Probably the biggest story about Cinque Terre is how we got there. Our original train ticket had us making a connection in Milan to get to the town of Levanto, where we were staying. Unfortunately, our train was 25 minutes late getting to Milan and we missed our connecting train. After about 20 minutes of wandering, looking for an employee, we found a janitor who directed us to the customer service office, hidden in the back corner of the station.
In the customer service office, we were told flatly that there were no more trains to our destination that night and that we should get a hotel in Milan. That was not on the itinerary. Not to mention that I already had a B&B booked in Levanto. So, not taking no for an answer, I told them that they could either find me a way by train or get me a taxi, or pay for a hotel in Milan themselves. About 20 minutes later, they said they found us a way to get there, but that we had to immediately board a train heading for Genoa and to talk to the employee on board the train for details. Ha.
On the train, I immediately sought out an employee and explained my situation to her. When I told her our story, she was less than sympathetic, and snorted when I told her that the customer service folks said I should speak to someone on the train. When I expressed my frustration, her response was, "I'm off duty". I finally found a portly fellow who was on duty, but he was similarly unhelpful and refused to call the customer service center to get help. His suggestion was taking a train to a town near ours and then take a taxi, (at our expense), which was also unacceptable. He told me there was a phone at the front of the train, I think to get rid of me because there was no such thing, but unwittingly helped me out.
At the front of the train, I found help from an unlikely-looking guy with a lip piercing. I explained our story and within 10 minutes, he had explained a series of two more transfers we needed to make. So off we went, rumbling into the night. We made our next connection with no trouble. I was even able to borrow a phone to call the proprietor of the B&B we reserved in Levanto to tell her what was going on. The phone I borrowed had a dancing naked woman on the screen, but beggars can't be choosers.
Our next hiccup occurred at the station where we were waiting for our last connection. I checked the schedule to ensure our information was correct. The train we were waiting for was on the list, but our stop wasn't. Waiting for the train, we agonized over what to do. It was almost 1 am at that point, so there was no help at the station. When the train pulled up, we had pretty much decided to try to find a hotel locally rather than go to the wrong place, when we saw the conductor and ran over to ask if he was going to Levanto. (By necessity, I was rapidly picking up key phrases in Italian). He gruffly told us to get on and to stay put in the bathroom area at the end of the train, rather than sitting down.
The train picked up speed and the conductor told us we'd be there in 15 minutes and then promptly disappeared. 15 minutes came and went and the train showed no sign of stopping. We wondered if he misunderstood. Had we made a horrible mistake? It was an express train to Naples! Then suddenly, the train slowed down and we saw the signs for Levanto out the window. The train stopped and we got off, three hours late, but thrilled to have made it. As near as we can tell, the guy with the lip piercing arranged to have the train make a special stop. Even the owner of the B&B, who was nice enough to come pick us up, was surprised that we made it.
Our B&B was in an old farmhouse, but of course we didn't get to see it until the next morning after a wonderful breakfast.
The grounds were very nice, but after all our trials and tribulations, we had yet another disappointment with the weather. The day we planned to hike along the Mediterranean cost, it rained more or less the whole time.
Cinque Terre is an all encompassing term for five villages perched on the cliffs above the sea. Levanto isn't actually one of them, but it was a good base to work from. We skipped the first town after hearing it was too touristy and started in Vernazzo -
- and taking a hike to the next town, Cornigla, along a stunning trail. For this part of our day, we were lucky to have a break in the weather. And the low, dark clouds actually provided an interesting backdrop to the scenery.
We had some great views back to Vernazzo, and in some places we were walking right along the edge of the cliff.
There were steep stairs in some places -
-but we made it to Cornilia just before the deluge started.
We were lucky to find a lunch spot with covered outdoor seating, where we enjoyed a bottle of local wine with lunch.
When it became apparent that the rain wouldn't let up anytime soon, we decided to forge on to the train station rather than hike to the next town of Manarola. This was easier said than done, as the huge brick staircase down to the train had been transformed into something of a waterfall. We managed to stay more or less dry until, just before the train station, we had to ford an ankle deep lake occupying the walkway.
We had some time at the train station to wring out our socks - yes, that's the water coming out from one sock -
- before heading on to Manarola.
In Manarola, the rain finally let up and we were able to walk along the Via dell'Amore -
- to the last town of Riomaggiorre. We walked through the town all the way up to the remains of a castle more than 1500 years old to take in the views, still breathtaking despite the weather.
Back in Levanto, we were faced with yet another challenge. All of the stores and restaurants were closed because it was Sunday. I had to walk almost an hour in my squishy shoes to find a place to get some food and brought it back to the B&B for a private dinner in our room, where we listened to the rain and rejoiced in our dry feet (momentarily - our shoes didn't dry out for a couple of days after that).
Click here to continue to Pisa: http://theroadmoretraveled-nicksblog.blogspot.com/2010/05/pisa.html
Other cities:
Venice: http://theroadmoretraveled-nicksblog.blogspot.com/2010/05/venice.html
Florence: http://theroadmoretraveled-nicksblog.blogspot.com/2010/05/florence.html
Tuscany: http://theroadmoretraveled-nicksblog.blogspot.com/2010/05/tuscany.html
Rome: http://theroadmoretraveled-nicksblog.blogspot.com/2010/05/rome.html
Naples: http://theroadmoretraveled-nicksblog.blogspot.com/2010/05/naples.html
Sicily: http://theroadmoretraveled-nicksblog.blogspot.com/2010/05/sicily.html
Pictures:
Part 1
1-151: Venice
152-224: Cinque Terre
225-286: Pisa
287-384: Florence
385-606: Tuscany (Gropina, Siena, Massa Maritima, Chiusure, Montepulciano)
607-960: Rome
Part 2
962-1040: Pompei
1041-1054: Naples
1055-1106: Capri
1107-1129: Naples
1130-1168: Amalfi Coast
1169-1186: Naples
1187-1233: Sicily (From Catania to Puntalazzo)
1234-1282: Sicily (Mt.Etna and Puntalazzo)
1293-1354: Sicily (Enna and Agrigento)
1355-1391: Sicily (Catania)
