The Cinque Terra

Hey y'all, this is John. Where do we begin? We got to Monterosso  after an earlier than expected leave because Pisa was a  washout. We arrived at Hotel Marina early afternoon. It was a beautiful place run by a family. Every thing that was done in the hotel was done by a family member. The sun finally came out and Mike and I put our suits on and swam in the Mediterranean for a bit. Maria and the girls found a bar that had a perfect view. The name of the bar was Tortuga. They enjoyed a fresh lemon drink and their bar tenders  Lorenzo and Jonathan. These two knew how to take care of the girls. Fresh olives and cheeses were enjoyed by all.The night brought a wonderful dinner at La Cambusa. We had Rosito with prawns for two. The roosters and church bells woke us up early and we had a wonderful  breakfast.We headed out to visit the villages. We started with Riomaggiore. The furthest from Monterosso. It was raining again so we poncho 'd up and boarded the train. Crazy trains here... They never check tickets except on long rides. Zero security in trains even in the biggest cities. 

We got lucky and had some drinks at "a pie de ma" which was cut out of the rocks probably in the 14 century . We tasted pesto and olive oil and white wine. The next village was Manarola. Mike Barb and Maria hiked to the vineyards and the rest of us stayed by the sea. Because of the rain the train was two hours late because of storm damage and caused us not to proceed to the next villages. We went home and had dinner way up in the village at a local place called restaurant al carugio. It was so authentic. My ravioli was amazing and Mike had a stuffed clams and pasta that he loved. The next day we hiked Monterosso and found beautiful lemon gardens and olive orchards. There was a convent at the top of the hill. Mike and Barb decided not to go to Vanezza for dinner and eat at the winery instead. They loved it. The family had owned it for a long time. The rest of us headed to Vanezza for dinner at Belforte. It was breath taking. We got the last table reserved in the place. Jim and I got a little nervous that the guy did not write anything down so I gave him five euros. While we were waiting we walked around the little village. It is a sea town that is closed from November 1 to March 1. At 7 we proceeded to our reservations only to be sent with Daniela to the best table in the restaurant. We settled in for a four hour dinner and wine. We watched the sunset and caught the last train back to Monterosso. The next morning we boarded an early train back to Milan and into Bellagio.