Cinque Terre

Our first day in the Cinque Terre was spent with our mouths hanging open exclaiming how beautiful everything was and taking approximately one million photos.  The Cinque Terre is a group of 5 villages on the Ligurian Sea between the cities of Genoa and La Spezia in Italy that are joined by hiking paths of various difficulties.  All of the villages are accessible by the sea, except for Corniglia which is set on the cliff above.  After a rockin' mediterranean breakfast at our hotel, I donned my Nike shorts, t-shirt, and Chacos and headed out the door.  It felt good to be in lazy, grungy, American clothes again!  We started in Riomaggiore, the southernmost village of the Cinque Terre.  The path from Riomaggiore to Manarola is the easiest, and is called the Via dell'Amore.  "Pathway of Love."  It is paved with large stones and has railing, unlike most of the other trails.  We stopped about 15 times along the way snapping away at the same photo just so we could get the perfect one.  

Manarola was one of my favorite of the villages.  We walked down to the ocean front stopping at a focacceria along the way.  I had focaccia with olives on top.  I cannot even explain how good the focaccia is in Italy, much unlike in the States.  It is perfectly cooked and deliciously light.  The top is crunchy, but not tough.  There is just enough salt and olive oil drizzled over the top to make your mouth water.  I am missing it already!  

Ashleigh chose some sort of pastry made with chestnut flour.  Chestnut flour?  I honestly didn't know it existed.  She can't have gluten, so this was the obvious choice for her.  

Once we reached seaside, we walked out onto the rocks to have a few minutes and enjoy the sunshine.  This is one of my favorite pictures of our trip.   

As we were perched on the rocks, this brave soul jumped into the water to catch some fish/other fun sea things for his restaurant for lunch.  Pretty amazing.  We also looked down in the water to find all kinds of fish, crabs, and sea urchins!  I have never seen a sea urchin just hanging out like that in the ocean but it was so neat!  

The view looking down to Manarola on the path to Corniglia, the next village.  

We took a path heading up through Manarola and were able to walk amongst the acres of vineyards on the hillside.  They obviously weren't bearing grapes yet, but the vines sure looking promising!  The green of the leaves, the many colors of the village and the clear blue of the sea was unlike anything I have ever experienced before.  I couldn't stop enough to take it all in.  

After exploring Manarola a little bit further, we headed out on the trail to Corniglia passing yet another beautiful view.  Taylor had warned me about the stairs to Corniglia, and yes, they were fairly daunting but nothing compared to the view once you were at the top.  

We stopped for lunch in Corniglia, and found a nice place overlooking the ocean.  I had a panini (with focaccia of course) and this delicious bruschetta which I couldn't resist.  I am a sucker for fresh tomatoes and mozzarella any day.  

I stopped to get a gelato as we wandered around Corniglia, but I ate it before I could think about taking a photo.  It was berry...and probably my favorite of the entire week.  It had chunks of fresh berries in every bite and was so refreshing!  Corniglia was a great little village full of locals and not so many tourists.  Everything was set up on a cliff, leading to a perfect view of Manarola to the left and Vernazza to the right.  There were so many small, winding streets that you felt as if you could get lost but in actuality, it was so small in size that it wasn't even possible!  

We found these two elderly Italian men just sitting on their balcony watching the tourists and their cameras.  I can't imagine what it would be like to wake up to that view every day!

We found the locals to be very friendly and accommodating considering the amount of tourists.  Most everyone spoke English and unlike the French they didn't give you grief about not speaking their language!  After Corniglia we headed down to Vernazza...my favorite village.  I am saving Vernazza for another post so I can break everything up a bit.  I am more than sure you get tired of reading everything at once!  

I had a good day with Marie-Césare today and she was very excited to see me after a weeks vacation.  They had a wonderful time in Morocco but I believe are glad to be back.  It's weird how after I don't see her for a few days she looks so grown up to me!  We aren't having full on English conversations now, but when I do say things in English she can for the most part understand.  We have to repeat things over 50 times, but again...its not natural for her so I give her a break there.  We get to spend the day together tomorrow and I'm not sure how we will fill it!  Maybe the kids area at Jardin du Luxembourg?  Or maybe a picnic with Ashleigh and her girls if they are up for it?  On va voir!