Vernazza, Italian Riviera, Italy, Tuesday, September 18, 2012

Vernazza in the Morning

We sleep until just before 7:30 after our late night out. Carol is not feeling too great and wants to rest. I think about writing some but do not want to wake her and figure I am in the Cinque Terre, why write when I can go explore? So I get dressed and go out for an early morning tour. I follow the high road from our apartment and find the path that leads to Monterosso. It climbs a bit and I have a great view of the Vernazza harbor in the early morning light.

Italian Gym

                                A man passes me carrying a large bag of grapes on his back. I continue on and can now see the whole town stretched out in front of me. I take a few pictures and then see several men picking grapes on the hillside in front of me. Higher up are a few more guys, one of which is on a mechanical train like we had seen in Germany. It is on a rail which allows access to the steep slopes that make up the vineyard. The man who carried the grapes passes me going back for another load. It is quite surreal watching people work these steep slopes and harvesting all these grapes by hand.
Moving a little further, I see two houses that were cut in half, possibly by last years flood. Vernazza and the town of Monterosso that we were in yesterday were both devastated by a huge flood last October. It is why we had changed our plans of staying here four nights to just two nights and two nights in Rapallo. The towns are surrounded by steep hillsides and a bad storm dumped rain all around the area. The water surged and raged through the towns carrying vehicles and debris through the main streets to the sea. There was over 13 feet of mud that was deposited in the main drag of Vernazza. Check out Vernazza flood of 2012 on you tube for some fascinating videos by people stranded in the town. They have come along way with rebuilding with much work still remaining to be done. Many businesses have just been open for two months or less and many are still closed.

Great Breakfast Great Chef

I walk a little further before heading back to town. The grape mule guy is picking up another 50 to 60 pound bag of grapes which makes me feel pretty good about the 25-30 pound pack I have been lugging around Europe. Back at the apartment, Carol is just getting out of the shower and feeling better. She starts on breakfast while I shower. The breakfast of eggs, potatoes, and onions is really good. When you don’t have something in a while, it always tastes better when you do.
We leave to catch a train to Riomaggiore where we have decided to do an easy walk to Manarola. Our feet are pretty sore from the last two days of hiking stone steps and rocks, which are not easy on the soles.

On Love Street

We get to Riomaggiore around 1215 and easily find the trailhead. You really can’t call this a trail as it is basically a walking path and only takes 20-30 minutes to the next town. Because of this, it is pretty popular and filled with people who will walk this and say they hiked in the Cinque Terre. We know better! They call this section Via Dell Amore, which is the street of love or walk of love which further increases it’s touristic value. It also means there is a ticket booth and charge to walk here when the other paths do not have booths on them.

Mr. Amore

We pay the fee and start our walk. It is very beautiful and there is a spot where you can take some stairs to the rocks below. Of course, we have to go down and burn some calories.
We find a nice rock to sit on and just enjoy the view and the sea rolling up against the shoreline. Climbing back up we continue on the path to Manarola. It is another small town with a small harbor at the base of the cliffs. The main road used to be the riverbed which has been diverted underneath the village. There are lots of people in the lower part of town but the crowds thin out as we climb higher.

Carol on the Vineyard Trail

There is a small church we visit and a then walk along the vineyards that I had read about. We do the vineyard walk which is very nice and mostly level. There is a nice breeze and a bench under an olive tree that we take advantage of. The whole town is spread out beneath us. Walking on, we finally have to descend but it is pretty gradual. We pass the town cemetery and take a peek before going back to town. There is also a swimming spot or two but no real beach. Back in town, we head to the train station and return to Vernazza.

Cannelloni at Il Pirata

In Vernazza, we got to have an early lunch/dinner since we bought a bottle of wine yesterday that we would like to use this evening in the harbor while watching the sunset.
We,go up to the end of town and eat at Il Pirata with the cannoli brothers, Gianluca and Massimo, who came here from Sicily. They are quite the characters. They serve breakfast here also and they asked what we had for breakfast this morning. Carol says eggs which starts a long story that is summed up as follows. Gianluca(G) :where are you from? C:Colorado, G: if I go to Colorado should I eat only pasta and pizza or the food of Colorado. C: there is no good pasta and pizza in Colorado. G: but I would not go to Colorado to eat pasta and pizza, what I eat in Italy, so why do you come to Italy and eat eggs? C: because we had apartment and made them ourselves. G: if you make yourself it is not as bad but still should not eat eggs in Italy. C: this is the first time.G: look at this sign. Hand written on door. We serve breakfast, we do not serve eggs, we serve Italian breakfast only! And so it is in Italy.
We also have a conversation about cannoli and how theirs is the best. We say we have had some pretty good cannoli in New York which brings on another story about New York, the cannoli originated in Sicily. Our great grandfather invented the cannoli when he dropped a pastry and it flattened then he had to roll it up and there is the cannoli shell. New York, where do they get their ricotta, water is not from here,…… We try a cannoli and it is very good, much lighter and the ricotta is creamier and fresher tasting then what we have had. Still, the ones in New York are pretty good also, just a bit different.

New Friends Chris and Judy

Our meal finished we relax in our room a bit and head down later to watch the sunset. We see Chris and Judy on the edge of the rocky break wall and join them. We open our wine and they have their own bottle to share also. As Judy puts down her small day pack it rolls off the cement wall into the rocks and like a pachinko pack bounces down to where I hear a small splash. We cannot see it and Judy tries to crawl into a crevice in the rocks to see if she can spot it. Semi contortionist style she wriggles down but it is not to be seen. I am thinking of how the small town gossip will go if she gets stuck in the rocks and needs to be rescued. Fortunately, that does not happen and we sit and talk for hours. While there, a young man comes along to take some picture. He has a large set up and puts his tripod where I had my day pack sitting. I move it and tell him the space is for rent for only 40 Euros. This brings a laugh and we talk a bit. I ask if he is a professional photographer and he is but it turns out he is a corporate photographer and here on vacation. Marco and his wife Valentina are from Santiago, Chile. He, like me is of Italian heritage and his wife is of German heritage. He says that in Chile most people were immigrants like in the United States. We Talk for over an hour as he snaps away pictures into the evening and night. I give him one of our cards and get his business card as well. I really love meeting people here from countries that we wouldn’t normally have the opportunity to meet with in the U.S. In a small harbor town in Italy, we have met people from South Africa, Chile, and the strange land of North Carolina.
We chat a while more with Chris and Judy and then when they go to eat we decide to head home as we have a travel day tomorrow. Vernazza has been very nice and relaxing.
CNC
“One of the great things about travel is that you find out how many good, kind people there are” – Edith Wharton

Expenses
10E-Cinque Terre Park Pass
6E-Bottle of Wine for sunset from La Cantina del Holo
35E-eggplant parmigiana, cannelloni with spinach and ricotta, 2 beers, and a cannoli at Il Pirata
80E-il Carugio Apartment

Miles Walked – 7 Miles