike between villages - a total of about 10 km, but don't be fooled by the short distance!  It is like mountain climbing (or so I've heard) along the trails - up and down along the side of the mountain on a well-maintained path (but with gorgeous sea and village views all along the way)!! As for me - the 13 minute train ride was perfect (and I got plenty of mountain climbing just meandering through the villages)!

The train station in Riomaggiore is at the bottom of the hill that leads to the village. I found out (after the fact) that there is a tunnel that leads from the station into town (not much of a climb), but then you have to climb up the hill to see all the shops, etc. Unfortunately (or maybe fortunately), I didn't see the tunnel, so I started walking up the path that goes straight up and winds around and around and around until you reach the top where you are rewarded with a pretty church and MORE beautiful views of the sea!!

I climbed and I climbed and I climbed....then I sat; then I climbed and I climbed and I climbed....then I sat; then I climbed.....you get the picture! But this time, I climbed until I reached an elevator!!! SERIOUSLY?!?!? An elevator from the train station?!? I might have cried, but noticed quickly the elevator was out of service, so I just kept climbing up the steep path, pausing every little bit to take in the gorgeous views!!

Once I made it to the top of the hill and took in the full, breathtaking view of the sea and village, I passed the church, rounded a corner and started heading back downhill to the train station! 

Worn out and sore from my climb up the hill, I was ready to catch my train to Vernazza and see what kind of place I had rented!! (You never know! Even with all the pictures and good reviews....well, ya just never know what to expect!!) With my legs cramping and aching (forgot the Ibuprofen.... darn!!), I hobbled off the train and eased down the stairs from the train station into town (along with my trusty, red, rolling backpack I've had since my first foray into adventure.... Guatemala in 2003)!!

I met the woman who was to take me to my room, and I was a bit afraid it would involve hiking up more hills...ugh!! I was thrilled when I saw it was on the main street (very close to the train station), but my excitement waned when she opened the door and I saw.....the STAIRS!! These weren't just any stairs, they were "stairway to heaven, straight up and down" kind of stairs!! And they just kept going.... and going.... and going!! 

After I made it to the top floor (and my lovely room), I couldn't imagine going down those stairs again until it was time to leave!! But...a bit of rest and a growling stomach gave me the impetus I needed to make it back down (and back up again with a pizza in my hand and a mini bottle of wine in my pocket a couple hours later....it IS Italy after all)!! But, I'm getting ahead of myself! 

I spent a couple hours wandering around town and sitting by the water with the rest of the "seals" (tourists mostly, but some locals) sunning ourselves on the rocks near the water, entertaining ourselves by watching the Asian tourists doing "photo shoot" poses, and anticipating the incredible sunset!!

It kept getting colder and colder, so I wandered around the square and ducked into the church on the main plaza. They had these warm propane heaters in the aisles, so I sat close to them and enjoyed the peace and quiet and pondered life (my favorite thing to do)!! 

Back outside in the cold (after the incredible sunset), it was definitely time to go to my room and get warm!! Most of the restaurants were closed because it's not tourist season, but I easily found a pizza and foccacia place (literally across the street from my room)! A quiet night under the covers because the temperature dropped (again!!)...a good book, a full tummy, and that was it for the night! 

Manarola in the distance from the station...

How far will I have to climb?!?!

The next morning was much colder and windier (and dark clouds were hovering on the horizon), so I did a quick tour of Manarola (another sweet-looking village where I ate my leftover pizza and foccacia in the main plaza, sharing it with the pigeons until they got too aggressive, then wandered down another steep hill to the harbor and back up the hill to catch the train back to Genoa at noon! 

I was a bit anxious about getting back to the apartment because Genoa is a mass of winding streets and steep hills (traversed by walking/hiking up the hills....ouch!!, funiculars and elevators)! But I had my trusty map and hoped for the best!! Wandering around the outside of the train station in the freezing wind looking for my bus, I saw it waaaaay across the street...across 3 lanes of traffic!! I wasn't sure how often the bus came and was freezing, so I made a run for it and whew!!... I made it! 

Genoa: My place is the building on the far right!!

I sort of knew the place where I was supposed to get off, but the bus was crowded, the road signs weren't clear, and I was dealing with a "handsy" Italian guy who seemed to think it was okay to rest his hand on my derriere!! Since I had no clue where I was but thought I might be getting close, I jumped off the bus to see if I could get my bearings (and get away from Mr. Handsy Italian Guy)!! I decided to just start walking in the direction where I thought I was supposed to get off and sure enough....20 very COLD minutes later, I found the entrance to yet another tunnel that took me to an elevator that took me to the bottom of yet another hill to climb....that took me to their apartment building with more stairs!!! Whew....who knew that Genoa is basically built on a small tract of land between the sea and mountains (and basically built into terraced land on the mountainside)?!?!.....Obviously I missed that piece of information before deciding to come, but it's all good (and probably good for me)!! 

All of my whining and moaning aside, I had a great weekend and thoroughly enjoyed seeing the beautiful Cinque Terre! I have a feeling it's much more rewarding to see during tourist season when more shops and restaurants are open, but I was gifted with a beautiful, sunny day and solitude, so I won't complain!! And although I will be more careful who I sit next to on the bus next time, I will remember my wonderful excursion with good memories and humor because the whole thing was truly an adventure!!