AgriTourismo

We woke up the next morning and headed back to the Pirate Cafe.  Wanting to put things right with the devoted Italian chef (Sicilian no less) we had offended by ordering quiche, we rectified the situation by ordering some delectable brushetta and creme horn pastries.  With that, our last act in Cinque Terre was complete and we headed out to Tuscany.

The day turned into a great day for kicking back and relaxing a little bit after all the activity of the previous week.  On the train ride, we listened to Rick Steves talk about Tuscany, pasta, and history as the craggy coast soon smoothed out to cropland rich with apples, olives, grapes, and some filed left in fallow.  We also saw the leaning tower in Pisa from the train window and Carrara which is famous for marble.  Soon we were in hilly Tuscany, and the train left us off at Sienna.

(Editor's note:  It is interesting how the same events are remembered by those involved, and 6 months later no less.  Arthur's kick back and relax train ride actually included changing trains 4 times, standing in the doorway of one train that was at max capacity with other weekend travelers, and an Amazing Race moment when we arrived at one train station and checked the departures board to realize that if we could get from track 1 to track 5 in less than a minute we could catch an earlier train so that our next connection wouldn't be rushed because you never know when the train might get delayed in Italy.  Of course I have a better memory of this since I had to plan and strategize the train travel.) 

A kindly taxi loaded us up and drove us out the the agritourismo where we would be staying.  This was our first time taking a taxi so it was a big deal for two kids from the country.  It was also the only time in Italy we traveled by car so we got a small taste of Italian driving and that stop signs are just a mere suggestion.

In planning our trip to Italy we put staying at an agriturismo near the top of the list of what we wanted to do.  A lot of the smaller farms in Italy would not be viable businesses selling crops alone, so they have taken to opening up their homes to tourists, cooking food, and providing a unique opportunity to experience life away from the cultural and historic landmarks Italy is known for.  The result is heavenly.

The taxi dropped us off, but we were about half an hour earlier than when the tourismo opened, but we didn't mind.  The landscape was so beautiful and so perfectly Roman  (or Tuscan to be more specific).  Umbrella trees and tall, skinny evergreens made you ever aware that these rolling hills were not part of your everyday experience.  Vineyards and olive groves abounded.  I kept expecting Charlton Heston to pop out somewhere and start imploring me to lend him an ear.

As we waited, Arthur played around with Alex's camera phone, which had far more lighting features than he was aware of, and Alex, not at all a fan of cats, found an insistent kitten in her lap, purring the loudest purr either one of us had ever heard.  In this way we passed the happy half hour and then headed in, where we were immediately treated to some pastries and a glass of wine.

The cooks and growers of the food we partook in were craftsmen of the highest order and cared for their products deeply.  This was well reflected in their produce and pastries; it was unfortunate that neither of us particularly care for wine.  It was amazing to think that the liquid in the glass came from grapes grown, pressed, and fermented all within walking distance of where we now stood.  I was not consuming a product even if I had paid for it; I was enjoying art.

We were shown to our rooms, far more spacious than where we had stayed thus far, and took quick naps.  Then we walked out among the vineyards and olive groves, the weather perfect for such an endeavor.  Thus we passed the most restful afternoon of our busy vacation.  This was the midway point of our Italian tour so we had designated the day to relaxing and it was our big splurge as far as accommodations go-- especially since the only room they had left was the suite.  It was glorious.  The two things Alex remembers most from the room besides the view was the wonderful bed and a large bathroom and shower that your could turn all the way around in. 

Dinner at the agritourismo was everything you could hope for.  We were guest with four other couples, all American, and we were treated to a five course dinner like you wouldn't believe.  First, a simple appetizer of mozzarella, olive oil, and tomato, followed by a garden fresh salad.  Well, wait, garden fresh sounds like something Wendy's says in a commercial about the refrigerated vegetables transported hundreds of miles to their burgers; I need some sort of deliminator between Wendy's and this.  This was food that was in the ground when we got there in the early afternoon.

Lemon zucchini pasta, so good Alex got the recipe, made the third course, followed by the tenderest roast beef and assorted vegetables you can imagine.  A little garlic and olive oil can make almost anything taste good as we downed carrots, chickpeas, and fennel.  Finally, a sweet custard dessert.

We staggered back to our room with full bellies and rejuvenated bodies.  Of all the wondrous food we partook in over the course of our trip, that meal was by far more memorable.  And thus we slept with dreams of chickpeas and pasta dancing in our heads.  Omnia Vincit Amour.

More Cinque Terrre

The following morning found us excited to start another wonderful day of hiking in Cinque Terre.  We got up with the sun, enjoyed some complimentary European hot chocolate (very rich) and headed for breakfast at the Pirate of Cinque Terre, a local pastry shop.  We had quiche, which we ignorantly ordered not realizing that Italians do not use eggs in their cooking that way.  The poor chef, a jovial guy, kept the hated entree on the menu because dumb American tourists like us keep coming and demanding food they're used to rather than try the local cuisine.  I made a note to never eat quiche in Italy again.  Alex was also informed that even though there were cannoli in the case that he would not sell them since they were left over from the previous night and therefore not fresh but also cannoli is a dessert-- not appropriate for breakfast.  Alex was a little concerned that she might not get to eat any cannoli in Italy since she was always asking at the wrong time.  However in Rome a cannoli sale to a tourist is more important than culinary tradition.


After breakfast, it was back to the trails.  As we clambered up the steep path, we passed a local woman who had to be in her eighties working the same steep incline towards the local cemetery.  Alex exchanged a few words in Italian with her; the content of which was something like "Pretty steep hill, huh?" and the old woman saying "Hard, but good for the body."  We left the hardy octogenarian and headed for Reggio, a refuge for the people of Vernazza when pirates came.

Along this trail, scenes from the death and Resurrection lined the path, much like outside Castlerotto.  We made it to the hermitage that served as a refuge and viewed the old church, perhaps more ornate than the one in the village below.  Unlike some of the similar sanctuaries we had seen the previous day, this church was decorated all the way around, with paintings on the ceiling and side walls.  If a medieval peasant knew the story of every scene depicted on these walls, their Biblical knowledge, devoid of any literacy, would be competitive with the modern Evangelical.

We continued on our way to San Savorigno, the site of a church with incredible history.  Legend (an awfully specific one) says that in the year 641, a pieta was hidden by local villagers during an invasion of marauders, and in the chaos that ensued the statue was lost.  A hundred years later, a priest out walking rediscovered the statue, and after several incidents where the statue moved itself back to the spot, a church was built here.  It was a beautiful sight.

After that, we headed to San Antonio, the hermitage of some Augustinian monks overlooking the city of Monterroso.  This journey took us until mid-afternoon, with trails we thoroughly enjoyed.  The background slowly transitioned from vineyards and olive trees to pines, reminiscent of Colorado if you could see the ocean from Colorado.  Pine trees gave way to craggy rocks as we passed into territory where the sulfuric salts left from volcanic activity left only the most specialized of flora represented.

Finally, we reached the hermitage.  The monks at this site, overlooking the five cities of Cinque Terre, acted as sentinels, alerting the people of Monterosso of incoming pirate activity.  Boy, did they have a view.  You could see all 5 of the Cinque Terre villages along the 10 miles of coastline from here.

We headed down to Monterosso, the most touristy of the five villages.  Beaches of imported sand offered sunbathers a more comfortable perch than the natural rocky terrain would typically afford.  We got some fried seafood in a cone and walked around, taking it all in.  Afterwards, we viewed the ruins of a Capuchin monastery.  Ironically, the original Franciscan (St. Francis of Assisi) is immortalized in stone just in front of the monastery.  We viewed another cool chapel, as well as a "clubhouse" for one of the clubs the Catholic church instituted to keep men devoted to the church as a part of the counter-Reformation.

After all this activity, we got some gelato and just sat and people watched.  It was a satisfying way to end a day full of activity and wonder, to take it all in.  We headed back to Vernazza via the train, sad that our time in Cinque Terre was at an end, but excited about the wonders that awaited us in Tuscany.  Omnia Vincit Amor.