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Published: October 12th 2011
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Monterosso Old Town
Our Cinque Terre base for the next 5 days Today was a very interesting one to say the least, the shackles had been released (in the nicest possible way) from the strict routine required to get 38 people in a coach around 14 countries of Europe in 33 days, and we were on our own!
GENOA
We still needed our wits about us though as we had to report at Gatwick for our flight to Genoa Italy by 8.30pm (flight left 10.30am). In the end the decision to stay out by Gatwick was a good one as we could get organised, have breakfast and only need to leave the Hotel at around 8ish, although in the end we were a bit before that.
Initially everything went smoothly. We checked in, our suitcases only weighed around 17kg each (allowance is 23kg) so questionable if we needed to send so much stuff home, although we juggled things so our carryon luggage was pretty heavy to be fair! Anyway still a good sign if we pick up a few things in our last couple of weeks.
The flight to Genoa with British Airways was uneventful, one and a half hours in the air in great conditions with good views for
Sandy Beach
Looking forward to checking it out properly tomorrow! the most part. However when we got to Genoa the fun started, good old Italians – they just have to have a reason to be creating chaos so they can shout and throw their arms around everywhere!
We went to get a taxi to take us to the main central Train Station and the driver informed us the train workers were all on strike, he didn’t know why, how many or how long it would be before trains resumed service from the Station. He suggested he should drop us at the second station which still had some trains running but not any that would normally come though the main station to the North. It was very helpful advice which we were happy to take.
TRAIN STATION CHAOS-ITALIAN STYLE
When we got to the station it was in utter chaos, no one knew which trains were running, which platform they were likely to run from and what the delays would be ‘just watch the electronic updates’ was the best advice we could get .Things were complicated by the fact that every time there was an announcement in English half way though it was overridden by an announcement in Italian.
Monterosso
There is one good beach but mostly we are surrounded by rocky coastline It seemed they were determined to make things as difficult as possible for us!
We went on a wild goose chase to Platform 9 (it’s a big station with at least 14 platforms) only to be told by the guard he had no idea when the next train to La Spezia (our train) would be coming through, could be the next one, although he thought that went to Rome and didn’t stop near where we wanted to be, but maybe....
We then rechecked the Departure Board and gave Platform 1 a go, fortunately there was a woman (passenger) on the Platform who spoke good English and also understood both Italian and the Italian Rail System –such that it is! She was on the same train as us and let us know when our Monterosso stop was near and made sure we got off at the right station – we are very grateful to her.
The train must have been the slowest in Italy and it stopped at every station (I think Monterosso was number 25 on the list). Sometimes for no apparent reason stopped in the middle of nowhere and some of the station stops took around
Monterosso
Another view - better pics to come! 10 minutes (or it seemed that way at least).
MONTEROSSO –CINQUE TERRE
In the end from the time we landed in Genoa at 1.30pm it took five and a half hours to travel the 65kms between Genoa and Monterosso! We were exhausted when we hopped of the train in the ‘new city’. From there it was maybe a 500 metre walk along the beach and through a tunnel to the ‘old town’. We walked up the main street into a narrow side alley and there it was YAAA! Giardino Incantato our fabulous B&B. What a trip! We were greeted by Mariapia and shown to our room.
GIARDINO INCANTATO B&B
We are right in the heart of the historic village, just a few metres from the main street but up a secluded side alley which gives plenty of privacy. Giardino Incantato is rated as the top B&B in Monterosso by Trip Advisor and it’s easy to see why. Our room oozes quality, from the linen to the antique furniture to the artwork on the walls. The mini bar is fully stocked and FREE – possible mistake on their part. There was a huge bowl of lovely fresh fruit to greet us on arrival. The interior of the room has traditional wooden ceilings, white wash stucco and stone walls – all in all it’s pretty cool.
We wanted somewhere special to stay where we could relax, reflect and unwind after our epic adventure and this is just perfect. Not the cheapest place we have stayed but awesome. As is the village of Monterosso, from what we have been able to see in our brief look around anyway. It has history, character, a nice sandy beach and because we are out of main season (and perhaps because it’s a bit of a mission to get here) it’s not very busy. We are really looking forward to relaxing and unwinding over the next few days.
VEGETARIAN DINNER!
The only slight hiccup so far is that Mariapia recommended a small local restaurant Via Venti for dinner. We found it easily enough and sat on a street side table, lovely spot. I ordered (or thought I did) Beef with wild mushroom sauce, however something got lost in translation and I was served a plate of wild mushrooms, no beef in sight! So I ended up a vegetarian for the night, wild mushrooms, beans and potatoes far from my usual fare! Not too bad though and it’s not as if I’ve been under eating the last few months. We will chalk it up to experience, next time we will revert back to our tried and true ‘point at the menu’ technique.
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