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Published: August 18th 2008
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Cinque Terra 2
Vernazza, Rick Steves and our favorite! So if Rick Steve has had any significant impact on world traveling, it has been the creation of thriving tourist destinations out of five old fishing villages in the Italian Rivera: The Cinque Terra. These villages were almost entirely undiscovered until Rick Steves put them on the map. Now they bustle with sunburned tourists from all over the world.
Don’t get me wrong, I am definitely not complaining. Without Rick Steves help and influence, I am sure I would have never imagined traveling to such a geographically isolated part of Italy. David and I just like to contemplate the powerful influence Rick Steves has had on European travel. When researching for this trip I found many angry websites and blogs that rant about how the Rick Steves’ books have spoiled the towns he cites as, “backdoor finds”. These rants say that what he calls cultural tourism is really just making new touristy locations. I wonder who writes these blogs because what I have seen is overwhelming veneration for Rick Steves. All over the little towns of Cinque Terra are posted Rick Steves’ reviews of restaurants and hotels. He is probably more famous than any American pop star, weird!
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David enjoying our fan! to the Cinque Terra; or as David and I adoringly refer to it, our favorite place on earth. The Cinque Terra consists of five remote and isolated fishing villages with only a single and unreliable train and several hiking paths connecting them. There are lots of fishing boats, but we only saw three cars. This was the perfect location for our vacation from our vacation. Unlike every other city we had visited up until this point we had a specific agenda and jam packed schedule. In the Cinque Terra, all we had to do was relax, eat delicious food, swim, hike, and work on our tans (or in David’s case, his sunburns!).
I think our favorite thing about this region was a tie between the simplicity and the food! Linquiria, the regional name is the origin of pesto and focaccia bread. No lie, I think I had pesto for every meal except breakfast. I wanted to get my fill, it was excellent and I was never disappointed. We also felt very cultural by starting our days with cappuccinos and focaccia bread (it’s what the locals ate), however we put our own spin on it by adding Nutella, which we
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A Cinque Terra lizard thing became addicted to in Germany.
While in the Cinque Terra we stayed in two of the towns, Vernazza and Manarola and visited two others. Monterosso and Riomaggiore. Monterossso was the resort beach community with sandy beaches, rentable beach equipment, and lots of sunburned Americans. Vernazza was smaller, but very livable with many shops, restaurants, and a fantastic harbor. Manarola seemed like the most authentic with very few tourists, but less (but cheaper) amenities. Riomaggiore was very busy, but not with northern European tourists like Monterosso, here there were a lot of Italians enjoying their holidays. Cornigila was the one city we didn’t get to visit. Both David and I agree that we liked Vernazza the best. It was here that we had the best hotel room in the whole town. Our view was fantastic. A little less fantastic was the hourly chiming of the church bells… but after three days it was less alarming to wake up too!
We were in the Cinque Terra for six days and on all but one day we had amazing weather. It was perfect for sunbathing and snorkeling. However, when it rained, it poured. Actually, there was a small hurricane! On one
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The vineyards of the Cinque Terra. of the days we witnessed a real live hurricane complete with funneling action. All the scarred tourists watched from the sidelines while the locals stripped down to their speedos and ran into the harbor to quickly and efficiently pull out their fishing boats before the storm caused damage. It was fascinating to watch as the men of the village worked. It reminded me that the town was not just a tourist destination, but also a working village. For all of you who know how much I enjoy severe weather, you can only imagine how much fun this was for me! My favorite part was watching the overly zealous tourists get too close to the harbor. They would stand gawking at the waves and when they least expected it, a huge one would come and soak them to the bone. They always looked so surprised, even though it happened to every other person before them.
The Cinque Terra was an excellent and necessary break. Today we are headed for Pisa and then Florence. We have jammed full schedules and a lot more to see and eat while in Italy. Being in the Cinque Terra made me realize how stressful life
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One of the gorgeous churches in the town of Monterosso. and even vacations can be. My first few days there it was difficult to relax, I kept making up reasons why we had to move on and get more done. David, my sweet and convicting husband was very helpful in reminding me that not everything needs to be efficient or scheduled. So for the majority of Cinque Terra, I tried it his way. But now… we are off to Florence and the balls back in my court!
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cousin john
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Viva Italia!
Ma che bella! I will let share your blog with the family tomorrow night everyones coming over for Louies Birthday.My dad will love it. Did you see John's wedding invite yet looks pretty legit.