Tour Day 5 |
Monterosso |
On Thursday after a very curvy approach to Levano and then a 5 min train ride to Monterosso, the first and Denise's favorite of the Cinque Terre towns, we checked into Hotel Palme and then walked to the corner shop for the best focaccia bread and pesto anywhere. We walked from new town to old town to the main square following the RS walking tour. We explored the church, the 'white' and 'black' confraternities, and had dinner at il piccolo diabla where the bruschetta tasted wonderful. Denise tried the fresh anchovies which were actually quite good. Our return sunset walk revealed the beautiful views and we ended the day with gelato.
This area is beautiful - natural beauty and man's development while present is limited and just adds quaintness.
This area is beautiful - natural beauty and man's development while present is limited and just adds quaintness.
Tour Day 6 |
Cinque Terre |
On Friday our full day in the Cinque Terre the weather prevented the shuttle boats from running so we took the train to the farthest town Riggiamore and worked our way back to Monterossa. Manarola was next where we dodged the rain drops and had great lunch with our travel friends. Loraine and Denise took the RS walking tour of Manarola which involved a steep walk up to the church, cemetery and then back through the vineyards to meet up with Bill and Judy for a good lunch of bruschetta with olive pesto, ham and pesto pasta.
Next train stop was Corniglia and then on to Vernazza. The trains were very crowded today due to the boats not running and most of the trails between the towns closed. Plus, the "day trippers" from the cruise ships were here, too.
Returning to Monterossa we had the best dinner at Via Vente restaurant with Bill enjoying beefstseak and Denise going for the pasta with pears and cheese and tomatoes for our salad. Since the rain had stopped we took a table on the narrow street. Our after-dinner walk included a "hand dip" in the Ligurian Sea and gelato and another beautiful sunset.