san bernadino to lucca to firenze
waking up sunday morning came as a bit of a shock to the system. i was tossing and turning as early as 6:30am but somehow drifted back off to sleep and slept past our planned wake up at 8am. we finally faced the sun around 9am and quickly gathered our stuff and cleaned the little apartment. it is tough to make a mess in less than 24 hours so we were ready for more of italy pretty quickly. after dropping the keys off at the bar (albeit slightly reluctantly - i could have stayed for weeks!) and a breakfast of brioche mela (apple pastry) and decaf cappuccino we were in the car, on our way to the little town of Manarola.
Manarola is another of the five towns that make up Cinque Terre. it is the next town to the south after Corniglia. it sits at the bottom of a steep hill (perhaps you recognize a trend...) and sits above the ocean, perched on a huge rock outcropping. the town was still apparently waking up. despite it being about 10am the church was empty and we walked quietly through the town with a few other tourists. we were setting out to walk the 1k Via dell Amore, a paved section of the trail linking all five towns. after purchasing passes giving us access to the trails and parking shuttles, we were on our way with a handful of other tourists. as we walked closer and closer to Riomaggiore, the southern-most of the five, the number of people on the walkway picked up. because it is paved it is a good option for families with kids too small to do the tougher hiking, as well as older folks not so into hiking (perhaps lung cancer patients, too...). wall to wall people wasn't thrilling us, so upon reaching Riomaggiore, we turned around pretty quickly, after stopping at an ATM to find more Euros, which disappear rather readily. on our walk back to Manarola we climbed down a set of steep stone steps to the ocean. we shared the rocky shore with about three other people and enjoyed a little quiet. then it was back up the stairs - quite a workout - and up the hill to the parking, with a stop for a helping of fruit, muslei, and yogurt. it was one of the best tasting helpings of the trip.
after taking the shuttle back up the steepest portion of the hill to the parking, we hopped in the Golf and were on our way to Lucca. Lucca is probably most famous for the walls that surround the central, oldest part, of the city. they date back to the Renisassance and are a rare thing in Italy - they have been undisturbed by centuries of war, rebuilding, and expansion. we followed the advice of a number of sources and rented a bike (a tandem!) and rode the 4k atop the walls. there is a trail wide enough for a number of runners, walkers, and cyclists, and trees line most of it. the views are of the surrounding hills as well as the old buildings of the town. after our circuit around town from above, we dismounted and found our way to piazza anfiteatro, an oval-shaped piazza whose buildings are built upon the foundations of a Roman amphitheater. we sat and ate pizza and watched the people shopping the market for perennials and annuals. after enjoying a serving of gelato and postcard shopping, we wandered around the town. at times we could ride the bike but mostly it was too crowded to do anything other than walk. we saw the church of the san michele in foro and the dumo di san martino, two spectacular churches in different parts of town. outside the church of the san michele there were kids chasing pigeons in the piazza and plenty of people snacking on gelato and coffee. outside the duomo we saw three old men sitting on a stoop, who asked us about our tandem bike. rotten tried to tell them i did all the work, but i don't think they bought it. or the didn't understand. either way, it made me laugh.
after our afternoon in Lucca, we drove to Firenze (Florence). the autostrada was full of everyone returning to the city after their weekends near the sea or in the hills. once again TomTom didn't let us down and took us pretty much right to our hotel in a quiet, residential neighborhood. we were greeted by a friendly, sweet, older woman who spoke broken English and lots of Italian. we figured out it would be OK to leave the car where we had parked it for the night and that breakfast would be served in the morning. we were in room 24 at the hotel orcagna and we had a map of Firenze in hand with some recommendations of where to find dinner. we crowded into a tiny elevator to ride up to our room and were happily surprised to find it equipped with a balcony overlooking a courtyard full of trees and other quiet balconies. the shower was an improvement over the one in San Bernadino and after rinsing off and resting a bit, we set out for dinner. we picked a place recommended by Lonely Planet, Osteria de Italia, about fifteen minutes' walk away. we weren't let down. dinner included a fusilli with sausage, broccoli, and a butter fennel sauce, i ordered steak prepared a la "Osteria" and rotten went with meat skewers and vegetables, along with some roasted potatoes. for dessert it was chocolate cake because the profitaroles and tiramisu were already devoured by other patrons licking their fingers clean. it was the kind of meal where you want to lick every tiny molecule of the sauce and crumbs left on a dish; we laughed and smiled about how lucky we were to enjoy such a dinner. it was the perfect ending to a nearly perfect day. we headed home to the hotel and fell asleep with a couple of mosquitoes (no screens in italy) buzzing near our heads but with full tummys and plenty of rest needed for a big day in Firenze.
Manarola is another of the five towns that make up Cinque Terre. it is the next town to the south after Corniglia. it sits at the bottom of a steep hill (perhaps you recognize a trend...) and sits above the ocean, perched on a huge rock outcropping. the town was still apparently waking up. despite it being about 10am the church was empty and we walked quietly through the town with a few other tourists. we were setting out to walk the 1k Via dell Amore, a paved section of the trail linking all five towns. after purchasing passes giving us access to the trails and parking shuttles, we were on our way with a handful of other tourists. as we walked closer and closer to Riomaggiore, the southern-most of the five, the number of people on the walkway picked up. because it is paved it is a good option for families with kids too small to do the tougher hiking, as well as older folks not so into hiking (perhaps lung cancer patients, too...). wall to wall people wasn't thrilling us, so upon reaching Riomaggiore, we turned around pretty quickly, after stopping at an ATM to find more Euros, which disappear rather readily. on our walk back to Manarola we climbed down a set of steep stone steps to the ocean. we shared the rocky shore with about three other people and enjoyed a little quiet. then it was back up the stairs - quite a workout - and up the hill to the parking, with a stop for a helping of fruit, muslei, and yogurt. it was one of the best tasting helpings of the trip.
after taking the shuttle back up the steepest portion of the hill to the parking, we hopped in the Golf and were on our way to Lucca. Lucca is probably most famous for the walls that surround the central, oldest part, of the city. they date back to the Renisassance and are a rare thing in Italy - they have been undisturbed by centuries of war, rebuilding, and expansion. we followed the advice of a number of sources and rented a bike (a tandem!) and rode the 4k atop the walls. there is a trail wide enough for a number of runners, walkers, and cyclists, and trees line most of it. the views are of the surrounding hills as well as the old buildings of the town. after our circuit around town from above, we dismounted and found our way to piazza anfiteatro, an oval-shaped piazza whose buildings are built upon the foundations of a Roman amphitheater. we sat and ate pizza and watched the people shopping the market for perennials and annuals. after enjoying a serving of gelato and postcard shopping, we wandered around the town. at times we could ride the bike but mostly it was too crowded to do anything other than walk. we saw the church of the san michele in foro and the dumo di san martino, two spectacular churches in different parts of town. outside the church of the san michele there were kids chasing pigeons in the piazza and plenty of people snacking on gelato and coffee. outside the duomo we saw three old men sitting on a stoop, who asked us about our tandem bike. rotten tried to tell them i did all the work, but i don't think they bought it. or the didn't understand. either way, it made me laugh.
after our afternoon in Lucca, we drove to Firenze (Florence). the autostrada was full of everyone returning to the city after their weekends near the sea or in the hills. once again TomTom didn't let us down and took us pretty much right to our hotel in a quiet, residential neighborhood. we were greeted by a friendly, sweet, older woman who spoke broken English and lots of Italian. we figured out it would be OK to leave the car where we had parked it for the night and that breakfast would be served in the morning. we were in room 24 at the hotel orcagna and we had a map of Firenze in hand with some recommendations of where to find dinner. we crowded into a tiny elevator to ride up to our room and were happily surprised to find it equipped with a balcony overlooking a courtyard full of trees and other quiet balconies. the shower was an improvement over the one in San Bernadino and after rinsing off and resting a bit, we set out for dinner. we picked a place recommended by Lonely Planet, Osteria de Italia, about fifteen minutes' walk away. we weren't let down. dinner included a fusilli with sausage, broccoli, and a butter fennel sauce, i ordered steak prepared a la "Osteria" and rotten went with meat skewers and vegetables, along with some roasted potatoes. for dessert it was chocolate cake because the profitaroles and tiramisu were already devoured by other patrons licking their fingers clean. it was the kind of meal where you want to lick every tiny molecule of the sauce and crumbs left on a dish; we laughed and smiled about how lucky we were to enjoy such a dinner. it was the perfect ending to a nearly perfect day. we headed home to the hotel and fell asleep with a couple of mosquitoes (no screens in italy) buzzing near our heads but with full tummys and plenty of rest needed for a big day in Firenze.
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