The Cinque Terra is the "Italian Riviera" and where we were told it was most likely that we might have a George Clooney sighting; we didn't see any celebrities, but there were plenty of things we DID see! Our experience in this area along the Ligurian Sea began in our home town for two nights, Levanto. Once again the group was treated to a gastronomic feast following a master chef's pesto-making demonstration. The menu included fish stew, mussels, seafood lasagna, beef, rabbit, crab croquettes, grilled vegetables, chocolate-laced cream puffs and homemade limoncello (lemon liqueur).
Meredith: The chef even made a version of his famous pesto without pine nuts for me (due to my tree nut allergies) -- as someone with life-threatening allergies, it's SO appreciated to have someone looking out for your health and wellbeing! VaLinda: Miraculously, even though we were eating wonderful, hearty meals every day of our tour, and despite daily gelato stops, I actually lost a few pounds during the trip! I attributed this to much more exercise, mostly walking, that I did there. The food is generally fresher, so it's prepared with fewer added calories too. Italians, in general, seem to be a pretty lean and fit population.
Exploring the Cinque Terra -- June 29, 2016
Meredith: On our first full day in the area, we decided to take Cristina's advice and try to find a local pop-up street market. Mom and I had a lot of fun perusing the inexpensive Italian wares -- everything from underwear to household goods was available. Half of the fun was negotiating with the booth owners on an equitable price. I added to the area's economy by getting multiple outfits and a new pair of sandals -- perfect to wear out to the Cinque Terra! We stopped back to change and then hopped aboard the train using our complimentary train passes to take us to our first Cinque Terra city, Vernazza. The nice thing about Cinque Terra is that once you get on the train, you can easily stop at any of the coastal cities. You can also hike along the coast to reach almost any of the cities, but knowing how much walking we had been doing lately Mom and I chose to put our feet up for a bit and travel by railway.
Meredith: Vernazza was gorgeous and, appropriately, packed with people all taking in the wonderful view. Mom and I watched as people played in the clear aquamarine water while we stopped for a bit of lunch at a seaside cafe. Once we felt we had sufficiently explored Vernazza, we decided to take the train over to Corniglia. Thanks to Rick Steves' guidebook, we knew it would likely be a less-crowded town due to the large number of steps you have to climb to get from the train below to the city high on the cliff-side. Feeling up to the challenge, Mom and I certainly felt we earned every bit of the view above as we climbed the seemingly never-ending ascent (all 385 steps of it!) Once at the top, we felt we deserved another gelato stop. Again, we referred to the guidebook and stopped in Alberto's Gelateria (a favorite of Rick's), to try the miele di Corniglia gelato made from local honey -- yummm. VaLinda: It was another sweltering day on the Riviera. Thank goodness for our water bottles! But water in means water out, and when Nature called, we were on the search for a bathroom. This led to my first-ever experience with a public "Turkish" toilet: literally a hole in the ground...and nothing else. How does the saying go? "When in Corniglia, do as the Corniglians do."
Our Rick Steves guidebook was invaluable throughout our trip. We referred to it often when considering options for restaurants, attractions and just about anything else for trusted advice. We ate dinner at another wonderful, recommended bistro back in Levanto, and then capped off a perfect day by walking along the rocky beach just two blocks from our hotel.
A beautiful end to a full day. Time to rest up before departing for Florence tomorrow...