Three Summers: Tante Auguri in Cinque Terre

Birthday Girl

The penultimate day of spring, S's birthday and our first day in the Cinque Terre. We've decided that as it's 28, maybe 30, degrees today we'll visit the five towns by train. Sort of a reconnaissance day. We are staying for a week on the Italian Riviera - the Ligurian coast - at Moneglia which (from the north) is just four train stops from the first of the Cinque Terre villages, Monterosso.

(So beautiful is Moneglia that I think it should be the sixth village. Somehow, I guess Sei Terre doesn't have the ring that Cinque Terre has!)

As we approached Monterosso we could see that Monterosso beach was a popular place to be today. Orange umbrellas and sunbeds lining the sand.... or are they pebbles? We spent some time at a pretty beach side cafe, sipping espresso and studying the train timetable - in this beautiful part of Italy you don't want to spend a minute longer than necessary standing on a train platform when you could be exploring these beautiful coloured villages and the extraordinary surrounding hills. After wandering the village we decided to travel to Riomaggiore next - the last, or most southern, of the five villages - then work our way back north.

We walked Riomaggiore snacking on fresh figs and marvelling at the village that seems to 'fall' down the steep hillside slope to the blue, blue Mediterranean. The Italians say "azzuro-azzuro". It seemed that it was wash day in this village and the washing hung on window lines like welcoming flags.

Next train to Manarola - surely the lovliest of the cinque. The easy, but spectacular Dell 'Amore walk is a must, and swimming around the rocks and grotto in the Mediterranean Sea looked so inviting, (though I'm sure signore is looking out wishing he was sailing on the blue, blue Mediterranean).

Next stop Corniglia and from the station it's up, up, up some 320 steps to the town that sits atop the hill, past a riot of bouganvillea, frangipani and the ubiquitous red geraniums (the sight of which I will never tire).

On to our final stop for the day -Vernazza. It's easier to walk down Corniglia's steps to the station. It is though difficult not to want to list the towns in order of one's favourite. For me, Vernazza slots in there right after Manorola. It's lovely to take a break and sit in Vernazza's pretty square and watch the beach and water, but the Mediterranean's pull is too strong....it's time for a swim and a birthday dinner complete with Italian birthday cake! Happy Birthday S!

Tomorow E will be flying to Milan and catching a train to meet us for the remainder of the week and we'll walk some of the walks between the villages, and take the boat that navigates the coves to visit four of the five towns. Perhaps more on that later.