Cinque Terre-5 experiences and a small world after all.

After a quick breakfast, we set out for our journey to Cinque Terre, a series of 5 beautiful old towns lining the crystal blue Mediterranean Sea, not the ocean as T likes to say. We were aware that you are able to walk the 8 mile path that joined all 5 towns but didn’t quite realize that it was a treacherous hike! (side note: Raimos, not recommended) After eagerly beginning our day at Monterosso, two long, arduous hours later of hiking and climbing broken and uneven trail steps and descending unguarded cliff side paths spanning a foot and half, we realized that the possibility of walking to all five towns was a bit too ambitious. We wondered aloud why there weren’t fallen victims on the trails particularly after the seemingly endless climbs of 50 steps or more. Yet, once on the level path, the views of the Mediterranean were breathtaking!



 On the path to the first town, Vernazza, we met a great couple from Montana just married 2 years.  We told them of our celebration and they shared with us that this was the 2^nd marriage for both after losing their spouses to cancer in their 50’s.  In their previous marriages, the two couples were best friends for many years and the children welcomed the marriage with open arms.  Ernie’s daughter graduated from Tufts and insisted on a picture with T in his Tufts Jumbo shirt to show to her. He was very excited.



We reached Veranazza and were amazed by its beauty and uniqueness. The homes and businesses of this small community were built vertically into the ledges of the hills, precariously hanging over the Mediterranean. Each of the weathered, stucco structures were painted shades of faded pastel colors while lines of drying laundry (including boodandies) were strung from window to window. The smells of the finest Italian cooking wafted through ally ways that made the Boston’s North End streets look like freeways. This is a walking town. The cove was filled with old fishing boats and well placed cafes to enjoy the waterfront.



We boarded the commuter train to travel to the remaining three towns. The ferry that we were planning to take was not running because of rough seas. We arrived at Riomaggiore, the last town and walked up through the center (another huge incline, thank you very much).The views from the top were spectacular! While waiting for the train to the next town Manarola, we met a couple from Atlanta who encouraged us to walk the “Lover’s Walk” to Manarolo so off we went. Along the way, we saw many PADLOCKS that are symbolic of lasting love. We were so thankful that we ran into the Altantans because this walk was paved and so incredibly scenic that we would have been very disappointed to have missed it. Manarola was the 4^th town, very small and not as touristy as the others.



Cornelia was the 3^rd town and the last we visited. I was insistent on going there because it was my grandma Connie’s namesake. Once we arrived, we were greeted by a 384 step climb to enter into the town.



All the towns shared similar structures but each had their own individual characteristics and tourist appeal. However each of the 5 towns did share one common feature in that the main road lead through the center and accessed the sea for both boats and swimmers.



As night drew near, we returned to dine in Vernazza since it was our favorite town. We choose a restaurant with a table just feet from the sea and enjoyed a delectable gnocchi pesto dish with cold beer and fine wine. As we prepared to leave, we were met by a shout of, “hey, are you from Boston” from a very enthusiastic couple from Southie. Amy and Mark were another young couple celebrating their engagement (now I’m really thinking-“what the hell did I do wrong?”) We spent the rest of the evening eating, drinking and laughing with them. Mark was Manny Ramirez’s former personal cook and does all sorts of fun “chef like” activities, so we have a chef available for our next house party! Mark was a typical Southie character (except for his Italian ancestory), full of fun, lots of conversation and just like a buddy you’ve known since childhood. 



The encounter with Amy and Mark set our departure time back quite a bit which in turn made our travel back to our hotel a little tricky. We had an hours drive on a Disney like ride through windy, unlighted mountain roads and then onto the exciting “AUTOSTRADA”-YIKES! Traveling on the Autostrada at 100 miles an hour, going through many tunnels through the mountains and suddenly coming upon a man in a reflector suite with a glow in the dark ward waving us over to the other lane because of highway workers in the road was as bit unsettling, but we managed to make it without hitting them even thought we encountering it 3-4 times in as many tunnels. We can’t imagine there is much longevity in that profession! No state trooper details here! Long day….