Charming Inefficiency

A shout out to Beth who suggested a visit to the Cinque Terre! It was her favourite place in Italy when she visited, and I’m so glad we came. The Cinque Terre is a series of 5 villages (literally “5 lands”) along the north west coast of Italy. We arrived around midday yesterday after a fairly hectic train trip…made all the more stressful by mum’s tendency to respond to everything unexpected as though it is a crisis…

For a few moments upon arrival none of that mattered, as we walked from the train station, through the village to the main piazza on the water in Vernazza, one of the 5 villages. The Cinque Terre seems to be a popular summer destination for Europeans and their dogs, many of whom have holiday apartments here. Consequently we feel far less conspicuous as tourists here than we did in the north (though mum always manages to draw attention to our tourist status somehow!). Still, we’ve seen very few non-Europeans here, although it is easy to get by with some Italian pleasantries and the rest in English (much easier here than in Milan).

One exception: we happened to sit down this morning in a café right next to a young couple from Camden! Surprisingly I didn’t know them, but we had a few mutual friends.

We have a little room on the top floor of one of the buildings in the main piazza, overlooking the marina, the bay and the mountains. The village itself is so gorgeous, all cobblestones and narrow streets and old, tall buildings with the paint peeling off. No cars are allowed in the village, so it’s really pedestrian friendly. The espresso is strong, the wine is local (the vineyards are nestled into the steep farmland behind all the villages), the chocolate gelato is divine, and the pizza and pasta are ever-present. It’s hot and sunny all day, and it doesn’t get dark until after 9pm so the days are long and relaxed.

We spent yesterday in Vernazza, swimming, eating, drinking, exploring and generally relaxing and enjoying ourselves...though more offensive Euro swimwear exposure. Today we caught the train to Riomaggiore (another of the 5 villages) and walked along a coastal track that links all the villages, and is the viewing platform for some stunning scenery. We walked to and through Manarola, and then by the time we reached Corniglia is was very hot, so I decided a swim was in order. So I walked and walked and walked following the signs to the beach just out of the village, only to see when we got there that the whole area was fenced off. A sign earlier on would have been helpful. Never mind, we decided to head into the village and go to the marina instead for a swim. 358 stairs later we’re at the village, and again we follow the signs to the marina. Another few hundred stairs to get back down to the water…where the sea was so rough, and the tide so strong over the rocks it was too dangerous to go in. A local showed me where to stand so that I would get wet from the sea spray as the water crashed onto the rocks. How satisfying.
So giving up on that idea, dad and I climbed back up the stairs in search of lunch. We found mum resting on a bench somewhere (she didn’t tackle the second set of stairs, she seems to have developed some imaginary calf injury that prevents her from walking up stairs), and went looking for lunch. But it must have been siesta time as everything was closed for the afternoon. OK, plan B, let’s catch a train back to Vernazza for a late lunch. We arrive at the train station in perfect time for the next train back to Vernazza…except the train was delayed and we ended up waiting almost an hour at the station. So by the time we got back to Vernazza it was 5, so we decided to skip the whole lunch idea and just go for a swim and relax a bit instead.

As we were waiting on the train station, I was reading the book I mentioned previously, La Bella Figura, and happened to read a section about how Italians have sacrificed efficiency for the sake of atmosphere. He happened to use the rail system as an example. As I read this, I was sitting on the prettiest and most atmospheric train station I have ever seen (perched on the edge of a cliff looking out to sea), waiting for a train that didn’t come anywhere near the expected time, leaving dozens of people stranded on the concrete platform in 35 degree weather, with no shade or shelter. A case in point, I thought. Also explains the signs to the beach when it was not there, and the massive stairs leading nowhere in Corniglia. But I’m glad for it, really. If the Cinque Terre was in the USA or Australia, we’d have bulldozed all the “old, run down” buildings and put in skyscrapers and chain hotels and fancy restaurants and expensive boutique shops. We’d have sterilised it. Here, it’s all authentic with heaps of character…even if it is terribly inefficient.
For the most part there has been peace within the Browne family travellers. The ‘rents do dither around too much for my liking. I tend to routinely wait in the corridor outside our room, while they remember they haven’t filled their water bottles, return to the room, only to leave behind their camera, so head back in to get that, and then remember they haven’t charged the batteries, so we change those, and then decide actually it’s much hotter outside than originally thought, so mum changes her clothes and decides she’s wearing the wrong shoes, and then we really really are leaving, until dad realises he can’t find his cash or credit cards, which warrants an immediate thorough search of the room. Not quite as efficient as travelling on my own, but maybe I need to sacrifice efficiency for atmosphere, like the Italians.

We miss you Jules! It’s weird to be away the 3 of us without you.

This is a long post – I’ve been internet deprived since coming here, it’s so expensive! 7 euros buys 1 hour of internet time. So I’m writing this on my laptop and will take it to an internet café to upload.

I'm in the internet cafe now, and Savage Garden is on the radio.