Italy

A few months ago, I was reading an article in a travel magazines on Cinque Terre, in Northern Italy. I was immediately enticed to go there and so after France, John and I found ourselves on a train from Nice to La Spezia. It was a complicated train trip with three transfers but finally we arrived in the late afternoon. After a bit of a struggle with a broken suitcase (the handle and the wheels were not longer working on John's bag), we checked into the old but nicely renovated Hotel Fierneze. Then we headed out to find our car rental.

Of course, Italy being Italy, the office was closed in the late afternoon (meaning past siesta time) even though opening hours posted on the door stated that they would be open. We ducked into a rustic wine bar with a surly waiter who waved us to one of the rare pay phones in Europe. I took a guess and called one of the three numbers that had been posted on the door, the one written by hand. A guy answered and explained that I had said I was coming in at noon. “Well”, I answered, “plans change and the train arrived later than I had anticipated.” In due time, he came, and soon we were outfitted with a Fiat Panda, not a car that I would recommend.

The next day we took the local train to the last village of Cinque Terre, Monterosso al Mare, which means mountain by the sea, with the emphasis on mountain. The old adage, you must go up to come down, is multiplied ten-fold. After a quick look around the village, we struck out, excited to do a nine kilometre hike from one village to the next, thus seeing all five villages. Cinque Terre is a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Purchasing a park ticket, we hit the trail. This first section was extremely challenging, very steep, at times very narrow, up and over hills, through vineyards and olive groves. Being from the over-cautious North America, we were amazed to see how little warning there was about the degree of difficulty of this hike. And also the lack of guard rails or anything to stop a fall into the sea below. We passed people in flip flops, high heels, even one guy in his bare feet. The heat was extreme and going up, everyone was breathing hard. We heard a multitude of languages. As we passed each other going in opposite directions on the path, I sometimes got the sense by their expressions that they knew what was in store for us. The trail went on and on. Up and over, down again. Hundreds of steps. Back up again.

But it was all worth it. From the great heights, the vistas were stunning. An hour and a half later, we arrived in Vernazza, the second village. Hungry from our exertion, we bought two beers ( Heineken) and three different kinds of foccacia and proceeded to sit on a sea wall by the beach. Our lunch was followed by a lovely swim in the crystal-clear harbour waters. All around us, colourful village houses clung to the rocks, rising in a multi-layered fashion, one above the other up the cliff.

But we could not linger. Finding the trail, we struck out again on yet another challenging section, to arrive over an hour later in Corniglia, the only village of the five that is not situated down by the sea but rests high on the mountain. We paused for a fresh granati made from local lemons and passed a store playing Dr. John music, reminding us both of how little music we'd heard lately.

Off to Manarola, a moderate hike compared to what we had just done, with surprisingly flat terrain and nice wide trails. Just outside of this village, we stopped at a local swimming hole for another very refreshing swim. The Italians sure love their sun and again, there were only bikinis, not to mention a few topless women. John and I sat for a bit to rest and then headed into the fishing village for an expresso. Each of these towns is a major tourist destination but there are still signs of the working man. White aprons and fishing clothes flutter on the many balconies, interspersed with houses offering 'kamare'- rooms- for rent. Cars are not allowed in any of the five villages, making them a walkers paradise.
The walk to the last village, Riomaggiore was tame by comparison, a stroll with wide, flat, cement walkways. Dinner at la Grotta restaurant was delicious, with lots of local Italian specialties. Tired but happy, we jumped on the train and headed back to our hotel. Cinque Terre was definitely the highlight of Italy for both of us.

The remainder of our time in Italy was spent in the Almafi coast, south of Napoli. The drive there was long and a bit stressful, but rewarding. We stayed in a former olive mill, Villa Il Frantorio, now a Bed and Breakfast, in Praiano. A stunning view but lots of climbing. Two hundred steps down to the village and another two hundred further down to the beach. That meant four hundred steps back up after a swim.

Daily we took the local buses to the towns of Positano and to Almafi, but found them way too touristy. The fun was more in riding the buses with their crazy drivers who are experts at careening around the hair pin turns with a steep drop off into the sea beside us. The highlight of this part of the trip, however, was the food. Each night, we returned to La Strada, to see Lorenzo, the best waiter in Europe. At his suggestions we sampled some of the amazing local dishes and wines. I loved the Caprese salad, ripe tomatoes with buffalo cheese, the 'courgettes'- stuffed zucchini flowers and also the fresh marinated anchovies. And the wine was excellent and moderately priced.

The days flew by and soon we found ourselves back on the highway, headed for the airport in Rome. We were excited to venture into a new country for us, Greece. But that is another story.