OCD Planner's Mah-valous Mediterranean Adventure on Serenade of the Seas

[ace1zoe2]

At the beginning of my last post I said looking to your left. It should have been right. Sorry.

 

Manarola, continued...

 

These were some of the many steps that we climbed this day:

 

 

The CT National Park medallion in the walkway:

 

 

Next up we caught the train to Corniglia which is the least visited of the 5 villages and probably the most authentic due to the lack of tourists. Corniglia sits high on the mountain. The train comes in at the base and there are two ways to get to the village. First the hard way - climb 365 steps to the top or second, the easy way - take a free shuttle (included in the price of your CT Train and park ticket) to the top. If you came by ferry or walked here and wanted to take the shuttle then there is a 5 euro charge.

 

It looks like we arrived in Corniglia about 11:30am by the clock in this picture.

 

 

First glimpses of the village:

 

 

 

[ace1zoe2]

Corniglia continued...

 

I LOVED this village! It was so quaint and charming. The people were so friendly and the food was so good.

 

 

The Oratory of S. Caterina:

 

 

The building was built in the 1700's but looks much older.

 

 

 

Another of the tight little alleyways in Corniglia:

 

 

We ventured out to the edge of the village which overlooks the sea below. Here we all took pictures and stood in awe of our surroundings.

 

A view of the next village:

 

[ace1zoe2]

Corniglia continued...

 

A view of the village above:

 

 

A view of the sea below:

 

 

The terraced vineyards in the area produce a very nice white wine which we had later on with our lunch.

 

 

A view of Manarola behind us:

 

 

The train station at the base of the hill. I mentioned before if you want to walk it was 365 steps... actually it is 33 flights of stairs totaling 377 steps.

 

 

Most of the "streets" in the villages were similar to this one...uphill and narrow.

 

[ace1zoe2]

The last thing we did in Corniglia, before moving on to Monterosso, was to have an authentic fresh Italian meal complete with the Cinque Terre wine.

 

 

Between the 10 of us we had an assortment of foods. Pizza, fried fish, fried shrimp, bruschetta, burgers and more. I ordered the fried fish plate... in America it would be a plate of fried fish... I should have taken note when Debbie ordered the "fish" in Viterbo and got mussels that I might not get fish. This was my plate complete with whole friend fish, anchovies, shrimp fried with the shell still on and legs still attached, calamari, fried baby octopus and more.

 

 

I wouldn't say that I'm a picky eater, hey I've tried escargot and even just had "escargot" directly from the shell a few days earlier... but it took some convincing and coaching to get me to try the baby octopus and the whole fried fish even though they were both small. I farmed out some of my munchies to others willing to try them. It was all really good and I would eat it all again.

 

Here I am with my fish skeleton. I'm pretty proud of myself!

 

 

Some of the other foods which looked really good:

 

 

 

Our group having a great time at lunch:

 

[ace1zoe2]

Our next stop was Monterosso arriving around 1:45pm.

 

 

This is probably the most "touristy" village. It has both an old and new part of the village which are connected via a tunnel.

 

 

Furtherest down is the newer part with a big beach which is filled with umbrellas and chairs in the summer months. There are actual "hotel" accommodations here, a castle, a beach and a church to visit.

 

We were here for basically one reason... to step in to the Ligurian Sea so we could say "been there, done that" and check one more thing off of our bucket list.

 

The beach area:

 

 

 

Which looks more like this in the summer months (picture courtesy of thewineymom.blogspot.com):

 

 

So here I am on the 30th of October in the Ligurian Sea:

 

 

After a stop for the rest of the group to try the local Gelato we headed to the old town we would head for the ferry.

[ace1zoe2]

We purchased our tickets for 9 euro each and boarded the ferry for our 30 minute trip back to Riomaggiore. I was looking forward to the ferry ride in order to get pictures from the sea of the towns. I was so glad that the ferries were running and that the seas weren't too rough. I got some great shots of the towns. I had my zoom lens so I was able to zoom in and get some close ups. I think I probably took 40-50 pictures just on the ferry ride back!

 

There were 2 different ferries that you could take. One was a non-stop and the other stopped at each village... we didn't realize this and of course ended up on the one that stopped at each village, except Corniglia which doesn't have a port, for about 5 minutes or less if no one is waiting to board or disembark.

 

 

The non-stop boat that left about the same time that we did but arrived about 10 minutes sooner.

 

 

A view of Monterosso from the sea:

 

 

The terraced vineyards in the background:

 

 

Corniglia from the sea and all the stairs to get up there:

 

 

The regional train between the villages:

 

[ace1zoe2]

In this picture you can see where one of the mud slides in Cinque Terre occurred back in 2011 literally burying some of the villages. It has been a hard road back for a lot of the businesses and vineyards. Even today some of the trails between the villages remain closed.

 

 

 

You can see here that not a square inch of land is wasted. If they can terrace it, they turn it in to a vineyard.

 

 

Riomaggiore from the sea:

 

 

Arriving back in Rio:

 

 

One of the locals tying nets:

 

 

We left Riomaggiore about 3:30pm heading back to Livorno. After stopping for fuel we arrived at the port around 5:15. All aboard was 6:30pm so we made it back in plenty of time. We had a full day DIY trip that everyone loved. We were able to visit 4 of the 5 villages only missing out on Vernazzo. Sure we would have loved to have more time in each place but we were able to catch a glimpse of Riomaggiore, Manarola, Corniglia and Monterosso.

 

We did do some walking no doubt about that. By the time we went to bed on the second night of our cruise we had walked 12,796 steps or 5.58 miles, mostly uphill!

Edited December 2, 2014 by ace1zoe2

[ace1zoe2]

I hope that you enjoyed our day in Cinque Terre. If you have never been and find yourself in La Spezia or Livorno, I highly recommend spending some time there. Even if you only pick 2 villages and really immerse yourself in them for a few hours each I think it would be well worth while.

 

Let me know that you're still out there following along :)

 

Up tomorrow we'll be stopping in Villefranche and taking a private guided tour visiting Nice, Monaco, Monte Carlo & Eze Village. One of my all time favorite guided tours that we have done...

 

I hope that you will come back and join me!

 

Until then, Arrivederci!

 

Cindy

[Raxter54]

Welcome back, and hope you had an excellent Thanksgiving! Those pictures are fantastic! Don't think I could have made it thru that plate of "fish" like you did.

 

Keep the pictures coming!

[Dreamer115]

Glad you are back. Yes I am still following along and enjoying it very much, can't wait for more. One question, having never been to Europe how much is a ÷

Euro worth?

Connie

[ace1zoe2]

Glad you are back. Yes I am still following along and enjoying it very much, can't wait for more. One question, having never been to Europe how much is a ÷

Euro worth?

Connie

 

Currently one Euro costs $1.25 USD. When we booked our tip is was around $1.30 and got up as much as $1.37 USD for 1 euro. By the time we left for our trip it was back down to $1.37 USD for 1 euro... So your trip could could cost as much as 30% more than paying in USD.

 

We just booked and paid things out over about 18 months and then hoped for the best :)

 

 

Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk HD

[ace1zoe2]

Welcome back, and hope you had an excellent Thanksgiving! Those pictures are fantastic! Don't think I could have made it thru that plate of "fish" like you did.

 

Keep the pictures coming!

 

Thank you for staying with me! The "fish" plate was a definitely a challenge but I took it and it was worth it!

 

 

 

Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk HD

[betsyl]

Following along! Great!

[ace1zoe2]

Following along! Great!

 

Thank you! More to come tomorrow!

 

 

 

Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk HD

[Dreamer115]

Currently one Euro costs $1.25 USD. When we booked our tip is was around $1.30 and got up as much as $1.37 USD for 1 euro. By the time we left for our trip it was back down to $1.37 USD for 1 euro... So your trip could could cost as much as 30% more than paying in USD.

 

We just booked and paid things out over about 18 months and then hoped for the best :)

 

 

Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk HD

 

Thanks Cindy. Now I sort of have an idea of how much things cost when you say 15 euros or whatever. And I forgot to mention in my last message how much I love your pictures. They are amazing.

 

Connie

[ace1zoe2]

Currently one Euro costs $1.25 USD. When we booked our tip is was around $1.30 and got up as much as $1.37 USD for 1 euro. By the time we left for our trip it was back down to $1.37 USD for 1 euro... So your trip could could cost as much as 30% more than paying in USD.

 

We just booked and paid things out over about 18 months and then hoped for the best :)

 

 

Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk HD

 

 

Sorry, I meant to say that it got down to $1.27 right before we left so I had my daughter pull 1000euro out of the ATM for me the week before since she was already there. That ended up saving me close to $100.

 

I only took cash out to pay for the Apartments & tours that required cash. Otherwise I used my credit card that had no foreign transaction fee & just paid the exchange thru it.

 

So not only did you have to pay that extra .27-.37 cents on every dollar but there is a VAT (value added tax) that is put on top of purchases that is an additional 22%, even purchases onboard the ship! It did not include consumables if I remember correctly and some things were priced "VAT included".

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Edited December 2, 2014 by ace1zoe2

[ace1zoe2]

Sorry, I meant to say that it got down to $1.27 right before we left so I had my daughter pull 1000euro out of the ATM for me the week before since she was already there. That ended up saving me close to $100.

 

I only took cash out to pay for the Apartments & tours that required cash. Otherwise I used my credit card that had no foreign transaction fee & just paid the exchange thru it.

 

So not only did you have to pay that extra .27-.37 cents on every dollar but there is a VAT (value added tax) that is put on top of purchases that is an additional 22%, even purchases onboard the ship! It did not include consumables if I remember correctly and some things off the ship were priced "VAT included".

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

 

 

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[Sheal]

Cindy,

 

I just started reading last night and I, too, thank you for the great job you are doing. Perfect amount of commentary and great pictures.

 

Although my itinerary has only a few ports in common, this was one of them. Our ship, the Vision, was scheduled to port in La Spezia when we booked and then later it too, was switched to Livorno.:( Others on the board here have encouraged me to DIY it like you.

 

I have a couple of questions, one is what type of camara do you use and how was the ride? I expect my husband to be the designated driver but my FIL has experience on the Autostrada. Is there much scenery? Our decision is Pisa/Lucca or Cinque Terre. As much as I would like to see Cinque the views in the Tuscan countryside look divine.

 

We hit Villefranche too so I am looking forward to seeing/reading about your tour. I planned to make this trip more relaxing by just wandering around Nice. My sister said to hit Eze but I wasn't interested in a tour. I too suffer from "wanna see it all" but I promised a more relaxing, sit and drink beer/wine type of vacation to my husband.

 

Sheal

 

BTW, if that plate was handed to me I would have run from the table. I'm not much of a seafood person other than fish and chips.

Edited December 2, 2014 by Sheal

[hipster1]

Cindy,

Love the pictures of Cinque! Even without hiking the trails, I believe you really got to experience the villages:) You were lucky. We were not able to do the ferry due to high winds and rough seas.

 

Oh..as of this morning..the euro is down to 1.23!

 

Ali

[ace1zoe2]

Cindy,

 

I just started reading last night and I, too, thank you for the great job you are doing. Perfect amount of commentary and great pictures.

 

Although my itinerary has only a few ports in common, this was one of them. Our ship, the Vision, was scheduled to port in La Spezia when we booked and then later it too, was switched to Livorno.:( Others on the board here have encouraged me to DIY it like you.

 

I have a couple of questions, one is what type of camara do you use and how was the ride? I expect my husband to be the designated driver but my FIL has experience on the Autostrada. Is there much scenery? Our decision is Pisa/Lucca or Cinque Terre. As much as I would like to see Cinque the views in the Tuscan countryside look divine.

 

We hit Villefranche too so I am looking forward to seeing/reading about your tour. I planned to make this trip more relaxing by just wandering around Nice. My sister said to hit Eze but I wasn't interested in a tour. I too suffer from "wanna see it all" but I promised a more relaxing, sit and drink beer/wine type of vacation to my husband.

 

Sheal

 

BTW, if that plate was handed to me I would have run from the table. I'm not much of a seafood person other than fish and chips.

 

 

Sheal,

 

Thanks for the kind words regarding my commentary & pictures. To me most of Tuscany was outstanding and we enjoyed every minute of it and I loved the views. On our trip from Livorno to CT we were on a road comparable to the interstates in the US, not necessarily a lot to see.

 

As for my camera, most of the pictures I am posting were taken with a Canon 7D. Some were taken with my iphone (mostly the food pictures) and just a few were taken with an Olympus Tough. A lot of the indoor pictures are without flash because of being inside of cathedrals... I've tried to lighten them up so that you can see a little better.

 

I think a more relaxed day would be Pisa/Lucca (just be sure to pre-purchase your tickets if you plan to climb the tower) since it is closer. The drive to CT wasn't anything special, although you do get little look-see at the Tower of Pisa in the distance as you drive by.

 

I hope this is what you were asking. If you need other information let me know and I will try to answer.

 

Cindy

[ace1zoe2]

Cindy,

Love the pictures of Cinque! Even without hiking the trails, I believe you really got to experience the villages:) You were lucky. We were not able to do the ferry due to high winds and rough seas.

 

Oh..as of this morning..the euro is down to 1.23!

 

Ali

 

Thank you so much! I agree that we were really lucky to be able to experience CT by way of the trains AND super lucky to get the views from the ferry. I would have been disappointed if we'd miss that part.

 

I'm glad the $ to euro is getting better in our favor.

 

Cindy

[Sheal]

Thanks Cindy,

 

I'm thinking of getting a new camera for this next trip. I'm leaning towards the A6000 as I am more of a novice at this point.

 

I suspected the views would be more like the views from our interstate here too. I'm not counting on seeing much of the rolling hills from the car windows.

 

Still up in the air about what to do. In-laws have been to Pisa but not Lucca but have Cinque Terre on their bucket list. I think the disappointment of porting in Livorno has worn off a little so I am good with either the Pisa/Lucca or Cinque trips.

 

Good news about the Euro. My daughter's BF can get the euros through the bank for the same price. Too bad I haven't saved up anymore spending money.

 

Sheal

[ace1zoe2]

Our third day on the ship was Friday, 10/31, Halloween and we were docked in the sea off the coast of Villefranche. For this port there are lots of choices of places and things to see. You could easily do a DIY trip, a train trip to Nice or Monaco but we chose to do a guided private tour so that we could see as much as possible and hear the history of the areas.

 

 

After much research I chose a tour with Sylvie de Cristo who was the top tour on Trip Advisor (during my research) and booked her services more than a year in advance. We originally had 16 traveling in our group and unfortunately one couple had to cancel early on. I opened this tour up to our Roll Call board and immediately another couple signed on for the tour.

 

We were allowed to customize our tour to what we wanted to see, whether or not we wanted to have a French lunch, go shopping, etc. I was so excited to have Sylvie as our tour guide... then things don't always go according to plan. Sylvie sent me an email about 3 months before our trip and said she would not be able to do our tour after all. I was devastated, even angry that she was canceling so close to our trip. She explained that she had been hired to do a 15 day tour for a group that overlapped with our tour... she couldn't give up a 15 days work for one day with us. Then I understood her predicament. She told me that she had a colleague who was wonderful and she had asked her to take our tour. I agreed to go along with this after she raved about how good she was. Sylvie said she wouldn't recommend anyone unless she thought that they could do the job as good as or better than she did.

 

I was contacted by Catherine Coppex and she assured me everything would be the same as what I had arranged with Sylvie. She would meet us just outside the terminal building in Villefranche and spend the entire day showing us her country. I was still a little skeptical and wondered if she would really be as good as all the reviews I had seen for Sylvie.

 

Let me tell you now, my fears were all for naught. Catherine was a gem! She kept us laughing all day long. She was so personable and a little colorful at times and every single one of the 16 of us all kept talking about what a great tour guide she was. I wish that I would have gotten a picture with her but unfortunately I didn't think to do so at the time. She had been doing tours for the last 35 years and but she wouldn't say how old she was. Later in the day we got her to tell us that she was 21 when she started as a tour guide (which made her 56). She has done tours all over the world and for some very famous people including Mrs. Jerry Jones (of the Dallas Cowboys family), her daughter and the grandkids. She had some great stories to pass the time when we were driving and there was nothing special being pointed out.

 

We arrived in the harbor around 7am and had to tender in to port. We were on one of the early tenders at about 8:15 (before they started requiring tickets) and thru the terminal by 8:40 or so. We walked out the back side of the terminal to the parking lot for tours and within a few minutes we located Catherine. She had rented a large mini-bus for our group which provided plenty of room to spread out and be comfortable, as well as having large windows to see out.

 

We walked from the terminal building up to the parking lot of the fort where we boarded the bus and headed out by 9am.

 

 

Our first stop overlooked the harbor area with a fantastic panoramic views.

 

 

 

 

Catherine was nice enough to take a group picture of us:

 

[ace1zoe2]

Our next stop was in the town of Nice, France we visited the Cours Saleya which is a daily fresh food market. The driver dropped us off close to the old town area and we walked to the market. Along the way we passed this statue which Catherine referred to as the "butt statue". If anyone got lost, just look for the butt statue and walk two more blocks with the ocean on your left and that is where we would meet if anyone wanted to go off on their own. For the most part we all stayed pretty close together.

 

 

We passed this Cathedral while still in the mini-bus so the picture is not so great:

 

 

These next two photos were taken as we were getting close to the market area. The colors and architecture of the buildings were amazing. There is no air conditioning here even in most of the newer buildings. The people just open their shutters to let in the breeze, hang their clothes out to dry or get some sunshine.

 

 

 

As we arrived to the market it was a feast for our senses, especially our nose and eyes... and later our tastebuds as Catherine treated us to a special thin baked bread made of chick peas and salt and oil. I cannot recall the name of it but it was cooked in a huge flat plan, was very thin and it was scraped out and put on wax paper. Everyone tried it and I liked it... it could maybe even be addicting. Not to long after that, and before lunch we all had to try the Gelateria here in France so we could compare to Rome & Cinque Terre.

 

I probably took 50 pictures in the market area and I won't bore you with them all, but I am going to post a few to give you an idea of what we saw. There was stalls throughout that had fresh flowers, flower arrangements and more.

 

 

[ace1zoe2]

There were booths with nothing but olives of every kind imaginable. You could purchase small amounts to eat now or bottled ones to take home. They even had gift baskets. I LOVE olives of all kinds but I didn't even sample a single one!

 

 

 

To me it is amazing to see all the fresh flowers, fruits & vegetables, meats & cheeses, fish & seafood for sale in the open market. In Texas and even the majority of the US this is unheard of. And even more amazing was there were no flies anywhere that I can recall.

 

 

I think this little red fish might be what I had for lunch the day before in Corniglia!

 

 

And if you are in to more, shall I say exotic type seafood, then this was the place for you to shop! Feast your eyes on these delights from the sea.

 

 

The grapes here were enormous in size!