Cinque Terre Day 8 and 9

After a long train ride with a transfer in Milan, we arrived in Monterosso. It felt so good to be away from the busyness of the last 3 cities. The sea was a welcome sight, and even though it was a little cold, I loved arriving here. We started to feel relaxed. The “hotel” was really just a room rented from a young family. We found the place and knocked on the door until a young French girl answered and took us downstairs to a note on the door as to where we should contact our hostess. She was very apologetic that she didn’t speak any English, so at last I could use the French I was dreaming of earlier. I managed a Merci and she seemed impressed.

Rick went to the green door we were pointed to, and we proceeded to wait for someone to show us to our room. At least we weren’t disappointed. It was a lovely room with everything we needed to be comfy. The lady who gave us everything didn’t speak any English, but proceeded to tell us everything in Italian like we understood. As long as we had the key it was all good.

We waundered around and really fell in love with Monterosso. It is a quaint town with a relaxed pace. We ate dinner at a restaurant around the corner from our room, and had seriously the best dinner of my life. The pesto and antipasti, along with where we were, just made this dinner what it was. Fresh fish and homemade pasta, you just can’t go wrong.

The next day we were moving to Riomaggiore so we packed up and, we had decided to see the towns with our back packs.  However, like half of the other people waiting for the train, we got on the wrong one, which sent us past all the towns on the Cinque Terre. It was a blessing in disguise though because we figured out how the trains worked at the station, and decided to check in early at Riomaggiore and get rid of our back packs.

We weren’t prepared for the walk to the hotel. It was a horrendous walk up a steep hill, and then down again. We were with 2 other couples that turned out to be staying at our hotel as well. Once we got there and looked at our map we realized that there was a short cut tunnel at the bottom of the town. Good gosh, what a way to start a day that would be loaded with hills and stairs as it was….I didn’t need any extras to go with it.

The Cinque Terre walk was actually closed to all the towns except from Riomaggiore to Manarola so we walked that one right away, had a quick bite in Manarola, and then went on to Vernazza. We had wandered around Vernazza for a while, had lunch in an old restaurant, and then had a quick stop in Monterosso for a souvenier that I hadn’t picked up, and we were off to Corniglia.

All the towns except Corniglia are accessible by boat. This one is up steps. Or as we found out after we had taken the long way around again…we accessed it by a steep road. By the time we reached the top I thought I would be sick. But it was worth it….if only to use the bathrooms! As I’ve said, you never know what to expect, at least this didn’t cost anything. I will say, I prefer this to no toilet seats. A hole in the ground that you just squat and go.

Today was our 23^rd anniversary, and the irony of the day isn’t lost on me. It was by far our most challenging day physically and mentally. Between the frustration of navigating the trains, combined with the difficulty climbing and negotiating the roads and steps, it was like the road map of a marriage. With each and every block we had to re-think our original plan. The bonus as always were the rewards. And we were rewarded, with spending our anniversary in Italy, on the Cinque Terre. Between fantastic views and quaint towns, it was a great anniversary.

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