Cinque Terra Soaking Wet

Yesterday we got up bright and early and headed out on a bus tour to the Cinque Terra, five small seaside villages that you can walk between. On the ride out there we passed some mountains that looked like they had snow on them but it was marble. They have been mining marble from those mountains since the Romans arrived. We arrived in the first seaside town, Riomaggiore, around 10:00 and it started to rain. We took a quick tour of the town and then headed out on the trail to the second town, Manarola, on a path they call lovers lane. This path was 1 km long and was through the cliffs along the Mediterranean sea. We were able to see the terracing that has been created to grow grapes, olives and fruit, in particular lemons for the region. From Manarola we headed out to Corniglia but it was raining so hard they had to close the trail in fear that someone might fall down the cliff into the sea. In Corniglia we hiked up 382 steps from the train station to reach the town above the sea. We also had lunch here which consisted of a seafood antipasto platter that had pickled anchovies, seafood salad with octopus, squid and shrimp, deep fried shrimp and an octopus potato salad. Then for lunch we had homemade pesto with beans and potatoes, it was all really good. From Corniglia to Vernazza we had to take the train again as it was still raining. In Vernazza we had the best gelato on our trip so far made from the lemons of the region. We also hiked to the top of a tower and had a great view of the town. At this point the trains were either cancelled or running very behind because of the rain, so we took a sea boat to the fifth town, Monterosso. In Monterossa we hiked up another large amount of stairs to view the town and at this point the sun had come out and it was beautiful. Darren and Ben (a kiwi on our tour) did a wine tasting of five white wines, one from each town. The region produces 3 varieties of grapes that all make white wine all with the same blend of the varieties 20% Basco, 20% Vermentius, and 60% Albarola. The five all looked different and sure tasted different. Darren will attest that they were not very good at all! But the wine we had at lunch which was also a local wine was fantastic. From here we hopped back on the train and rode it back to the first town where we got on our bus and slept the whole two hours back to Florence. We ordered take-out pizza and drinks, went back to the room and ate and promptly fell back asleep. I guess we had a full day as far as our bodies were concerned. Today we are renting a car and heading off to Grotti, 12 km south of Siena for a two night stay at a farm cottage. We might be off-line during that time but will catch up with you all when we get to Rome. Happy Mothers Day!