Dieci giorno (Day 10): The Italian Riviera
"Live in the sunshine, swim the sea, drink the wild air." -- Ralph Waldo Emerson
K: Sad to leave Venice, but anxious to see the Cinque Terre, we boarded our vaporetto and found Tony waiting for us at the bus. I was curious, as we passed near Modena and Bologna, to see any evidence of the earthquake, since that had been its epicenter. But, there was no visible evidence from the highway. We settled in for the trip and turned our attention to our next destination – Monterosso and its sister towns. Margaret explained about the devastating floods and mudslides that had struck the area the previous October. She warned that some shops and pathways were closed, but we would make the best of it.
E: After a quick check-in at our hotel just steps from the seaside, we moseyed into the old town center of Monterosso al Mare, which consists of small shops and the deep blue Mediterranean Sea below. It’s hard to imagine how this peaceful little slice of paradise could ever experience the wrath of Mother Nature as it did last October; the town was so alive. Will the other towns of Cinque Terre be so, too? That will have to wait until tomorrow. K: We soon settled for a fresh seafood dinner in the old town at Ristorante Belvedere. And fresh it was! The menus of the Riviera offer incredible Frutti Di Mare (fruit of the sea.) The "fish of the day" came whole (read that as eyes staring at you) and my fried shrimp were fried in the shell! Apparently, “fresco” there means “as it comes out of the sea!” Elizabeth ordered pesto pasta, another regional specialty. Wandering back to our hotel, we ran into some friends from our home town – they had their Rick Steves’ guide books in hand! Small world!
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Our Favorites:
K: Getting an advance draft of Rick's update on the Cinque Terre, to be incorporated in the next editions of his guide books!
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E: I love everything about this place!
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