Surpassing All Expectations!

For this trip to Italy, we had two original "must-see's," which dictated which itinerary we chose from the very long list of available Gate1 tours.  This was to visit Cinque Terre, which is a coastal area on the Mediterranean, comprising five picture-postcard villages.  The entire area is part of a UNENESCO World Heritage Site and Italian national park, and they are traditionally called the "most beautiful villages in all of Italy."  The area overlooks the Ligurian Sea, in the Italian province of the same name.  The area was first settled in the 11th century, and over time the villages (which sit on the coast) have carefully terraced the steep hillside.  The only way to reach or travel between the villages is by boat or, since the last century, by train.  Very few cars -- usually only small delivery vehicles -- are permitted to drive down the very narrow road to each village, but everyone else has to arrive on foot, boat, or train.  We'd read about Cinque Terre for years, and several friends of ours had planned to visit at various times, but each time they were prevented.  Visiting is very weather dependent, and the area is famous for heavy, heavy fog, which can close off access for days at a time.

When we gathered in the lobby at our designated time, we saw Johnny at the front desk, speaking animatedly with three police officers and a couple from our group.  No one looked very happy, and rather than pry, the rest of us stepped outside to wait in the pedestrian-only square outside the hotel.  The couple was from Los Angeles; he was a retired sheriff and his wife as originally from Mexico, but had been a U.S. citizen for decades.  After about a 20-minute delay, Johnny stepped out and told us to board the bus. About 10 minutes later, Johnny and the couple joined us on the bus. Over the course of the day we pieced together parts of what had happened.  Evidently when this couple arrived in Milan on their original flight, the wife had been called into secondary at immigration, and they pressed her hard on some outstanding charges in France from about 10 years ago, to someone with her exact same name and date of birth.  She was eventually allowed to enter Italy, but she was warned they were watching her.  She had, in fact, never been to Europe before, and certainly never to France.  As she had been required to provide all of her travel information before she was allowed to leave the airport, the local police had been dispatched to confirm her status.  It sounds like they put her through the ringer, before allowing her to proceed with our trip to Cinque Terre for the day.

We were still based in Montecatini, and the visit was an optional all-day tour.  Those who didn't sign up had the option to do things on their own, but nearly our entire group had signed up.  We were concerned about the trip happening, as the weather had been so unpredictable, and the storms from the previous two days had caused problems across the country, with horrendous flooding having damaged many roads.  When we boarded the bus, Johnny told us that -- as of our departure -- the seas were too rough for boats to run between the towns, but that we would be able to travel between them by train.  The skies were gray and low when we left Montecatini, and we drove through a couple of heavy downpours, which didn't raise our spirits.  As we drove out of Tuscany and into Liguria, the skies cleared.  We drove through a very long tunnel, emerging on the leeward side of the coastal range, and it was crystal clear.  The views down to the water were breathtaking.  Our first stop was to be in the gateway city of Spezia, which became of a major port for the Italian Navy after the founding of the monarchy in 1861. The navy is still there, as is a significant ship-building industry.  We learned that Italy has several major shipbuilding centers, and that the majority of modern cruise ships are built in the country.  We drove past the larger building port, just outside Venice, a couple days earlier, and saw at least four mega-cruise liners under construction.

Looking Back at Montecatini As We Drove Away for the Day

As we approached the city, traffic stopped.  We sat and sat and sat, until we slowly started to inch forward.  We were to pick up our local guide for Cinque Terre in Spezia, but Johnny -- who had been on a flurry of phone calls -- advised that a major section of the coastal highway had washed away in the previous day's storm, so all traffic was being diverted into the city's downtown, which was the cause of our delay. We finally made it to the city center, where we picked up our guide, who was quite the character.  He was probably my favorite local guide of our entire trip.  

Vespa, Anyone?  Pick Your Color

Spezia

The bus lead us through the city, and then we snaked our way back up the coastal range, until we reached a much smaller road hugging the crest.  He learned the history of the villages, which had been isolated for centuries, even from each other.  He told several stories of how footpaths developed over time, so "young lovers" could get from one town to the next.   There was a real concern about too much in-breeding, so people were encouraged to walk to neighboring towns to find love.  We also learned that the numbers of daily visitors are capped, particularly those arriving by bus, with only three allowed per day.  We made a brief stop to check in with the park rangers, who -- we were told -- collected the "significant" fee for our visit.  We then drove down a very narrow and steep road, until we reached a small parking lot.  It was actually for the town residents, but there was one small area available for unloading the bus.  We had arrived at the town of Manarola, and in total we would visit three of the five villages.  We proceeded down a rather steep paved pathway into the town.  The houses are built into the hillside, and then steeply terraced all the way down to the sea.  Lots of steps, and even more incredible views, as we slowly reached the village square, just above a small port area.  The whole area had a very Disneyesque feel to it, as its as though Walt built a movie set.  We had some free time to explore on our own, which was a nice break.  The skies were completely clear and it was very pleasant. Only later in the day would the heat pick up.

Approaching the Cinque Terra National Park

Olives!

Walking Down into Manarola

Manarola Train Station is on the Left Side

We were reconvened, we walked through a narrow tunnel had cut through the cliffs, which led us to the train station, which itself essentially hung on the cliffside.  Surprisingly the train arrived exactly on time, and we boarded and made the quick ride (5 minutes) to our next stop, the village of Vernazza.  We skipped a village in between -- Corniglia -- as it required going down, and then back up, about 300 steps.  Vernazza was slightly larger than Manarola, and even more picturesque.  Here, the entire fleet of small fishing boats had been moved into the city square during the previous day's storms, to keep them very being bashed along the rocky shore.  Here, too, we had free time to explore on our own, and I can't even begin to count how many pictures the two of us took between us.

Vernazza

Vernazza -- Boats Had Been Put in City Square During the Previous Day's Storms

Our On-Time Italian Trains

Again we met and boarded another on-time train (who knew?!) and made the very short trip to our final stop, Monterosso.  This was the largest village by far, but that is an entirely relative term for Cinque Terra.  It is the only village with a large, sandy beach.  As such, lots of Italians train in the for day, with large umbrella-filled beaches sitting directly below the railroad station.  By now it was early afternoon and the sun was beating down.  We walked the length of the strand area and then walked through another narrow tunnel to reach the actual town, which has a much smaller beach area and smallish fishing dock.  Here we encountered crowds, and the narrow streets were packed with tourists.  As the bigger town, too, we actually had to dodge quite a few vans and small trucks that were making deliveries.  The streets were incredibly narrow and several times we had to back up considerably to make way.

Monterosso

We found an outside cafe and had a lovely seafood and pasta lunch, and a couple of spritzes to cool off.  Shopping here was good, if not touristy, but we made a couple of nice purchases before we retraced our steps and met up again at the train station.  From here we continued north on the train, out of the Cinque Terre National Park, to the small (and not very attractive) city of Levanto, where our bus picked us up for the two-hour ride back to Montecatini.  Everyone was tired and it was a rather quiet ride back.  We did all perk up, however, when we drove past the town of Carrara, of marble fame.  We'd driven past in the morning, but the mountains towering over the city, from where the marble is cut, were completely covered in clouds.  We could now see the mines clearly, and the exposed marble made the mountains look at though they were covered in snow. Along the highway, too, we passed dozens of large warehouses with countless marble slabs lined up, awaiting shipment around the world.

Lunch in Monterosso

I Needed This!

Pedestrian Tunnel Linking Monterosso Strand from the Town

Mountains Above Carrara -- the White are Marble Quarries

Carrara Marble Awaiting Shipment

The clouds we had in Tuscany in the morning were long gone when we returned to our hotel, and it was a very pleasant evening.  I had made reservations for us this night, at yet another Michelin-recommended restaurant.  We took a hour-or-so stroll through the town, which we had yet to explore, and found a beautiful and very extensive city park. Within the park were many of the former grand spa hotels, most of which are now abandoned, though several have been converted into event places, a museum, and at least one non-spa hotel.  One of them was completely redone into a beautiful outdoor concert venue, which was hosting an opera later this night.  As we walked by the ticket booth, we saw a poster which noted that Andrea Bocelli had sung there the night BEFORE we arrived.  

One of the Many Abandoned Spa Hotels in Montecatini

Terme Tettuccio, Outdoor Event Palace (we JUST missed Andrea Bocelli)

We got to our restaurant right as it opened, at 7:30pm.  It was a beautiful dining room within an elegant hotel and, like at our dinner in Venice, we had the place to ourselves for at least an hour.  Our meals were outstanding, as was the service.  A very elegant, impeccably dressed elderly Italian woman came up to check on us mid-way through our meal.  We learned that she is the fourth generation of her family to run the hotel.  She was born in the hotel, has been living on the top floor her entire life, and that her oldest son is now the fifth generation, and he runs the restaurant.  

Our Fancy Dinner in Montecatini, at La Pecora Nera (the Black Sheep)

Our meal was drawn out, but luckily it was only a couple-minute walk back to the hotel, which was welcome, as it had been a very long day.  We kept ourselves awake long enough to call home this night, speaking with Anna, as well as Jane and Dean.  It wasn't long, though, until we were both gone to the world for the night.