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Day 1 Today we had planned to walk path through the 5 towns of Cinque Terre, however due to flash flooding in October last year some of the paths were closed because of landslides. So we caught the train to the first town of Riomaggiore and walked along the Via dell'Amore (the lovers lane) to Manarola. The next 2 paths were closed so we caught the train the top town, Monterosso and started on the walk towards Vernazza. I now understand why tourists usually walk it the other direction as the stairs up the mountain were brutal!! We made it though and arrived in Vernazza! Beautiful town but we could see how the floods had actually affected the town. You can see the damage in the photos! We caught a ferry back to the first town and walked the via dell'Amore again then we decided to do the more challenging hillside route to Corniglia instead of the coastal path which was closed. We had a beautiful walk along the side of the hill, through vineyards and gardens, with some incredible views! Quite a pleasant walk which we did in the right direction this time! We saw a couple of others
that had just climbed up from Corniglia and they were drenched! It was hard enough walking down!
For dinner we bought some bread, meats and cheese from a small local deli and spent the night in eating, drinking and enjoying the beautiful view we had over Corniglia and out towards Vernazza. Of course gelati to finish!!
Day 2 We caught the train to La Spezia. Amanda, we had the same problem as you guys and had heaps of trouble finding the bus to get to Portevenere! We eventually found the bus stop, by pure luck, and made our way to the seaside town of Portevenere. It is supposedly the unofficial 6th town of Cinque Terre. Quite a sweet place with a huge church on the end of the port. We explored around the town, the church and the little backstreets. There was so much stuff I wanted to buy but I didn't! We ended up jumping on a boat tour around the small islands which was a bit entertaining. The commentary was in Italian and every time the boat pulled up along side something, everyone would go to the side, have a look and then nod approvingly
at each other. We went and had a look and had no clue what they were looking at. I was fighting hard against the land of nod but to no avail, I lost! We saw some army guys wake boarding behind what looked like a Navy landing dinghy!! I am glad Italy's defence is in good hands!! Next we climbed the million stairs to the castle up on top of the hill only to be told it was closed!! We caught the ferry back from Portevenere and got off at Riomaggiore and walked the via dell Amore for the billionth time! Still a beautiful view! Dinner was at a small little place in Corniglia where we were the only customers! Once again very nice homemade pasta!!
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