On to the Cinque Terre
Monday, July 18, Tuesday, July 19 - Days 3 &4
You may have read or heard about this area from others, but nothing quite compares to visiting the Cinque Terre villages in person! Nestled into the rocky coastline of northern Italy, these five tiny fishing villages are perched precariously on cliffs above the Mediterranean sea. They are:
• Monterroso al Mare • Vernazza (please read below about the terrible flooding in fall of 2011) • Corniglia • Manarola • Riomaggiore Rugged walking/hiking paths connect the five villages, as do city trains and a fleet of small boats (when the weather permits). We stayed in the lovely village of Monterosso al Mare, at Hotel Pasquale. All hotels in this area are very small (more like B & Bs), so our tour group was divided into two. The other half of the group stayed up the hill at Hotel Steno, which is run by the same family. Both groups claimed that their hotel location was "the best." We enjoyed the best sea view and they had the best overall view, since they were high on the hillside. However, that group had many steep stairs to climb to reach the hotel lobby and their rooms (carrying all of their luggage)… no elevators! Thank you, Jamie, for assigning us Hotel Pasquale! We savored the most memorable meal of the trip that evening. (see photos below) Jamie had made a reservation for us at Ristorante Belvedere. He offered us some menu and wine suggestions that we followed to the letter… we feasted on a multi-course seafood dinner served right on the beach, as Jamie had secured the best seats in the house for all of us. Our main entree was called "Anfora Belvedere" (mixed seafood, freshly caught) and baked and served in an earthen jug. Wow! So, tell me, does life get any better than this? |
Hotel Pasquale was our favorite hotel of the entire trip. Staying there allowed us to be a little less "tourist" and more of house guest of the Pasquale/Steno families.
Each morning we savored a delicious breakfast buffet including freshly baked croissant-like pastries, filled with homemade lemon jam… I thought I was in decadent France, not Italy! The proprietors, Felicita and Angelo, treated us royally and made us feel right at home. One of our favorite evening events was the pesto-making demonstration that Felicita and Angelo (see photos below) held for our group, before we enjoyed the wonderful home cooked meal they had prepared from scratch for our group dinner (see menu). Felicita and Angelo were genuine, hard-working people. Felicita shared her recipes for homemade pesto and pesto lasagna, which included a charming typo in the printed recipe. She instructed us to "crash the basil" instead of "crush the basil." We also learned about the superiority of Italian pine nuts: Felicita says please don't buy those tiny, inferior pine nuts from China! She recommends using only true Italian-style basil — the leaves are paper thin and can be crushed (or crashed) easily — for authentic pesto making. The next day we had free time to explore the villages on our own. Jake and Jenn hiked between Monterroso and Vernazza and back, through lemon and olive groves. In the afternoon they did some shopping, sunning and sightseeing. Some group members hiked between all five villages that day — very impressive! Bruce and I enjoyed the easy hike between Riomaggiore and Manarola and hopped city trains between the three other villages. We stopped to peek inside churches, shopped for tasty local goods and sampled food along the way (excellent gelato everywhere!). Most of all, this free day allowed us to immerse ourselves in the rhythms of daily life in the Cinque Terre. Jamie had showed us how to purchase train tickets, read the schedules, and not get ourselves too lost. The tourist boats weren't running between villages that day because the wind and surf were too high. No matter how group members chose to spend their day, everyone enjoyed their time in the Cinque Terre, as we eagerly compared notes at dinner that evening. |
Cinque Terre… a hidden gem, not to be forgotten!
_We will always cherish this photo of Vernazza. It holds special significance, especially now — knowing that this area has been ravaged by severe flooding and may never look this beautiful again. For those unfamiliar with this area, severe flooding and mudslides slammed the Cinque Terre villages on October 25, 2011, killing at least four residents and causing an estimated $140 million in damage to the area. Having visited Vernazza (which was buried in up to 12 feet of mud) and the other villages, we feel an emotional connection to this special place — probably shared by many other Rick Steves tour alums who've had the privilege of visiting there.
Visiting the Cinque Terre was the highlight of our Heart of Italy tour. We were so saddened and moved to hear of the devastation caused by the flooding, perhaps because we had recently been there and enjoyed interacting with residents of the villages. When you see devastating photos or read about a favorite establishment you visited only months earlier, now covered in mud (or worse yet, totally destroyed), it's actually heartbreaking.
We are so glad that Rick Steves is helping to spread the word and encourage reconstruction efforts in this area. Please visit the Rick Steves website for up-to-date information about this tragedy and the ongoing rebuilding efforts in the Cinque Terre. It's our hope that Rick's tours will continue to include the Cinque Terre in future tour itineraries, even while restoration is still "a work in progress." These tiny villages and their residents rely heavily on tourism and need our support. It doesn't matter if all of the Cinque Terre trails are open for hiking or if everything looks as pristine as before the floods — what matters is that we don't forget about the Cinque Terre — the hidden gem of the Italian Riviera.
Visiting the Cinque Terre was the highlight of our Heart of Italy tour. We were so saddened and moved to hear of the devastation caused by the flooding, perhaps because we had recently been there and enjoyed interacting with residents of the villages. When you see devastating photos or read about a favorite establishment you visited only months earlier, now covered in mud (or worse yet, totally destroyed), it's actually heartbreaking.
We are so glad that Rick Steves is helping to spread the word and encourage reconstruction efforts in this area. Please visit the Rick Steves website for up-to-date information about this tragedy and the ongoing rebuilding efforts in the Cinque Terre. It's our hope that Rick's tours will continue to include the Cinque Terre in future tour itineraries, even while restoration is still "a work in progress." These tiny villages and their residents rely heavily on tourism and need our support. It doesn't matter if all of the Cinque Terre trails are open for hiking or if everything looks as pristine as before the floods — what matters is that we don't forget about the Cinque Terre — the hidden gem of the Italian Riviera.
Jake & Jenn's 10th Anniversary Dinner at Ristorante Belvedere…
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