With a sunny forecast today, we had to head for the sea. Josh and I had both wanted to see the five towns built into the rocks along the Ligurian Coast referred to as Cinque Terre, and we were only an hour and a half away. (We’d wondered for weeks if there was any relationship to the five towns on Long Island? Ha Ha Ha!!!).
After breakfast we set off. We drove past the town of Carrara and saw the enormous blocks of marble – tons and tons of them – stacked by the side of the road. We navigated through the naval and industrial port town of La Spezia (there does not seem to be a highway that skirts it), and made our way towards Riomaggiore. Just before reaching the first of the five towns, we were blocked from entering a tunnel. A car had flipped over; no one was hurt but the tank was losing gas. The fire squad and police were all there. This was actually an unusually pleasant half hour delay. Everyone got out of their cars, stretched their legs and chatted. We met a friendly group of New Zealanders vacationing in Italy for the first time. We took turns peeing in the trees. Half an hour later, the tunnel was back in business.
Just on the other side was Riomaggiore, but the vigile was diverting traffic. So instead of starting our tour in Riomaggiore, we continued on to Vernazza which is actually the fourth of the five towns (heading north). The drive was harrowing. Josh said it makes Highway 1 seem like a cake-walk. The road is a series of switchbacks on a steep mountain cliff just wide enough for one and a half cars. But the scenery was breathtaking!!! Better than what I remember of the Amalfi Coast because it is much less developed. We were enveloped in pine trees, terraces of grape vines and lemon trees. It reminded us a bit of the drive to Hana in Maui.
Once we arrived in Vernazza, we parked and walked down to the port – about 1km away. The walk was lovely, along a stream with gardens full of lavender, orange and lemon trees. As we arrived in to the town’s core, there were all kinds of shops and restaurants. Very charming but, of course to a degree, touristy too. We rushed straight to the ferry pier – which is really just a big rock – to inquire about the schedule. As luck would have it, a boat was just approaching. In April, the schedule allows for a ferry about every two hours so we were very lucky. We boarded the boat and enjoyed the ride from the outdoor upper deck. Heading south, we passed Corniglia (the third town) perched high up on a cliff, and the only town not accessible by boat. Then the ferry stopped in Manarola (the second town) before reaching Riomaggiore. The whole ride was less than half an hour, and the kids really enjoyed it. Josh even took them down to visit the captain.
By the time we’d disembarked in Riomaggiore, it was 2pm and everyone was really hungry. We chose one of the first restaurants we came across which had the added bonus of having a view of the water. While waiting for our meals to be served, the kids had fun running up and down the stairs of this vertical town. We ate some seriously fresh fish, including shell fish. Josh and I also had some wonderful, local white wines. In fact, the restaurant was really an entoca – Enoteca Daucila – with dozens and dozens of wines offered by the glass.
After lunch we walked through the tiny town (this took all of five minutes) before we located the trail-head for the Via del Amore. Cinque Terre is a UNESCO world heritage site and over the past decade has marketed itself quite well as it has expanded the options for tourists. So, not only can you take a boat from town to town and see the natural beauty from the sea, you can also take a train, or you can “hike” because a path has been created between the towns. Just like any National Park, you must buy a ticket for each day you plan to spend on the paths. The path between Riomaggiore and Manarola is the easiest (flat) and shortest (1 km) and is called the Via del Amore for the romance it inspires. We thought Avery would be able to make this short route, but alas Josh still ended up giving him a piggy-back ride for half the journey.
Now in Manarola, we took the “five minute” tour and then located the rock where the ferry comes in. This time, we had to wait 20 or so minutes for the ferry to arrive. All the while Olivia and Avery were scaring us by climbing up and down and around the jagged rocks over the water. There was quite a crowd waiting to embark and when the ferry finally came, it looked like it was already at capacity. Still we scrambled on-board and took any scattered seats we could find. Josh and I laughed about the safety precautions (or lack thereof) of getting on and off these boats…and the sea was not even particularly rough today. We ferried from Manarola back to Vernazza, and confirmed, of the towns we’d visited, it was our favorite. We strolled and stopped for gelato. I also stopped to buy a straw hat – although this was an unexpected stop and my family walked ahead and caught the shuttle bus back to the car. Once at the car, they wondered, where was I? And, in these parts, there is no cell phone signal. Today, I was the lost kid! Once I walked back up to the car, the girls didn’t even like my new hat.
We had still more incredible views on our drive back through Cinque Terre. Now we were headed to the beach resort town of Forte dei Marmi. Unfortunately, our kids were bushed and had a lack of electronic devices to keep them in a state of suspended tranquility. Avery, in particular, began to wreak havoc on Olivia. Then Olivia, who refused to use the bathroom upon departing Vernazza, had an accident and peed in her pants. It all started to unravel. In fact, Olivia and Avery were so tired they opted to stay in the car rather than walk the pier at Forte dei Marmi. After our brief stroll down the pier, we drove around a bit to see what all the Forte dei Marmi hype is about…but we never figured it out. Unlike Riccione, the hotels were not even on the beach but on the other side of a wide boulevard.
We drove on to Pietrasanta, made a grocery stop, and then on to Lido di Camaoire. We found Lido di Camaoire to be very charming with a very nice boardwalk; we took refuge in one of the first restaurants we spotted. It turned out to be a great place. We were only one of two tables being served, and the waitress was so nice and kid-friendly. She gave the kids coloring tools that kept them very happy. The tables had arrangements of amazing orange tulips and stargazers on them; then we found out the proprietor’s sister owns a flower shop. The third sister (not the restaurant owner and not the flower shop owner) was our wonderful waitress. Tonight we had fish again – mine was in a sauce of chickpeas (ceci) with truffle oil…yum.
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