5 May 2022
The Cinque Terre has a way of distracting you from reality. Emphasized in the brochures about the area are the 377 steps that one must climb from the train station to reach Corniglia. However, once trekking the higher trails of the park, these 377 steps look like child’s play. The uneven stone steps, twists and turns, ups and downs, and narrow pathways found along the higher trails are the reality.
(more…)4-6 May 2022
My second stop along Italy’s Cinque Terre is small Manarola, a collection of pastel buildings tumbling down a ravine to the sea. Trains depart Riomaggiore three times an hour and the ride takes 2 minutes. For a flat rate of 5€, that’s a hefty fee when I have energy to spare – a real bargain after hiking one of the mountain trails along this coastline.
Manarola may be one of the prettiest villages on the Cinque Terre. My entry yesterday came from above where I could look out over the expanse of vineyards and hills all the way to Volastra and Corniglia. Today, coming up from the train station, Manarola seems to be perched on a steep promontory with its small port to the left and rows of colorful houses above and to the right.
(more…)I won’t let the vertical terrain intimidate me!
3 May 2022
My first trekking day along the Cinque Terre went from Will Wheaton’s “No, no, Hell no!” to “I think I can, I think I can” before reaching a resounding “Eureka” much as the Donner Party must have felt when reaching the West after a hungry winter in the Sierras.
(more…)2-3 May 2022
One can ride a bus, train or ferry; I chose to ride the ferry from La Spezia to Riomaggiore. To say arriving at the Cinque Terre by ferry is spectacular is a vast understatement.
(more…)26-28 April 2022
I have visited Pisa on several occasions, most often not further than its famed Leaning Tower. It wasn’t until I wandered into some of its smaller, quieter streets that I discovered Pisa’s charm. I determined to return and spend more time exploring something other than its Piazza del Duomo.
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When I travel, no matter how much I plan, I do worry. Anything can happen; I cannot prevent unforeseen events, but I know I can handle them. Yet, I do worry, doubly so when I have the responsibility for another. So I traveled to Italy with my “minor exceptional” niece with trepidation. What did I learn from this travel experience? As I posted before departure: (more…)
Piazzas collect pigeons, pigeons love bread, bread is served during dinners, dinners include delicious pastas around those piazzas. It’s a great symbiotic relationship throughout Italia. We spend a few sunny minutes at the Verona Arena and around Piazza Bra’s pigeons before boarding our Frecciabianca to Milano. (more…)