May 24, 2017, Cinque Terre, Italy – Riomaggiore &i Manorolo
Here we are at the entrance to the province of Liguria – near the ancient and bustling current seaport of Genoa. We have made our way to the little town of La Spezia, which is a convenient place to find lodging and taking day trips into the Cinque Terre.
We are staying with Michael, the owner of a small boutique hotel in the heart of La Spezia a mere 5 minute walk to the central train station. This is a set of 5 very beautifully done hotel suites. The hotel opened a year and ½ ago and has already received rave reviews from Booking.com. Carolyn found this gem for us on line.
The hotel is a bit difficult to find initially at 15 Piazza St. Bon. When you arrive you are at the old wooden door of an apartment building. The door is locked and the signage for the hotel is not that great. You must fine the name of Gateway Cinque Terre on the list of residents and ring the bell and Michael will buzz you in. He will greet you from the 3rd floor balcony and direct you to the small ancient elevator to get to the entry way. Michael has purchased a row of apartments and cleverly coverted them to 5 very nice hotel rooms. The decor is nice and modern, the beds comfortable and the bathrooms spacious. If you are looking for a 5 star hotel experience this is not for you. On the other hand, if you are looking for an alternative to schlepping your luggage up and down stairs inside one of the small towns that make up the Cinque Terre, then Gateway Cinque Terre is an excellent alternative.
The drive up to La Spezia from Venturina went very smoothly and we arrived in about 2 hours. Trent drove and got us here safely. Once in town, things got a bit exciting because there was no visible signage for the hotel. But we did find Piazza St.Bon and we also found a spot where we could double park to unload our luggage. Trent got out with Elisa and Carolyn and we unloaded only the essential luggage – which included Moby. The three of them would wrestle our luggage to the hotel and I would find parking.
On our way up to La Spezia, Elisa called the hotel to enquirer about parking and Michael tells us you have not booked parking in advance – I have no parking for you. It sounded a bit like a Jerry Seinfeld episode – “no parking for you”. We get a chuckle out of it but Michael tells us we should be able to park under the Central train station. So as Trent and the girls find the hotel I look for the parking under the station. When I get there, the parking looks full, but I conveniently find a handy spot.
Once we all find the hotel and get settled, we head to the train station to head into Cinque Terre. We intend to go to Riomaggiore and then walk to Manorolo and Corniglia. These are the easiest walks. I had read on line that these Travis were washed out in 2015, but regrettably, when we purchase our train ticket we are advised that those trails have still not been repaired and if we want to walk we will have to do it between Vernazza and Corniglia and then on to Monterosso. These happen to be the most difficult walks and include over 900 stairs. We decide that we will see what we are up for after lunch in Riomaggiore.
At Riomaggiore we dine at a small restaurant that is built on a wooden platform that hugs the steep mountain side. We are all sitting at an angle. The food is good but not great. Elisa has the Gnocchi because it will have the least amount of gluten. After lunch we roam around Riomaggiore, but we do’t really enjoy it. The small town is overrun with American tourists. Since we have already been here for 10 days we consider ourselves to be locals and we give many of the rude Americans the “International eye-roll”.
We then decide to take the train over to Manorolo. The rides is only a couple of minutes. We make our way down the hill to the town and once again it is over run with tourists of all flavor. We have all decided that Rick Steves had ruined Cinque Terre, it is no longer charming. As we get to the bottom and take a few pictures. At this point, Elisa is not feeling well. It is a combination of the heat, sun and rich food. So we decide to head back into La Spezia and we encourage Trent and Carolyn to forge out ahead without the security blanket of Italian speakers.
The do just that, and there is no need to worry about the language. Along the way, while they visit Vernazza and Monterosso, they share a table and conversation with a number of Americans. This gives Trent a chance to get caught up on the Hockey playoffs. After visiting 4 one the 5 cities that make up Cinque Terre, they declare Vernazza to be their favorite. But by comparison to Positano, they find Cinque Terre to be too crowded, the shopping not as good and a little over rated. They too end up heading back into La Spezia. By 7:30pm we are all heading out for some dinner. This time for a change of pace we are going to a Japanese restaurant for some sushi, miso soup and some rolls. Once again the food is good but not great.
Thus ends the day in Cinque Terre. We are excited for tomorrow we have a cooking class in La Spezia with a noted Chef – Sylvia, She and her husband own and operate Osteria del Corte.
Ciao for now
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