Thirty years ago my husband and I drove along old one-lane winding roads on the edge of rugged cliffs and through stone tunnels in the Cinque Terre. The ride was unforgettable as the one-way road had little security overlooking an unbelievable view of the blue ocean. I could hardly keep my eyes open as this was beyond me, even though I’m pretty adventurous. The stone villages battered by the sea with color-faded houses tucked into the rock were breathtaking. The seascape with cliff cascading to the ocean was captivating and the vineyards, terraced along the cliffs seem to grow right out of the rock.
We decided to revisit the experience since we knew the old road had been closed and a new one built gave me the courage to relive the memories we had of this unique region. Today you can go from Monterosso al Mare to Riomaggiore by train, which is the fastest and easiest way to visit the villages as little parking is available and it is always crowded. The 5 villages are Monterosso al Mara, Vernazza, Corniglia, Manarola and Riomaggiore. Little remains of the old original natural beauty of the villages. They have been named a UNISCO site and although funds are given to maintain these areas, most seem to be used to create tourist convinces. Restaurants and mostly gift shops, a few offering some local products line the narrow streets. New hotels have been built intermingled with the old buildings making it difficult to imagine what the villages were like originally. There are a few places where the beauty of the villages can be seen and the 5 hour walk along the cliffs connecting the 5 villages still has beautiful panoramic views of the ocean and villages tucked into the cliffs. The walk from Monterossa al Mare to Corniglia is difficult and unless your capable of walking up and down stairs, it is not recommended. However the section from Riomaggiore to Manarola is an easy walk. The Corniglia section was closed due to a landslide so here you bypass it and take the train to reconnect with the walk.
The first evening we stayed in the hills above the villages in a small hotel of Locanda “da Marco”, which also had a Trattoria and outdoor terrace dinning with a wood burning pizza oven. After driving all day from Switzerland it was getting late and since we didn’t have reservations decided not to risk looking for a hotel in the villages. Little did we know that we would discover the beautiful stone village of Pignone. The region had been hit with an earthquake and tornado in October and many of the villages in the area had lost some ancient bridges and were in different stages of restoration. As usual the personal service and the food were authentic Italian. When we saw the fresh vegetable garden in front of the house, we knew we would have a good dinner. The hotel has 6 simple but comfortable rooms and the guests were from Austraila, France, Irland and Italy. As we have often found, these evening always end up with everyone talking to each other, sharing their life stories and travel experiences. This rarely happens in larger hotels that tend to be less personal. The owners spent time in the morning with their guests giving everyone information on how to visit the Cinque Terre and their advice saved us a lot of time. www.locandadamarco.it
As we drove down to Monterossa al Mare where we spent our second evening. The hills were covered with olive trees and the farmers were spreading nets under the trees to harvest the olives. After finding a hotel, we started out and went to Riomaggiore, walked along the cliffs to Manarola and took the train to Corniglia. There are also ferries that stop along all the villages, so it is possible to walk part of the distance and also take a boat to others.
After a long day we were ready for a nice dinner by the sea. I stopped an older woman and asked her were we could have a good meal. I have found that asking the locals is always the best way to get a good recommendation. She suggested Ristorante Belvedere in the old town of Monterossa al Mare. The seafood was excellent and view of the cliffs was perfect. We sat outdoors with a warm evening breeze off the ocean to a fresh seafood dinner. Their specialty was soupe de pesce served for two in a clay pot and poured into a large pottery bowl. Consisting of lobster, octopus, squid, shellfish and fresh fish in a tomato and fish broth was outstanding.
Walking back to the main part of the village though a tunnel that was part of the original road that we drove more then 30 years ago brought back those scary memories. However I was pretty safe as now it is a walkway connecting the old town and the beach of Monterossa al Mare. I was glad we were walking rather then driving it, but I wish they had preserved more the original tunnels.
It is always difficult to go back after many years and expect to relive memories, and this was no different. For those who have never seen the Cinque Terre, it is still a unique part of Italy and worth visiting.
As we drove through the countryside towards the Burgundy from Paris, we noticed a chateau on a hill in the distance. We decided to investigate and drove up the winding hill past beautiful pastures to a small village. The large blue arched doors to the chateau were closed. My husband dropped me off on the side of the raod so that I could take some photos when a man open the large door to reveal a courtyard covered with grass, wildflowers and a chateau in various stages of renovation. I asked him if I could photograph the property in my elementary French and he happily waved me in. I gestured to my husband to join me, as he speaks French fluently and there was so much I wanted to learn. We began a conversation that lasted well over an hour.
M. Arbousse Bastide, a retired antique dealer owns the 14th century chateau that has three buildings overlooking a valley covered with pastures. Looking down over the misty fields, white Charolais cattle spotted the landscape and quite sounds of the country occasionally broke the silence from time to time. His passion is restoring antiques and he had completely rebuilt one large turret and was restoring another by himself, stone by stone. As he was telling us his story, we walked over a wood plank placed over the moat to the chateau when a lovely woman stepped out. Soft spoken, wearing a long printed shirt, ruffled white blouse and green sweater with long silver hair pulled back with a comb, she began to tell us about her friend’s efforts and love of antiques. A researcher who had worked translating Chinese Scriptures and still living in Paris, she spends the summers in this idyllic setting visiting markets in search of antiques with her friend. She was soft spoken, confidant, a woman at peace with herself and a delight to talk to. Speaking excellent English, she pointed out that there is no heat in the chateau but Monsieur doesn’t mind the cold as only huge stone fireplaces provide warmth. She said that there was a lot of property available in the area that badly needed to be restored. Many foreigners had bought ruins and taken great efforts to give these ancient structures new life and were now living in them permanently.
Monsieur, who had disappeared into the chateau to take a phone call, reappeared and immediately was joined by a crow who flew onto his shoulder and then sat peacefully on his hand. The bird loves to torment him she said, and stole two 50 Euro notes that day giving him a hard time trying to retrieve them. It was obvious that the Monsieur and the crow were friends and enjoy each others company. To our astonishment they invited us into the chateau and we walked into a time passed to an amazingly warm but ancient environment. A horseshoe shaped table facing a huge stone fireplace had church pew for seating and a red table covering. Beamed ceilings and stonewalls with antiques in different states of repair filled the rooms. Fruit and flowers in a multitude of vessels made the stone dwelling feel warm and inviting. Light penetrated the rooms from the windows creating shadows and a glow highlighted antiques. They explained to us that these chateaus were noble men’s homes that were responsible for collecting taxes and performed local jurisdiction.
The chateau is lovingly being restored it to its original state. Well, this might take him the rest of his life, but I don’t think he cared much about that. He was joyful at my amazement, as I wanted to photograph everything I saw, in every space, in every room. As we said goodbye, we gratefully thanked them for letting us snoop into their life. They gave us their email address saying computers kept them connected to the world. In this environment it seemed a contradiction as computers sat on an ancient table in an ancient room, but they were clearly also living comfortably in this century.
Connecting with people of a country has always been the most memorable part of my travels and this encounter will take its place among the many interesting people I’ve been privileged to meet.