Cinque Terre

I had the most amazing weekend with my good friend Sarah in the town of Riomaggiore in Cinque Terre.  We arrived by plane to Genoa on Friday as a meeting point.  We grabbed a bite to eat and had a few glasses of wine to cheers our get together in a little cafe near the train station in Genoa.  We took a 2 hour train ride to Riomaggiore.  The ride consisted of a breathtaking view of the sea on one side, and on the other side was views of towns, vineyards, and mountains.

We arrived into Riomaggiore, and we headed straight to our hotel location.  Sarah found Appartamenti e Camere Edi online, and we decided to just go for it.  You never know what you are going to get because pictures just don't always tell the truth.  Anyways, we checked in and Edi said, "Follow me, I have a nice apartment in the port."  Yes, we started walking right down to the water.  He walked us right to our apartment which had a view of the harbor, sunset, and the town.

View from the room

Sunset from the room

View of Port from room

After we got settled into the apartment, we immediately got into our swimsuits and headed straight to the beach.  The beach was very rocky.  We tried our best not to look ridiculous trying to get into and out of the water.  That was a fail.  We pretty much crawled into the water on all fours.  After our swim, we got cleaned up and headed to dinner.  We ate at Enoteca Dau Cila, and it was quite a popular place because of its view.  We ate dinner inside because reservations were needed in order to eat outside.  We enjoyed a nice bottle of white wine from the area, and we ate mussels, clams, and tuna for dinner.  It was to die for!  The food was just wonderful.  After dinner, we headed to a bar where they served "big" mojitos.  While our drinks were being made, we made friends with some people from New Zealand.  We joined them for a few drinks, then called it a night.

New Zealand friend, Sarah, and me

Sarah and me

We woke up early Saturday morning to get a start on the day.  Sarah and I grabbed some fruit and water in town, and then we headed to the train station.  We took the train to Corniglia, so we could hike the trail to Monterosso.  There are many trails along Cinque Terre that go between all the towns, but some have been closed due to rock falls and dangerous parts.  The hike was pretty intense.  I am officially no longer a fan of hiking.  The stairs pretty much killed me.  I also began to not feel so good halfway through the hike (heat + sun + getting land legs = not feeling so good).  A midpoint was the town of Vernazza.  There we had lunch and walked through the town.  Sarah and I then took a break from one another.  After lunch she continued to hike, and I took the train to Monterosso.  We met up again in the town for some gelato and a little walk.  Then we took a boat back to Riomaggiore.  The views were absolutely picturesque.  It is amazing to see towns in the middle of a mountain on cliffs overlooking the sea with buildings of so many colors.

After a full day out in Cinque Terre, we made it back to Riomaggiore.  Sarah headed to the beach, and I had a wonderful siesta.  I woke up feeling a million times better, and instead of going to a different town we decided to stay in Riomaggiore again for the evening.  We ate at a trattoria next to the train station called Trattoria Via Dell'Amore.  It looked a little rough from the outside, but the food was amazing.  I ate ravioli and Sarah had a pesto dish.  After dinner, we headed to Bar Centrale for some gelato and some glasses of wine.  We met a few Italians who were passing through the town, so we had a short conversation because of the language barrier... I really need to work on my Italian!  After Bar Centrale, we headed to the "big" mojito place again.  We had more conversations with Italians, but again the language barrier was a little rough.  Although conversations with the Italians didn't go too well, we ended up talking with a few guys from England.  You would think that we would meet a lot of Italians, but Cinque Terre is a big tourist place.  We ended up meeting more people from New Zealand, Canada, and England than from Italy.

The next day we spent the whole day on the beach.  We ended up meeting our British guy friends again, so we joined them for lunch at Il Pescato Cucinato.  We had some fried fish and beer in some shade along the main street.  Afterwards we headed back to the beach for the rest of the day.  Throughout our swims during the weekend, we managed to wreak havoc on our bodies.  Our feet and legs have cuts from the rocks.  I had my second encounter with a jellyfish.  It was not pleasant as I have a clear battle wound in which the jellyfish won.  After soaking my jellyfish sting in the salt water, it was  time for my afternoon siesta again.   For dinner, we headed back to Enoteca Dau Cila for dinner (same place as the first night).  We had the best view of the boats at the port because we were smart to make a reservation.  We even had a show of the local fisherman taking their boats out of the water because a storm was coming in.  After dinner we enjoyed some gelato and the view of the water.  We turned in early, so we could get up to catch a 7:30 am train back to Genoa.  From Genoa, we took a flight to London.

Dinner!

Lobster, Sarah, and Dinner!

Fisherman putting the boats away

Capri & Nerano

CAPRI

My last few days on the catamaran were wonderful.  After Ischia, we sailed to Capri where we docked in Maritime Piccolo.  This has been my third trip to Capri, and it is exactly the same as the last two times.  The beautiful views and grottos are still amazing.  The water is just the clearest deep blue.  In the afternoon, we were nearby the the Maritime Piccolo where we ate lunch on the catamaran and swam.  In the evening we went to the island and took a cab to Anacapri to have dinner.  We walked around the town and did some window shopping.  I even found Michela's shoe designs!  We ate dinner at a famous little restaurant called Aurora.  It's a hard place to get a reservation, so you must book early.  Many famous people such as Anne Hathaway, Valentino, Jay-Z and Beyonce have eaten there (I know this because there pictures were on the wall).  The pasta and seafood was just delicious.

Snacks and Champagne to celebrate our arrival to Capri

Capri

Capri

Lunch Course 1

Lunch Course 2

L'Autre Chose in Anacapri

NERANO

After spending the day and night in Capri, we headed to Nerano.  Nerano is a city on the Amalfi Coast near to Positano and Praiano.  Nerano is also the city where our catamaran captain, Nando, was born and raised, and it is also near to where the first mate, Nello, grew up.  Every boat we passed they knew the captain or the passengers.  Nando took us along the coast so we could see the caves and the amazing rock scenery and greenish blue waters.  After our tour, we headed to the heart of Nerano.  We went to land to have lunch at a place called La Conca del Sogno.  My official last meal with the family.  Mario and Alfredo ordered a variety of platters that included potatoes, oysters, steamed veggies, caprese salad for our first course.  Our second course consisted of pasta with zucchini, a dish that is a specialty in the area.  The food was amazing, and the wine too of course.  After lunch we returned to the catamaran.  I began to pack, and while packing I became very emotional.  Each summer when I have to say my goodbyes, I get more and more emotional.  We all said our goodbyes in the late afternoon.  Nando took me to the island where I got a car to take me to Naples, so I could go onto my next adventure. 

Ventotene & Ischia

VENTOTENE

Ventotene is an island that is just 2 hours from Ponza.  We traveled at night by moonlight and calm seas.  Even though the sea was calm, the boat was traveling so fast that it felt like there were waves hitting from every direction.  Needless to say, I was at the back of the boat waiting for us to arrive so I could sleep.

In the morning, I woke early to find us anchored down in the Port of Ventotene.  We ate breakfast on the boat, and afterwards we went to see the town.  We looked at the little shops and buildings.  Once we finished our little morning tour, we headed back to the catamaran.  We left the port to find a little place on the island where we could anchor down and enjoy the sun.  The island is amazing.  The rocks were darker than those at Ponza and Palmarola, so the water seemed to be darker but still crystal clear.  We spent the day jumping off the boat, and trying to teach the boys how to dive.  It was quite interesting, and they didn't learn how to dive.

Port of Ventotene

We had happy hour on the catamaran as we went around the island to return to the Port of Ventotene.  We had dinner in a restaurant called, Aphrodite.  It was on a balcony that overlooked the port.   Dinner conversation consisted of horror movies.  I didn't know much, but I was able to answer the question about the author who is associated with scary books, Stephen King.  That was my come through moment.  Anyways, dinner was delicious.  I had Spaghetti alla Vongolle (Spaghetti with Clams).  Generally, the meals come with many plates.  You will have an antipasti (appetizer), and then generally another dish or two.  They are usually quite filling.  Even on the catamaran, our lunches consist of a antipasti and a pasta.  Needless to say, the food has been absolutely amazing!

Happy Hour!

Port Ventotene in the evening

Moon over the prison (Italy's Alcatraz)

ISCHIA

Ischia is the fourth island we went to, and it is about 2 hours from Ventotene.  Two hours means it is about 20 miles away.  The islands are pretty close together, and it is always a wonderful cruise.  Ischia was a large island.  We arrived at the island around noon, leaving after breakfast.  We spent the early afternoon on the catamaran swimming and snorkeling.  

Ischia

Ischia

After lunch we went to the island.  There were many beautiful shops, and we took a tour of the island to see the different spots.  Alfredo shared with met that Ischia is a thermal island.  There are certain places you can go to where the mud is warm you can use it as a facial.  There are also hot springs.

Ischia

Ischia

Ischia

After the tour we headed back to the catamaran to get ready for dinner.  We had dinner on the island at a place called, Gennaro.  Our little dingy boat dropped us right off in front of the restaurant.  There was some dinner entertainment.  A clown decided to give us a show using all of the pedestrians.  After dinner we walked the town of Ischia, then headed back to the catamaran for a good night's sleep.

Ischia Sunset

In the morning, we woke in the port of Ischia and had breakfast.  From Ischia, the next stop was Capri!

Ponza!

These next few days I will be traveling to different islands in the Mediterranean.  The water is so clear you can see straight the bottom, and the islands you see are painstakingly beautiful.  Alfredo keeps saying, "The beautiful life."  I can't disagree.

We spent time on the island of Ponza.  You can see it from the island of Palmarola.  When we arrived to Ponza, we anchored down in the port.  Music was blaring from the beach, and boats from restaurants were driving up to all of the anchored boats asking if they needed a ride to dinner.  Nello, one of the crew mates, drove us to the city of Ponza where we had dinner.  Before we left, we had some appetizers and champagne, of course.

Appetizers and Champagne

When we got to the land of Ponza, we walked around the city for a bit.  We checked out the shops and then we headed to dinner. For dinner, we ate at Orestorante.  It overlooked the port of Ponza.  It was a late dinner at 11pm, and it was delicious!

City of Ponza

Moon and Boats in Porto Ponza

The next morning we stayed around Ponza at a different location than the port area because there was a lot of boat traffic.  Sundays are a day where if you are Italian and you have a boat, then you head to Isole Pontine, which are the islands of Palmarola and Ponza.  We found a little cove where we could swim, snorkel, and layout to read and catch some sun.  We had all of our meals on the boat.  For dinner we were all by our lonesome selves.  There was nobody around.  The meal was wonderful along with talks about the horrific American reality television shows (such as Here Comes Honey Boo Boo).  The families got a kick out of it.

Gregorio and Me

Ponza

Ponza and it's beautiful water and land!

Where we ate dinner on the boat :)

After dinner we headed to Ventotene by moonlight.  It was a 2 hour ride from Ponza to Ventotene.  It was a long 2 hour ride.  The catamaran was hitting a lot of waves, and I found myself laying at the back of the boat with possible sea sickness.  Don't worry! I made it through with the help of some fizzy water and dramamine.  Once we got to Ventotene around 1 am, I was able to lay my head to sleep.

Moonlight ride!