Sensational Serenade 12 night Med with Venice overnight and Montenegro Review.

[Irish Cath]

The little bus dropped us in a tiny square which was barely large enough for the bus to turn in. Behind the bus stop locals swarmed around another little van which was packed with local produce; it seemed the supermarket had come to town.

We wandered aimlessly towards where the other few tourists who had shared my cinderella’s carriage had disappeared and were soon on the main street of this delightful little enclave the Via Fieschia. The street was wide enough for maybe 4 adults to walk abreast and less in many places. Small shops occupied the lower level of family homes where local honey, olive oil and wine so famous that legend has it vasefuls were discovered at Pompeii, were displayed for purchase.

 

Main street.

 

 

Occasional alley ways between the houses allow glimpses of perfectly tended gardens and an unchanging reminder of the village’s sustenance –the tiered vines.

 

 

 

[Irish Cath]

Soon we reach the main square Largo Taragio where little cafes have tables set under trees. We continue along and moments later reach the end point of the Via Fieschia where a church dedicated to Santa Maria once stood.

 

 

 

What happened here is one of those moments in life that will never be forgotten, can’t be described by any amount of words or suitably captured by even the most amazing of cameras. A viewpoint offers the most incredible sweeping views of the Ligurian Sea which bring a lump to my throat just thinking them about now. Dumb struck we stood and gazed at the other 4 villages in the distance with the cerulean sea way below. After some time we realised we were not completely alone. A gentleman playing a handmade flute like instrument was playing some self-composed melodies. He explained that he was originally from Hawaii and was travelling around the world aided by offerings from willing listeners. We sat on the wall in a shady area and allowed him to choose a tune to entertain us with. The unique sound matched the sui generis of our setting. Why can time not stand still on these days where life is simply perfect?

 

 

 

 

 

Not ready to leave this utopia we decided to stay for lunch. We agreed on Bar Pan e Vin back along the main street, seduced by the selection of marvelous sandwiches in the window.

With a hint of garlic my bruschetta was topped with sweet juicy local tomatoes and a fresh creamy mozzarella while Ger choose a regional focaccia with locally produced salami and cheese. The owners took time to discuss the highly rated local wine and Ger enjoyed a large glass of a Cinque Terre D.O.C. Our sandwiches with wine and a bottle of chilled water came in under €12.

 

 

 

 

We begrudgingly strolled back to the bus stop to catch our ride back down the hill. It was a little later than advertised and we had to run for the train. We made it by the skin of our teeth and sat for the 5 minute journey to our next stop – Manarola.

[samben]

Love your review!

[Kreuzfahrtneuling]

oh yummy! I'd love to jump in that picture to get a bite from that bruschetta! That looks soooo delicious!

[kirian]

 

Oh and as for disclaimers - i'm way too mean, I like to sneak up on you when you're least expecting it *evil laugh* :D:D

 

Now THAT was hysterical!!! I love your "evilness" :eek::D

 

Melissa

[Irish Cath]

Love your review!

 

thanks for reading along, glad you are enjoying it

 

Catherine :)

[Irish Cath]

oh yummy! I'd love to jump in that picture to get a bite from that bruschetta! That looks soooo delicious!

 

ohhh it really was so incredibly yummy. I don't know what the tomatoes are like in Germany but they just do not taste anything like those ones in the picture did here in Ireland.

[Irish Cath]

Now THAT was hysterical!!! I love your "evilness" :eek::D

 

Melissa

 

 

mmmmwwwhhahaaahaha. :D

[Irish Cath]

Stepping out of the station in Manarola was like arriving in a city compared to Corniglia. Although still rather small, here the main street was lined with boats and would have had the capacity to facilitate small vehicles.

 

 

 

Much to my delight the walk to the harbour here involved a leisurely gentle slope which seemed to grow into a much more steeper trek on the way back I might add!

 

 

 

Down at the harbour there is a boat ramp overlooked by multi-coloured multi storied houses. We spent some time here watching enviously at crazy people jumping off sharp rocks into the glistening water below. Oh how I wished I could swim, that cool water must have felt wonderful in the sweltering afternoon sun.

 

 

 

To view the village from another angle we walked out along the path clinging to the bottom of the mountainside.

 

 

 

I presume this is the start of the Via dell’Amore and how could you not be desperately in love and indeed in love with life surrounded by the most glorious tableaux of God’s creation. Again we sat, gob smacked by the indescribable beauty of this place, the houses clinging to the mountainside, defying gravity and above all, defying time.

 

 

[Irish Cath]

The view back towards Corniglia with the train line running along the coast.

 

A shrine dedicated to Our Lady built into the cliff.

 

 

I could have sat all day admiring this view.

[kirian]

You did an amazing job catching the beauty of Manarola, both with your photos and your write-up.... your words makes things sound even more beautiful than they were already. It really is such a breathtakingly stunning town :)

 

Melissa

[stefanny28]

Hi Catherine;

 

I followed your advice and booked the cruise...

I just love reading your review. Your pictures are gorgeous.

 

Please, keep on posting . I have to get some ideas for excursions for next year :-)))

[Sunny AZ Girl]

Great review! I know the work involved as I have written several myself. Keep it up. I'll be hanging onto every entertaining word.:cool:

Edited August 10, 2014 by Sunny AZ Girl

[mj]

I had a very leisurely start to the morning and slept until 8 a.m while Ger sweated it out in the gym. We met with our lovely CC family–big shout out to the Grenci’s- who we would be sharing today’s excursion with and proceeded to the Safari club to collect tendering tickets at 9a.m. Once they were collected, and it’s worth noting here that one member from a group can collect as many tickets as necessary, we decided it was time for breakie. Breakfast service finished in reflections dining room at 9.30a.m so instead of rushing there we decided to find our favourite outside seating spot behind the windjammer and tucked into freshly prepared omelettes. We chatted with a lovely elderly British couple as the French coastline came closer and closer into view.

 

 

 

 

 

Wonderful review so far. I was looking to book a private tour for Villefranche and was curious what time you got on shore? I am on the Vision of the Seas next year and were in port 10am - 7pm. Did not want to book a private excursion and not be able to get off the boat.

Edited August 10, 2014 by mj

[Irish Cath]

You did an amazing job catching the beauty of Manarola, both with your photos and your write-up.... your words makes things sound even more beautiful than they were already. It really is such a breathtakingly stunning town :)

 

Melissa

 

wow thanks Melissa, i'm not sure I deserve such high praise but i'm thrilled you think i did the place justice. How lucky are we ( me & ger and you & cm) to have actually experienced the beauty of this wonderful place.

[Irish Cath]

Hi Catherine;

 

I followed your advice and booked the cruise...

I just love reading your review. Your pictures are gorgeous.

 

Please, keep on posting . I have to get some ideas for excursions for next year :-)))

 

congratulations you are going on a truly wonderful cruise. In fact myself and Ger were talking just last night saying we will seriously consider this exact same itinerary next year.

 

Don't worry there will be more postings coming along later today - the end of day 3 anyway.

 

Thanks again for reading

Catherine :)

Edited August 10, 2014 by Irish Cath

[Irish Cath]

Great review! I know the work involved as I have written several myself. Keep it up. I'll be hanging onto every entertaining word.:cool:

 

Thank you , that is very kind of you to say. These reviews sure do take a lot of time and effort ( especially when you are as silly as myself and didn't keep a journal). It brings back lots of memories though so i get great pleasure from writing it too.

 

Again, thanks for taking the time to comment, its great to get some support.

 

Catherine :)

Edited August 10, 2014 by Irish Cath

[Irish Cath]

Wonderful review so far. I was looking to book a private tour for Villefranche and was curious what time you got on shore? I am on the Vision of the Seas next year and were in port 10am - 7pm. Did not want to book a private excursion and not be able to get off the boat.

 

they started to distribute tender tickets to those who did not have RCI tours booked at 9a.m. I admit that our group weren't in a huge hurry this morning and were no where near first in line so it was maybe 9.10 or 9.15 when we got there. From what I recall we had tender 6. By the time we were called and were tendered to port it was maybe shortly after 11 a.m. Stephane our driver for the day text me around 10.30a.m to say he had arrived and would be waiting for us by the harbour entrance until we arrived.

 

I'm sure all drivers would be as obliging - they are probably more familiar with how the tendering process takes time than we are ourselves. I wouldn't worry just let which ever company you book with know what time you arrive in port and that you will be hoping to get off as soon as possible.

 

Catherine :)

[Realtor at Sea]

Your photos are spectacular! We do hope to visit that lovely area some day.

Edited August 10, 2014 by Realtor at Sea

[Irish Cath]

Your photos are spectacular! We do hope to visit that lovely area some day.

 

Thank you Realtor at Sea, glad you are enjoying my pictures. It really is the loveliest of areas.

 

Catherine :)

[mj]

they started to distribute tender tickets to those who did not have RCI tours booked at 9a.m. I admit that our group weren't in a huge hurry this morning and were no where near first in line so it was maybe 9.10 or 9.15 when we got there. From what I recall we had tender 6. By the time we were called and were tendered to port it was maybe shortly after 11 a.m. Stephane our driver for the day text me around 10.30a.m to say he had arrived and would be waiting for us by the harbour entrance until we arrived.

 

I'm sure all drivers would be as obliging - they are probably more familiar with how the tendering process takes time than we are ourselves. I wouldn't worry just let which ever company you book with know what time you arrive in port and that you will be hoping to get off as soon as possible.

 

Catherine :)

 

Thanks for the info. Keep up the good work on this review. Will be doing an almost identical cruise next year on the Vision and information like yours is most helpful.

[crvng4mr]

Wonderful!!! Just absolutely wonderful!

[Irish Cath]

As the afternoon pressed on again we boarded the train for our final visit of the day in the most southern of the 5 villages – Riomaggiore.

The busy little train station here is exited in the middle of town with the road sloping down to the waterside and veering upwards towards shops and at least one church. After all what Italian settlement does not have a Catholic church present.

No prizes here for guessing that we took the easier walk down towards the sea. The little harbour here had more evidence of being a place of work and not just a pretty place for tourists to coo over. At first glance it doesn't seem to be as aesthetically pleasing as its neighbors but it certainly has its own charms and a rustic Italian uniqueness.

 

 

 

 

[bcnvcanada]

So glad to see these five towns recovering. They were hard hit

my the floods in the fall of 2012. I believe that several

people lost their lives. We have spend many days in

the area, and of course they have a special place in

our hearts. Thanks for the wonderful pictures.

[Irish Cath]

Feeling daring we made our way back up the hill and past the train station in search of gelato. As we searched we glimpsed some locals enjoying a late lunch on a nearby bench. Next a heavenly waft engulfed us and transported us past the gelato shop directly to a little shop with the most amazing display of fried fish. So fresh looking were these little delights we felt compelled to sample. We joined the locals on the bench and stuffed ourselves with a glorious selection of squid, prawns and sardines. These golden delights were so incredibly fresh with a salty and savoury taste of the sea. How I wish I had some right now.

 

 

 

On the final train ride of the day back to La Spezia we promised each other that we would come back here to hike all of the blue route but in the Spring time when temperatures are much more bearable. Of course currently it was all closed due to the devastating floods of 2011. Sadly, lives were lost and in Vernazza and Monterosso homes and businesses were buried under metres of mud at that disastrous time.

We also discussed how sometimes it's good to go with your gut and not just listen to advice you get from the experts. As fabulous as each individual village truly is, for us, Corniglia was the star of the show today. To think if we had have listened to the local tour representative we would never have even went there!