The Cinque Terre

  Manarola, Italian Riviera, Italy
Saturday, May 16, 2009

What a day.  We were feeling more refreshed this morning after an excellent night's sleep, so after breakfast we decided to head back to the Duomo and see if we could get in without waiting too long in line.  We were in luck.  We showed up about 20 minutes before it was to open and we were close enough that we were able to be in the first group of 300 that they permit inside.  We were expecting a regular sort of church setting with pews running down each side and a central aisle.  Mom thought there also would be several floors to the building because it is so massive.  It is an entirely open space with artwork and sculptures along the side, all marble from Tuscany of course.  
The actual dome is the first dome ever made.  Construction began on the church in 1296 and at the time there was no technology for a dome so they built the church with a hole where their dome would go.  With the great scientists and artists in Italy, surely someone would invent something.  Construction on the dome began in 1420 and it was completed in 1436.  We don't have that kind of patience in this day and age.
 
After the cathedral we decided to go to the Santa Croce Basilica to visit the tombs of Michelangelo and Galileo.  When we arrived, there were already 2 long lines forming and I was a bit concerned about catching a train at a reasonable time so we took some pictures and made our way back to the hotel to pick up our bags.
 
Off to Pisa.  After wandering around a bit looking for a tourist information office that didn't seem to exist where it was supposed to, we decided to just get on the bus and head for the tower without a map.  Our guidebook has served us so well so far.  At the bus stop I was talking with Mom and a girl pointed to us and said to me and saying "They know English!"  A group of 4 20ish girls had tickets to climb the tower at 2pm and it was already 1:30pm and they wanted to know how long it took to get there, and which bus to catch, etc. We found out they were each traveling on their own and met in Rome.  One was from Oklahoma, another from Chicago, etc.  They were young and giggly and not very well prepared but they were together and having a very good time.  They did make it to the tower in time.
 
This may sound blasphemous but when I first glimpsed the tower, I thought it looked kind of silly.  It wasn't as tall as I imagined it would look and it remarkable that it doesn't fall over by the degree of its lean.  We could also see how the church was also leaning (in the opposite direction) a bit but not so noticeably.  We took pictures, walked around the tower, church and baptistery (they sure made huge churches back then) and decided to head back to the station.  I purchased 2 bus tickets at a tabachi (corner store) using Italian.  Mom gave me the high five when I told her I am getting a little more comfortable with the language. It had been cloudy up to that point with a white haze in the sky which is terrible for picture taking so when I looked up and saw some blue, I told Mom "Blue sky!" and she turned to look and when she turned back I was gone.  I had gone to the fountain by the tower to get some better pictures and she was very worried because there were many tourists about but she couldn't see me.  So she just stayed put until I found her again.  On my end of things, I had just assumed she had followed me so when I was finished with pictures and turned around and she wasn't there I wondered where she had gone to.
 
There have been a couple of times when we lost each other: outside the Uffizi Gallery in Florence, in the train station in Florence, and at the tower of Pisa.  We don't like to loose sight of each other because we can't call out to find each other and there are crowds everywhere. 
 
Then it was time to head to the Cinque Terre.  I had been told by the agent when I bought the train ticket in Florence, that after Pisa I should take a train to Sarvana and then switch for the train to Manarola (our destination).  However, when we arrived in Sarvana I was told that there was no train to Manarola from there and we would have to go the Spezia and then change to another train to go to Manarola.  We checked the board and Spezia was listed as being at track #2.  When they announced that the train was arriving "da Spetzia" that didn't sound right to me and I pulled out my handy Italian language guide.  Sure enough it was arriving "from" Spetzia, so I asked an Italian lady and she told me I was at the wrong track.  I quickly ran to the board, realized the mistake (we had checked arrivals instead of departures) made it back and in a few minutes the other train arrived and we hopped on it.  Whew! 
 
After this hassle, and almost leaving at the wrong stop in the Spezia suburbs, the rest of the trip went and the next thing we knew we were passing mountains, glorious views of the sea and very much anticipating a few days of rest with some nice views.
 
Before I go on, I have to explain a little about the area we are in now.  It is called the Cinque Terra and it is known as the Italian Riviera.  There are 5 (cinque) towns along this coastline that hug the mountains which plunge down into the sea.  When hotels or rooms or rent advertise on the internet, it is most common to mention how many stairs it takes.  For example one place I was interested in was 176 stairs in a nearby town.  So, when you figure that 13 stairs is a typical floor in Canada, 176 stairs adds up to quite a few floors if you do the math. 
 
Back to my story now...We followed the directions from the train station.  Go through the tunnel, turn right, walk for 13 minutes with no steps and the hotel is located next to the church.  Mom read this and thought, "Great, no steps, I am tired."  Ha.  We went through the tunnel and turned right and saw the hill.  It's very steep and long.  You should have seen her face!  I took the 2 suitcases and we started the climb.  We climbed for a little more than 13 minutes with rest stops and wow, there was a cute little piazza in front of the church, a big yellow bell tower which gongs every half hour, and the entrance to our hotel was a small sign over the entrance "Charme and Relax".  We walked along a narrow pathway and came to the tiny entrance with a no vacancy sign which opened onto a small terrace with tables and a view over the terraced countryside and sea.   The owner is a young guy who was very welcoming, grabbed our suitcases for us, told us to please sit down and relax a bit and our room would be ready in a few minutes.  So we sat and enjoyed the view as he brought us 2 glasses of wine and a little plate with pickled onions, salami, and vegetables pieces artfully presented.  It was instant relaxation.  After we had finished ogling over the scenery and discussing how we need a nice break he brought us to a simply lovely room with a view.  It has flat screen televisions in every room (including the bathroom), an ipod station, a CD player, water, cookies, bath salts, robes, etc.  He showed us around, told us that breakfast is from 7:30am and goes all morning.  I asked, "When does breakfast end"?  He just shrugged and said "1:00?" as if it was a question.  We can have it on the same terrace or he can bring it to our room.  I asked where we could get some milk and sugar because I would like to make tea for Mom as she relaxes on our balcony.  He said whenever you want tea or coffee, just ask and I will bring it to you "complimentary".  Then I inquired about the internet and he apologized because there was a storm 2 weeks ago and his router blacked out but he showed me his new wireless box and said he would try to get it up and running that night.  But in the meantime I am welcome to come down to the little office and plug in my computer and use it.  When I inquired how much it costs he said, "It is complimentary.  Here, there is no more extra, everything is complimentary".
 
AAaaaaaah.  
 

There is actually a shuttle bus that brings people up here from town every thirty minutes.  When we found out it only runs until 7:30pm, we decided to have dinner up at the local restaurant up behind this hotel (50 steps up then another 36 steps down to the terrace).  Here we are on the terrace of a cosy restaurant overlooking the sea with dolphins cresting and the sun setting, and the music playing, and a friendly atmosphere and the menu is in Italian and English so we don't have to try to decode everything on the menu.  So what does Mom want to order?  Spaghetti with tomato sauce.  I told her that she needed to experiment a little and that I would add the octopus and potato appetizer for her.  After that, she got a little more adventurous (anything to avoid octopus) and chose their signature dish which was a spaghetti with shrimp and pepperoni which she really enjoyed.
 
Time to relax.