Tag Archives: Cinque Terre

More postcards from the Cinque Terre

11 Oct

MERCOLEDI

Monday was a city walk (Lerici/San Terenzo) and Tuesday was a trail hike high above Manarola and Corniglia (see previous post), but our walks are always followed by lunch: sometimes substantial, sometimes a quick panino, and if possible there is wine. (Surprise! That’s how we know we are on vacation.)

Wednesday we took a journey to the north of the Cinque Terre – off the map according to Ric – to Portofino. But instead of arriving via yacht, as the glitterati would, we walked.   Well we took a train to Santa Margherita Ligure, then walked, about 1 ½ hours from the SML station, to lunch on the piazza in Portofino. Portofino is not far from Genoa, but it is a world away from the ruggedness of the Cinque Terre. It’s also crazily expensive.  Here are a few shots from our path and of our lunch.

Santa Margherita Ligure, as seen from across the bay, on our walk to Portofino. (Photo by Laurel Barton)

There are several small inlets along the path to Portofino, with beautiful houses, hotels, and beaches. (Photo by Laurel Barton)

The distinctive colors of Liguria are found here, too, along our path to lunch. Love the light! (Photo by Laurel Barton)

Wildlife in the bay enjoying the October sun. Oregon Zoo friends, please keep me honest: Are these cormorants? (Photo by Laurel Barton)

Almost there! Ric on the final leg of our walk, a paved path through the woods into Portofino. Very upscale! (Photo by Laurel Barton)

At last, 90 minutes later, we reached our objective and treated ourselves to a fine lunch in a fabulous location.

Mussels

Ah, lunch! Beautiful mussels and cold Vermentino wine. On the harbor in Portofino. Una bella vista! (Photo by Laurel Barton)

Ric’s choice: a seafood salad, served warm. (Photo by Ric Barton)

Portofino harbor and piazza, on a sunny, warm, and quiet midweek day in October. I shudder to think of the crowds in summer. (Photo by Laurel Barton)

We took the easy way back: a ferry across the bay from Portifino to SML and a train back to Manarola.

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Postcards from the Cinque Terre

9 Oct

Time for another vacation! As we like to say, you can only have a vacation if you have a job, and we have escaped to the Cinque Terre for hiking and seaside relaxation.  Here are a few favorite shots from the past three days. We will be here until Friday, so more to come!

DOMENICA

We arrived in Manarola (town #2 as some call it) in the Cinque Terre on Sunday afternoon by train from Rome. Headed out on a familiarization walk above the town, through the vineyards and down to the sea. Here a view back toward the town and its gelato-colored buildings.

As night fell, we walked to the upper part of town and settled in at the charming Trattoria dal Billy. Too bad we ate our beautiful seafood before I thought to take a picture. The view was intoxicating! The walk up is quite a climb, but the food and service made it worth the effort.

LUNEDI

Apologies for the crap smudges on my lens. Ugh!

Monday we traveled down the Ligurian coast to Lerici on the Gulf of Poets. Byron, Shelley, and D.H. Lawrence found this little corner of Italy to their liking as well. It’s a beach resort town in summer. On an autumn day it was still warm, but quiet in a post-season way. Pictured is Lerici Castle.

We walked from one end of the gulf to the other and back: Lerici to San Terenzo (pictured). I think we were the only non-Italians in the whole area. So peaceful! There were still some late season sun worshipers on the almost-deserted beaches.

Thanks to the blog http://www.apathtolunch.com/ for the guidance!

Many of you know Ric and I usually took an autumn trip to Cannon Beach, OR. This is our replacement for that habitual break. A little different, though….

Foccacia is a Ligurian specialty. Here it is in a very thin form, with a filling of spinach and a little sausage, freshly baked for our lunch, served with tomatoes and red wine. Could not finish it!

In the evening we went to the northernmost end of the Cinque Terre, Monterosso al Mare, for dinner and enjoyed this sunset.

At dinner, we were delighted to meet Christine, an American woman living in Monterosso, working at Cantina di Miky, and authoress of the blog, http://lifeinliguria.blogspot.com/  which I have been reading for months. GREAT MEAL! Again, photo not taken because we were so busy consuming beautifully prepared seafood.

MARTEDI

We awoke to rain, by the time we had eaten breakfast, it had stopped and the sun was peeking out from broken clouds. Hopped a bio-diesel shuttle for transport to Il Sentiero Rosso, the red trail, high above the sea.

The land has been terraced for centuries. The path passes through vineyards, olive groves, and gardens at a dizzying height.

The town of Corniglia (pronounced cor-KNEE-lee-a), from high-above. Once we descended to Corniglia on a very challenging footpath, we still had 400 brick steps to descend to the train station.

A view over the Ligurian Sea, from high above Corniglia looking toward Monterosso.

Alas, it is almost dinner time and we are eating with “The Pirates” in Vernazza! Dobbiamo andare via!

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