October 24, 2011
Today, we make our second stop in the port of Livorno. Again, I have arranged a tour thru Connrct2Italy, but this time to Cinque Terra.
Cinque Terra (The Five Lands) is a short piece. of coastline just outside Tuscany. The five villages and the surrounding hillsides are all part of the Cinque Terra National Park and is a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
Our tour begins in Riomaggiore (1st town). Once parked at the top of the village we started winding down walking through its houses, which cluster both sides of the steep valley. The walk down ends at the ancient marina that is still intact as it was 1000 years ago and is one of the most attractive corners of Cinque Terra. As Charlie planned….we started with a glass of wine and plan to have a glass in each village.
Next, we head on to the famous “Via dell’Amore” (Walkway of Love) a romantic, easy and flat trail carved along the cliffs that offers spectacular views over the coastline, and connects Riomaggiore to Manarola (2nd town).
We walked quickly thru Manorola on our way to the harbor to catch the ferry to the 4th town Vernazza. Again…a quick glass of wine!!
We were very fortunate that the ferry was running today. It is a really neat view of the coastline from the water. Much better than taking the train.
Vernazza, with it’s brightly colored houses, is perhaps the most colorful of the 5 towns. Charlie and Delia walked up to the 11th century castle. Called “Belforte” for centuries because of the warning cries of the sentries, this fortification was used to repel pirate attacks. We also spent some time walking the cobbled main street with it’s little shops. We also had a great lunch. Caroline ordered what she thought was Fish Soup…look at what she got!!Here we meet up with our quide and drive to Corniglia.
Corniglia (3rd town) is the only one of the Cinque Terra that is not directly on the water. This town is considered the most ancient and very quaint.
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