Merlijn Redux

Three down and 2 to go. The June 25 hike was not kind to Mary's knees, so she used the day to check out Porto Venere's charms. Denise, Lou and I headed to Vernazza. Vernazza has a large town square A sizeable swimming area And a castle View from the castle And crowds The crowds at Cinque Terre are so extensive that during the summer you have to fight your way on and off the trains, not to mention through the narrow streets.  None of us would recommend a summer visit to the 5 Terre. Then on to Monterosa, the largest and flatest of the towns.  Bluest water  And from Monterosa the length of Cinque Terre can be viewed.  When we returned to Porto Venere we swam with the locals and had a delightful time chatting with the friendly people.

Cinque Terre is a series of 5 villages on the Northwest Italian coast which are linked by sometimes-hikable paths. The coast is so rugged here that the towns cling to the cliffs. The distance is about 7 miles from the northern most Monterosa to Riomaggiore at the southern end. We took the train to Riomaggiore and were intrigued by the mismash of buildings on the hillside. And the rugged coast line.   Then someone (not me) said "Let's hike to Manarolo", the next town. Everyone agreed, the sign said 1k. So off we go Lou,  Denise and Mary in the lead (me too). Yes, we saw the hikers ahead of us, but we are active so how hard can it be?  VERY!  Looking back at Riomaggiore  The trail was more rugged than anticipated, Denise doesn't do steep precipices well and Lou was hungry going into it, very bad. So about 2/3 of the way up they turned back. Mary & I continued on. The view was gorgeous.  Then we had the downhill into ...

We had a few hours before our train from Alessandria to La Spezia (on the Italian Mediterranean coast) so shopped at the Saturday market. Dresses for about 13 euros, made in Italy,  or so it says! Then off to the stazione. From La Spezia we took a cab to Porto Venere, our home until Tuesday. It is a gorgeous town and not crazy-crowded. Denise, Lou and I went to explore while Mary settled in at our villa apertment. Porto Venere is also built on a hillside,  like Cinque Terre but odds 6 miles separated from the big 5. Here is a narrow passage to an upper street. PV has a castle with a church.   They were just finishing a wedding. Denise is our European wedding tour guide, as she once inadvertently attended a village wedding in Romania. She was trapped in a pew until the first prayer or song, when she made her escape. Notice the lovely flowers at the alter and along the aisle. Then to the market for salad fixings and off to our vil...

So I made a mistake when booking last winter, intending to land us in one of the Cinque Terre towns, instead I accidently booked us here (the view from our balcony. Oh my, we will just have to live with it. Porto Venere.  All for now as the upload is painfully slow here. Will update when I find a good connection. 

A very nice last day of biking.  Not too long, too steep or too hot! What a change! We were out of the hotel courtyard before 8 am. Quickly through city traffic into the countryside. The first few miles were on a little used road. Then onto graveled roads meandering along the Po river dikes. There were many stands of poplar trees And fields of future pasta and tortas Not to forget polenta  Then back to Alessandria and unpacking our bikes. Tomorrow off to Cinque Terre.