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Published: September 20th 2011
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Well John has decided he likes Italian TV after all, as tonight’s program involves about 50 Italian girls in their bikinis. Some kind of pageant I think.
We found out today that the festival we experienced last night in Parma was the Festival of the Pig (Parma Ham ring any bells – Parma is apparently very famous for its ham – I thought it was famous for Parmigana) and that it was the last day of 9 days of celebrations that happen twice per year in March and September.
Monday (well I think it was Monday) we left Parma and headed to Cinque Terre, the Italian Riviera consisting of 5 (Cinque) Lands (Terre). 5 towns linked by walking tracks (some more difficult than others).
We have a great hotel in Monterosso Al Mare, the last of the 5 towns, and it is just glorious. We didn’t arrive until after 5pm due to missing train connections, but felt so relaxed as soon as we arrived. I think partly due to having 5 nights here, we can fully unpack and relax. It will be a slower lifestyle also than Venice, but still loads of walking to do, with tracks/paths across
the cliffs between the towns. There are some serious hikers walking around with hiking poles. Some groups of ladies we have seen are in their 60's-70's and are all kitted out like serious hikers.
Tuesday we have a lunch time boat cruise booked and the day after a sunset Tapas cruise, so we will find time to relax around doing the walks to see the beautiful scenery.
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Our boat cruise was very enjoyable even thought John’s and my 'Earth’ is still moving under out feet. We cruised past all five villages of the Cinque Terre (5 Lands/Towns) and on to Porto Venere (about 1/5 hours by boat) for lunch at a restaurant very famous for its fish. It was probably the loveliest meal that we have had since arriving, with about 7 different appetizers to taste, then a main of fish, scampi, prawns, octopus, and some lovely local wine.
After lunch we started to cruise back towards Monterosso, and found a nice spot to stop and enjoy a dip in the sea. The sea was much calmer and more enjoyable on the trip back, and we were all more able to enjoy some beer and
wine than on the way there.
The ocean was very salty, probably more so than at home, and we seemed more buoyant.
Wandering around looking for a bar for before dinner, we ran into some new friends who were stuck by the train strike in Parma, so we saw them on the train to Parma, then we were all on the train together the next day, and all missed our connection to La Spezia, so we have run into them every day for 3 days. It was lovely to have some company for dinner and we had a lovely group of six.
Our little town of Monterosso is the only town with an actual beach (small though it may be, you will see what I mean if you look at the photos. It doesn’t stop people enjoying the ocean though in the other towns. The water is a beautiful shade of aqua, which unfortunately doesn’t translate accurately in our photos. We are very blessed with our sandy beaches and I can now understand more easily how people get into trouble watching Bondi Rescue when you see these 'beaches'.
Tomorrow we will start the walks with train
Monterosso
directly in front of our hotel back to Riomaggiore the first village and each day we will train back to where we finish the day before. It is about an 11hour walk from Riomaggiore to Monterosso, although probably longer, as one track is closed and the detour is about 2.5 hours and very steep (we might ditch this bit!)
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