The ups and downs of the Cinque Terre

You may have noticed that this blog is a little late: I can only excuse my tardiness based on a plea of exhaustion.

Yesterday we decided to walk some of the trails between the Cinque Terre villages, as that is the point of being there (apart from taking thousands of photos). In days gone by, before a road and railway were installed, the locals had no choice but to walk as the hills are so steep. Originally it was considered a religious pilgrimage to walk  - I have no doubt that there was a lot of praying done as they tried to scale the mountainsides. Now it's a huge tourist attraction and although there were lots of people, from groups of German students to a group of elderly French men, there were also lots of couples and singles of all ages trudging along. Some of the young and foolish were wearing thongs, much to my horror! The Italians were definitely in the minority.

Not to be daunted by other tourists with hiking boots, suntans, walking poles and floppy hats, we set off. First on the train to Monterosso, the village furthest from La Spezia. We decided to go by train and I was keen to sit on the sea side of the carriage so we could enjoy the view. But of course the only way to lay a flat train track is to build tunnels through the mountains that end at the sea, so I had a lovely view of the inside of tunnels all of the way there, except for some glimpses of the sea as we raced through the stations.

We arrived at the station and set off uphill - and I mean up: very steep stairs made of rock and of various heights. Many a stop was had to take photos of the breathtaking views! (And for me to stop puffing like a steam train!). Basically the path from Monterosso to Vernazza and then from Vernazza to Corniglia was either up or down. The paths are narrow in some places and vary from very rocky and rough to very smooth worn rocks ( just as difficult, especially going downhill).

The reward for all of this hard work are beautiful views, from great heights, of the sea and villages precariously perched on the cliffs and mountains as they meet the sea.

We did the two Blue trail paths that are open, as the rest of the tracks are closed because of landslides. There was some evidence of some smaller slips on the trails but they remained open. We passed through lots of vineyards and olive groves on the narrow terraces created out of the rock. Transporting the grapes or olives must be a nightmare.

We came across a young (very fit!) guy building a shed and carrying a bucket of cement on his shoulder up very steep steps. What a job! They do have some little motorised wheelbarrows which cope with some of the slopes, but once you are on the walking trial you have no other options but to walk!

We did both paths in less time than is predicted: but I think those times may have been based on a Nonna pace. We did Monterosso to Vernazza in 1 1/2 hours and then had a break at Vernazza where we bought supplies for a picnic lunch and ate some juicy nectarines to revive us for the next stage.

After doing most of the uphill section headed for Corniglia we stopped in a shady grove for lunch and then trudged on to the village. It's actually situated on the top of huge cliffs and has no sea access as the cliffs are simply too sheer. When we finally made it we rewarded ourselves with huge gelatos and then headed for the train. At this point we assumed that we had completed the hard work but no! To get down to the train station on the sea shore we had to traverse the most zig zagged set of 320 steps that I had ever seen!

We climbed aboard the train and headed back to La Spezia for a shower and a rest. Well that would have been good except Ewan went off to locate the car hire place and I headed for the joys of the Laundromat!

Fortunately for me I didn't have to work out the intricacies of coins, detergent, start buttons, timing etc as there were 3 lots of Australians there (and nobody else!). I received lots of assistance and staggered home an hour later with the warm glow of accomplishment , only to discover that my travel partner had NOT listened to my instructions and consequently some of his dirty clothes had been left behind! @#$%^&*!! Fortunately he appears to have packed more clothes than I, so I don't think there will be any dire consequences.

After a rest we made our way to the local Trattoria and ended up having the most expensive meal. We chose the 'catch of the day' which was a small schnapper ( Dad you would be proud!) and it was beautifully cooked with mushrooms and potatoes. We felt we deserved a dessert so Ewan had fig semifreddo and I had a strawberry mille feiulle. When Ewan mentioned to the waiter that it was a French dessert he said that the countries are so close they share it, and then went off muttering about how the French had stolen the Mona Lisa, so it was OK to steal a dessert!

Finally we collapsed into bed for a very well earned rest!

Thursday 26th September

We had enjoyed La Spezia and the location of the apartment in the middle of the old town, but it was time to move on.

The plan had been to hire a car and go inland but it seems that every hire car in La Spezia was in use because a huge cruise ship had arrived, which they do here 2-3 times each week. Who knew that cruise participants could drive? The only time we have seen them is in large groups moving as one everchanging organism as they focus intently on listening to their headsets and the pearls of wisdom from their tour guide. They seem oblivious to anyone else and if you get caught in the middle of the pack it can be very scary. Dress of choice for the females appears to be wedge heeled shoes, bright colours teamed with white pants and the largest earrings and sunglasses possible.

We were told that occaisionally Disney cruise ships come to port with a huge picture of Mickey Mouse on the side. Not sure what that means, but perhaps you have to sing Disney songs all day, or does Minnie Mouse serve your dinner? I don't know and I have no wish to find out!

Anyway we caught the fast train to Genova and enjoyed a coffee from the Bar on the way - all very civilised. It's a port town of about 110,000 people and has been a thriving and important port at various times in history. Of course Romeo and Juliet were here so that helps it's celebrity status.

We were not sure what to expect but headed off for the UNESCO classified Palazzos that are it's 'must see' attraction. We managed to jump on a trolley bus and, more importantly, to jump off at the right stop (assisted yet again by the blue dot on Google Maps!). The number of enormous stone multistorey buildings we passed on the way was an indication of the wealth of this city over the last few centuries. UNESCO has classified 42 Palaces and we visited only two ( I know you'll be relieved!). They are grouped along the VIa Garibaldi road that overlooks the port, where the wealthy owners earned their cash. From the 16th to the 19th Century they were owned by the Grimaldis, Balbis and Durazzos and lots of other families who over generations intermarried and created even more wealth. As you can see from the photos they are huge and very ornate: there was a lot of competition to demonstrate your wealth so no expense was spared. Whilst some are open to the public and have been restored, many are now used by Banks and Regional government etc.

We visited the Palazzo Reale which was described as a 'mini-Versailles'. And indeed it was: dazzling gold Baroque everything , more frescoes and paintings than you could process, 'trompe loeiul'  everywhere and, just to top it off,  a Hall of Mirrors as well. The work and wealth that had gone into it was truly remarkable, but it was difficult to imagine anyone actually living there. As Ewan commented, you can't imagine a teenager throwing their clothes on the floor here.

We had a slight hiccup when we sat down to admire the fountain in the middle of the courtyard , and then headed off leaving my camera behind. Fortunately I realised after only a few metres, and when I returned a couple of young tourists had picked it up and were waiting for me to collect it. Phew!! I have had that camera almost glued to my hand for weeks: it felt like something had been amputated!

We visited a smaller and more simple (slightly) palazzo - Palazzo Spinola - and eventually found ourselves having a little rest on the fourth floor facing a very impressive Renaissance painting of a victorious guy in black astride a huge white horse with flaring nostrils. Eventually I had to get up and read the information provided: it was a Rubens painting that Mussolini had advised Adolf Hitler to buy. No wonder they both liked it.

Wandering back to the hotel we walked through the most stunning shopping centre I've seen. It is a street that has huge stone ornately carved buildings ( more!) and the shops are in the arched porticos on the ground floor. There was work in progress restoring the mosaic tile floor. Didn't have a lot in common with Northland!

We made another trip to the Pharmacia as Ewan has been spluttering and coughing all day. Again we have some mystery medication which we have never seen before: we have such faith in the Italian health system.

After a nap he is looking better so hopefully he'll be OK.

Off to dinner to sample the local genovese cuisine,

your still healthy traveller,

Dianne