If it's Tuesday...we must be in the Cinque Terra (Five Lands)



Atlas holding back the mountainside so the village will not fall into the sea

We left Firenze for Cinque Terra, which is named for the five fishing villages clinging to the steep cliffs that descend to the Mediterranean on the Northwest edge of Italy.  Today was our practice with getting to the train station, getting on the train and knowing where we were when we got off so we could do it on our own tomorrow.  We all climbed aboard the train that links the five villages and rode it to the furthest northern village, Monterosso, which has a port filled with beach-goers, cayaks (that's the Italian spelling!), and fishing boats.  After eating a panini (what else?) and spending a couple of hours walking the village streets and beach, we took the train to Riomaggiore and walked Via dell'Amore (Lovers Lane), which is a path skirting the cliffs.  And I had the requisite gelato and Denna had her cappuccino to complete our food groups for the day.

Our hotel is very far from the Mediterranean and we traveled over an hour to an inland chateau at an elevation of about 2900', which was a real surprise to our group.  But it sure is nice to have no Vespas, cars or trains under our windows - just a lot of fresh, cool air.  We had a 5 course homemade Italian meal that was so good that we asked to eat here again tomorrow night.  And we're actually able to access the free internet (who woulda thunk it!) and drink wine while we sit in the bar.

 Tomorrow we go back to Cinque Terra and we plan on hiking to all 5 villages - wish us luck!