May 8-14, 2015
During the second week of our vacation, we spent 3 nights
in Cinque Terre and 3 nights in the heart of Tuscany.
Friday May 8, 2015
We left Lugano,Switzerland in the morning for Riomaggiore
via a transfer in Milan.
Parco Nazionale delle Cinque Terre is a series of five
brightly colored fishing villages perched at the foot of sea cliffsides in a
protected coastline. It is a 6 mile stretch of Italian Riviera without cars,
isolated from elsewhere. The villages thrive by catching fish and cultivating
grapes. Riomaggiore, the most southern town is the biggest and most workaday
town. The next town north, Manarola is picturesque. Corniglia is on a hilltop.
Vernazza is the most touristy and the most dramatic. Monterosso al Mare is the
closest to a beach resort town. Our airbnb apartment for the next 3 nights was
in Riomaggiore.
We arrived at the Riomaggiore train station in the late
afternoon. We passed through the pedestrian railway tunnel onto Via Colombo. Jackie
led us to our airbnb apartment up the hillside some and then up a few flights
of stairs. Once we found the building, we still had 3 flights of stairs to get
to the top of the apartment. After settling in, we went out to walk around
Riomaggiore.
We took Rick Steves advice to go to Il Pescato Cucinato
shop where Laura fries up her husband Edoardo’s fresh catch. We enjoyed a paper
cone snack of deep-fried seafood cone snack with the local favorite staple,
anchovies.
Enjoying the view of the Mediterranean Sea in
Riomaggiore, Cinque Terre
Riomaggiore
Family photo in Riomaggiore with Brooklyn napping in the
baby bjorn
Wright family photo in Riomaggiore
We ate a sitdown dinner at an outdoor table at Trattoria
la Grotta in Riomaggiore.
We ordered a bottle of red wine. The boys had a huge
helping of seafood while the ladies had mussels with risotto. I didn’t get a
photo of our plates quick enough before we devoured it.
We were a short walk up the main street in Riomaggiore
Further up the main street in Riomaggiore
Our balcony view from Cinque Terre in Riomaggiore
Our sunset balcony view from Cinque Terre in Riomaggiore
Post dinner drink for Brooklyn before bed
We were only able to get one packnplay bed for the baby
and the other was a camping cot. We let Harper take the contained bed since
Brooklyn isn’t really mobile yet and should be fine sleeping on the mattress on
the floor with pillows around it. More to come about that later…
Saturday May 9, 2015
The only hiking trail open between the Cinque Terre towns
was between Monterroso and Vernazza. We had hoped to walk the short distance to
Manarola today, but the slow movement on improvements by the government on the
trail conditions in the UNESCO site since the 2013 flooding prevented that from
happening. We decided today would be our easy day in nice clothes and the big
hike would be tomorrow.
We had a nice leisurely morning and let the girls get a
good morning nap. We noticed from our balcony that the town’s population
quadrupled every time a ferry boat came in with daytrippers.
Brooklyn is ready to head out for lunch in Riomaggiore.
Kayakers near Riomaggiore
Riomaggiore coastline
Riomaggiore coastline with the restaurant we ate lunch in
the top left
Cute little backpackers
Riomaggiore
I appreciate the description as a tangle of pastel homes
leaning on each other like drunken sailors.
The marine protected Punta Mesco in the distance near
Monterosso from Riomaggiore harbor
We grabbed lunch at a place with a view of the sea near
the boat departure.
Some of us had foccacia sandwiches. Focaccia originated
in this Liguria region and locals say the best is made between Cinque Terre and
Genoa.
We took another family photo in Riomaggiore with Brooklyn
napping in mom’s arms
Wright family in Riomaggiore
If you look closely, you can make out our apartment
balcony from all our laundry hanging out to dry.
We may have found a pair of someone’s underwear in the
alleyways beneath our building during our walk…
We still had some room after lunch so got some gelato,
because when in Italy…
We took Rick Steves walk through Riomaggiore.
Riomaggiore hillside
Buildings on the northern side of the Riomaggiore train
station
Wright family in Riomaggiore
Quick mommy daddy moment with a fussy Brooklyn
Brooklyn passed out in momma’s arms on our walk in Riomaggiore
We suspended the walk when Brooklyn woke up so Jackie could
nurse her for a bit on a bench in Riomaggiore. We enjoyed watching the Italian
boys play soccer in the square outside the church. The girls had created their
own type of dodgeball game with many girls talking a lot with their hands and
trying to be the boss of all the others. Just in this short time observing, it
revealed so much about the Italian mannerisms and idiosyncrasies.
Riomaggiore, looking out to sea
Green window shutters, typical on all the buildings in
Cinque Terre
Jason in Riomaggiore
Riomaggiore Via Colombo, the main street
Emily in Riomaggiore
This is the view from our apartment window down into the
Sant’ Antonio alley “street” below
We took the ferry boat over to Manarola for 2.50 euro a
piece.
The Riomaggiore ferry boat “dock”
Gusty daddy on the wet rocks with his baby
Brooklyn is a happy girl hanging out in the backpack waiting
on the ferry boat
There were swimmers on the rocky beach shoreline to the south
of the boat docks
This is how you walk the plank (with railings) both on
and off the ferry boats as it noses into the Cinque Terre town “docks”
Departing Riomaggiore on the ferry boat, on our way to
Manarola
Riomaggiore train station from the ferry boat
Entering Manarola from Riomaggiore to the south on the
ferry boat with a slight haze over the hillside
Mediterranean Sea along Cinque Terre
Jason was really itching to see the viewpoint at the end
of Rick Steves walk around Manarola near the umbrellas in this photo so we took
the route backward. We passed the beach and went up Via De Giovanni to Punta
Bonfiglio which offers some of the most commanding views of the entire region.
We had some drinks at Nessun Dorma on Punta Bonfiglio in
Manarola.
It had quite the view of Manarola
Post drink selfie at Nessum Dorma in Manarola
Harper sitting on the steps
We played on the swings in the park playground on Punta
Bonfiglio in Manarola for a bit.
That’s one way for our little girl to go on big kid
swings…
The view of Manarola above the food & wine place we
were just at
Manarola’s population doubling as the ferry boaters
disembark
The view north from the picnic bench at the tip of the
point called Punta Bonfiglio in Manarola
That is Corniglia to the north, the central Cinque Terre
land-locked hillside town
Emily, our tour guide to all of Rick Steves highlights
The views of Manarola from the vineyards and lemon groves
to the north atop the town
Manarola and its hillside vineyards
Irises growing along the path through the vineyard hills
From here above the town of Manarola, we could see Piazza
Capellini which was built in 2004 to mitigate the train track noise and give
the kids a place to play. It has a mosaic depicting the local fish.
Our tour guide Emily is equipped with Rick Steves Italy
Selfie over Manarola from the hillside vineyards
We walked by the Manarola vineyards and lemon groves
Manarola and its vineyards above the town
Manarola square with a church, now a religious and
community meeting place
Manarola square with a bell tower, which served as a
watchtower when pirates raided the town.
A cat relaxing on the bench surrounding the bell tower/old
watchtower in Manarola
We had a great view of Manarola and its hillside
vineyards looking out to see from this square
In Manarola there is a variety of simple wooden religious
scenes, the work of local resident Mario Andreoli setup in the hillside
vineyards. They are lit up on religious holidays, highlighting the Nativity,
the Last Supper, the Crucifixion, the Resurrection, and more. We saw them from
a good angle at the square.
The skinny streets of Manarola (“now get a picture of me
walking”-some tourist)
Piazza Capellini fish mosaic in Manarola
Manarola main drag
More of the Nativity scenes which are lit up at Christmastime
A cat enjoying some freshly caught fish from a villager
We head to the ferry boat docks to ride back to
Riomaggiore.
Here is a much brighter view of the Manarola beach, Via
De Giovanni and Punta Bonfiglio where we first stopped for drinks.
Happy Brooklyn playing with mommy while waiting for our
ferry boat
Manarola as we depart on the ferry boat
Emily on the ferry boat with Manarola behind
Jason and Harper on the ferry boat
Coming into Riomaggiore from the ferry boat
Brooklyn checking out the Riomaggiore beach with daddy
Jason putting his feet in the Mediterranean Sea on the
beach in Riomaggiore
It was cold!
Dad & Brooklyn relaxing on the Mediterranean Sea
beach in Riomaggiore, Cinque Terre
This region is the birthplace of pesto. We enjoyed the basil,
cheese, garlic, olive oil and pine nuts sauce served over pasta. At the grocery
you can buy small containers of refrigerated fresh pesto to eat that very day. We
also picked up focaccia from a local bakery. Something as simple as olive oil
and salted flatbread here was absolutely amazing! Focaccia served anywhere else
will never compare!
Vino delle Cinque Terre is a good local white wine that
goes great with seafood. We also got some aged Sciacchetra which has an 18%
alcohol content.
So I mentioned how Brooklyn was sleeping on the mattress
on our bedroom floor with pillows around it. Jackie put her to bed and she
seemed to fall asleep fairly well. At
9:00 Joe had to get something out of our bedroom. As he got near his bag he
heard something at his feet. Our baby girl had somehow moved 5 feet from the
mattress and had been sleeping on the cold bare tile floor! Joe was dying
laughing about this but Jackie did not find it funny at all. Ask her in a few
months if she finds it funny then…
Sunday May 10, 2015
Harper bright eyed and ready to begin the day from our sunny
Riomaggiore balcony
Brooklyn wearing Mommy’s Packers hat and chewing on her
sippy cup cap
Sant’ Antonio alley “street” our airbnb apartment was on
We took the ferry boat from Riomaggiore to Monterosso al
Mare for 10 euro a piece this morning. The best part of this journey is the
boat would pull into 4 of the 5 villages for perfect photo ops (Corniglia is
not accessible by water, only train). The boat noses in and the tourists
disembark via a plank so under choppy conditions stops can be cancelled.
There is the ferry boat heading from the north for
Riomaggiore
The guys carrying the girls and all the gear on Mother’s
Day
Manarola from the ferry boat
Jackie on the ferry boat
Corniglia from the ferry boat
Vernazza from the ferry boat
Monterosso al Mare Old Town (Centro Storico) from the
ferry boat
Monterosso al Mare New Town (Fegina) from the ferry boat
The boat nosed in at the breakwater spit of rocks near the
bunker between new and old town Monterosso.
Jason and Joe did some negotiating to get a pair of cheap
sunglasses from a guy at the boat docks.
Monterosso al Mare
Selfie attempt #1 in Monterosso al Mare
Selfie attempt #2 in Monterosso al Mare
Monterosso al Mare new town beach
We walked over to the train station in new town to buy
the CinqueTerre Trekking Card in order to hike the one coastal trail open
between Monterosso and Vernazza, the most challenging one. It is valid one day
with a park entrance fee of 7.50 euro. We each had to have one on us with our
name and the stamped date or else be subject to a hefty fine. The national park
designation in 1999 seemed to have become corrupted with money and power. By
starting in Monterosso we will be tackling the toughest section up lots of
steep narrow stairs first. It was the preferred route for Jason because going
down is hard on his knees.
Here is a view of the beginning of the trail up to
Vernazza
Walking in Monterosso
Monteroso al Mare old town beach
We ate lunch at Ristorante via Venti in Monterroso al
Mare.
A bottle of wine to start the meal
Harper doing a little lunch time shopping in Monterosso
Harper went up and down this step during most of lunch
We weren’t expecting this full-sized crab when we ordered
but we are sure happy this is what we got!
The best part of travelling with others is sharing our
meals: gnocchi, crab, prawns, seafood ravioli and mushrooms.
Happy girls after a yummy lunch
Catholic Church of St. John the Baptist (Chiesa di San
Giovanni Battista) has black and white stripes with white marble from Carrara
and green marble from Punta Mesco that get narrower the higher they go to make
the church appear taller.
The lacy rose window has 18 delicate mullions for petals
of the rose
Black and white striped Oratory of the Dead (Oratorio dei
Neri), a Catholic Church confraternity rotary club whose mission is to arrange
funerals and to take care of the widows, orphans, the shipwrecked and the souls.
Walking around Monterosso
Monterosso shoreline and waters
Jackie and Emily made a special request for dinner: make the
same pasta, pesto sauce and foccacia bread we have had the previous night for
dinner. It was that good!
Sunday May 11, 2015
Our baby girls enjoying the last bit of
time on the balcony before we depart Cinque Terre for Tuscany.
Traveling babies! These two have been
troopers the past few weeks
We left the apartment around 9am to make the
train to Florence to pickup our rental car to take to Tuscany. I will write
more about this in my next post.
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