Cinque Terra - Day 1

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Woke to the bells of the local church - right next door. Was expecting seven rings (for 7 o'clock) but it just kept on going and slowly faded. Oh well - that will ensure we don't waste the day. We are staying in two separate rooms - only ones on the same floor, so me and one if the kids in one room, and Eileen and the other two in the other. Breakfast was in another building close by - very basic but did the job. Met a lovely couple during breakfast from Puerto Rico - Henry and Mari. They are in Italy for a conference (I think) and added a few days to sight-see. Henry is an accomplished violinist, plays in an orchestra and teaches, and Mari does promotional work in the same area (there's more to it but that's all I can recall right now). We kept bumping into them throughout the day, had lunch together and had great conversations. It was interesting to hear about their life in P.R. They are grand-parents and were really good with our kids.

The Riomaggiore village was amazing. Set right beside the sea on steep cliffs, and the building are all shapes, sizes and colours. Lots of little narrow passage ways and tunnels to explore. The 'Cinque terra' is a series of five villages along the coast, joined by road, rail and walking tracks. Unfortunately most of the walking tracks were closed due to damage, but we were able to walk to the next village, Manarola, which I think was even better looking than Riomaggiore. We found a kids park in Manarola, high up overlooking the sea, so we hung around there for a while which was great for the kids to 'shake their sillys out', and for Eileen and I to sit and chat.

We then caught the train through the other villages to the last, met Henry and Mari, and had a late lunch in a restaurant. Caught the train back to Rio, looked around the village a bit more and headed back to the BnB. A great day all round.

Can't rave enough about the views. Across the Mediterranean Sea we could see the snow peaks in France. The landscape reminded us a bit of the cliffs around Stanwell Park near home, but a lot higher and steep.

Photos are again from the video, but we picked up a disposable camera. Probably won't develop until we get to the UK.

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Photos

Riomaggiore
Looking north towards other villages

Park at Manarola
With serious g-forces

Comments

[Tracey Tschentscher]

Love the Blog
Hi Guys Love the blog, wish I was there with you. The pictures are great and we love it when Matt and Dan get on line together and have a chat. Your not missing much here, its warm but has been raining torrentially for four days straight and the forecast is for more to come! Not a very good cricket season for Matt! 2nd last week of school and he still has homework can you believe it? Take care and buy a map book! Toss the Tom Tom. Tracey

[scotland cottage]

scotland cottage
Great pictures..I want to be on this place...