Today we write this post from a park bench facing the ocean at a train station in Cornglia, one of the 5 lands. It’s very peaceful and although chilly, the sun is shining on us.
Last night Dave came down with a cold so we cooked in our medieval Airbnb and went to bed early. It was very peaceful and relaxing even if the hot water was a little lacking. This morning we got up and decided that because it’s cold an Dave isn’t feeling great that we’d take the train in between the Cinque Terre rather than hike. A very short drive down into La Spezia and we jumped on the regional train that stops at each of the villages. It’s quite well organized, you buy one ticket that’s good all day and you can get on and off in both directions at any of the 5 villages. We decided to take the train to Vernazza, the second to last village and then work our way back.
Leaving La Spezia, the train goes immediately into a long tunnel. Everyone on the train gasped in awe as we exited the tunnel on the Riomaggiore side with the water directly to the side of the track.
It’s a very beautiful and dramatic ride along the coastline. In Vernazza we got off the train and explored the town which is very pretty.
Most of the shops and restaurants were closed for the season, it was nice to have the place mostly to ourselves but it must be fun in the summer too.
After walking around a bit we decided to grab lunch at what looked like the only place open as it is off season called Blue Marlin Di Basso and catering mostly to the workmen doing renovations around town. If they eat there it must be good we figured. We had a seafood antipasto, pesto pasta and a local dish that is made of anchovies and potatoes layered like a lasagna.
It was all quite good and very full we jumped back on the train to Corniglia.
Corniglia sits up on the hill and from the station it’s a bit of a walk. The view is incredible with all of the jumbled wine terraces, olive groves, Cyprus and lemon trees. We ambled around the village a bit and then made our way back to the train station, luckily because there are only two trains left for the day, each an hour apart. All in all a wonderful day in a gorgeous place.
The Duomo has both a museum and the church. We wandered around the museum and looked at the assorted treasures of the church then explored the Duomo itself which is massive and very beautiful inside. The entry fee also includes an elevator ride up to the roof so we walked around the roof and checked out the view too. It’s interesting because we’ve both been in office and apartment buildings taller than the Duomo but for some reason being up on the roof with all the spires and scaffolding gives a sense of vertigo.
This morning we said goodbye to Jeff and Karen who were on their way to Rome, where by the way, the airports were closed this morning due to a freak snow storm that is blanketing Southern Italy! We heard it took them quite a while to make it to the Eternal City. We helped Nate and Christine to the airport as they had graciously agreed to take all of our ski stuff back to California for us. After saying goodbye to them we went back into Milano and picked up our new rental car.
Even after lunch the hotel doors were still closed so Dave waited with the bags while Sara went to get an Italian SIM card. Finally we were able to get ahold of the hotel owner to come and let us in because a very nice lady from the building offered Dave to call him directly. Once settled we set out to explore the historic center of Genova which reminds us of Porto, Portugual, the old quarter of Barcelona and a little bit of Venice and Naples. It’s really beautiful with pink and yellow palazzos squeezed in tight around tiny piazzas and also a little gritty which makes it interesting. Everyone we’ve met here was at first a little standoffish but then once engaged, very lovely and extremely welcoming.
Jeff, Sara, and Dave woke up and were all nervously excited about our day ahead. We got dressed and under Dave’s direction showed up to our first lift 30 minutes early. We took the funicular up followed by two chairs. Once we got to the top, we had a short hike to reach the area where the helicopter picks us up. We met our guide Loris and he took all of our skis and tied them in to a bundle. As the helicopter arrived our skis were placed in the rack and we all jumped aboard. Within seconds, the helicopter was off. As we pulled away, the force of acceleration and turning was quite intense and we all looked at each other in excitement. The video yesterday doesn’t really do justice to how amazing the view was, weaving in and out of the peaks just below 14K feet. Once we got to the top, we quickly unloaded and dropped to the ground to allow for the helicopter to take off. The whole process was quite organized with the helicopter only on the ground for pickup/drop off for no longer than 15 seconds. The ride was so short we thought there might have been a mix up and that we weren’t actually going to drop down into Zermatt but we were actually in the right place, high up along a ridge line separating Italy and Switzerland.
