Today we set our sights on three Cinque Terre towns. We caught the train in Riomaggiore and rode it to Monterosso al Mare, at the other end of Cinque Terre - about a 9 minute ride. This is the 'resort' town. It is the only town of the five that is built on flat ground. The town is divided into two areas, the new town called Fegina and the old town, seperated by a pedestrian tunnel through the hillside.
Rick Steve's recommends that the walk around the point is more interesting than the tunnel, so that is what we did.
Looking back towards the new town.
A Nazi 'pillbox', a small, low concrete bunker where gunners hid. During WWII, nearby La Spezia was an important Axis naval base and Monterosso was bombed while the Germans were here.
16th century lookout tower, built after the last serious pirate raid in 1545
View of the Ligurian Sea
We wandered into the old town full of craft shops, wine shops and tourist shops. We also enjoyed some focaccia and torte, which are specialties of the region. Very tasty.
Lemons, a specialty of this region.
Besides the hiking trails and trains, you can also catch a boat from town to town.
Montenrosso has the closest thing to a real beach, although it is made up of pebbles and stones.
Grooming the beach for the summer season.
Once we toured the town a bit, we headed back to the train station. This time we walked through the tunnel. We caught the train for the short ride to the next town, Vernazza.
Train station
Vernazza is overlooked by a ruined castle and a stone church. It considers itself the jewel of the Cinque Terre. The main attraction and focal point of this town is the harbor. Tourists and locals hang out at the cafes, restaurants and on the concrete breakwater. The town has about 500 residents. Evenings are dedicated to the passeggiata, as in most Italian towns - strolling lazily together up and down the main street.
We walked down the the breakwater and enjoyed some more focaccia while people watching and enjoying the scenery. We also climbed up many, many steps to the watch tower for an amazing view.
Looking down the main street. A river actually runs under the elevated street. At one time the two sides of town were connected by small arch bridges.
Looking a back at Vernazza from the breakwater.
The shuttle boat boards passengers in Vernazza.
You can see the lookout tower on the hill.
Views from the tower.
Attack of the plants.
Looking down on the piazza at the harbor.
The stone church and its 'newer' bell tower.
Back down the tower stairs.
The towns are so colorful.
Dad, if I wish I could fly like the sea gulls.
Ice cream break.
After checking out all the sights, we caught the train once again. Our next stop, Corniglia. This is the smallest of the towns and is the only one not on the water. From the train station we had to climb 384 stairs on a zig-zagging path up the hill. It was a damp, drizzly and sweaty climb to the top.
Train in the tunnel. There are quite a few tunnels for the trains to go through in Cinque Terre. Some of the stations are so short that the trains actually stop in the tunnels.
The stairway to Corniglia
We made it to the top.
Goofy boy.
Fresh 'glass' seafood
Corniglia
Corniglia offered nice views, but was not our favorite town. It seemed as though it did not have enough to offer in return for the tiring climb. We only looked around for a short while, then headed back down to the train station.
It was raining a little more by this time. We were damp, tired and Katrina's ankle was sore, so we caught the train back to Riomaggiore so we could relax in our room.
Italian trains that came through the station as we waited for our train.
We shed our wet clothes. Katrina propped her foot up and did some reading while enjoying some wine I bought on the way to the room. I did some reading as well.
After awhile in the room, Brandon grew bored and wanted me to go exploring with him, so we did. We explored the waterfront and followed a trail to a beach just down the shoreline.
We had to climb down and then back up these steep overgrown steps to walk out on a rock area we found.
Riomaggiore
At 7pm we texted Katrina and she met us at a restaurant for dinner. I had pasta with zuchinni and clams. I've never had clams before. I ordered it without seeing the part about clams. They were tiny and fine, but didn't really add anything to the pasta. Don't get me wrong, the pasta was excellent. Katrina had sea bass and Brandon had his usual pasta con pomodoro.
After dinner we walked around so that Katrina could take some night pictures before retiring to our room for the night.
Tomorrow we will explore Manarola before heading home.
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