Thursday October 13
We took the local train to Monterosso where we met Kate Little, our Texan born guide for the day. She first led us around and showed us the sights and the old town of Monterosso. As we walked Kate discussed the history and nature of the area and answered many questions about her life in Italy. Then we went to the harbor where we took a boat along the shore of Cinque Terre to the southern most town of Riomaggiore.
Note: This was a wonderful and long day, so I took many, many pictures; 257 in all! It was difficult to reduce it to just a representative few. Hence this page has more pictures than the other pages and it will take a few extra moments to load.
Kate explains our plans
The old town of Montorosso
Downtown Montorosso, beach and train station
Riomaggiore
Riomaggiore harbor
Kate took us on a walking tour of Riomaggiore. Then we hiked hiked north to the next town, Manarola, on the cliff side trail that is known as the Via Dell' Amore. We then had a walking tour of Manarola.
Going up town
A Mediterranean hillside
Via Dell' Amore
Terraced hillside with grape vines
The trail goes in a tunnel as it approaches Manarola
A street in Manarola
View of the harbor from the top of town
Then down and
down some more
For lunch Kate introduced us to the best pizza and focaccia shop
While eating we watched a boat being lowered into the harbor
After lunch we continued hiking north first to Corniglia and then Vernazza.
Cliffside trail
View back to Manarola
Approaching Corniglia which is on top of a cliff
Stairs up to Corniglia
Rest stop
Construction materials for future trail work
Going down
Vernazza
Coming in to town
From Vernazza we took a boat back to Monterosso. There we first went to an olive oil/wine shop for a tasting of olive oils and wines. Then we had dinner at the Ristorante Marina. The food was extremely plentiful and wonderful.
Vernazza in twilight
Kate telling us about olive oil
An Italian feast