Our Trip to Europe

Day 31 – Cinque Terre, Italy

Had some breakfast this morning and Paul decided that his back was still bothering him too much to go out sightseeing so I joined another group for the day. We took a trail to the next city, Vernazza, and spent some time checking out the town and taking pictures. Then we got back on the train and took it to the last town Riomaggiore. We walked through the town and then hiked the Via Dell Amore, Walk of Love, to the next town, Manarola, Italy. This is a level, paved trail with fantastic views. Towards the end of the trail is a little carved seat of two people kissing. The seat and the railing around it are covered in locks. This is where a couple pledge their love forever and put the lock around the railing, lock it and throw the key into the sea.

We then took a boat back to Vernazza and had lunch up on top of a hill at Ristorante Castello. The views were incredible. We could see the sea off one side of the patio and the little town of Vernazza on the other. After lunch the group decided to take the train back to Monterosso. I wasn’t ready to call it a day so I headed over into Old Town of Monterosso to do some sightseeing and shopping. I found the little sanctuary for the Oratory of the Dead. This was a brotherhood, kind of like a religious Rotary Club, whose responsibility was to arrange funerals and take care of widows and orphans. The decoration in the sanctuary included a lot of skeletons and skulls mixed in with angels and crucifixes. Very unusual and interesting.

We had dinner as a group tonight. We ate at a family restaurant and the grandmother and her two grandchildren made fresh pesto for us and gave us all the recipe. We then had their specialty of pesto lasagna, swordfish with caper sauce, salad a dessert and a small glass of dessert wine to sip.

Paul and I headed back to the hotel after dinner for an early night and to rest his back.