Our luck is holding out, and today was another beautiful day! In Genoa, there was nary a cloud in the sky as we walked to the train station. Prior to making the trek to the station, we stopped by the market to stock up on cheese, bread, and fruits. We also purchased some tooth paste. (Sounds exciting, huh?) But it was exciting! For the last month, Jeremy and I have been sharing a tube of Original flavored Sensodyne. This stuff is terrible! The most interesting part is that the paste is pink, and it has possibly permanently dyed our brushes pink as well.
On the train, we relaxed a bit, read, listened to gaming podcasts (I did), and watched an episode of Survivor (I did). We expected the train to arrive at our destination at 11:40. Around 11:20, we finished eating an early lunch and I was about ¾ of the way through Survivor. The train stopped at a station, and I happened to glance out the window. The sign said “Ra”! This was our stop! We franticly grabbed all of our stuff and ran out of the train basically in the nick of time. After repacking my netbook, we headed to our B&B. The place is nice. We have a kitchen and the necessary tools to cook our own meals. The worst part of the place is that our beds are basically in the common room of the place. The kitchen is a nook next to our beds and the table and the fridge are all in the same room. This will work out just fine if the other guests are courteous. If they are not, the place will be miserable.
Perhaps I will mention a bit about the Cinque Terra. My friend Pierce mentioned this location, and I am glad that he did. The Cinque Terra is a collection of “5 higgledy-piggledy villages – Monterosso, Venazza, Corniglia, Manarola, and Riomaggiore.” These villages are classified as a Unesco World Heritage site, have a protected marine area, and became a national park in 1999. Because of their national park status, they do not have the plethora of souvenir stands and t-shirt stores. Cars and motorcycles are not allowed in the villages, and the only way to get around them is via the train or by the beautiful walking paths that cut along the coast line. We are staying in Riomaggiore.
Today, we decided to take advantage of the Cinque Terra pass and stroll along the paved coastal promenade “Lovers’ Lane.” This walk was lovely and had some outstanding views of the ocean. By this point in the day, the sun had actually warmed the air to the point where our multiple layers of clothing were way too much. We stopped at a W.C. and decided to both hop into the large single person bathroom to change. Well, it turns out that a line had formed by the time we exited. And it may have looked a bit odd for two men to exit the bathroom at the end of lovers’ lane. Oh well.
The Via della Amore exited in Manarola. In Manarola, we took another path to Valastra which had some additional views of the surrounding terraced hills and the ocean. Then we hiked it back to our room and purchased dinner for the next two nights. This rather large purchase included two bags of pasta, pesto sauce (home-made and famous in the area), sausage, ragu sauce, a dessert treat, bread, olives, mozzarella cheese, and parmesan cheese. It’s really nice to have a kitchen. I suppose we are still spending about 9 Euros each for dinner, but we will have some really great dinners!
Tomorrow, we will probably take the train between the different villages and explore what they have to offer. It is Sunday, so we are not entirely sure what will be open.
Update: Dinner last night was awesome! The wine was great, the pesto sauce was the best I have ever had, the torte was perfect, the bread was succulent, and the pasta was great. It is great to have a stove!
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