Cinque Terre

Looking back at Manarola, on the steps up to Corniglia.
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People, stunning scenery, people, great walking, people, simple and exquisite food, oh and more people.....!

We are visiting the Cinque Terre in the "off" season, but if this is the off season then we hate to think what it will be like in the peak of summer!  Having said that, this is one of the most delightful areas we've ever been to and we can fully appreciate why this region has been listed as a World Heritage Site.

...we can fully appreciate why this region has been listed as a World Heritage Site.

Corniglia from the track, Cinque Terre.
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Anyway, early Wednesday morning and we were wheeling our bags down the streets of Venice to the train station to meet our first train at 7.30am.  Four trains and about 8 hours later and we were pulling into Riomaggiore, the southernmost village of the Cinque Terre and our base for the next four days.

Brent and Claire were due to meet up with us there and so our next task was to find each other!  We hadn't arranged a meeting place - they had details of our shared accommodation booking and we figured the village wouldn't be that big......

Vernazza Harbour, Cinque Terre.
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So we haul our bags off the train and set off to find the accommodation office.  Of course this whole area is built on a cliffside, so don't for a minute think that this was going to be a flat stroll.  After a 200m walk through a tunnel from the train station we emerge at the base of an almost vertical climb up the main street of the village.  Thank goodness for wheeled bags is all I can say!  We make it to the accommodation office (about 100m up a 30 degree slope), find out that Brent and Claire have already checked in and so had the lady take us up to the room.  Unfortunately the accommodation office was only about a third of the way to the room we had reserved and it was a reasonably slow hike up the rest of the way, to virtually the top of the village.

Boats in Vernazza Harbour, Cinque Terre.
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We had a two bedroomed apartment booked and we were delighted to see that it appeared Brent and Claire had claimed the bedroom at the top of the apartment, i.e. at the top of a very narrow set of stairs - with the bathroom down on our level!  So, after Dwayne had stopped having a heart attack (Toni had decided to drop her case and go back for it, however Dwayne, being the gentleman that he is (or is that idiot!) carried hers and his the rest of the way....) we headed back down into the village to search out the Rurus.

Riomaggiore - the southernmost village, and our base, Cinque Terre
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When we didn't find them immediately it was a very easy decision to sit at one of the uppermost streetside cafes and have a Coke and Birra (beer) while we kept a lookout for them.  Turned out they had stationed themselves at a bar looking down over the railway station but by the time we got there they had gotten talking to some others and therefore missed us.....  Anyway, not to worry, it wasn't long before they wandered up the hill and found us.

After much catching up, we settled in at the apartment and Dwayne got to sample not only the local birra, but also some of the local red wine and the famous limoncello - a lemon based liqueur.  The combination soon had Toni guiding D to bed and delivering panadol to him for his sore head the next morning.  Needless to say a good night was had by all!

Corniglia - the middle village, Cinque Terre
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The next morning there was to be no mercy for any of the sore heads though.  (Toni had other plans!).  We headed out reasonably early and started the Cinque Terre walk.........to Manarola......to Corniglia.....to Vernazza.....to Monterosso.... i.e. the whole darn thing....

What an experience, and what gorgeous villages.  Will let the photos speak for themselves, as words can't do it justice.

Yesterday (Thursday) we came back by train to our favourite village of the five, Vernazza, and had lunch there and then settled in down by the beach for an afternoon of sunbathing and swimming.  Yes, the temperatures have improved vastly from Venice and we have now started on our tans.....  The water was gorgeous, crystal clear, and the brilliant turquoise colour you read about.

Final dinner with B & C, Vernazza, Cinque Terre
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Today is our last full day in the area and we spent it taking a ferry ride up and down the coast which gives you more great views of the villages.  Spent a couple of hours in Monterosso and then will have dinner with Brent and Claire in Vernazza tonight (where we are now).

Tomorrow morning it's farewell to Brent and Claire and back on the train for our trip down to Roma...