[Idyllchat] More questions-Cinque Terre

[TravLnNutt at aol.com]

Dear Barbara,
 
 
In 1996 my friend and I (2 females 50+) took the train to the Cinque  Terre 
after ending a tour of Italy in Milan. We arrived in the middle of October and  
had T-shirt weather the whole time. (Although, you could get colder weather, 
so  plan on layering). 
We stayed 3 nights in the tiniest room in an apartment building, up 3  narrow 
flights of stairs. But, the window did overlook the water from the sea  
splashing on the rocks below. The bathroom was so small that the shower curtain  
covered the electrical outlet near the sink rather than keeping water in the  
shower area, which was the rest of the room. We had to dry everything after each 
 shower.  
We spent one day on the village to village hike, but we did it backwards  
from how others seem to do it. We started at the harder, higher end at Vernazza  
and hiked 2-1/2hrs (it is listed for 1-1/2 hrs) to Corniglia, where we stopped 
 at an outdoor restaurant for water, pasta with pesto, and vino. Then,  on to 
Manarola. Now here is another reason we started at the north end of  the 
trail, there are over 300 stairs from the town to the beach where the trail  
continues. Why go up them when you can go down? 
I’d have to look at my two volume photo albums to remember all the  details 
but I know we had gelato in Manarola before continuing on the much  easier “Via 
dell’Amore” to Riomaggiore.  
 
It was getting dark so we took the milk run train  back to Vernazza, had an 
early dinner and fell into bed. We were so tired, but  oh, so glad we did it. 
During our 3 days there, we enjoyed  a glass of wine on the cliffside terrace 
 overlooking the sea, spent a couple of hours in a cave-like restaurant 
listening  to stories of the “giant wave” (photos on the walls), toured the 
Romanesque  church on the harbor, “talked” with the locals, met the visiting priest 
who goes  from village to village conducting services, re-toured the church 
with him and  saw the "secret" little bas-reliefs, climbed the tower for 
another view, shopped  at the weekly street market, enjoyed gelato on a bench people 
watching, etc.,  etc.  
When it was time to travel on we really hated to  leave. Our photos of that 
morning show us in jackets, so it must have been  cooler.  
The  Cinque Terre is much better known now, so I'm sure it is much more 
crowed. But  September and October will have fewer tourists, and, it's harvest  
time!!!! 
I got the information for the trip from Rick  Steves, Italy, you can buy it 
on-line at _www.ricksteves.com_ (http://www.ricksteves.com/)  or any  good 
bookstore. I have also found a very helpful website with great information,  and 
the maps I bought from them were very good. _www.initaly.com_ 
(http://www.initaly.com) .  
Louise  Walls 




In a message dated 10/3/2006 7:23:21 A.M. Pacific Standard Time,  
barbara_watts at campbellsoup.com writes:


Has  anyone ever been to the Cinque Terre?  It seems that although you  all
think it will be a worthwhile visit, very few of you have  visited.  Any
particular reason?
Also, has anyone visited in the  Fall months?  We were planning to go around
September or October but I  notice most of you make your visits in the
summer or spring.  Wasn't  it a little warm and crowded in the cities?
And, one more thing  (sorry!)  how did you know what to see and where to go
to see  it?  Did the agency assist you with this as well as  driving
directions?

We are all enjoying your informative emails so  please keep them coming!

Thanks!
Barbara
New  Jersey





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