16 Oct, 2015: Capuchin Monastery and Hike to Vernazza

I would underestimate that we have climbed a million stairs in the last 3 days--everything in the Cinque Terre is either up or down. My knees hurt, my feet hurt, my butt is sore...you get the picture. 

So we started the day by climbing the switchbacks of the friars to the Capuchin Church--formerly a convent and now cared for by a single friar. 

Along the way we passed the statue of San Francesco d'Assissi with a wolf. Also a rather impressive private home with its own pier--which was mostly underwater as they all have been since our arrival.

We continued up to the cemetery in the castle ruins at the top of the hill.

Wandered back down the hill, through town, did a little souvenir shopping, and then out the south end of Monterosso to take the trail thru the Cinque Terre National Park to Vernazza. 

Up and up past farm terraces, down a bit and then up again. I think the highest posted elevation was 164 meters.

The biggest surprise was an old man who had set up a juicer on the trail and was selling fresh orange juice fior 2 Euros.

It was a long, hard hike with very little level ground. We were ever so glas to get our first sighting of Vernazza,

Took pics of some scenic streets there, too.

The Santa Margherita church is rather substantial and right on the harbor. 

We decided to have our main meal at the Gianni Franzi, where we had eaten the previous day because the wait staff are very pleasant and you can watch all the comings and goings in the Piazzi Marconi.  No boat traffic, given the continuing high waves, but there was one fisherman. 

The boats all get pulled up on shore and sit in the streets.

We cleaned out the fridge for dinner--olives, cheese, bread, an apple--and got packed for an early departure tomorrow.

14 Oct, Thursday in Riomaggiore

Anne and I got a few clothes washed and hung on the clothes lines in the stairwell, which seems to be the warmest spot--it's very humid here and while we have a washer, we have no dryer. Everyone here uses laundry lines so you get to see what everyone wears underneath :-) Then headed to the train station and met friends Catherine and Kevin on the train to Riomaggiore, the furthest south of the Cinque Terre towns.

 From the station we headed uo..you cannot go anywhere without climbing stairs here. That is the train station below in first pic and Kevin in frint of ubiquitous narrow set of stairs.

Great architectural details and scenery to admire on the way up the hill.

There is the inevitable church dedicated to St. John the Baptist, patron saint of the former ruling power, Genoa.

Back fown into town toward the marina. All the boats have been pulled onto shore due to the wild seas these last few days.

Unfortunately, this means no ferries are ruunning, hence no views of the Cinque Terre from the water. Walked back UP around the headland to the train station to catch a train to Vernazza, where we stopped at Gianni Franzi on the tiny harbor for some of the locally brewed beer.

Took the 4 minute train ride through tunnels back to Monterosso where we were surprised to find many restaurants closed for the evening! Kev and Cath then headed "home" to Moneglia, where we will meet them on Saturday for a day in Pisa on our way to Siena. Anne and I stopped to grab a gelato (amaretto and chocolate) for the walk back to our place.

Wednesday, 14 Oct, 2015: Monterosso

We got a bit caught up on sleep after 36 hours of being awake and started the day with breakfast in our apt. I should mention that our landlady, who I thought spoke English does not...but her son Roberto does. He's in Ireland, so that makes for some pretty strange communications where I mostly nod and say OK but don't understand most of what Lella says. Somehow we manage, though.

We headed out towards the Tourist Info office and did some sightseeing along the way...like these flowers in front of a restaurant.

And some wondeful trompe l'oeil painted buildings.

Then we went into the Chiesa di San Giovanni Battista with a beautful "rose" window.

Right next door was one of 2 "confraternities, the "Black" one where the brothers were charged with caring for widows and orphans and arranging funerals. Note the suitable interior decor.

Walked through town doing window shopping and admiring the scenery and architecture.

Til we came to the northern end of town and encountered what is left of "Il Gigante," a 45 foot tall statue that once supported a dance terrace before that was washed away by a big storm.

We decided to walk up the hill to the top of the Punta Mesco... little realizing what we were getting into. We did see lots of interesting gates along the way...

...and of course the higher we went, the more spectacular the vista!

Until FINALLY we reached the top and found the ruins of an old monastery, San Antonio del Mesco.

More pics of houses on the way down.

Wandered back through town, stopped in "new town" for lunch at the focacceria "Simone," and out the breakwater where we could look back towards Monterosso.

 On out the south end of town where we saw a couple of old German pill boxes

And then wandered up the hill towards "home" exploring side streets as we went. Came across this tour group in front of the "White" confraternity and saw a cat curiously watching the proceedings.

Had a little rest then went out for pasta (Paula) and veal (Anne) dinner at Ristorante Belvedere. Pooped tonight and expect I will have some sore legs tomorrow!