June 28 was our day to leave the Lakes and go to the Mediteranian sea. Goodbye Lake Como. Hello Cinque Terra. Those words mean “five lands”,but are commonly thought of as five towns on seven miles of hillside next to the sea.
Trains are a great way to travel. The ride back to Milan hugged the shoreline of Lake Como, providing gorgeous views in between the many short tunnels – for those mountains drop quickly, with precariously steep slopes, into the deep lake. Our express train made only three stops before reaching Milan in less than an hour.
Cinque Terra is on the Ligurian Sea, at the south end of the Riviera di Levante. We had to change trains in Sestri, and our trains got smaller and older the farther we went, demonstrating how remote Cinque Terra is from the big cities, and that is our goal. We had assigned seats on the second train as it took us two-and-a-half hours to get from Milan to to Sestri, and each compartment held six seats. Dave, Kathy, Sue and I had the window and center seats, and our compartment companions were young teenagers – a 16 year old sister, and her 13 year-old brother going to visit their cousins. She was reading English magazines in order to improve their English, and James Joyce to improve her understanding of the world.
We are staying in Vernazza. But I caught a cold, with a sore throat and a cough, and am pretty tired. The Cinque Terra pharmacy man had just what needed to relieve the symptoms! But Monday is a day of rest for me, so I stayed here, in Vernazza, while the others went on to explore the five towns. After sleeping most of the morning, I found a bench and called it home for the afternoon. How lovely to just sit, read, write, and watch the parade of people walk past me: families, tour groups, locals, young adults on their own or in small groups… Then back for another afternoon nap.
The hillsides here are dotted with small homes, and terraced rows of grapes. It’s fun to watch the locals sitting around watching the tourists. This is a lovely place!
Try and eat lunch at La Posada in Corniglia. Eat at the tables across the street with the ocean view.
Thanks! Sue says thank you! She ate lunch there today and raised a glass to toast you for the suggestion!
Thank you for sharing this wonderful places and experience! Continue enjoying “La Dolce Vita”. May God bless you.