MEDITERRANEAN CRUISE 2015 - LIVORNO, ITALY

SATURDAY, OCTOBER 20TH, 2015

Mountains filled with granite.  This is where much of the granite tiles and countertops come from!

We awoke to a chilly and rainy morning.  We had been having such great weather all cruise so we were not going to complain.  We met our driver, Guilia, right around 8:30am.  We had arranged for a private tour through Papillon Service (www.papillonservice.com) and the cost was 540€ for the six of us (90€ per person).  We selected the ‘Cinque Terre & Pisa’ private tour and were able to custom tailor the stops we preferred to make to fit with our timing and preferences.

We headed out of the port of Livorno and through the Tuscan countryside to Portovenere, where we were hoping to catch the ferry to Cinque Terre (pronounced ‘chinkwa-terray’).  Cinque Terre (or Five Lands) is located to the north of Livorno, not far from La Spezia, in the Liguria region of Italy.  They are five small fishing villages (Monterosso el Mare, Vernazza, Corniglia,  Manarola and Riomaggiore) that are all part of Cinque Terre National Park and have been designated as a UNESCO World Heritage Site.  They are precariously perched on the rugged coastline and are some of the most picturesque spots you could ever hope to see.  Most are only reachable by ferry…or by train, if the water is too rough and the ferries are not running.

I had come across Cinque Terre while reading a travel blog several years ago and it had stuck in my mind as a place that I would love to see but was never sure I would get to.  When we booked this cruise and my sister and I found out that Cinque Terre was an available tour from this port, we did not hesitate to lobby the rest of the group to splurge on this excursion.

Lovely Portovenere

Portovenere was our first stop and even though it was not part of Cinque Terre, it was an incredibly beautiful village with very tall, colourful buildings (La Palazzata or Fortress Houses) along the waterfront with a maze of narrow streets and stairways behind them.  You could spend a lot of time wandering up and down stairs and through stone-lined streets.  Doria Castle is found at the top of the hill (5€ entry). 

Wandering the narrow streets

Up to another street level

We wandered the streets for a while but wanted to see the Church of San Pietro which was located up on a rocky outcropping guarding the harbour entrance.  It was a grey and white striped stone church and we climbed up the outside stairs to be met with an incredible view of the rocky coastline.

The Church of San Pietro

What a view!!

We came back down the stairs and walked along the stone wall until we found the entrance to Byron’s  Grotto, in honour of Lord Byron, the poet who used to spend time there searching for inspiration.  We carefully made our way down the ‘stairs’ hewn out of the dark rocks.

The view from inside the Grotto

We made our way back along the waterfront to meet up with Guilia, who was scouting out whether the ferries were running as it was windy and rainy and they often will not run if waves could be a factor.  She gave us the good news that the ferry was a go and escorted us to the ticket booth to buy our ferry tickets (20€ per person).  She also gave us a tip about ensuring that we sat on the right side of the ferry so we could have a prime view on our way up the coast.  We decided to be brave and hardy (as we Canadians like to think ourselves to be) and actually chose to sit on the open deck at the aft end of the ferry.  We left Portovenere around 11am and secured our hoods and firmly wrapped our scarves around us as it got quite windy and splashy very quickly.  

The view of San Pietro as we were leaving the harbour

Hardy Canadians (and one Brit)....represent!!

The first stop was Riomaggiore where we took some incredible photos as the ferry was pulling in and out of the village but we did not get off at that stop.  Most of the stops did not have a pier as we would normally expect to see.  They would pull up as close to the rocks as they could get, slide the gangway off the front of the ferry unto the rocks and everyone would carefully make their way along the gangway while the boat continued to rise and fall with the waves.  It was kind of like a theme park thrill ride bonus to the ferry trip.

Stunning view of Riomaggiore

Making our way up the gangway

 

No pier....just a bunch of rocks!

We waited until the second stop at Manarola and disembarked to explore the town.  None of the towns are very large so we wandered around for a bit and found a delicious little gelateria near the post office where we were able to grab a treat.  Who cares if it was a chilly day??  It would be crazy to miss an opportunity to enjoy some gelato and sorbet!!

Exploring Manarola

A great place for a treat!!

We caught the 12:45pm ferry to Vernazza, where we had decided that we were going to spend the most time and eat lunch.  We spent quite a bit of time searching for a spot that had gluten-free pizza and walked all of the way up to the parking lot at the top of the town.  

Down by the waterfront in Vernazza

There was a restaurant right beside the parking lot that said they had gluten-free offerings but no tables.  We waited around for a bit and eventually got a table but then started to get the runaround about the menu.  It actually was a frustrating experience with an owner who, after telling us he had gluten free pasta, started changing his story and telling us his gluten free menu was not fully developed and that we should have a particular dish that he recommended.  Needless to say, we ended up with a platter with eight thin slices of raw fish and a few olives and tomatoes.  Now, I am sure there are people who would have enjoyed this dish however…we were not one of them.  We forced ourselves to eat it because we had to get something into our stomachs but it was not very pleasing to our taste buds.

When we returned home, I read some reviews of the restaurant on TripAdvisor and it turns out that this owner quite frequently decides what he wants to serve certain customers and that is what they get.  I guess the sign we saw as we were paying for our food should have been an indication to us to look farther afield for another option.  The sign said: “We do not serve eggs.  Do not ask us for them.  You are in Italy.  Eat our food” or very close to that wording.  One reviewer found his bossiness charming but we were left with a rather different feeling.  Regardless, we had some protein in our tummies and some snacks in the van so all was not lost.  Our biggest disappointment was that so much time was taken up at the restaurant that we did not get to see much of the town and Vernazza is supposed to be the prettiest of them all.

Guilia was at the parking lot a few minutes early so we decided to start the drive to Pisa and take the opportunity to make a few stops along the route to get some photos.  The road wound along the coast quite a distance up in the mountains.  At various spots, it gave us an absolutely incredible overhead view of some of the Cinque Terre villages as well as an up close look at the terraced vineyards, olive groves and gardens. 

I believe the history was that the ancestors had chosen these locations for their villages because they were not easily accessible and this made them less appealing to being attacked.  They had ready access to lots of fish however the steep inclines presented a challenge for growing fruits and vegetables.  They created terraced gardens that would allow them to take advantage of agricultural opportunities as well.  At one of our stops we were able to examine one of the contraptions that they invented to get up and down the terraced hillsides.  It looked like a very small (and slow) roller coaster!  We also were able to see people harvesting olives along the side of the road.  Everything was picked by hand and dropped into nets that were strung between the trees.    It was really quite ingenious how inventive the residents were to enable them to go about their daily lives in such an inhospitable location.

Terraced vineyard with Manarola in the distance

This creation is what they use to get up and down the terraced areas.  The motor is located at the very back (or front - depending on if it is going up or down) with a seat inside a cage in front of it.  There are then some flat sections to carry the harvest or other supplies.  It runs on the rail that you see below it.

It took us about an hour’s drive to get to Pisa.  This was the number one spot that Mom wanted to see and the smile on her face when she finally got a look at the Leaning Tower of Pisa was well worth the drive.  It was just so incredible to us that we were standing there looking at a monument that we had only ever seen in photos.  It was much more beautiful than I expected it to be.  There were so many colour variations in the marble and even though it was a grey and rainy day, the tower seemed to put out a soft, white glow.  Just gorgeous!!  FYI – bathroom charge was 0,80€ each.

The tower (right) and the Duomo (left)

 

The Baptistery

We made it back to the port of Livorno and onto the ship by 6pm.  We had a full day and were ravenous so we took no time heading to the Garden Room for supper.  Everything tasted divine after all of the fresh air and exercise.

I was so glad we that took the opportunity to see Cinque Terre.  Rumour has it that there are so many tourists now that they are starting to talk about limiting the amount of people that can access the area on any one day.  Who knows if they will ever institute these restrictions but we were happy to take the chance to see the villages when we had the chance.  Pisa was just an added bonus that ended up being so much more enjoyable than we expected.  What an adventure we were blessed to have!!  

We highly recommend Papillon Service tours if you are looking for a reliable, trustworthy and professional tour company.  Guilia was an informative and very helpful guide and all of our dealings with Sharon (office) from booking to payment were professional and friendly!