Paradise under the Ligurian sun

This day started out like every other in the Cinque Terre......hot sun, wonderful breakfast and cappuccinos to die for. We were a little saddened knowing it was our last full day here, but it's not going anywhere, and we can return.

We decided to spend the morning exploring a few of the other towns a little more so we hopped on the train to Riomaggiore where we made our way to the waterfront

 

 

 

They were decorating the whole town....at first we thought it was for a wedding, but then we found out that it was for a big party taking place later tonight. After visiting the marina we wandered through town a bit

 

 

 

 

 

 

Unfortunately the Via dell'Amore was closed, but we were able to walk part of it and see some of the locks left behind by lovers

 

 

Then we hopped back on the train and headed to Manarola....it doesn't really have a beach, but it has a really cool place to swim.

 

 

We walked around the waterfront trail and were treated to an amazing view of the town

 

 

We vowed to return to this spot and swim around the rocks.....Jo even said "to hell with the jellyfish!"

We could have stayed all day, but we had more important business to take care of. The Limoncello guy had evaded us on the day of our hike.....but not today! We hopped on the train and returned to Monterosso and set out in search of the man in the lemon grove. Sure it meant climbing a hill that we had already climbed, in 30 degree heat, but we just had to do it. As we passed some people coming down the hill we asked if they had seen him.....we got a positive response. Our spirits lifted, and the pace quickened. We rounded a corner, the olive trees parted and the angels began to sing.......it was the limoncello guy

 

He took the time to explain how he makes the limoncello every day. We ordered 3 small bottles and 3 lemonades that he made fresh, right on the spot. We quickly downed the lemonades and sipped the limoncello.....it was good stuff! He asked where we were from and when we said "Canada" he explained that he had been in Toronto about 35 years ago. When we told him we were about 5 hours from there he said "Canada very big!"

In addition to making fresh lemonade and limoncello he also makes 600 bottles of wine a year. He sells only 200 and keeps the rest for himself. We just had to buy one.....and he told us that he only had 40 left to sell.....39 after our purchase. We enjoyed our tasty treats and then made our way back down the trail

 

 

 

Once back in town we stopped at a little focacciaria and had the best pizza ever

 

Then we headed back to our B & B for an afternoon dip in the pool which offered a nice reprieve from the heat. After soaking for a while it was sun chair time.....apparently the cicadas are quite calming as Jo poked me to tell me that I was snoring.

After getting cleaned up we walked back to the old part of Monterosso to do a bit more exploring. We had been wanting to get a shot of the older Italian women who love to sit and chat all day....and tonight we got the chance

Then it was off to find some supper. Jo picked a place that was overlooking the water and it turned out to be a fantastic choice. The view was amazing and the food was very good

 

 

 

 

 

 

As the sun set and the moon began to rise we talked about how enjoyable it has been to be here......and how we must return

 

We meandered back along the boardwalk, stopping to enjoy one more helping of gelato and then sat and people watched for a bit before returning to our B & B.

We won't say ciao to Cinque Terre.....we will say, see you again!

 

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Dees a ointment, ees a good for many tings

The day started out like any other.....a yummy breakfast overlooking the Ligurian Sea

 

Jo's artsy shot of the pool and the wind swept drapes

 

After breakfast we decided to hop on the train and do a bit of exploring. Even though our park and train pass is for the Cinque Terre, it actually lets you travel as far north as Levanto and as far south as La Spezia. We decided to check to La Spezia first as it's the bigger city. We think we must have been spoilt in the Cinque Terre because as we pulled in on the train we just didn't get a good vibe, so we just stayed on the train and went back the other way to Levanto.

Levanto is smaller than La Spezia, but still bigger than the towns of the Cinque Terre. We made our way to the sea to have a look around

 

 

 

 

 

Then we wandered around the town a bit

 

 

 

By now it was getting close to 30 degrees so we decided it would be nice to go for a swim. We planned on hitting the beach, but by the time we got back to our B & B we were too hot to walk to the beach so we hopped in the pool for a cooling off dip. It was very nice. Then we headed to the boardwalk for a snack before hitting the beach. Who knew there was Nutella bruschetta?

 

 

Then we hit the beach and all the fun began. Jo and Delanie hit the water first, then Delanie came out and I jumped in with Jo. The water was great and there is so much salt that you can float without any effort. We were having a great time

 

We had just decided to head back for some sun, and I was just wondering if they ever had any sharks here when Jo started screaming. I asked what was the matter and she said that something was biting her. Shark was my first reaction, but I swam towards her to try and get rid if whatever it was. By the time I got beside her she was in a lot of pain and told me that she thought it was a jellyfish. I told her that we needed to get to shore right away, but she couldn't use her arm, so I helped to get her to the beach.

Fortunately I had spotted the small lifeguard table when we made our way down to the water, so I got her there right away. I know enough about jellyfish to know that some are harmless, and some can be deadly.....they took a look and right away took her to a shower to rinse her arm off, and then they put some kind of cream on it. They didn't seem too concerned, but it was obvious that Jo was in a lot of pain. Once she was treated they told her what to do and not do, and we went to tell Delanie what was going on.

We headed back to our room and I pulled out my first aid kit. We gave her an antihistamine and put on some after bite. By now it had swollen quite a bit

 

Fortunately my years as a scuba diving instructor had taught me the danger signs to watch for, and she wasn't exhibiting any of those.....so we knew that there wasn't anything seriously wrong. And the cold beer probably helped a little as well. Some more after bite and we decided to hop on a train and head to Vernazza for some wandering and some supper.

Just after arriving in Vernazza I spotted a Farmacia and suggested that we see if they had anything for the sting. The pharmacist was very helpful, and he gave Jo some medicated cream for the sting. He said he gets many requests for jelly fish sting medicine. We laughed when he showed her the other plastic applicator that came with it and told her that she didn't need to use that one.....he explained that the cream could be used for many different things......we laughed really hard at that.

By this time we were all a little parched so we picked a great spot by the harbour to enjoy a few frosty ones. The view was fantastic

 

 

 

 

 

It wasn't long before the beer goggles came out

 

We went for a short walk taking in the sights

Focaccia fish

 

We finally decided that we better get some supper and we found a great little spot on the breakwater in Vernazza. It had a fantastic view of the ocean, and we were able to eat as the sun slowly dropped in the sky and eventually set on the horizon

 

 

 

We watched the sun set as we enjoyed our cappuccinos, tiramisu and limoncello, mmmm

 

 

 

 

A short train ride back and so ends another fabulous day in the Cinque Terre.

P.S. Jo's arm is doing well and the swelling is already starting to go down. She should be good as new tomorrow. Not sure if she'll venture into the sea again though. Ciao!

 

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