Today we went to Cinque Terre.  This means “Five Lands”,  five villages along the coast of Liguria along a rocky stretch of cliffs, and only reachable one to the other (originally at least) by boat or by steep and pretty dangerous walking paths.  The coast line is breath-taking;  the sea was deep blue, and we headed out by boat from La Spezia, crammed in like sardines in one of many ferries chugging up and down this route.

The crowds, I have to warn you, are hard to take.  You line up for your ticket, and wait in a very long line to get onto a boat that takes you from La Spezia around a promontory to land in Portovenere, where you have to get off the boat, wait for the next boat to Cinque Terre, and line up again.  The sun was blistering, so sunscreen is a good idea.  So is a hat, for that matter.

Portovenere

The villages, though, as you approach from the sea, are postcard material, photo ops so perfect, you can’t believe it. The towns rise up the hill from the sea, painted in pastels, some faded from the sun and sea air, and the fact that they are spread up the hill makes it actually more possible to appreciate how they grew, like colorful lichen on the rocks.

We got out at the next-to-last stop, Vernazza, and intended to get some lunch, stroll around the town, and get the next ferry to the last town, Montorosso, before returning.  It all took too long.  Everyone else on the boat was hungry, too, so that there wasn’t a single table to be had in a restaurant in town.  We ended up buying pizza and eating outside on the steps leading to a side street leading further up the hill.  The pizza was very good, and it was actually fun just to sit out and watch the crowds.

Riomaggiore

We had to cut the trip short, being due back in Livorno for another dinner hosted by more friends of our friends.  This one took place in a pizza restaurant with really superb pizza, thin-crusted, heaped with mushrooms, meat and amazing cheese.  It was definitely pizza day.  So much for my determination to stick to light eating.