Levanto to Vernazza
What a day!!! We started the day with a superb breakfast that consisted of homemade focaccia bread with kiwi jelly, yogurt, cheese and of course a cup of good Italian coffee. We met a warm and friendly family that came from Utah to Italy, with their son and his friend. They were staying in the room right next to ours and last night we knocked on their door to say hello. I bet that is the first time someone knocked on the door of a Mormon's home to talk to them! All joking aside both Graziella and I felt very comfortable talking with both Gordon, Gaylene and their family.
After filling our bellies, we headed out on our trek towards Vernazza via Monterosso al Mare. These are the first two seaside villages that are in Cinque Terre (Five Lands) located on the Italian Riviera. Graziella said that she wanted to hike to these towns so I thought " Hey, How hard can that be?" Well 12 hours, 27Kms and elevation gain of just over 300M later, it was pretty hard! Here is what the Garmin said we did.
All that work was well worth it! We had a great time and met some really nice people along the way. One person that comes to mind is Carolyn. We met her along the path at a junction going to a little abandoned church and observation point. She had come to Italy to pick up a new BMW that she had just purchased. We continued the rest of our trip to Monterosso with her company. It is funny how you can feel like you have been friends with someone for a long time, even thought you just met them a half hour ago.
Carolyn
Here we are renewing our Wedding Vows
Notice who's Gelato is almost all eaten!
Lemons are very abundant in Monterosso
Hey, while your in Levanto, go to Hotel Stella D'italia. Ask for a guy named Vinni. He will give you a package and a roll of duct tape. Wink Wink.
ReplyDeleteCinque Terre is one of my favourite spots! Photos look so familiar :). The area is known for its Pesto and limocino and I would recommended bringing some pesto home. Well worth it.
ReplyDeleteThanks Mark. I picked it up for you. He told me to put coffee grounds in my underwear for some reason???
ReplyDeleteJoshua, I think Mom is in heaven. She loves 5 Terre. We decided that we liked Cornigla the best. We were talking to some people as they were getting on the bus to go to the village and I said in a joking way that Mom was making me go up the 400 step to get there. They had luggage so we joke about them taking the stairs. Well we were almost at the top and Mom spotted the van coming up the hill, so we both ran and met the van at the top, at the same time. We saw the couple as they got out of the van. I know it wuld be funnier if you were there and I also had a half bottle of Levanto wine for supper.