We set aside today to do the most challening hike between the Cinque Terra towns - from Vernazza (where we are staying) to Monterosso al Mare. We started out with a quick visit to the church that is across a piazza from our apartment and then went in search of some fruit and pastries for breakfast. Tuesday is the "market" day in Vernazza so we were hoping to catch a glimpse of it as we walked through town. A glimpse is all we got because there were only three vendors - maybe it picks up during the summer season?
We started on our way to Monterosso and after climbing about 50 steps we realized we forgot to buy the mandatory "Cinque Terra Card" - purchase required to use the hiking trails. So we made our way back through town to the train station and then restarted our hike. It turned out to be a perfect day for hiking - blue skies, sunny, and warm. We made our way through the hills on the narrow trail with great views of vineyards, gardens, the sea below us, and the towns of Vernazza and Monterosso. There was a long climb up many steps until the path plateaued a little. Finally we started our steep descent to Monterosso where we passed many people on their way to Vernazza. The steps up from Monterosso seemed to be killer (many people seemed to be suffering) - it looked like the hike back home this afternoon would be a little harder.
Once we were in Monterosso, we spent some time checking out the town which is divided into two parts - the old town and the new town. In the old city we wandered through all the streets and visited a church with the black and white striped marble (when we realized I was dressed to match), an oratory, and then climbed the hill that separates the town to see another church and the town cemetery. From here we went to see the new town where they have a really nice promenade by the beachfront where we had lunch and granites. If we had known it was going to be such a great day we would have brought our swim gear - the water here looked great and it couldn't have hurt to squeeze in some more beach time. After relaxing a while to build up some energy to hike home (Mike took a short nap on a bench and then we had gelato), we started our hike back.It was definitely a harder hike going south - we probably climbed over 1,000 steps today. We saw many people on the trail and even though we were all sweaty, nearly everyone was smiling which made it a better experience. It was amusing to see how different people prepared for these hikes, however. There were people with walking sticks, full backpacks, serious hiking boots, special clothes to wick away sweat, etc. Then there were people just wearing sneakers and jeans, and then there was the other extreme - one woman was carrying a leather jacket, others were wearing dressy/button down shirts.
Back in Vernazza we climbed onto some of the rocks by the harbor and read for a while, dipping our feet in the water. At it was starting to get cooler we walked over to the castle where we checked out the vistas, climbed the tower, and took pictures of the very photogenic town. We walked through the town a couple of times until we found a good place for dinner that is run by twin brothers from Sicily. We had a great meal and one of the best cannolies we've ever had, and then headed back to our apartment.
Gelato Gusto per il Giorno:Mike - Amarena e Cioccolato Bianco
Aviva - Menthe e Stracciatella
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