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France, Italy and Switzerland, August 2002
Day
12
Despite extreme protests from your mother, we were up at 7:00 am on Tuesday and on the trail to Corniglia, the 3rd Cinque Terra town by 7:30 am. Compared to yesterday, the trail was exceptional; wide, and well graded. It was also very remote compared to the first segment; I think we only passed a few homes and maybe four people. But best of all, it was cool. As we climbed it was in the cool morning shade, a blessing after yesterday.
Before
9:00 am we found ourselves in town eating focaccia with ham and cheese
for me and with salami and cheese for your mom. Your mom also
ordered mint syrup with milk that I found very scary, in both taste and
color but since she was now a professional chef I kept telling her,
"You have to try it, it's your job." We also had
cappuccino and hot chocolate as thick as yogurt. After Corniglia the trails between the towns became flatter and shorter. Just north of Manarola we swam in deep blue water and even got to explore a sea cave. Upon getting dressed after the dip I thought I lost my belt but it turned out to be a false alarm. In Riomaggiore, the last town, we went over the hill instead of through the tunnel to explore the other side of the town and were rewarded with a castle overlooking the town and ocean. Actually, we had a role reversal in this town with your mother dragging me up the hill instead of the other way around.
After
we finished exploring Riomaggiore we took the train to La Spezia and
planned on going to Lake Como from there. Instead we ended up back
tracking, taking the train back through Cinque Terra to Genova.
But this time the train did not stop, so the trip was quite nice.
We spent most of it in the air-conditioned dining compartment, nursing
some awful train food and enjoying the views of the water in between the
myriad tunnels. Once back in Genova we caught a train to Milan and then another to Lake Como. The change from Milan to Lake Como was dramatic, going from a huge bustling city to a beautiful lake town in just minutes. From the train station in Lake Como we caught a bus to Bellagio and also picked up a traveling companion.
Christy
was about 45 years old and an English as a second language teacher from
Seattle. She had just flown into Frankfurt from Shanghai, having
spent two months taking Chinese classes. She was on her way to
Rome for a romantic rendezvous but needed to spend the night somewhere.
I suggested that she tag along with us and she accepted. The bus
ride from Como to Bellagio took one hour to cover the 30 kilometers and
was very senic, but at the same time a white-knuckle affair as the bus
was big and fast with a loud horn and the roads were narrow and sinuous. Upon
arrival in Bellagio we first encountered a very snooty receptionist at
the three-star 'Hotel Splendide'. She quoted us 114 euros for a
double room and when Christy asked about less expensive options she said
we could save a little bit at the 'Hotel Europa' but "it's only two
stars". Not wanting to spend that kind of money, we headed
uphill and away from the lake were a local barman directed us to the 'Albergo
Giardinetto'. It was only a one star accommodation but the price
was right, 52 euros for a double. In
reality, it was a great place with very clean, modern and quiet rooms
with balcony views of the lake and mountains. In the courtyard
grape vines with trunks almost one foot thick grew on a trellis and
provided a wonderful place to sit and relax. The gentleman who
showed us the rooms was very nice although most of the time his voice
wavered between a pubescent boy and a hyena, which I found
disconcerting. That night we dined with Christy and all shared misto antipasto to start. Your mom had fabulous osso bucco and, not being very hungry, had raviolis with cheese and spinach in butter and sage sauce. Even with wine, this was one of our cheapest dinners yet coming in at 50 euros. But Christy pitched in 20 euros so it was even less. After all of the people in Cassis, I was very surprised at the lack of tourists. Sure it was Tuesday, but it was still August and we were in Bellagio.
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