** Originally published 26 July 2016
I had mixed emotions arriving in to Italy. Having visited here once before, albeit briefly and only to Rome & Sicily 20 years ago I knew how beautiful this country was and I’d very much been looking forward to exploring & eating my way through much more of it but I also knew that arriving here signaled the half way point of our trip and although it certainly hasn’t felt like time has flown, our first stop in London feels like it was a lifetime ago, I know how quickly it usually goes once you hit that half way hump.
Our first destination in this amazing country was the Cinque Terre, five beautiful old & colorful towns built high on the cliffs on the north west of Italy. I’ve sold this destination hundreds of times and always had amazing feedback from happy clients and I’ve dreamed of getting there myself for as long as I can remember.
We chose Corniglia, the 3rd & the smallest town as our base. My reasons for this was being the 3rd it was in the middle so easy to access the other towns either side and also being the smallest it was not nearly as touristy and allowed us a much more authentic experience. We were not disappointed. As soon as we arrived our host Maria Angela showed us to our room, the most gorgeous and rustic 2 bedroom, self contained villa complete with a private terrace overlooking the cliffs & ocean and a 3 tiered split level garden scattered with tables and chairs under fruit tress and sun beds shaded by the most magnificent display of bougainvillea with its shock of pink flowers, we were in Italian riviera heaven!
Once we were settled we immediately went to explore the tiny streets, lane ways and piazzas and just immersed ourselves in to the sleepy way of life here. We walked the 500 steps down to Corniglia’s only beach, which is possibly another reason it’s not so popular with tourists but it was definitely worth the effort to swim in the the most crystal clear water and to jump off the rocks with the locals. I did discover the hard way though after being bitten by a rather snappy & hungry critter who took a sizable chunk from the back of my leg that the fish here are not quiet as friendly as the locals. Let me tell you too, the biggest problem with having to walk down that many steps to swim is that you must also walk back up them when you’re done and by the time you get to the top you’re so damn hot you wish you were back down there!
During our first Italian dinner which predictably included pizza & spaghetti marinara I looked over at Cenzo and asked if he felt perhaps emotional at all seeing he was, for the very first time in the country of his heritage and I could actually see him process this fact and I heard an audible gulp as quickly as I saw his eyes begin to well. It was only then, by me saying it out loud, that it dawned on him that he was finally in the country that both his parents were born and raised in, if that was his reaction here I can only imagine what he might feel when we get to Sicily, where they’re actually from, at the end of the month.
Apart from the colorful houses perched high on the cliffs the Cinque Terre is probably most known for the walks between each town. The 5 towns are Monterosso, Vernazza, Corniglia, Manarola & Riomaggiore. There is a train that runs all day between them and also as far as Levanto to the north & La Spezia to the south to connect to and from the rest of Italy. Each town is only a 5 to 10 minutes train ride from the next however the walks are a completely different story. The track to Manarola & onward to Riomaggiore are currently mostly closed due to landslides in 2014 so we headed in the opposite direction. We set out at 7.45am to try and avoid the heat but quickly realised it’s already very warm at this hour here. We encountered flat paths, a million steps, steep inclines and rocky downward tracks, some paths were wide enough to walk side by side and others were so narrow we had to stand with our backs pressed hard against the cliff face to allow hikers going in the other direction to pass us without slipping off the edge. On more than one occasion we had to hold on to each other to get past and as we were all so hot and sweaty it meant sharing bodily fluids with complete strangers, Mama Mia!
From Corniglia to Vernazza, a 3.2km walk took us just over an hour. After a stop for a cold drink and a little look around the town we decided to continue on to Monterosso. This distance is about 3.7km but took almost 2 hours purely because of the rocky terrain & the number of ups and downs. My legs were screaming at me and I honestly don’t think I have ever sweat quite so much in my life but the view along the way and the swim at another amazing beach at the end makes it completely worth while and I would not hesitate doing it again should I get the chance. I will say this though, if this destination is on your radar, which it most certainly should be, be sure that you are reasonably fit before embarking on these walks, although they’re not all that long we saw a number of people really struggling, especially with the uphill steps.
After exerting so much energy we decided the rest of our time here was purely for relaxation even paying €40 to hire sun lounges and umbrellas for a day at the very busy but beautiful Monterosso beach. We swam and baked all day long and snacked on juicy fresh stone fruit. Sam being Sam made friends with some boys who spoke no English at all and as his Italian is mediocre at best there were a lot of hand signals and plenty of help with translation from Cenz, never the less as we’ve discovered on other holidays, kids do not need to speak the same language to play and they did so for hours.
Being here had me really thinking though, after seeing Nonna’s of every age, shape and size lounging in string bikinis & young and not so young women strutting around with their bikini bottoms so far up their bottoms I had to wonder why don’t we see as much of this at home? Are Aussies prudes, just more reserved or more judgmental of each other? Perhaps all of the above? Either way the Italians, with their bodies the color of coffee are a very relaxed bunch who gladly share their black sand or pebble beaches with us sunburned tourists and Aussies could no doubt learn a few things from their way of life.
We had 2 very memorable meals here, One was at a lovely restaurant where we ate local seafood high on the cliffs with the most amazing view overlooking the ocean & the other was a feast we put together ourselves from the local deli, miles apart in price range but both just as delicious and we managed to finish every meal with the most wonderful gelato I’ve ever eaten!
From the Cinque Terre we railed via Milan to Venice. If there is any place in the world that demands you stare in awe and say wow out loud the first time you see it, it’s Venice. You think you have a picture in your head of what it’s going to be like but when we stepped outside the station I just stood and gawked. It’s so unique and impressive you can’t help but pinch yourself.
We got on the ferry from St Lucia train station to the Rialto bridge stop to walk the 10 minutes to our hotel. As we watched others drag and struggle with their cases over the very rough cobblestones and up and down concrete steps through the crowds we’d never been more grateful to have packs on our backs. Rialto bridge is Venice’s oldest & most famous bridge to cross the Grand Canal which I was so devastated to see was under construction, but nevertheless, because of it’s appeal, or so we thought, the crowds around here were huge. We soon discovered Venice is just all jam packed with crowds of tourists, approximately 15 to 20 million people (yes, you read that right!!) visit every year and most of those in the summer months of July and August. I’m sure other cities get these sorts of numbers visiting too but its seems so much more crowded in Venice due to the streets & bridges that zigzag between and across all the canals being so narrow, it’s really quite overwhelming.
After settling in to our cheap and cheerful hotel, my motto in an expensive city like Venice is ‘clean, comfortable & a good location’ and it was certainly all of that, (and we even managed to score a canal view!) we headed straight out to wander. In a couple of hours I must have taken more than 100 photos, every time you turn a corner it takes your breath away, it’s almost magical.
After a good nights sleep we dove headfirst into sightseeing, walking where we could and using the hop on hop off boat everywhere else. If we thought the Rialto bridge area was busy we were mistaken, St Mark’s square or locally know as Piazza di San Marco is possibly the busiest tourist area I have ever seen, there must have been a thousand people sharing the space with an equal amount of pigeons and you’d have more chance of winning the lottery than ever getting a photo without at least a dozen other people in it. We chose not to queue in the sun for hours to go inside St Mark’s Basilica instead making a deal with the kids that if we forgo seeing this church then the longer we get at the Vatican when we get to Rome, fair deal I think. After taking this area in we hopped on the boat and headed over to Lido island, famous for hosting the Venice film festival each year, where for something very different we hired a 4 seater push bike and peddled our way around the fancy, high end suburbs. From there we headed to Murano island, a quaint village famous for where Venetian glass blowing originated and continues to draw tourists to watch artists work and wander their rows of shops selling their wares.
Then back to Venice island and time for the piece de resistance, a gondola ride. No visit to Venice is complete without one so there’s no point 2nd guessing the €80 cost. All the operators charge the exact same amount however the condition of their vessels do differ, some are rather plain and others are quiet opulent with intricate carvings & velvet seats so it’s well worth looking around until you find one you like and if you’re like me you’ll continue to look around until you find one where the gondolier is as handsome as the gondola, all for the sake of getting better photos of course! Ours was Tommy, a gorgeous young man who entertained us with his singing and encouraged Cenz, who, let’s face it, needs no encouragement at all, to sing along with the Italian classics he grew up listening to. He also gladly answered our questions, pointed out places of interest including a few locations from the movie The Italian Job and highly recommended a great restaurant for us to try. He certainly made one of our bucket list experiences very special & one we will all remember for years to come.
After an extremely jam packed, long day we made our way back to Rialto bridge to patiently wait for each ferry to come in, craning our necks in anticipation as we looked through the crowds and finally there they were, my folks arrived to join us for the next chapter of our trip! I’m so excited to be able to share this amazing experience and part of our journey with them and know it’s extra special that Liv & Sam get to share this with their grandparents.
My Mum & Dad had been traveling for 3 weeks already and had just come from Nice in the south of France after doing a coach tour. Over a late dinner that night Mum mentioned that had she realised that it was Bastille Day the following day she’d have extended their stay there to join in the celebrations. The very next morning we heard the tragic news about the devastating events on the Nice promenade, it happened right where they had eaten each night while there and had they stayed they would have most certainly been amongst the crowd enjoying the festivities. A very close call for our family and another reminder that life is precious and we should live it to the full as terrible things can unfortunately happen anywhere in the world.
The following day the 6 of us walked the whole of Venice Island without any agenda, we just aimlessly walked for hours and hours stopping to look in shops & take photos without a care in the world. We got swept along with the crowds and found areas off the beaten track without another tourist in sight, it was a great way to see lots without feeling completely exhausted and we finished off the perfect day with an amazing feast at the restaurant that our gondolier Tommy had recommended which included more seafood and much to my husbands delight Pasta Nero which is spaghetti with black squid ink sauce, a favorite of his and not something you often get a decent plate of in Melbourne (unless his mum makes it for him of course!)
Our time in Venice had now come to an end and the next part of our adventure continues as we board a cruise on Royal Caribbean’s Rhapsody of the sea for 10 nights through the Mediterranean, Dalmatian & Aegean seas, I can’t wait to see what’s in store for us next, until then, Ahoy!
wanderlust mum 