Sunday 18 September
Set the alarm for 7.30 to ensure we were up and organised
for our plane, but the nearby church bells rang loud and clear at 7am so we
were all up and about early enough.
Aaron and Aidan pop up to the bakery for our usual bougatsa
and doughnuts while I organise the suitcases.
By 8.30 we are set and up the laneway to await our transfer
that Nicoletta has arranged.
All goes well and the taxi arrives right on the dot of 8.45.
Only a 10 minute drive to the airport and it is goodbye to Santorini.
Big queues outside the airport are a bit daunting, but a bit
of investigating reveals that these are for the flights to Athens and our
Meridiana flight has a much shorter queue inside the terminal.
At check-in our bags are weighed then we have to take them
across to the scanners and lug them onto the belts. Chaos and disorder are the
order of the day in Santorini airport, but we get through pretty much unscathed
and once we are through security we join the crowd milling crammed into the
departure area. There are queues for the
gates, but there are so many people that it is impossible to know who is in the
queue and who is just waiting for their queue to be called.
Again we are lucky and our flight is called after about ½ an
hour and we push our way through the people towards the gate and then onto the
waiting bus which takes us out to the plane.
Friendly and smartly dressed cabin crew get us boarded and the 2 ½ hour
flight goes smoothly.
Arrival is more or less on time so we are hopeful of making
our connection to the train which I risked booking in advance. Once our bags
are collected we spot the airport bus ticket desk so it is a quick matter of
purchasing the tickets and outside the terminal to the waiting bus which leaves
about 15 minutes later.
About a 20 minute ride through the uninspiring and
graffitied streets of Milan and we arrive at Centrale Stazione. After the chaos of Greece, Italy seems
extremely ordered and controlled. With about 45 minutes to spare we get some
panini and coffee from the station while we wait.
The train journey is 3 hours, through pleasant countryside
towards the coast then very nice sea views when we are not passing through some
very long tunnels.
Train arrives right on time at 5.05 and we step off the
train into Cinque Terre.
Quite busy on the station and plenty of people on the
streets outside. Following our
instructions we make our way along the sea front to the old town square and
ring our host for instructions. We are on the right track and a short walk up a
steep hill brings us to our apartment.
A 5 minute wait and Marina and Guiseppe arrive and take us
up. Apartment is huge and sparsely though adequately furnished. The kids choose
to have a bedroom each.
Once we were organised we set off out to have a bit of a
wander around town and dinner at Restaurant Ellie.
Monday 19th September
Out for coffee and some focaccia for breakfast then we spend
the day wandering the streets and lanes of the town. Turns out most of the beach is roped off as
‘private’ where you are required to fork out
€20 for a sunbed and umbrella. In the afternoon heat we find the smaller
free section and enjoy a swim before finding a restaurant for dinner.
Tuesday 20th September
Morning coffee and croissants then a walk through the village to the Wonderland Bakery for some plain and pesto focaccia. Returned home and packed up the bags with swimmers and jumpers for a day out.
Off to the station to get the train to Riomaggiore.
The town is fairly extensive and we have a good wander round. Unfortunately the path around the coast line is closed, but there are people find various places to swim and take dare devil dives from the path into the ocean below.
The harbour is closed to swimming and the tiny stony beach looks a bit rough so there is no swimming here despite the sun heating us up.
Once we have thoroughly covered all the various paths and
streets we grab some chips for the kids and then make our way back to the
station and on to the next village, Maronola.
This one is even tinier but very pretty and the kids and Aaron take the
plunge for a dip in the water of the bay.
Back to Monterosso on the train and out to a pizzeria for a
delicious meal before topping off with some gelato by the beach.
Wednesday 21st September
Lie in bed a little late after the kids have gone past to
school, then out to Bar Centrale for coffee and croissants. Today we are going to La Spezia to get some
groceries. The ticket machine at the
station causes some problems and it takes 20 minutes to get the tickets sorted,
but then we are on our way. Only about a 15 minute train trip to La Spezia
Centrale and we alight and wander down through the town towards the harbour.
Plenty of yachts moored and lovely views across to the
surrounding hillsides.
Walking over the city bridge we come to the flashier end of
the harbour where the yachts are moored.
Some pretty impressive craft but these pale into insignificance as we
walk further around the harbour and find the boat that belong to Georgio
Armani. Also in port is the Harmony of
the Sea, the world’s biggest cruise ship.
By now hunger has struck so we
make our way back through the slummy section of the harbour and across town to
one of the squares were we find a café for some food.
Then it is off to the mall to find
the supermarket.
Most of the shops in the town are
now closed for lunch and siesta but the mall is up and running. Quite a number
of people with their dogs shopping. The sign on the door of one of the shops
appears to ban food & drink, shopping trolleys and cameras, but the only
restriction on dogs is that they must be carried. After a quick look around
establishing that malls are the same world over, we enter the enourmous
supermarket.
The cheese section is astounding,
and this is only for your run of the mill cheeses. The fancy stuff has an
almost as big open cabinet. The cold
meats and salami section is just as impressive.
Even the eggplants get a good run.
There is also a refilling station for washing detergents.
We spent quite a while deciphering things and making
choices, all made a bit more difficult by the fact that we are going to have to
lug it all back a km or two to the train station, plus a good walk up the hill
at the other end. After selecting a
carton plus a 1.5 litre plastic bottle of wine to add to our trolley we are
done and make our way through the check out.
Once we have loaded up the back packs and sorted the lighter
stuff into bags, we have quite a long walk to find the station. Tickets are bought and we get on the next
train home. Back in Monterosso the square is full of kids of all ages playing,
boys running around with a variety of toy guns and girls riding ripsticks. It
is certainly the centre of the village in the early evening.
Once we are back Holly wants a swim so I take the kids down
to the beach where they have a good splash around, even though the breeze is
quite chilly.
Back home again for a hot shower while I cook up some veg
and pasta for an easy meal, then we duck out for our daily fix of gelato.
Thursday 22nd September
No plans for today. With coffee, swimming, some school work,
a little bit of Italian tv and general eating, the day passes quite pleasantly.
Use our jar of Uncle Ben’s Korma to mix up a chicken curry for dinner and out again
for the daily gelato.
Friday 23rd September
Up with the bells this morning and get organised for our
hike. The sky is slightly overcast which
bodes well for walking.
First down to the square for a coffee before we set off at
about 9.30.
Not surprisingly the walk starts off with a fair climb
through the terraced hills planted with grapevines. It is a fairly steady and
steep climb and we have soon worked up a good sweat. The kids however dance
along without a care in the world. Some
of the paths are quite narrow with steep drops over the edge but mostly there
are handrails in place.
About ½ way along is a rather bizarre cat sanctuary, with
little kennels set up on the cliff side and bins with cat food for passers by
to put out for the resident cats. Only one cat is in residence when we pass,
asleep in its little house.
It takes just under 2 hours to make it all the way to Vernazza, but would have been significantly less without photo opportunities.
Once we make it to the village we head straight down the bay for a swim. The usual crystal clear water complete with fish and sunbathing tourists.
After a swim we go for a wander around the village then buy a pizza to share for lunch and eat it sitting on the steps.
The kids finish off with their daily gelato and then we find
the path to continue on our way to Corniglia.
Again a steep climb out of the village but a great view as
we are departing. The day is hotter now
but not as much as previous days. We can
see Corniglia in the distance, as well as the vista all the way back to
Monterosso when we are along the coast line.
More olive groves here than grapes and the walk is thankfully quite
shady in many places.
About 1 ½ hours walking brings us to Corniglia, out on the
promontory and about 100m up from the sea. A very pretty little town, busy but
not so packed with tourists. After a look around, the grown ups take their turn
for gelato before we make our way down the hill to the train station and after
a more lengthy than usual queue for tickets, onto the train for home,
Arriving in Monterosso we head straight for the beach and a
good long swim before getting takeaway pizza for dinner by the sea side.
Saturday 24 September
No plans again for today. Head into the town and try a new
place for coffee. This one has wifi so we catch up a little on what needs to be
done, as our wifi at home is so slow. Eventually, despite yoghurt, granola and
juice the kids get restless so they head home with Aaron to get organised for a
swim while I finish off a bit more.
Eventually I join them on the beach, but it is not yet warm
enough to tempt me in. Return home to dry off and get on with some school stuff
for a while. Snack on various bit of
fruit and food we have in the house for lunch.
Afterwards we go out for a wander around town and take the trek up the
hill to the remains of the castle and the church on the hill, as well as the
large cemetry on the very top of the hill.
Buy some pesto to take home for dinner later and go back to
let the kids watch some cartoons in Italian. After cooking up our pasta and
pesto, Aidan and I take another stroll up the beginning of the blue trail
towards sundown to take some photos of the village, before going out for
gelato. Tonight we walk around the bay to the beach side of town which is home
to the younger set and a number of bars.
Sunday we relax around town again, enjoying our morning
coffee, some focaccia and a couple of swims.
By Monday the crowds of tourists have really diminished and
we buy tickets for the boat trip along the coast. Most of the day we spend in
the usual manner and at 4pm we get the boat in the harbour and take the tour
along the coast stopping at each of the villages, except of course
Corniglia.
Arriving in Riomaggiore we have a walk around town and sit
and enjoy some people watching along the main street. In the local supermarket we find a packet of
fresh trofie so buy that to take home and pair it with a jar of the locally
made artiginale pesto for a very tasty dinner.
Of course gelato after dinner to top of the day.
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| Corniglia |
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| Manarola |
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| Riomaggiore |
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| Riomaggiore |
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| Vernazza |
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| Vernazza |
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| all the villages seen from the beach at Monterosso |
Tuesday is our last day in paradise as well as our
anniversary. This morning we walk down to the main beach for our morning coffee
and croissants and spend a good deal of time sitting under our umbrella
watching the passing parade to and from the station.
In the evening we have dinner booked at the highly
recommended restaurant with only 7 tables.
Enjoy a beautifully prepared meal as well as some adult dinner
conversation with some English ladies at the adjacent table. Unfortunately I don’t think through the
choice of Tiramisu for dessert and end up lying awake until after 2am. Not such a good thing when we have to get up
at 6am for our train in the morning.
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