From the train station, we took a two hour bus ride to our destination. We then took a 10 minute train ride to the our first city, which would actually be Manarola, a town of around 1700 people. Our guide explained that we would travel to each of the next three and then circle back to Riomaggiore. We walked around Manarola and the guide explained what it was like to live there. They have very narrow, steep (think San Fran) roads so there are very few vehicles and most of the residents walk everywhere. A beautiful patchwork of houses in different colors dotted the mountainside, along with olive trees, grape vines, and fruit trees.
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| Gorgeous views....the pictures simply do not do it justice |
We then took another train to Corniglia. This is where the stair workout began. In the 95° heat, we climbed up this flight of steps that looked a lot like Lombard Street in San Francisco. 33 flights of steps - 377 stairs in total! And the workout was only just beginning...
During the climb, I was telling/asking myself, "We paid for this..." "We paid for this?" "We paid for this!!"
Once we arrived in the main part of the town of Corniglia, we walked around a bit. It is a very charming town of about 300 people. We walked to the restaurant where the majority of the tour group ate. It is owned by a cranky 83 year-old Italian woman who makes the best pesto. (Fun fact: pesto originated in this part of Italy) We had an octopus and seafood appetizer followed by a pasta dish with homemade pesto. It was delicious! We had an amazing view at the restaurant, and a very welcome breeze given our stair workout.
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| Only 370 stairs left!! |
After lunch, we hiked from Corniglia to Vernazza. The first half of the hike was all uphill (both ways, in the snow....), and because it was so hot, it was definitely a workout. We went through a lot of water! But, the views were absolutely stunning and made the hike well worth it.
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| Our tough, cute girls are up for any adventure! It makes traveling with them so much fun! |
Between Corniglia and Vernazza, there is a bar in the middle of the hike that serves fresh squeezed lemon and orange slushees. We stopped to take a break, get a slushee, and take in the amazing views. Beer = dehydration, hence the absence of a beer pic, but it was pretty tempting.
After our slushees, it was quite literally all downhill as we hiked to Vernazza. It was about a 40 minute up the mountain and another 40 minute hike down the mountain, so we felt like we should hit the best gelato stand in Vernazza to have some gelato (the owner imports his cinnamon from India!). It was yummy! More importantly, it was cold and we were hot.
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| One of the rare spots with a guardrail. Most of the hike had a steep edge with no rail! |
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| Moving the buildings apart so we can get through... |
We then hopped the train to Monterosso, a village of about 1500 people. Not much to do there but a little shopping and cooling off in the Mediterranean Sea. Haley and Ashley donned their bathing suits to take a refreshing dip, and Sherri, Emily and I walked around the quaint down. We got a glass of local wine (well, ok, Sherri and I did....Emily stuck to orange juice), cooled off, and then headed back to get Haley and Ashley so we could get on a boat.
The boat took us to Riomaggiore and we had a small bite to eat. The guide strongly encouraged us to get a 'seafood cone' - fresh seafood and veggies fried and put in a paper cone. We all thought the calamari was good, but the rest was 'meh'. We only ate about a third or so of our small cones. Going forward, the only thing I'm getting in a cone is gelato. And of course, some more gelato. And an extra helping of gelato (remember, three a day...)
From Riomaggiore, we took a train to where our bus dropped us off in the morning, and then took the two hour bus ride back to the train station by our apartment. We got back, grabbed a quick bite of pizza, and then went back to our apartment. A very hot and long day, but definitely one of our favorites of the entire trip. We logged 23,559 hard-earned steps! Such beautiful scenery and neat little villages. We highly recommend this trek if you are in Florence, but make sure you bring your hiking shoes, a fan, your camera, and lots and lots of water!
Ahhhh! Cinque Terre! Jodi and I have fond memories of that trip. We were fortunate enough to stay in a hotel there - no, I don't remember which little town. It was quaint, old and soooooo Italian.
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