The Cinque Terre Trail Conquered: Manarola to Corniglia to Vernazza

Dry clothes!

Our steps at Ivo's camere:

Saturday morning we slept in a bit, and then stayed in Vernazza, strolling, shopping, and staring at the sea.

We had lunch at Ivo’s pizza place, which has great slices. Mom and I shared the pizza margherita and something else which I can’t remember but it was great.

Oh, it was pesto.

I also visited the beautiful Santa Maria Margherita church on the square in Vernazza.

I came out to find Mom and Sandy sitting outside. I decided to head down to the water a few minutes.

We wanted to take the ferry to Manarola but the ferry times were off so we discussed taking the ferry on Sunday. We trained to Manarola and walked around the little town. We saw this amusing sign in the train station:

I liked these little things for holy water.

The walk to Corniglia wasn’t bad at all, it was beautiful and rather relaxing, actually. Pretty flat but not as well paved as the Via dell Amour. After the flat part, there are 365 steps to get up to Corniglia. I was determined to conquer every bit of the Cinque Terre hike and so Britt and I climbed them. They turned out to have a lot of depth, and they weaved back and forth, so they really weren’t bad at all. At the top, we met Mom and Sandy. Corniglia is a small town on the hilltop with a quaint square where the church is located. It is surrounded by gelaterias and other shops. We met a very friendly couple from Texas, the McGuffeys, and their children. I enjoyed talking with them. They have been living in Athens for several years working with Campus Crusade for Christ. Amy gave us a suggestion of a Greek island to go to, Hydras, and I think Mom and I will check it out when we are in Athens. In Corniglia I bought a piece of bruschetta and had some gelato (honey, rum raisin, and bochia, which is chocolate and nuts).

I love this top I am wearing. Too bad it flew off the clothes line in the middle of the night! ARGHH. Just found that Mom found one in Brookyn, NY and is having it shipped to Gville. Yay Mom!

Then it was time for Britt and I to conquer the only section of the trail yet to be hiked, the stretch from Corniglia to Vernazza. It was the second most challenging part of the trail behind the part from Vernazza to Monterossa. The views were nice, and the trails were narrow and rocky. There is an abundance of rocky steps descending into the town of Vernazza.

Can you see the trail we had just walked?

We were rewarded with a view of Vernazza we had earned:

Over the course of 2 days, we conquered the 9km hike between the 5 villages! Yay for us!

In the pics, you can see the Santa Maria Margherita church, and the Castello Malaspina di Fosdinovo. The oldest parts of the castle date from the 12th century.

Britt and I descended into Vernazza and found ourselves staring at the front of Ivo’s pizza shop. We had no idea that is where the trail would spit us out. We took a left and walked down to the waterfront to enjoy a celebratory spritz and prosecco. I like prosecco; it isn’t too sweet, and it looks beautiful with an orange slice in it when the sun is shining on it’s bubbles.

Mom and Sandy came to meet us and we all enjoyed watching the sun set over the Mediterranean.

 We thought about going to shower and change before dinner but decided to stay out. We met a very nice man named Allesandro. I inquired as to the location of the best restaurant in Vernazza…the one where he would eat as a local. He pointed to El Capitan, so that is where we went. It is on the square that overlooks the water. When the sun sets it becomes quite chilly in Vernazza in April so Britt ran to the room to get coats. Mom and I shared the troffie pesto (troffie is a small, short pasta), and of course pesto is a Ligurian specialty. We also shared the vegetarian ravioli with walnut sauce and the penne with mozzarella and tomato sauce. More red table wine out of a small pitcher. I don’t think Britt and I have yet to order wine off a menu; we always just get the house red. It is usually served in a jug. Charming!

Afterwards Britt and I decided we would go to the twins’ place for desert. We really wanted to go back since we had told them we would return and we weren’t sure when we would go, although I really hoped we would go again for breakfast on our last day. Their deserts were delicious; we inquired as to their favorites and that was what we were served. I also ordered hot chocolate, which evidently is something very popular in Vernazza. This chocolate was so rich; envision heating a Hershey bar in the microwave and drinking it. Two sips was all I could handle.

Britt and I walked around Vernazza some more and went into an enoteca, another item on my to do list for Italy. An enoteca is essentially a wine bar. I found one of my favorite reds, Campofiorin Masi. This is a wine that the Suggs give my parents for Christmas each year and I really enjoy it. We found a half liter bottle, which the lady opened for us. After providing us with two plastic cups, we walked onto Vernazza’s main street. We found a fairly happening place and took a table outside, hoping they didn’t ask us to leave. After talking for a half hour or so, people came to sit outside and began to talk with us. They were all mostly college students. One of whom eagerly announced to me that his favorite Italian artist was Caravaggio. I responded that I, too, enjoyed Caravvagio but what about Leonardo, Michelangelo, Raphael, and a gazillion others? I mentioned that I had seen signs for a Caravaggio exhibit in Rome and he was thrilled, and told me he had been to see it.

One of the young guys who was in this place had been our server earlier. I had the impression that these local worked in Vernazza in the summertime and many of them studied in Genoa during the winter, although I couldn’t figure out why they weren’t in Genoa. Isn’t this still the winter? We had fun and it was good to spend time with Britt.