Genoa pictures

Genoa is a huge seaport and we can see much of the harbor from our hotel room. Last night (Saturday) we had dinner at the hotel's roof top restaurant and watched as six different cruise ships came into the harbor and negotiated their moorings for the night. Each of these ships accommodate thousands of travelers who, apparently, will make their way around Genoa today. We also saw three ships depart the harbor earlier. I guess the economy isn't bothering these folks. Hopefully, you can see the boats in this picture that are just beyond the train station where we arrived yesterday. Once again, you advised to click on the picture or "select" to see a larger version of the picture(s).

On to Genoa

It took us about two hours to get to Genoa from Manarola on the train. Fortunately, our hotel was across the street from the train station. Once again, we got lucky and have a very classy hotel for about 100€ per night. We strolled about the streets of "old" Genoa and took in the architecture of this very old seaport town that is the Capital of the Ligurian Region. Genoa has always been the political and financial center for the region. It is not as popular with the tourists as Milan, Rome, Florence or Venice. Lots of big bank buildings currently occupying what were palaces of the well-to-do and assorted governmental buildings reflecting the Baroque style of architecture. We visited one Catholic church that was very Baroque with marble and gold everywhere. It reminded me of St.Peter's in the Vatican. Because there were no pews ther are a few pictures I took that reminded me of an Islamist Mosque. See here:


Here are some more pictures from our walk around town.









This is the view from our hotel window:


And this is the hotel lobby:

Friday: Cave de Marmo

On our last full day in the Cinque Terra/ Ligourian Region it was Debbie's interest to visit the caves of Carrera where Michaelangello went to select his marble for his statues and sculptures. Since the Roman times when slaves cut the marble and rolled huge stones down the mountains to build the Roman Forum and Michelangelo used a block of the marble to carve his David, the mines have been a rich resource for generations. HOWEVER, Debbie's interest is apparently not shared by throngs of tourists. Yes, there are caves. Lots of caves and lots of mines up in the Italian Alps. We were little prepared to take the trains and buses that were required to make our way up into the mountains to "visit" the Carrera mines and take a tour as advertised in some of the travelers' guides. For starters, everyone wanted to know (in Italian) WHERE we wanted to go. That seemed like a reasonable question and we tried to explain that we wanted to see THE Carrera marble mine. It turns out there are thousands of mines and saying we wanted to see the marble mines was like saying we wanted to see New York City. The mines and the mountains are hardly something one "visits"!



With the help of 3 Italian men and a Japanese lady that spoke English and Italian we were directed toward an 8-passenger bus that took us up a one-lane road to a village with a population of 300. The views were good but, of course, at a distance because there are so #*@;% BIG!



It turned out the reason why they recommended this village is because it is very, very popular with the Italians for the special way they prepare and serve lard for the pigs. There were pig signs everywhere and, apparently, the EU has tried to shut them down for violating food processing protocols. However, they just pay the fines and keep on serving this delicacy to the many folks that flock up here every weekend.


We were rather discouraged after it took us three hours to get somewhere that really wasn't our final destination. The bus down operates irregularly and we were stuck up there for two hours. The marble "museum" was closed along with the Tourist Information Office in town. We headed back to Manarola for our final family dinner together before taking separate paths tomorrow out of the Cinque Terra.

Our Vineyard Walk

Looking down!

August 4

This morning the four senior members of our traveling party walked the Cinque Terra trail from our town to Riomaggiori. This particular trail is the easiest of the four and is called the Via dell' Amore. The walk provides visitors with a safe, relatively flat course above the craggy seaside and, like everything else around here, is very beautiful and provides many photo ops.











We had lunch reservations today at the most exclusive restaurant in Manarola, TrattoriaBilly's. We had to climb stairs and slopes to this exclusive venue about 450' above the village square. There is only seating for 14 patrons on the patio that juts out from the side of a mountain. We accepted the waiter's recommendation of appetizers, pasta and fish which included 10 different small plates of appetizers featuring fish caught locally and probably this morning. There were two large plates of two different pastas for the seven of us and he showed us the two large fresh fish they were about to throw on the grill for our main course. It was as diverse and fresh a fish meal that most of us have ever participated in. The whole eating event took two hours.









Following lunch we took the recommended "vineyard" path that was carved into the mountain side about 750' above the town. While some of the vineyards go up to heights over 1000' above sea level we got the idea as we carefully made our way toward the sea on paths that have served the residents as they worked these vineyards for hundreds and hundreds of years. All of the labor has been done by hand as the villagers planted, tended and harvested the grapes for wine and the fresh vegetables to go with the fresh fish from the sea.

I'll post the pictures in the next section.

For us it was a field trip up in the clouds.

5 Towns

We have visited two of the five towns (Riomaggiori and Monterosso) and are staying in Manarola. This evening we are headed to Corniglia to check out the stores and the town's most prominent features. Like most of the towns, Corniglia is built into the hills/mountains on craggy cliffs that ascend sharply from sea level. Visitors exit from the train and must take a crooked path that includes 400 steps up to the main piazza. While the circuitous path that we take each day up and down from our villa AKA "crow's nest" or "lookout" is not 400 steps, the series of stairways and walkways ascends at least that high. We try very hard not to leave anything behind when we descend for activities. However, we are likely to go up and down at least three times a day. Watching the old Italian folks make their way down in the morning to the markets and toting their purchases up the sloped walkways must lead to long living for them.



After we cruised around Corniglia we boarded the train for the short ride to the 5th town - Vernazza - for dinner with the three younger members of our family.




SPECIAL NOTE TO OUR BLOG READERS!!!!!!
If you "click", "tap" or "select" any of the little pictures included on the blog you will find they open for a better and bigger view.


Since our arrival in Italy we have been celebrating Ann's retirement from teaching. Tonight Ann & Skip had the joy of celebrating 37 years of marriage tonight by having dinner with their children and us in Vernazzo, Italy. The breezes were gentle and pleasant off the sea as we sat sea side and enjoyed another awesome meal featuring some of the fresh, locally-caught fish.



It was a great, great day!

Sailing pictures

Big day on the Ligourian Sea

Our travel location within the Cinque Terra resides on the Ligurian Sea which is a body of water that is part of the larger Mediterranean Sea. Liguria is one of the Regions of a unified Italy south and west of the Italian Alps. The mountain ranges that hug the coast drop down precipitously to the warm waters below and serve as the destination point for so many Italians during their vacation month of August. The Region's coastline includes the Cinque Terra and La Spezia on the south up through and beyond Genoa to the north. It is much larger than I realized and extends up north and west to the border of France. Quite frankly there is enough in the Region to keep a visitor occupied for weeks or months.

Today, August 2, we kick our visit to the "FiveTown" region into high gear by setting sail on the Ligorian Sea. Skip Harsy has made the arrangements for the 7 of us to board a 65' sailing vessel and cruise down south the the harbor of La Spezia and disembark for lunch in the gorgeous seaside town of Portovere. Once again, sun-tanned bathers stretch out their towels on the rocks to expose their bodies to the baking rays of the sun. It is hard to tell if there is widespread concern over the damaging effects of the sun's rays since, frankly, there is such widespread exposure of their bodies with relatively scant attention to bathing suits. Pontevere sits on the very tip of the "Bay of Poets" (La Spezia) where Shelley and Keats used the beautiful, natural sites of this area to parse some of their more beautiful poetry.

Within this post I will try to include some pictures of our 10hour sailing adventure south to La Spezia and then back north along the coastline past Manarola to a secluded beach that included nude sunbathers. While we didn't drop anchor too close to the bathers we did have the opportunity to swim off the back of the boat in the beautiful blue waters that were sufficiently salty that buoyancy was hardly a problem. We were 30' above the sea floor and, yet, we could see the bottom along with the fish that swam by our feet. It was quite idyllic!

Because the blog doesn't allow for very big photos I will simply use a second post to include some of the many beautiful pictures I took along the way. No nude sunbathing pictures will be included!

Location:Manarola

Day 7

Today Debbie and I took the local train back to La Spezia to get the microchip card for my iPad renewed so I can continue to blog. There is very limited cellular service and Wi-Fi in this remote location. Having succeeded we returned to the train terminal and headed north to the furthest north in the Cinque Terra - Monterrosa. This was a significant departure from the sleepy fishing town of Manarola where we are staying. I didn't have my camera so we couldn't capture the resort atmosphere of this town. We had another beautiful lunch in a little restaurant there and watched them use hand labor to push hand carts filled with fresh-caught anchovies. These are locally caught along with every shell fish you can think of. We met up the the Harsy crew and had a beautiful dinner that included fresh mussels, lobster, gnocchi in pesto sauce, etc. Few pictures today so I will include a night photo I took of our town at night.

Day 5 & 6 (July 31 and August 1)

Now that we have settled into our new digs it is probably important to clarify where we are and why. It was Ann's choice (for her retirement) to spend a week in a rather remote but beautiful location that promised peaceful, beautiful surroundings where, for the most part, the sound of the sea was the background music for her time with family. The good news is that our choice of location meets and exceeds her expectations!



The trips to Rome and Florence was filled with history, culture, sculpture and the arts. On the other hand, the Cinque Terre is one of the most uncontaminated areas on the Mediterranean Sea. Five miles of rocky coast among two promontories, thousands of miles of dry-laid stone walls, five small towns castled up on stone spurs in minuscule creeks. For their history and their position, the Cinque Terre have not suffered a massive expansion. The vineyards, typical of this area, have contributed to create a unique landscape with dry-laid stone walls, winding paths, enchanting beaches between cliffs and clear waters.



The five towns of the Cinque Terra offer beautiful footpaths with breath-taking view, churches, oratories and old castles, diving, food and wines of first quality. As part of the Mediterranean Sea, the water lapping against the rocks reminds me of the Caribbean. The waters are warm, crystal clear and varying shades of turquoise. Riomaggiore, Corniglia, Manarola, Vernazza and Monterosso are the five villages that form the Cinque Terra. We are staying in the sleepy, quiet fishing village of Manarola which is transformed during the summer to accept the crush of tourists seeking the sun and the water. The fishing boats are stored on the streets during the summer months and the restaurants with their fresh vegetables and fish are filled with happy travelers. While Rome and Florence provided a glimpse into really good Italian food, the offerings in the towns of Cinque Terra offer choices that are 4Star in every way! There is no bad Italian wine and the experience here is different in so many ways from the big cities. Besides the food it is clear we are with real Italians. Everything is in Italian and the potential of finding anyone who speaks anything else is very limited.



While the views and the beauty of our town is beyond the scope of any camera, the corresponding challenges of walking are something to be managed with lots or energy and perseverance. Upon arriving on the train we had to schlepping our luggage up ramps and stairs that ascended hundreds of feet without respite. Every time we go out to eat or travel it is an easy 10 minute walk down and an arduous 15 minute return trip. Almost everything is straight up!



There are trails to hike between the towns along with a boat that shuttles folks between towns. It boards below our windows. The primary means of getting back and forth between towns is the train. It is inexpensive and convenient.

Day 5 Florence to Pisa to La Spezia to Manarola

We headed to the Museum Bargello this morning. However, we had to stop and buy a leather purse along the way. By way of background information, Debbie was the first in line at the Apple Store on July 22 when Apple made available their upgraded Mac Air. However, they didn't have the right bag for her to carry it on our international journeys. Thus, the need to go to Florence where they have beautiful Italian leather bags. Here she is sporting her new REAL ITALIAN LEATHER bag!







The day prior she purchased the companion earrings to the ring we purchased last year in Prague. So far she is faring well.






Our visit to the museum was a good choice given the limited time we had before leaving on the 1:00pm train to La Spezia via Pisa (a train stop on the way). To get to any of the small towns in the Cinque Terra, you have to get to La Spezia and board the local train to any of the five towns along the western Italian coastline.

While visiting the Bargello Museum we were, once again, struck by the breadth of art work produced during the Renaissance by young artists like Brunelleschi, Donotella, Botticelli, Leonardo de Vinci, Titian, Michelangelo, Giotto and many others. The Medici's can be given a lot of credit for providing the financial resources to support the work of these artists. Of course, the finished products belonged to the sponsors and we got but a glimpse of the vast holdings of this family. Fortunately, much of the work has been preserved for generations of appreciative visitors like us to view and experience.

We met up with the 4 Harsys in Pisa where they had connected with Peter Harsy who had traveled from Chicago via Paris to Pisa. With our group now complete we all now boarded the train from Pisa to La Spezia. When we disembarked at our destination, I was picking up our bags on the platform and realized I had left behind (on the train) the new leather bag with my iPad and wallet with 400Euros, all my credit cards, my debit card , etc. I dashed back on to see several passengers staring at the bag - the same one they saw me using my iPad. I grabbed it as the whistle blew to close the doors and start the train. The doors closed on me and I UHSD to force them open while our group just stared in thinking "what the Hell is Bill doing?". To say the least, the thought of. Going on to the next station and making my way back was a lot less troublesome than g good bye to Deb's new bag, all our money and sources of money and my precious IPad.

Our arrival in Manarola was magical! Coming through the tunnels carved through the mountains (for the trains) we were greeted with views that were out of this world. If you saw the movie, Mama Mia, you may recall some of the scenes with the water crashing on the rocks and the sun setting in the west. This is the real Italian Riviera!

Our villa opens out on to the water below (150' ?) and after the tough climb up to our new home everyone set to making a pasta dinner with salad and wine with the setting sun on our terrace.