Cinque Terre July 2-5, 2013

July 2, 2013 – Left Venice in the morning for our 6 hour train ride to Vernazza in the Cinque Terre on the west coast of Italy on the Italian Riviera.  The Cinque Terre is a series of 5 villages built in to the side of the mountains accessible primarily by train.  We checked in at our little apartment with a sea view for 85 Euros per night.  We had beer, wine and some pasta with pesto (this is where pesto comes from) at Baja Saracena Pizzeria on the harbourfront.  We met 3 girls from Seattle who reminded us of Kate, Loana and Amberly and they were having some issues finding a room, but all worked out.  We hung out on the harbor front for awhile and the it was dinnertime.  Had dinner at a small restaurant on a backstreet and then to bed.  Long day with the train ride.

View from our Room in Vernazza

Vernazza Side Street

July 3, 2013 – Got up and went for breakfast at Il Pirate in the upper part of town.  Great breakfast and Gina, our waitress, was great and upsold us to make reservations for dinner which we did.  We then took the train to Corniglia another of the cute villages.  It is about 365 stairs up to the town from the train station. We walked around town for a while and then off on our 1.5 hour hike from Corniglia back to Vernazza.  We got about 30 minutes in and the heights thing got the best of me and we went back – beautiful as far as we got.  We went back to town for lunch.  Jan went to the bathroom and found a hole in the ground – her first such experience in Europe – she turned around and walked out and the staff were laughing so hard.  The waitress actually offered to Jan to show her how to squat and use the hole – she was laughing so hard.  We came back to Vernazza for a nap and then back to Il Pirate for dinner.  I had lasagna (amazing) and Jan had mushroom risotto.  We then sat on a bench on the waterfront for about 3 hours and chatted with a couple from Washington.  Dropped into bed.

Corniglia

At the top of the stairs at Corniglia (Train Station Below)

July 4, 2013 – Hopped on the train for a tour of the other towns.  We stopped in Riomaggiore and had breakfast, in Manarola to look around and Monterosso – the real beach town of them all - to look around.  We like Vernazza best.  Back in Vernazza by about 2 pm and off to the harbor front for a light lunch (we gotta start cutting back) and wine and beer.  We sat there for a long time – we left about 5 pm – this is what holidaying should be.  Had dinner at the harbor front restaurant Gianni Fannzi (it was ok) and then walked the street (that is what you do here at night as there is no large Piazza to stroll around) and ended up at the Blue Marlin for drinks.  Chatted with a young couple from Baltimore (they might have been cousins) until midnight when they closed the bar (it is the law here to close at midnight) and off to bed. 

A little about the flood of October 2011 which devastated Vernazza.  Vernazza is a town built along a small valley from the mountains to the sea.  There was a flash flood in October 2011 and the town acted like a funnel and brought all the water right down main street.  The Blue Marlin was one the first businesses hit by the massive flood and is one of the only restaurants/bars with a fair amount of indoor seating.  As it was raining, 40 people were dining at the Blue Marlin at 1 pm that day.  The waters came so fast that all 40 people were trapped inside.  They had to break a hole through the wall on the side of the restaurant and get all 40 people out the small hole and up the back way into the hill town.  Jeff, our waiter, was working that day and was the first out of through the hoe as he spoke both English (originally from California) and Italian and could help most people through.  He said that the army was surveying the damage at dawn the next morning and within 3 days had set up camp and were providing food and water and cooking for all.  It took about 8 months to “open for business”.  The townfolk worked for those 8 months on cleaning up and reconstructing the town for no pay (but the army was feeding them).  Pretty amazing – you would not know of the devastation today unless you saw the pictures.  Love Vernazza!

Riomaggiore

Riomaggiore

Manarola

Manarola

Monterosso

Monterosso

July 5, 2013 – Lazy day around town (Vernazza).  Shopped, ate, swam in the Mediterranean, sunned.  Great day.  Went back to the Blue Marlin for dinner and had one of our best meals in Italy so far.  Off to Florence tomorrow …

Vernazza at Night