Italy Trip 2004
(Sept 21st - Oct 3rd)
MONDAY SEPTEMBER 27, 2004
We were both very tired this morning, so we slept in. At about 11am, we started our long journey across Cinque Terres.
Since we started in Riomaggiore (the south most town), our first stop would be Manarola. It was a 15 minute hike, which wasn't hard at all. The view we were treated to was incredible.
Manarola was a quieter town than Riomaggiore. There were more locals going around the streets than tourists, which made it feel more like a real town instead of a tourist trap.
We left Manarola to our next destination, Corniglia.
The view we got on this part of our hike was even better as we got to higher ground.
The hike took 30 minutes and was noticeably tougher than the first hike. Many more stairs to climb. Keep in mind these are not your ordinary building steps. These steps are many (hundreds?) years old and are made of dirt and rocks. Their surface is not flat. Instead, they are jagged from the rocks they are built with.
Corniglia was pretty much the same as Manarola. There were quite a lot of cats and dogs throughout the town.
We stopped for lunch to recharge our energy. I had a sandwich of cheese and spinach. for dessert, we each ordered a large gilato desert. It came with three large scoops of ice cream, whipping cream, 2 small cones and 2 small cookies. A great way to get a much needed sugar boost.
After lunch, we began the next hike on our journey to Vernazzia.
We'd been warned about the increasing difficulty of the hikes, but we had no idea that this hike would be so difficult. Within the first few minutes we quickly realized the challenge currently in front of us. There were an incredible number of stairs to navigate, along with uneven terrain. But the effort was worth it for the view.
Vernazzia felt very much like Riomaggiore. We didn't stay in the town very long as we'd been told the last hike was the longest and toughest. So without wasting any time, we were on our way to Monterosso.
The hike started with a constant 20 minutes of stair climbing. Luckily, it was mostly level terrain until the last 10 minutes where more stairs had to be navigated. The difficulty wasn't as bad as the previous hike. The one difference was the path was quite narrow. You basically had the mountain on your right and a nice fall to your death on the left. One missed step and this webpage would have never been posted.
After a 1.5 hour hike, we finally made it to Monterosso.
It turns out we have a family restaurant there.
Monterosso was the largest and most tourist oriented town of the five. It's pretty much a resort town, complete with its own beach (Sorry, no beach pictures as we all know what a beach looks like).
We were both tired and VERY sweaty after the hike, so we headed to the train station for a ride back to Riomaggiore (NO!!! We were not going to walk back!!). At the station, it seemed there was a hidden message in the power lines. What do you think?
After washing and changing in to clean clothes, we had dinner at a local restaurant. I had pasta with pesto sauce, green beans and potatoes. For dessert, I had tiramisu.
After having a few glasses of wine, Adam decided to ask for waitress for the check in Italian. Instead of asking for 'il conto' he asked for 'il scronto'. We have no idea if that means anything else. Personally, I'm hoping is means something really nasty :-)
As the ritual continues, I grabbed a gilato before heading back to the room.
My feelings this evening are pretty much the same as last night. The city is purely a tourist attraction. Anthony was telling us more than 2/3 of the population of Cinque Terres left once the tourists started flooding the towns.
Cinque Terres is known for its Olives and Grapes. Both of these, along with the tourist activities are controlled by the Cinque Terres corporation. It just seems wrong that five towns are governed by a corporation. Can you believe they charge 3 Euro to hike between the towns? that just doesn't seem right.
Tomorrow ... Pisa and Venice.
--> TUESDAY SEPTEMBER 28
