Today was a full day in Cinque Terre, and we had made plans to take the ferry from Monterosso, where we are staying, to Portovenere and work our way back, primarily on land. But it didn’t work out that way. First, we missed the first ferry in Monterosso, so we scooted down the train line, hoping that we would beat the ferry to Riomaggiore. We did, but there was no ferry! Turns out the ferry wasn’t running today - seas were too rough - except directly from Monterosso. Every time we turned around, there was a ferry going by in the distance. (From Vicki: The lessons here are 1) Do not trust Rick Steves, and 2) check with someone in the Information booth before you do anything.) Therefore, we had time to roam, and we did. Riomaggiore was somewhat limited, so we got back on the local train and headed to Corniglia, the highest of the 5 villages and the one without a port.
Once off the train, there is no warning about the 385 steps (according to rumour) that you have to climb to go into the village. Here is the view from part of the way up.
There is no information about having to made said climb, but we should have caught a clue, since this sign was at the bottom of the stairs from the train platform to the village. Our only question was whether or not they had defibrillator paddles waiting.
At the top, our restaurant was waiting. I hoped for a fine meal, and while it started well, with this octopus (pictured below), the rest fell short. In her excitement about liking anchovies, Vicki ordered a salad with them. However, they were salted and not fresh. She now knows that she needs to order only fresh anchovies.
The best thing that the owner did was to come out to talk wine. The one we asked for was not available, so would we want one of the two better local wines at the same price? Turns out he is related to the folks running Buranco vineyards in Monterosso, and he gave us contact information for wine tastings.
We spent part of the afternoon talking politics in a seaside patio with a young, intelligent couple from Leeds, who vacation often in Tuscany. Intelligent because they understand all too well about political leadership who are running amok. However, in our discussion about their embarrassment about Brexit, they noted that the US election took the spotlight off England’s misfortune.
After that pleasant interlude, we decided that the wine tasting opportunity back in Monterosso sounded pretty good, so we again got on the local train and headed back. However, while the map said the vineyard was less than 1000 feet away, that was 1000 feet uphill. The real pathway was about a half mile, through old town and up cobblestone streets. So Vicki left that task to me.
The hiking was worth every moment of wheezing. This place appeared like an oasis in the desert.
There was Italian opera in the background, and they had wines, limoncino (limoncello has to come from a specific area, like champagne), and grappa. I asked for the full tasting.
I sat in the shade and enjoyed every moment.
The wines were delicious.
I was brought a plate of yummy things to try as well. This fried focaccia dough with rosemary was delicious as well.
(From Vicki: Here is what I did, while Dan pressed his luck by climbing uphill some more... I climbed up to our apartment and sat on my ass, drinking hot tea and looking at this:)
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