We woke up to a neat wind and rain storm. We’d left the windows open and slept to the crashing waves. then the shutters started banging with the wind so we got up and secured them. It was raining hard enough that we had to class the windows so the rain wouldn’t come inside. The power went out for a bit and when we got up around 8am the storm had passed.
Perhaps you remember my joke from yesterday’s blog where I suggested to Mike we should pack our suitcases and head to the train station, just to keep in practice. Well…today we packed a suitcase full of dirty laundry and headed to the train station…
In Monterosso there’s a laundromat that will do your laundry for you. We hopped the train to Monterosso and dropped off our laundry and set out to explore this little town.
Mike researched a bit on his phone and then navigated us to the old town.
The new section was, according to Mike, the Venice beach of the Cinque Terre. Old town Monterosso was charming. Narrow pathways and a couple of churches. A Beetlejuice church and a death church.
I love skeletons and skulls in church iconography.
We strolled through the twisted narrow paths petting cats and looking for a place to grab some focaccia. I had a delicious 4 cheese focaccia that I couldn’t finish. So yummy!
We found a restroom behind an octopus and headed back over to the newer part of town to pick up our laundry.
The sun was blazing and shady spots were sparse. We managed to find a place to hang out until it was time to grab our clothes. They weren’t quite done yet so we hung out in the porch of a closed grocery store which was wonderfully shaded. A breeze was blowing through that was quite pleasant.
With a suitcase full of fresh laundry we waited for a train on a very crowded platform. The train was packed full of tour groups and getting off and out of the Vernazza station was really tough. Mike took this shot as we were leaving the station.
Just at to the right of the crowd there’s a little alley that leads to our apartment and it was completely empty of people.
I’ve heard a lot about the crowds in the Cinque Terre. This is true to a degree. During the day the Train Station and main drag here in Vernazza are packed but the back alleys are pretty tame. In the morning and evening all of the day trippers have yet to arrive or have left and it’s super pleasant. Being up above the crowds on our terrace is a lovely place to observe the crowds, too. I’m glad we decided to stay here for a few nights and see this little town when the crowds go away.
I took a nap and when I got up we headed out for dinner. I had an amazing pizza and Mike had a fantastic pasta which I want to have tomorrow. Mine was great. His was greaterer.
We walked down the main drag to get gelato. Most of the crowds have left or were departing.
We went down to the seawall and took pictures and watched the waves crash. Then headed up to the room to watch the sunset.
A lovely day and relaxing evening.
Thanks for following along. Good night!
Art’s Travel Adventures 