Another Day on the Italian Riviera

Sept 16

An amazing thing to see in all the local towns is the Trompe l'Oile on the sides of many of the buildings. One has to look very closely to note that the walls of the building are actually smooth stucco material. Some of the buildings are very elaborately painted and most are kept in excellent condition.

This moring we decided to train to Camogli where the actual wedding service will be tomorrow. It is a pleasant town on the other side of the peninsula where we are. From Camogli, we had an excellent view of Genoa. It was a little gray and windy there so there were not a lot of brave souls swimming, but it made for nice walking weather. We are going to try and update our blog this afternoon so will end now and will continue later...

Below are some examples of the Trompe l'Oeil we mentioned. Itis everywhere and often hard to tell that it is not the real thing.

Portofino

Lunch today in Portofino included a special homemade pasta with a fresh porcini topping. The waiter finished off the hot mix inside a huge wheel of Parmesan cheese, scraping off pieces of cheese which melted into the pasta. Fabulous!











Portofino Harbor and Fishing boats...

Sept 15
Woke up to a delightful continental breakfast with a softboiled egg in the hotel breakfast room before setting out for Portofino by bus. This is quite the resort town, but before heading into town, we did a hike up a very steep hill to get a great view of the town. The stores are all very high end but the restaurants were not as pricey as we had expected. There a couple of huge yachts moored in the harbor. We heard that P Diddy had been in town on a yacht three times the size of the ones we saw. It must have been more like small ocean liner. The highlight of today was having the chance to eat Porcini mushrooms three different ways between lunch and dinner. All three were fabulous and filled us with dreams of figuring out a way to grow them back home. Wishful thinking?

First Day in Santa Margherita

View of Santa Margerhita from the Stanbrook Villa

Sept 14
Here we are in Santa Margherita, waiting for Julia and Clive to pick us up for dinner on their way back from the airport. The trudge to the train was really not all that bad. We lightened our suitcases by adding to our backpacks. Some of the biggest weight offenders are all the books we brought with us. I had tried to rip out only the pertinent, but it still is a load. We changed trains in Sestri Levanti and arrived in SM just about noon. We hauled our suitcases through town to our new digs which are delightful. It is an old house that was converted to be a B & B. The room is light and airy and perfect for us. A quick unpacking and we were on our way to grab something to eat and see a little of the town. Delicious mussels and seafood spagetti with a side of absolutely scrumptious eggplant. We headed off towards Portofino for an after lunch bout of exercise. We have been blessed with lovely weather but I guess it has only been recently nice. As a result, the beaches are quite full with late season sun worshippers. I wish I had brought my scuba documentation so I could have taken my open water test here on the Italian Riviera, oh well, next time!

We did not get all the way to Portofino today as we ran out of sidewalk/boardwalk and the way people drive on the road between the two towns, one would think they were practicing for the Grand Prix! There are some amazing villas overlooking the water and the wedding we are going to is in one of them so that will be fun. We hope to do some of the hikes in the Parc di Portofino tomorrow and the next day to help work off all the delicious treats we are experiencing. As a matter of fact, off to the Stanbrook’s rental villa for dinner...

Had such a nice with some of the Stanbrook clan in their wonderful villa the rented for the week to house much of the family who are here for the wedding festivities.The villa overlooks the town of Santa Margherita and is set on a beautiful property. Our favorite part of the house was the outdoor kitchen and sitting area as it would be so much fun to have such a spot in one’s house. Dinner started with a delicious bowl of melon laced with a touch of porto. I was surprised to like it as porto usually has too strong an alcohol taste for my liking. The second course was a delicious mixed seafood risotto filled with all sorts of clams, mussels, and other fish. This course was followed by a fish plate. Each person had a tin foil wrapped fish that had been stuffed with herbs as well as a plate of salad. Dessert was cheese and/or a warm fig dish that was scrumptious. It was great fun seeing everyone and having time to talk as I am sure the bridal dinner and wedding will not offer such an opportunity.

Last day In "5T"

September 13 Our last full day in Cinque terre

We had great plans to rise early and hike over to Monterosso today, early, before the crowds hit...Once again great plans gone awry. The festival lasted well into the night last night, and although we were not present, we could hear every note, song, cheer, etc until very late last night. As a result, we were not up as early as we had hoped. We sleep with the windows open to catch the fresh air which also means being able to hear just about every conversation/song/etc within 200 meters!

Quick cup of coffee, a banana on the road, and we were on our way. After having read many accounts of the hike from Vernazza to Monterosso we thought we were about to climb Mt Everest if not Mt Washington. Basically, it was not any more difficult than the hike from Vernazza to Corniglia, a little shorter, a few more stairs, and narrower trail at times, but not too bad. We both carried hiking sticks today which we would recommend to anyone. They helped the climbing down and the balance on the narrow parts. Many people utilize them so we did not feel like wimps.

Once again, it was amazing to see the variety of hikers we came across. One young woman was dressed in a lovely skirt and top with matching purple ballerina flats to match. I am sure by the end of her hike, they might have been candidates for the trash bin! We wonder if hiking all the trails of the Cinque Terre is some sort of rite of passage or pilgramage for the native Italians. We have defintely encountered many from all age groups. There was one runner today who basically bulled his way by everyone. As there are certain spots where only one person can pass, everyone tends to be quite curteous about letting others go. He, however, just blew on by all of us waiting for our turn...oh well.

Monterosso was a bigger town than the other towns of Cinque Terre. There is the longest beach for swimming with all sorts of umbrellas, bathing huts, and lounge chairs to be had for a few Euro. We checked out a recommended restaurant but decided against it as we were feeling very healthy from our hike and didn't want to overindulge. A half carafe of wine, an incredibly light seafood tempura, homemade pasta with seafood was the perfect meal.

At this point, Bruce and I parted ways...I to hike back to Vernazza and he to take the train back. There is only so much stress we want to put on this new hip. My return was uneventful but Bruce had a few interesting encounters. (Bruce here) Having left Gusta for her hike back, I headed back to the other side of town and the Statione, which would deliver a train back to Vernazza. On the walk back (maybe 400 meters) I came across an elderly couple - the woman in her late 70s I would guess and dressed as my mother would -- creased white pants, ironed shirt and not a hair out of place3! Her husband was gasping "how much more to the train station?" Hearing that I jumped in and pointed out the pinkish building about 200 meters away. At that point he collapsed. I caught him as his wife tried to not be embarassed (PROBABLY CALLING LAWYER FOR READING OF THE WILL) and checked for pulse -- YES -- and got water from a passing stranger to throw on him. The WIFE did not want that as his shirt had just been pressed. I waited for emergency to come and as he came to he said "I hope your aren't a Democrat" With delight I told him that was the LAST thing he should be thinking about AND JK had been my best man.

Bruce and I decided we could not leave the area without at least one swim, so we went down to the town beach and had a lovely dip. Not used to salt water so it was a bit of a shock to my eyes as I forgot to close them when I dove in. The water temp was cooler than I had expected by defintely enjoyable. On our last night we had a glass of the local wine at our favorite little spot. I managed to slip and fall on the stairs, and twisted my knee. This was a terrible blow to my ego having survived all these other hikes to end up with a sore knee from one of the many steps in town...as Dad always said, ice the first 24 hours (hope to find some)...

We have been in sporadic communication with Julia Stanbrook. Will have dinner with much of their gang tomorrow night when we move on to Santa Margherita for the wedding festivities. Meanwhile, we dread the dragging of the suitcases back down all the stairs to the train in the morning, but know we will do just fine.

Birthday in Vernazza

Sunday, Sept 12

Well, Gusta broke into a new decade today, and a wonderful birthday it was. We decided to give our feet, and all muscles a break and take a train to Manarola for a birthday lunch. Bruce’s hip has been doing incredibly well. There is no way he could have done all the walking he has done in the last few days without his new hip. We are trying to take pix to send to Tony Webber, his orthopaedic surgeon, to prove how well he has healed and is doing. However, tomorrow is the big test when we will do the hardest section of the Cinque Terre hike, going from here to Monarosso. All we have read says this is the most difficult of the hikes. We plan to make it a leisurely day so Bruce does no damage...

We had the best meal yet in Manarolla. The troffie with a pesto sauce, specialite of the region, was without a doubt the best we have ever had...makes our homemade pesto taste so plain..and the pasta was al dente and tender at thse same time. We also had a couple of delicious seafood dishes wanting to take advantage of being so close to the sea. All was good, so we decided we better walk back to Corniglia to be sure to try and work off some of the good food. We got to Corniglia and had to wait an hour and half in the very hot sun for a train as a couple of them were canceled. The big question was...”Was this a strike?”. We were not too excited about having to hike back home as we did not have hiking shoes and it would have been more than we had energy to do. Thankfully a train finally arrived and we only had a relatively short ride as the train was packed to the gills.

Tonight there was a festival in Vernazza with some very interesting entertainments especially a group of men in orange jumpsuits,, each with a different kind of saxaphone. The music was rather jumpy but it was fun to feel part of a town party. All in all, a wonderful way to spend such a big birthday even though we could not be with everyone we love. Buena sera!

Hiking etc in the Cinque Terre

Above Vernazza at the beginning of our first big hike.
Our little evening sitting spot is on the cliff next to the white boat wake to the left of the tower.
The hike was very strenuous! Up and down hundreds of "steps" some 10" and others 16"

Bruce on the trail. The walking sticks were terrific to have along.

Genoa to Vernazza in the Cinque Terre

We woke early and got a cab to take us to the Statione Principe (Our #7 bus experience had made it clear that with big, heavy suitcases we never would have make it that way) At the station we confirmed ticket and fibaized second ticket on a local train: We would shoot right through our destination station of the verynice express, get off in La Spezia and wait for an hour to go back twenty minutes to Vernazza. We also confirmed that one should try and use the WC somewhere other than train stations or public places. You must pay about .30-.50 Euro to enter and receive a tiny piece of very rough paper. Not always the cleanest of places either!

Vernazza is a charming seaside city on a cliff. Guess what, the rest of the world has also figured out its charm and decided to join us here for this second week in September. We dragged our suitcases down the main and only street to our hotel. After checking in, we heaved them up about 97 steps to our room. The hotel is comprised of 7 houses, many of which are attached to each other. The village sits between the sea and some very steep hills

After dropping off our stuff, we set off to discover the town and get our bearings for the next few days. We had noticed as we came in along the main street that there were numerous boats resting along the road. As we went back, we could see some of the boats being moved down to the small harbor. These boats were on small carts to make movement easier. The harbor is a small one with a massive breakwater to protect the boats. There were people swimming along the small beach and doing laps on the far side. Huge cliffs line half the harbor and looking up we could see people starting off on the hike to Manarosso. Some men in tiny bathing suits were moving more boats so that they could take a set of water polo nets out into the harbor for a very competitive game.

The back side of our hotel is a huge cliff that drops into the sea. The view is stunning and if we were many years younger, would want to jump from there into the water which is a beautiful deep blue. I'm pretty sure it would not be allowed, not safe, but still fun to think about considering such a feat. There is a small sitting area with a not so strong rail which is a very popular place to sit and drink wine in the evenings. Tomorrow we will do our first hike and see how far we get.