05.24.10

Five days after our return from Cinque Terre, DC and I packed up the same clothes (mostly washed, of course) and headed back. We lost the Adairs but gained the sunshine so all but one of the trails were open.  Unfortunately, tourist season is picking up as the weather improves and so we had "standing room only" tickets all the way from Milan to Genoa.  We were definitely ready to sit, relax, and take in the view from our little apartment off the main street.  

We headed out bright and early the next morning to start our trek on the famous Trail #2.  The first leg (Riomaggiore to Manarola - 25 minutes) was the same one we had done last weekend.  We rolled through Manarola and headed out on the second leg, Manarola to Corniglia (45 minutes).

At Corniglia, we stopped in for aperitivo and quickly found our way down to the local beach.  I thought we were just up for some sunning but, before I knew it, DC was cannonballing himself into the cold Mediterranean water.  We convinced a few others to join us in our chilly swim but soon found ourselves sitting in the sun, warming up and waiting for our clothes to dry.

Corniglia to Vernazza was one of my favorite legs of the hike (45 minutes) and we met a fun mom and her daughter from Cleveland whom we followed down the mountain.  We bonded over failed NBA championship experiences and then cut off to hang out at the same cafe on the hill that we had been at last weekend.  

As we ventured down to the town, DC convinced me that we should at least check out the last trail even though it was closed.  While I'm not usually a rule breaker, I figured this was a rare chance and so I followed my wayward husband over the fence and we started the final leg, Vernazza to Monterosso (90 minutes).  We ran across a few other rule breakers but, for the most part, had the trail to ourselves and easily hopped over the gate in Monterosso with only a few odd glances.  To celebrate, we rewarded ourselves with a seafood extravaganza at a little restaurant on the beach: lobster, calamari, octopus, shrimp, mussels, and whitefish.  Nathan and Lindsay - it was definitely as good as it looked!   So good, in fact, that we convinced the Australians next to us to order it as well and they thanked us by taking our photo with the feast.