Cinque Terre

Did you hear about the UCI World Cycling Championship? It was hosted by the city next door: Varese, which meant that all streets were closed to general traffic and that there was no way for children to get to school. So Nico was on vacation for a week, and we just had to take the opportunity and get away when all the rest of Italy was not on vacation.


We left early friday to the cinque terre, or the five lands. This five little towns hang precariously from the hills bordering the Ligurian coast. Monterosso, Vernazza, Corniglia, Manarola, and Riomaggiore are a world onto themselves. You can easily arrive by car to Monterosso al mare, and from there you can choose to take the train between the towns, or sail away on one of the many boats that connect this area, but the best way as far as we are concerned is to hike the gorgeous trails by the sea. This is a hiker's paradise, so you better be prepared. The most challenging trails are those connecting Monterosso with Vernazza, and Vernazza with Corniglia. These trails are narrow, steep, challenging, but oh, so beautiful.



The last part of the trail between Manarola and Riomaggiore is a wide, well maintained path, mostly flat, and it is know as Via dell'Amore or Lover's Walk. This twenty minute walk gives you easy access to some of the most romantic views of the Sentiero Azzurro or the Blue Trail. There is a little nook with a modern statue of a couple, and next to it the rail is crowded with locks left there as a promise of everlasting love! I have seen these locks before, but I never understood their meaning until this trip. Next time I am bringing my own to leave at such a privileged place.


I cannot finish this post without talking about the delicious food we had. Superb Troffie with pesto (you know what they say? that the only basil worth eating is that grown with a sea view!), fish, clams, anchovies, etc. My favorite has to be the cinque terre wine, a dry and tangy wine. We loved it. Salute!

Our trip to Camogli

Like a kid with a new toy, I can't get enough of Slide.com. I am going to add my pictures from our latest trip in this post. I like how easy it is to use, and most of all I like the fact that it is user friendly: the only thing you have to do is look!

A little background: We went to Camogli, Liguria on a business trip (Fernando's not mine). Wonderware had an international conference there, and wives and husbands were welcomed to come along.

Nicolas stayed with our friends Maanie and Saadie, and with their daughter Alishya. He had a grand time and so did we. We arrived on Friday as the sun was setting and we spent the night at the nicest hotel in Camogli: Cenobio dei Dogi. Dinner was great and it included some of the region's famous foccacia di fromaggio (delicious) and all kinds of seafood. Next morning we all met at the hotel at 9:30 and walked together to the marina, where we took a boat to San Fruttuoso, Porto Fino and Santa Margherita. It was a beautiful day. In this case I think pictures are better than words, so I will leave it at that.

On Sunday Fernando and I went for a walk, and even though we were not prepared for it, we went from the hills to the beach and back. I did not know what to expect and I was a little apprehensive at first, but Fernando eased me into it. It was easy, it just did not look easy. We are planning our return with Nicolas, since we know he will love it. Anyone else up for a nice hike?