Traveling with Laura

I’m pretty sure today was the best day of vacation so far. The weather in Cinque Terre has been picture perfect this week. Clear blue skies, 70+ degrees… perfection. So imagine my surprise to wake up this morning (after another 10 hours of sleep!), pull open the curtains, and see cloudy skies. I didn’t let the lack of sun deter me from my plans, though, and the weather forecast showed sun later in the day.

I fueled up for the day and took the 8:42 AM train to Manarola. Yesterday, I bought a 3-day Cinque Terre card which allows unlimited train rides on the Cinque Terre Express train between the villages (otherwise it’s €5 each trip) and access to the paid hiking trails. The trains come through about 3 times per hour and it is maybe 3 to 4 minutes from one village to the next. Once I got to Manarola, I just started wandering around town. I ended up going down Via Birolli to the harbor. Along the road, boats are pulled up just like cars in front of homes and businesses.

I had hoped to stop at Nessun Dorma this afternoon, the Instagram famous bar with it’s picturesque view of Manarola, but alas it is closed on Tuesdays. Instead, I walked to the Punta Bonfiglio, just beyond Nessun Dorma with the same view. My photos don’t really do it justice, but you have Manarola in one direction and then Corniglia, Vernazza, and Monterosso in the other direction.

After my photo stop, I just wandered the streets (similarly steep and staircase-filled to the other villages), took some pictures, and enjoyed just being there. Once I got down to the church, the tour groups had arrived en masse. I took a quick look in the church and then followed the vineyard walk back to Punto Bonfiglio.

While there is a hiking trail to Volastra and the pilgrimage sanctuary of Manarola, I opted for the small shuttle bus, also included in my Cinque Terre card. Volastra is a tiny village, not part of the Cinque Terre villages, nestled in the hills high above Manarola. I stopped at the church, wandered the streets for a few minutes and then stopped at a small cafe for a lemon soda. Italian lemon soda is becoming my drink of choice here.

Since the next shuttle bus down to Manarola didn’t leave until 12:20 and it was only 11:45, I decided my legs could use more of a workout and I walked back to Manarola. The walk involves 1400 steps, but at least I was going downhill. By then, the sun had come out, and I wandered around some of the shops snd then started looking for food. I ended up at Il Porticciolo where I enjoyed a charcuterie platter of Parma ham and pecorino cheese, a basket of bread, and a cocktail with peach vodka and lemon soda. I capped my visit to Manarola off with a gelato from Gelateria 5 Terre and another walk out to Punto Bonfiglio. It’s safe to say I fell in love with Manarola today.

I didn’t leave Manarola until almost 3 o’clock, bound for Riomaggiore. I loved Manarola so much that I knew Riomaggiore probably wouldn’t be the same. And I was right. The town was crowded and didn’t have that special feel that Manarola has. So I looked around for a few minutes, took the obligatory pictures by the harbor, and headed back to Monterosso.

I decided I wanted a nice dinner tonight, so I went to Ristorante Via Venti and ate at an outdoor table along the tiny, hidden alley just one road back from the main road, but a world away. While I was waiting for my food, I watched a woman hanging her laundry out to dry on the third floor across the street. I had a delicious pasta stuffed with pear and cheese with a glass of prosecco and finished it off with a delicate lemon cake with a glass of sciacchetrà, a local sweet wine. I made it back to my room to enjoy the sunset colors and then spent the rest of the night with my balcony door open, listening to the sounds of conversation floating up from the enoteca down on the street below.