Cinque Terre Continued

We got up early Friday to tackle the final leg of the coast trail. Before beginning our hike we walked past the train station to the town entrance where driving visitors leave their cars. This is less than a 5 minute walk. Everything is very compact. Our real destination was a little restaurant recommended by Rick Steves. The owners, two Sicilian brothersl, are known for their hospitality and excellent pastry. We were not disappointed. The brother who is the pastry chef was in bed, of course, but we were greated warmly by Massimo. We ordered cappuccino and a pastry. When we declined his offer for orange juice, he INSISTED that we at least try it. So he brings out a pitcher of red juice. I assumed that it was tomato and that we had a language problem or that he was offering tomato since we declined orange. Regardless, I tasted it and to my surprise, the blood red juice was the best orange juice I had ever tasted. I promptly ordered a glass! Massimo was very pleased at my surprise and delight! He grabbed a fresh orange and sliced it open to display the color. He then spent several minutes explaining to me that they use only the best ingredients and the food is MUCH better than the restaurants with the water views. Bob and I agreed that if everyone in Sicily is as passionate as Massimo, we want to go there! Oh boy, another excuse to come back to Italy!

Breakfast complete, we began our hike. The views again were spectacular. The trails are very crowded, mostly with Germans and Americans. We got to Corniglia mid-day. We picked up some fruit to supplement some left over foccacia and had a picnic on the square.

After lunch, we decided to take the local train to Riomaggiore where we could catch a boat to Porto Venere. We had not seen the area from the water and the weather was again gorgeous (mid-70s) and the seas calm. It was a wonderful 1/2 hour trip. The coast in this area is unpopulated and has steep cliffs in white and red marble.

Porto Venere is a resort town with a large marina and some impressive yachts. We were supprised to find a huge ancient (1200s) castle at the entry to the harbor. We worked our way up the cliff visiting the various buildings. It's so funny that a fortress of this vintage didn't even get a mention in the our tour books.

Our trip back to Vernazza involved a bus to La Spezia and then the local train. It's all a bit of an adventure. Even those who don't speak English are very helpful. Somehow we all manage to communicate. Everyone helps everyone else.

Exhausted from our long day, we went straight to dinner at Trattoria del Capitano, located on the waterfront in Vernazza. Our waiter, I'm sure one of the owners, was a bit crusty. When I asked if we could get spaghetti with pesto (not on the menu), he said, "Of course! This is NOT New York!). I ordered a local specialty, Tegame alla Vernazza , which is anchovies with potatoes and tomatoes. The anchovies are fresh each day and are not salted. It was excellent as was the house wine made by "the house".

Thus the end of another wonderful day in Italy. The time is going way too fast! Saturday it's off to Pisa and Lucca. We will be sorry to leave Cinque Terre, but I know we'll be back.

Blessings to all of you,
Barb