Five years is a long time to wait to come back to Italy and do something I missed last time.  To be disappointed in it is something else.  The five centuries-old seaside villages of Cinque Terre was our excursion yesterday.

We woke around 5:30 AM and met with our group at 6:45. I bought a takeaway breakfast at a little cafe so we could eat on the bus. We were warm and comfy and the 2 1/2 hour ride was filled with scenic views of small towns, cypress trees and it was all backed by the gorgeous, smoky Apuan Alps.  Mario, our guide, kept us entertained with strange jokes and he sang to us.  He used some strange “sexy” voice when he talked to us which got old really fast but his singing voice wasn’t bad.  Not Dean Martin, but not bad. He called himself Super Mario.  Yikes!

We got our first glimpse of the ocean and the first of the five towns, Monterosso,  that make up the Cinque Terre, a World Heritage Site. It amazes me how the bus drivers maneuver their huge buses through the winding, narrow, steep roads.  The colorful houses and vineyards cling to steep terraces. We came to a large parking lot where we disembarked and walked for about 15 minutes to a lookout where we had time to snap a few pictures and then make our way through a long tunnel to the train station.

Vernazza was our second stop where we had about 40 minutes to see what we could.  I was once again reminded why I hate tours.  It’s all so rushed. This town was a little prettier than the last and the water it overlooked was so clear and blue. We only saw a bit of it as bus loads of people continuously arrive and I felt claustrophobic. Large ferry boats arrive at the pier every few minutes to take waiting passengers from island to island.  We walked a long trail to the water’s edge and boarded the ferry for our trip to island number three, Corniglia. I sat on the back of the boat so was able to take a few photos.  Joey, unfortunately, got seated in the middle near the back and could see nothing. We had 2 1/2 hours to explore here but exploring really means going from tourist shop to tourist shop with restaurants in between. I did get a couple of nice shots of the side streets and we wondered at how people live, work and play on these steep hills with narrow sidewalks.  We had a hard time with five flights of our dreaded stairs in Valencia for one month.

We had a bit of a chuckle when we came across this 24 hour Pharmacy machine.  The first 2 rows held solely condoms and then headache and cold remedies and the last item in the last slot was a pregnancy kit.

It was already a long day but the sun shone brightly so we were thankful for that. Lunch time found us looking for something good to eat but we were getting tired of sandwiches and pizza.  We finally settled on…sandwiches and pizza.  It will be nice to get home and sink my teeth into a juicy hamburger or mac and cheese or bacon and eggs.   After lunch we made our way to the train station once more, crossing from the old town to the new through another long tunnel. A violinist played at the far end of the tunnel and the notes reverberated off the curved walls surrounding us. It was beautiful.

The walk along the ocean was the best part of the day. People swam, children played in the sand, and dogs bounded in the waves looking for balls or twigs that their owners threw for them.   A delicious smell made its way to my nose and I found a tiny shop tucked almost under the stairwell to the train station. A lovely lady offered everything deep friend and I chose french fries that were hot and fresh and served in a paper cone.  I sat on a bench overlooking the water and devoured them. Heaven!

Manarola was our final stop where we had another 40 minutes to souvenir shop. Yay!  We spent most of that time finding a bathroom and lining up for 20 minutes to use it.  Hoards of people waited for the train that would take us back to the bus and that’s when I lost site of Joey.  I knew she would be looking for me as well, and I only hoped that she would get on the train and I’d see her when we got off four stops later. That’s exactly what happened. We met up, took a short walk to the bus and boarded for our 2 1/2 hour ride home.  Joey was having a drink of juice from a bottle when I said something that struck her as being hilarious and with her mouth full of juice, she bent over and spewed it all over herself and her purse.  She spent the next five minutes cleaning it up. At least we had a good laugh for the day. The ride home took us past the  town of Carrara where all of the famous Carrara marble comes from.  From the window, it looked like snow covered mountains but it was the quarry we were looking at. It was a pretty amazing site.

After that, we settled back to enjoy a quiet ride home but we still had to listen to Mario talk and sing at us again.  We were both so happy when we finally arrived  home, had a bite to eat and headed to our welcoming beds.

I’m still not sure what I was expecting from the day.  Perhaps just a few WOW moments that never came.  Looking at pictures of Cinque Terre on the internet made me feel like I had been cheated of all the colors that were portrayed there.  What I got were very muted tones of the bright reds, oranges, and yellows shown on the web pages.  At least I can say I have been there and it all makes for memories.