Cinque Terre (10-30)

This is the second entry from today. If you haven't checked back in a while, be sure you don't miss my Venice entry as well!

So, first of all, I know a lot of people reading this are probably asking, "What and where is Cinque Terre?" The Cinque Terre are five coastal villages in the Liguria region of Italy (north and west of Rome) which are now a part of Italy's most famous and arguably most picturesque national park of the same name. The names of the villages within Cinque Terre are Monterosso al Mare, Vernazza, Corniglia, Manarola, and Riomaggiore.

Okay, now before I comment on Cinque Terre, I have to talk about our train ride to get there. Wow! Amy and I absolutely fell in love with what we have been calling "the sleepy train." It's like our own little hotel room on rails. There were two bunk beds, a sink (with running water of course), a medicine cabinet, storage for all of our stuff, and a picture window to watch all the scenery pass us by! Considering the cost and time commitment that a hotel room would set us back, we killed two birds with one stone by taking the train: our transportation was taken care of, and our accommodations were as well! We were living large and loving it! The only thing we couldn't do was shower in the morning, but we were able to wash up using the sink, so it wasn't the worst thing.

So, we arrived in Monterosso, the northernmost town in Cinque Terre, at about 7:30 in the morning. Our train to Vienna, Austria would leave that evening from Riomaggiore (the southernmost town) at about 7:00 PM. That means we had about 12 hours to meander our way through the beauty of Cinque Terre. Two problems. First, it was pouring rain... the entire day. Excellent. Second, we had to carry our backpacks and any other "luggage" with us throughout all of our trekking, because there was nowhere along the way to deposit one's bags. That certainly sounds like it stinks pretty bad, but what you would be amazed to hear is that somehow it did not detract in the least from the sheer beauty of this place! I know I keep talking about how "beautiful" or "gorgeous" the places I've gone are, but I really am finding myself lost for any other words besides those. I mean, you can let the pictures do the speaking, but WOW! Talk about a totally different atmosphere with a totally different pace of life... such a breath of fresh air... a breath of rain-soaked fresh air!

Anyway, the strategy for the day, considering the weather, was to walk around each town a fair amount, check out the local "hotspots," and then hop back on the train and go to the next town south. This strategy worked out very well for us, and although it didn't keep us going for 12 full hours, it certainly kept us occupied for a solid 8 or 9.

When we got to Vernazza, we were hungry for breakfast, and decided to find a place to get some chow. It was about 9 AM, and almost everything was closed. The doors to the restaurants said they opened at 7 or 8 AM... weird. We later found out that when the weather is poor, the locals know that there isn't going to be as much tourist activity, so they just roll out of bed and open up their places whenever they feel like it... classic Italian. Anyway, after taking in some of the scenery and on our way back up the hill towards the train station, we found a place called the "Blue Marlin" that was open for breakfast. We could not have made a better choice for a place to eat! The people were incredibly friendly, the food hit the spot, and the atmosphere was nothing short of hilarious. You could tell this place catered towards the American tourist, with its Americana on the walls, and the waitstaff speaking broken English to every new guest before they even attempted to speak Italian to them. The manager of the place was just belting any song that came into his head at the top of his lungs, and he strolled around the restaurant while half-dancing to check in on all of his happy customers. The bottom line is this place was well worth it, so if you ever find yourself in Vernazza, hit up the Blue Marlin.

The day continued, and Amy and I continued to be amazed at the scenery. We took a stroll along the world-famous Via Dell'Amore (Lover's Walk), and gazed at the striking scenery seen from hundreds of feet above these cliffs. At the end of the day, when we arrived in Riomaggiore, we were exhausted. We were rain-soaked, and had been lugging our bags around for the entire day, so we decided to try and find some authentic Cinque-Terrean food. We found just that at "La Grotta" in Riomaggiore. One thing you need to understand is that Cinque Terre is heavily populated by fishermen, which explains all the bright colors, and the overall feeling of the place. Therefore, Cinque Terre is also very popular for its fresher-than-fresh seafood. So, back to La Grotta. La Grotta is a restaurant literally built into a cave. They installed windows in the sheetrock in some of the interior spaces so you could see into the existing cave while dining inside the restaurant. When it came time to order, Amy got a pasta dish with potatoes, and I ordered pasta alla Grotta, which is La Grotta's specialty pasta. The menu said it was a pasta lightly flavored with shellfish, and then sounded enticing to me, so I was sold. A little while passed, and then our food came out. Amy's food looked great, with its home-made pesto sauce and excellent presentation. My food was wrapped up in tin-foil. Just before the waitress set the food on the table, she lit it on fire. So there sat my tin-foil encrusted food, on fire right in front of me... very cool. She said to wait a few minutes and put out the fire. I did just that and then eagerly peeled open the tin foil to see the food waiting inside for me.... PAUSE....(haha).... so I'm staring at my food.... and it's staring back at me. Big beady eyes. Yeah, it's probably not as bad as what you're thinking right now... they weren't alive. But, it was some vermicelli pasta topped with four whole (nothing spared) langoustines. Also included were several other in-shell shellfish that I was somewhat unfamiliar with. So, what did I do? I dug in. Just like the sheep intestines from Sicily, I had at it. The pasta was delicious, and I really did not know how to eat the langoustines. I have had plenty of experience with lobsters, but these were so small and so delicate looking... how the heck do you eat these things? Naturally I didn't ask the waitress that question, so I just dug in... I busted those bad boys in half and just ate what I saw. And I have to say, they were also delicious. I was very happy to have had this kind of truly authentic Cinque-Terrean cuisine, and those eyes staring at me from my plate make a memory that I won't soon forget.

Okay, enough rambling. Here are 17 pictures of Cinque Terre. Enjoy!

Vernazza. You'll notice that on the hills that surround the town, the inhabitants do all of their horticultural work. They grow most of their own crops by the look of it. So, with the combination of their plant-growing and their fishing, they keep themselves pretty independent and self-sufficient.

A shot of the main clock tower in Vernazza, right in front of the water.

Some of the fishermen's boats in Vernazza. Note all the very "loud" colors. Fishermen in Italy are known to paint all things like this (from their homes to their boats), and I love it!

Amy and I against one of the sea walls in Vernazza a few minutes before we had to get back on the train headed for Corniglia.

A cool tunnel in Vernazza and a cool way to separate the picture (nice shot, Amy). On the bottom, you have the sea... Cinque Terre's primary source of life, and on top, you have the land; the vegetation which they cultivate and also live off of.

A shot of one of the tunnel archways looking out onto the water.

Another shot of the water looking out onto one of the clusters of homes in Corniglia.

There she is! A smile on her face no matter what the weather.

A shot in Manarola overlooking the passing train, the serene water, and some homes back in Corniglia.

A picture of some of the homes in Corniglia.
Amy overlooking the Manarolan water.

And myself. Along the Lover's Walk, overlooking the same Manarolan sea.

Some of the natural vegetation growing along the cliffs adjacent to Lover's Walk.

Amy and I under an overhang owned by a cafe positioned on Lover's Walk in Manarola. Sorry for the graininess on Amy and I... we had a waitress take this picture, and we ended up being very dark, so I had to sacrifice being able to see us for having a little grain in the end.

The man-made stone walk which defines parts of Lover's Walk.

A shot of Lover's Walk as well as the sea in the distance.

The final shot. Again, displaying part of Lover's Walk, and also looking out onto the infinite cliffs and gorgeous Tyrrhenian Sea.

So that'll do it for Cinque Terre. What a place to visit rain or shine. After we were done here, we took another sleepy train headed for Vienna, Austria. I'll talk all about that in my next entry. Until then, enjoy the scenic beauty of Cinque Terre!