Italy, 10-18 Aug 2008
On Sunday morning (10 Aug) we, reluctantly, left San Candido and drove about three hours to Verona where we walked through the quaint city streets for a few hours. We spent most of the time at the well preserved Roman amphitheatre, dating from 30 AD, where operas are held during the summer. We opted to forego the opera as prices were astronomical. From here we pressed on driving two more hours to Milan.
The weather in Milan was hot, muggy and rainy and the city was practically deserted because of the August holidays when everyone leaves town. (80% of businesses are closed this time of year). We decided to spend only a couple of days here, visiting the Palazzo Realle where we saw an interesting exhibit of Francis Bacon paintings , strolled around the famous Milan Cathedral and repacking for our visit to Cinque Terre, in “Italian Riviera” and the province of Liguria.
We left Milan on the 13th by train (3 hrs) travelling through the flat Po River Valley and the Apennines Mountains to Genoa and then along the coast, squeezed between the mountains and the Mediterranean Sea finally arriving at our destination Monterosso al Mare, the northernmost of the Cinque Terre (“Five Lands”) villages. It is a quaint little town with narrow, mostly rocky, beaches lined with hundreds of colorful umbrellas and lounges, and filled with summer tourists soaking up the sun and enjoying the breeze. Despite the huge crowds, the mood was festive, with free late evening performances on the town square featuring a different musical every night. All the fun seekers were flashing their deep tans, strolling the quaint alleys after the afternoon siestas in search for dinner and more fun. The towns are quite ancient, with a labyrinth of steep narrow little streets and alleys, densely packed with colorful old buildings, and archways tiny shops and cafes, public squares where townsfolk gather on benches with their friends. We easily found our way to our lovely B&B, Il Giardino Incantato (“The Enchanted Garden”) which lived up to its name. A wonderful breakfast was served every morning in their delightful secluded garden, and the hosts were most gracious. To learn more about Cinque Terre, with a movie, go to http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cinque_Terre.
There is a famous hike between the five villages and we were determined to walk it. The segment from Monterosso to Vernazza is the most difficult so we decided to tackle it first. On Thursday (14 Aug) we started at 9:00 am on a warm and humid day. The trail climbed high above the town with endless narrow steep steps carved into the hillside, frequently with no railing along precipitous drops, walking beside vineyards and olive orchards. Neither of us remembers a tougher hike but we were rewarded by magnificent views. When we finally glimpsed the colorful picturesque town of Vernazza below us it made the whole thing worthwhile. We had to descend another several hundred steep steps to get there but knowing there was a cold drink and shade in store made the descent easier. The view of Vernazza from above, as we were descending into it was breathtaking, with its tiny rocky beach, emerald waters, and harbor filled with colorful boats and surrounded by colorful houses. After cooing off, we explored the town, had lunch in a café at the harbor’s edge and returned by train (only 3-4 minute ride) to Monterosso. We took a cool shower and a well earned afternoon nap in a blissfully cool room.
On Friday we took the train to the third village, Corniglia, and descended some 350 easy stairs to the trail leading to Manarolla and from here on a picturesque path hugging the cliff and overlooking the sea ( Via Del Amore or ”Lovers Walk”) to the last village called Riomaggiore. All of the villages were old, charming quaint and colorful and filled with tourists and sun bathers occupying every flat surface with sun exposure. You literally had to be careful not to step on people dozing and sunning on the paved walks. We sampled the ice cream in every town and mostly were not disappointed. (You may have noticed we cheated a little since we skipped the hike from Vernazza to Corniglia, but we did go to each of the five towns!)
On Saturday we took a two hour train south along the Mediterranean coast to Pisa in the province of Tuscany. Pisa is a fairly small walled city and we hiked from the train station to the Piazza dei Miracoli ("Square of Miracles"), a complex of buildings that includes the famous Leaning Tower, a cathedral and baptistery. These structures are beautifully carved of marble of different colors. The Piazza was swarming with tourists, most of who were posing in a way that would make them appear to be pushing the tower straight. After lunch and endless pictures we returned to the station as the rest of the town was not particularly interesting. (See http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pisa form more info.) On the train back we passed by the town of Carrara, with it’s famous marble quarries on the surrounding mountainsides looking like patches of white bright snow in summer. Carrara marble quarries produce some of the world’s finest marble. (See http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carrara.) There were also many large marble yards with huge blocks of the marble ready to be shipped around the world. It was very impressive!
On Sunday (17 Aug) we bid fond farewell to our host Fausto at Il Giardino Incantato in Monterosso and took a morning train toward Genoa with a stop at St. Margherita/ Portofino. We stored our luggage at the station and took a short bus ride the harbor of Portofino, famous for being a hangout of the rich and famous. Indeed there must have be a dozen or so mega-yachts in the harbor each with its own uniformed crew (including the 230’ “Reverie”, the 14th largest yacht in world according to Wikipedia). The harbor was beautiful and the town was quaint with fancy upscale shops, but probably no better than the Cinque Terre villages. After a hike up to Castle Brown on a hill above the harbor and lunch we took a boat back to Santa Margherita and the train to Genoa where we arrived in late afternoon. The Best Western Hotel was a short walk from the old harbor where we had dinner. The center of Genoa was actually ore attractive than we anticipated.
Aug 18th was a long travel day, taking a train from Genoa to Milan, a flight from Milan to London Gatwick, and two hour train from Gatwick to our next adventure in the small town of Cholsey, Oxfordshire, near the town of Oxford.
The weather in Milan was hot, muggy and rainy and the city was practically deserted because of the August holidays when everyone leaves town. (80% of businesses are closed this time of year). We decided to spend only a couple of days here, visiting the Palazzo Realle where we saw an interesting exhibit of Francis Bacon paintings , strolled around the famous Milan Cathedral and repacking for our visit to Cinque Terre, in “Italian Riviera” and the province of Liguria.
We left Milan on the 13th by train (3 hrs) travelling through the flat Po River Valley and the Apennines Mountains to Genoa and then along the coast, squeezed between the mountains and the Mediterranean Sea finally arriving at our destination Monterosso al Mare, the northernmost of the Cinque Terre (“Five Lands”) villages. It is a quaint little town with narrow, mostly rocky, beaches lined with hundreds of colorful umbrellas and lounges, and filled with summer tourists soaking up the sun and enjoying the breeze. Despite the huge crowds, the mood was festive, with free late evening performances on the town square featuring a different musical every night. All the fun seekers were flashing their deep tans, strolling the quaint alleys after the afternoon siestas in search for dinner and more fun. The towns are quite ancient, with a labyrinth of steep narrow little streets and alleys, densely packed with colorful old buildings, and archways tiny shops and cafes, public squares where townsfolk gather on benches with their friends. We easily found our way to our lovely B&B, Il Giardino Incantato (“The Enchanted Garden”) which lived up to its name. A wonderful breakfast was served every morning in their delightful secluded garden, and the hosts were most gracious. To learn more about Cinque Terre, with a movie, go to http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cinque_Terre.
There is a famous hike between the five villages and we were determined to walk it. The segment from Monterosso to Vernazza is the most difficult so we decided to tackle it first. On Thursday (14 Aug) we started at 9:00 am on a warm and humid day. The trail climbed high above the town with endless narrow steep steps carved into the hillside, frequently with no railing along precipitous drops, walking beside vineyards and olive orchards. Neither of us remembers a tougher hike but we were rewarded by magnificent views. When we finally glimpsed the colorful picturesque town of Vernazza below us it made the whole thing worthwhile. We had to descend another several hundred steep steps to get there but knowing there was a cold drink and shade in store made the descent easier. The view of Vernazza from above, as we were descending into it was breathtaking, with its tiny rocky beach, emerald waters, and harbor filled with colorful boats and surrounded by colorful houses. After cooing off, we explored the town, had lunch in a café at the harbor’s edge and returned by train (only 3-4 minute ride) to Monterosso. We took a cool shower and a well earned afternoon nap in a blissfully cool room.
On Friday we took the train to the third village, Corniglia, and descended some 350 easy stairs to the trail leading to Manarolla and from here on a picturesque path hugging the cliff and overlooking the sea ( Via Del Amore or ”Lovers Walk”) to the last village called Riomaggiore. All of the villages were old, charming quaint and colorful and filled with tourists and sun bathers occupying every flat surface with sun exposure. You literally had to be careful not to step on people dozing and sunning on the paved walks. We sampled the ice cream in every town and mostly were not disappointed. (You may have noticed we cheated a little since we skipped the hike from Vernazza to Corniglia, but we did go to each of the five towns!)
On Saturday we took a two hour train south along the Mediterranean coast to Pisa in the province of Tuscany. Pisa is a fairly small walled city and we hiked from the train station to the Piazza dei Miracoli ("Square of Miracles"), a complex of buildings that includes the famous Leaning Tower, a cathedral and baptistery. These structures are beautifully carved of marble of different colors. The Piazza was swarming with tourists, most of who were posing in a way that would make them appear to be pushing the tower straight. After lunch and endless pictures we returned to the station as the rest of the town was not particularly interesting. (See http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pisa form more info.) On the train back we passed by the town of Carrara, with it’s famous marble quarries on the surrounding mountainsides looking like patches of white bright snow in summer. Carrara marble quarries produce some of the world’s finest marble. (See http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carrara.) There were also many large marble yards with huge blocks of the marble ready to be shipped around the world. It was very impressive!
On Sunday (17 Aug) we bid fond farewell to our host Fausto at Il Giardino Incantato in Monterosso and took a morning train toward Genoa with a stop at St. Margherita/ Portofino. We stored our luggage at the station and took a short bus ride the harbor of Portofino, famous for being a hangout of the rich and famous. Indeed there must have be a dozen or so mega-yachts in the harbor each with its own uniformed crew (including the 230’ “Reverie”, the 14th largest yacht in world according to Wikipedia). The harbor was beautiful and the town was quaint with fancy upscale shops, but probably no better than the Cinque Terre villages. After a hike up to Castle Brown on a hill above the harbor and lunch we took a boat back to Santa Margherita and the train to Genoa where we arrived in late afternoon. The Best Western Hotel was a short walk from the old harbor where we had dinner. The center of Genoa was actually ore attractive than we anticipated.
Aug 18th was a long travel day, taking a train from Genoa to Milan, a flight from Milan to London Gatwick, and two hour train from Gatwick to our next adventure in the small town of Cholsey, Oxfordshire, near the town of Oxford.
posted by Dahlia and Lance Riley @ 11:02 PM
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