Off to Corniglia

Charmelle & I went down to the station and planned to go to La Spezia and then stop at Riomaggiore and then home. However, our train was delayed 40 minutes, so we went to Corniglia, which is the next town up.
I guess I should explain Cinque Terre a little. There are 5 villages along the shore of the Ligurian Sea. The villages are connected via trains and trails. With Charmelle on crutches trains are the best option. Going from north to south the towns go in this order:

Monterosso: A big beach town and very tourist focused.
Vernazza: Slightly smaller town and has lots of shops. Just suffered huge mud slides this spring.
Corniglia: Sits high atop the hill above the train and the water. Great little restaurants and views.
Manarola: The city is build into the hill side and seems to rise up from the sea.
Riomaggiore: The least tourist focused town with murals and a little more of an outdoor focus, kayak and bike rentals, etc.

We were really happy to see there is a shuttle that will take you up the very steep hill to town from the train station. €1 each was worth every penny. I wish they had this in Manarola. It would make Charmelle's life a lot easier.
We had more great views of the sea and the vineyards. Then we wandered up into the narrow alley filled with restaurants and a few shops. What a wonderful day. We made it out to a lookout for a photo op, and then headed back in for lunch. Manarola is between our heads.




We stopped into a little place thinking we would have a starter (appetizer) there, then continue down to another for another course, but we were happy and full after our starter. We had an anchovy medley. They are caught fresh each day and prepared in ways that would make all of us that are used to really salty canned fish rethink them. These were unbelievable. We enjoyed them with fresh bread and Charmelle had an Italian beer.




The doors of Corniglia caught my eye. So for some reason, I started taking pictures of some of them. Here are a few that I just found interesting.

Our first Italian meal

Even though the trip down to the marina meant another trip back up to our apartment, it was worth every step. Even Charmelle felt that way and she was working hard up and down on crutches. From upper left and going clock-wise, here is what we ordered.

Charmelle and I shared our dishes, she wanted pasta so we thought we should go for something that was not pasta for mine. So I went with the mixed grilled fish. I'm not sure what species the actual fish was, I think it might have been red fish, but I'm not sure. All that really mattered was it was yummy. Then there was octopus. Yes, fresh octopus on the grill is a buttery delight. Then the were prawns done with some different spices and finally a lobster tail. Fantastic treat.

Charmelle went with black linguini with squid ink (I know sounds a bit scary, but was great)! It also had some fresh clams. There was a light garlic and olive oil sauce. It was excellent.

JJ had a traditional pasta with red sauce that was outstanding. Simple, fresh, and wonder are words that come to mind. Jo had a pesto dish that ruined any future pesto dishes. All of us fell in love with it and we're trying to figure out what we needed to do to make pesto this good. The answer is simple, move to Cinque Terre!

Of course we also enjoyed a couple of bottles of fine local wine. One red and one white and they we a hit too. All we can do now is think about tomorrow's dinner!

Holy cow...now this is living!

Manarola is amazing! It is everything I had imagined it would be and then some. Narrow roads through a small village of tall buildings with balconies of flowers and laundry hanging out to dry.

Manarola is carved layers into the hillside. Of course this means a lot of up and down steep roads and stair cases for all of us, but it's worth it. This is a magical place.


Our lodging is a slight step up from Walter's. We have an apartment here. 3 bedrooms, kitchen, 2 balconies, and a private terrace. We are nearly the highest terrace in Manarola. The views are unbelievable. The first photo is the view from our terrace

The apartment itself is quite remarkable. It has beautiful art on every wall. Even our laundry room is decorated and regionally inspire art. I've added a few photos of the apartment to give you an idea.

Breaking the law

Evidently, something was lost in translation. We got to Monterosso and needed to change trains for a short trip into Manarola. Jo grabbed tickets from the ticket window and off we went to wait for the train.

We got our seats and started down the tracks. The conductor came to check our tickets and that's when things got a little interesting. Our 2€ each train tickets were not validated. One would think the teller would see us with our bags, buying tickets to a destination and validate them. Maybe at least tell us we need to validate them.

So guess how much the fine is for not validating your 2€ ticket? Try 50€, each! The conductor took some pity on us and voided our ticket and let us buy tickets from him. So it was only another 10€.

Hello Italy!

It was an early morning as we walked down to the cable car at 6:15. Then a short bus ride and a lot of trains, but we made it. All-in-all, it was a good day of travel. Things were on time and we didn't have any big layovers or have to sprint to any trains.

The worst part of the trip was the train to Milan. We had reserved seats and the train was really crowded. We got to our seats and there were people in them. They told us they were not our seats, we needed to move on. Coach Evans stepped up and got things rolling. The family of 3 left as soon as we pulled tickets out and called their bluff, but there was another woman that was not having any part of us sitting there or her moving. Eventually, she saw the light and moved on. I think the armed transit police officer coming down the aisle helped. Then JJ decided to stick her calf into the electrical socket while getting into her seat. In the US this would sting a little, but here, they run 240 and that seriously hurts! Poor JJ, at least she can laugh about it now.

Walter's

I've mentioned Walter's a few times and thought I'd give you a little info about it. Walter is 88 and still does all the breakfast and dinner cooking for his guests. Tim is the "front man." Tim is from the UK and an absolute joy. Not that Walter isn't nice, he is just a guy that stays in the background and doesn't say a whole lot.

Walter's sits at the top of Gimmelwald. There are two ways to get there from the cable car: a road (about 15-18 minutes) or a path/stairs (about 5-10 minutes). Most of the time we took the road. It was a lot easier for Charmelle. Here is are two photos on the trail from about the middle, looking up and looking down.





The rooms at Walter's are small, but work fine. We have a community restroom on each floor, but a shower in each room. 5 minutes of hot water cost 1 franc. According to Tim, this was to make sure everyone had hot water for their shower. It's really no big deal for me, but Charmelle liked 10 minutes. We definitely made ourselves at home, as you can see in the photos below. The view every morning made this quiet little lodge seem like a 4-5 start villa.

Max and the Angry Birds

I had one of the most enjoyable times last night. First, Max, the son of the Germany family staying at Walter's, has been very shy of the 4 days we've been here. His dad speaks pretty good English, and we've all been chatting with them. Max, however, has just been a typical shy 6-year-old. He really likes Angy Birds and did bring down his stuffed Angry Bird toy to show us.

Charmelle had tried to play Angry Birds with him on her iPad, but something wasn't working. So I went up and grabbed my iPad and off he went. He cranked though levels like a master. He even provided color-commentary for us. It was a really cute thing to watch and hear.

I decided to introduce him to Train Yard. For those that have not played it, don't start! Basically, you have to draw train tracks to carry the train or trains to the destination(s). Some times the trains need to join, other times they need to collide so their colors can mix, etc. it's a lot of fun and takes a fair amount of problem solving skills, at least for must of us adults. Then the is Max. I showed him how to draw the tracks and somehow he and I went through the basic "rules" of the game. The amazing part is, I speak maybe 20 words of German and he speaks no English. In any event we did it. He successfully completed tons of levels. It was a lot of fun. He also is a very talented artist for a little guy. He drew us 3 pictures: an iPad with Angry Birds and 2 about Train Yard. Then he asked for our address and email. I can't wait to get a message from him. It was great!

We also had 2 new couples join us at Walter's. One was from Iowa and had completed their first RAGBRAI last year. Believe it or not, they didn't know Bruce Spitzer or any of his family I could name. I told them I was suspect of their actual Iowa roots. She is a 6th grade teacher and he is an IT person. We spend a lot of time talking about Ed Tech things and RAGBRAI. The other couple was from Huston, but originally from Lafayette LA. They were getting ready to move to Washington DC where he will be starting a new position as a graphic artist. It was a lot of fun just drinking wine and chatting.