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| Manarola |
If you’re hoping to visit the quaint and unspoiled Cinque Terre, you’re 10 years too late! If you’re happy to visit the Cinque Terre with hundreds of other tourists then you’re in luck.
At 8am this morning we arrived promptly outside the Cafe Paskowski in the Piazza Della Republica to join our day tour. Also, right on time were Greg & Rose from Boston, and Marion & Bill from Melbourne. However, 2 unnamed fellow travellers were late and our guide for the day , John, waited 25 minutes before giving up on them.
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| Vernazza |
The drive to our first stop, Manarola, was through green and hilly countryside where we had a good view up the the white cliffs above Carrera where the famous marble is quarried.
I’d like to tell you about Manarola, but because we were so late leaving Florence, all I saw of the town was the inside of a ladies loo before we had to head for the train station for our brief trip to Riomaggiore. However, Riomaggiore was all I expected of a Cinque Terre village, with its pastel houses and apartment building clinging to the side of the steep hills rising up from the tiny harbour. We had time here to wander and to walk down the steep steps to the rocks above the water.
The skies were grey for most of the day so I’m afraid we didn’t see the area at its picture postcard best but its not difficult to see the appeal of these tiny villages plonked in such a picturesque location. The hills rise up above the towns lined with row after row of terraces where the vines were heavily laden with the seasons grape harvest. The pickers were out collecting the bunches and loading them into crates which are taken up the near vertical hills on an amazing track system.
Unfortunately, the appeal of the area is so wide that most of the villages are swamped with tourists during the high season. As we waited to board the boat for our ride to Vernazza we (along with Bill and Marion from Melbourne) cringed at the loud and stupid commentary coming from the large Aussie tour group that were also waiting to board the boat. These were the epitome of the ugly Australian tourists and Neil and I made a beeline for the roof of the boat to get away from them as soon as we boarded.
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| Local seafood, lightly fried in batter – delicious! |
That was a good move, because the view from the roof was wonderful! As we puttered north along the coast we had a great view of the towns and the hills, the sea was calm and we sat contented in the breeze. We hopped off in Vernazza at 1pm and wandered up through the town trying to find somewhere for lunch. At first it looked pretty grim, there were too many tourists and not enough restaurant tables but eventually I spotted a table for two under colourful umbrellas at the Gianni Franzi Restaurant, right near the water. John had recommended the local specialty pasta Trofie al Pesto so we ordered a plate of that and another of fried local seafood. The Trofie is a hand rolled short pasta and was delicious with the bright green pesto sauce. The tempura batter on the tiny fish, squid and octopus was crisp and light and delicious. With those in front of me and a glass of the local wine I was warming to the Cinque Terre after all! And the local pussy cat was warming to me, he came and miaowed at my feet, he may have been speaking Italian but I knew he was after my leftover prawn heads!
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| Pretty Corniglia |
After lunch we drove up around the narrow coast road to the tiny town of Corniglia. It is the highest of the towns and because its not as easily accessible to the boats and big buses it was quieter and far more appealing. Up behind the church was a tiny piazza with a fabulous view up and down the coast. We had time to get a little lost in its back lanes and to top up our lunch with gelato before returning to the bus and the 2 hour drive back to Florence.
After a big lunch, we were both content to order a room service dinner of local bruschettas , hams and fruits and amusing ourselves by watching a variety of Italian TV shows. Tomorrow we pick up the car, another adventure!
