Italy: Day 9 - Cinque Terre 9/13/05

6:30am, Jennie and I woke up to catch our train to Cinque Terre. Chi Chi and Pepe were such great hosts! Chi Chi made us some morning food while Pepe drove us to the train station. We bought our tickets to Vernazza, got on the train, found a nice cabin and prompty fell asleep. Three or four hours later, we arrived at La Spezia for our transfer onto a regionale train to Vernazza. By now, Jennie and I were Trenitalia pros. Once you get it, it's a pretty easy and cheap way to get around Italy. Our plan was to leave the large luggage at the La Spezia station and only bring a small backpack. Unfortunately, the luggage check did not open until 8am daily. Our train the next day to Bologna would leave La Spezia at 7:45am. There was no margin for error. The baggage man promised that he would be there early tomorrow morning. We trusted him, left our luggage and boarded the train to Vernazza.

It was a very short ride. The air along the Mediterranean coast just felt different. Ahhhh...this was vacation! We got off at Vernazza and walked down the main path.


At the end of the path was a tiny plaza and a tiny beach.


Multi-colored boats lined the shore.


The water was sparkly and blue. The weather was perfect.


From up top, you could see a cluster of colorful umbrellas over the plaza.


Jennie and I had lunch at a great little restaurant on the main path. While waiting for our table, we ran into a sweet mother daughter combo, Melinda and Layla. Amazingly, they are originally from Alameda! Layla, the one in pink, is a boxer in Las Vegas. This was what I loved about traveling. You never know who you are going to meet on the road. It was their last day in Italy and almost our last day as well. Sigh.


Jennie and I splurged and took a scenic boat ride to the next town. The very relaxed boat drivers.


Monterosso! Oops! We went the wrong way. The boat drivers eventually let us back on to go to Riomaggiore.


A painting on a wall in Monterosso.


Corniglia from the sea.


Fisherman dutifully catching my dinner!


Arriving at Riomaggiore, we didn't have much time until sunset so we headed directly for the footpath to Manarola: Via dell'Amore (Lover's Lane).


Yes, even Lover's Lane must have a bar.


Me, at Lover's Lane's bar.


Fifteen minutes later, we were in Manarola. We caught a train back to Vernazza to look for a room for the night. The room was utterly disgusting. We didn't care too much. It was our last night and the trip went well. For dinner, I finally got to eat my seafood risotto. It was fabulous. Gosh, I'm salivating just thinking about it again. Everyone in the restaurant turned to see our dish. I got Jennie to start making strange noises when she eats good food now. Ah, mission accomplished. It's only natural! A short beer break at Piazza Marconi and we were off to bed.