Lost in Europe 2012: 10/15/12

We gave up on visiting Turin, Italy to see the Egyptian museum. The city is way to busy, no place to park and did not come across as a place we wanted to spend much time in. And in hind site we are glad we did leave and make our way to the coast on the Italian Riviera. The Cinque Terre (Italian pronunciation: [ˌtʃinkwe ˈtɛrːe]) is a rugged portion of the coast. It is composed of five villages: Monterosso al Mare, Vernazza, Corniglia, Manarola, and Riomaggiore. The coastline, the five villages, and the surrounding hillsides are all part of the Cinque Terre National Park and is a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

Over the centuries, people have carefully built terraces on the rugged, steep landscape right up to the cliffs that overlook the sea. Part of its charm is the lack of visible corporate development. Paths, trains and boats connect the villages, and cars cannot reach them from the outside. There are few roads into the Cinque Terre towns that are accessible by car It is best to plan not to travel by car at all but to park and take the train. Truly is a beautiful place.

We stayed in a family owned hotel in Riomaggiore. They spoke a little English and they treated us like family. We wandered through the town ate the local food and wine...all good. We loved it there. The first morning we hiked from Riomaggiore to Corniglia. There was a landslide last year that closed the lower trails that ran along the sea. So we decided to go the high route and high it was. It starts out straight up with hundreds of tall winding steps. The stairs in many areas were hand carved or stones placed like steps and in other parts of the trail were very narrow over cliff edges. Not an easy hike by any means but we did it. Beautiful scenery all the way. The trails winds through the mountains through vineyards and olive orchards overlooking the sea and high above the towns before descending directly into the next town. We had a plan we would go as far as we could and catch the ferry or train back. Well so much for plans. All transportation was either on strike that day or not available. No train , buses, ferry or taxis. Welcome to Italy ! The only way back was hike and that was not an option. It would take to long and would be dark plus a couple of us were in pain from the trek. We were rescued by a fellow American who jammed all us in his car and drove us over the mountain with two of us stuffed behind the seat in the hatch. It was worth it not to spend the night in a train station.

The towns are really one of the crown jewels of Italy. At night around sunset the people are all out in the streets having a good time, the church bells are ringing and the towns are lit up. Another great stop along the way. It is a must see if you come to Italy.