Cinque Terre

I know this isn't typical, but I had an infuriating Cinque Terre experience.

 

Maybe it was expectation. A series of five villages dotting the cliffsides in Liguaria, with houses hanging over the Mediterranean. You can't drive here- you either are on foot or on a train that runs from La Spezia and stops at each of the five villages. We were staying in the first of the five, Riomaggiore.

 

Oh, also, there is a ferry connecting the towns but the seas were rough and it was cancelled.

 

 All the cliffside beach trails were closed- we had bad thunderstorms and rough seas that made them too dangerous and they close it off. So we bought train tickets to get to Manarola, the next town over.

 
 


 So, from the train platform, I realize that you can look down the tunnel and see Manarola. In fact, all the villages were just minutes apart by train, and you could see them down the line...and yet. The train. Never came. Or rather, we dealt with constant cancellations and every single time we were on the platform, it was 10-20 minutes late. So instead of there being frequent, useful train service, we'd be stuck at each village and then the train station for hours without being able to escape. I was about to run down the train tunnel 500 yards to get to my destination, as I could see it but the train just wouldn't come.

 


Hilarity ensued, as it does when you are traveling with family, and the family is all as frustrated as you are.





It was really unique and charming, with an old-world fishing village feel, and we did get pretty decent seafood while there. If I would have been in a better mood, I think things would have been overall sunnier for me.



So anyway...don't let my stories of mushy pasta and infuriating train delays deter you. I'm sure this is perfectly awesome in summertime, or when the 5 hour cliffside hiking trails are actually open and you get to the other villages without being held hostage by the rail.



Ah,  but leaving was a pain in the ass as well, as we had a cancelled train, followed more than an hour later by a very delayed train, which messed up the rest of our travel day. So much for getting into Florence early!  Or at all, suckers!