One of the ports was Livorno. Since our group of four had been to Florence a number of times and two of us had been to Pisa, we elected to spend the day in the Cinqueterre. His email is:. We were picked up on the pier by Giovanni, who was on time and waiting for us when we came off the ship, bound for the Cinqueterre. The skies were gray and threatening, but Giovanni told us the rain was moving South and although it would hit Pisa and Florence, he thought it would be mostly dry in the Cinqueterre.
This was good news, and we enjoyed the hour and half ride up the Autostrada. Along the way, he pointed out the Carrarra marble quarries. Our first stop was Riomaggiore, the first of the five towns, set along the coast. Because it had rained heavily the night before Giovanni wondered whether the seaside walk connecting this first town with the second would be open. He also thought it would probably be muddy.
Another option would be to walk back up and drive to the second town, and this is what we opted to do. We walked down the steep road and steps to the lovely harbor. Stopping in some of the shops along the way, we then made our way back up to the van, which Giovanni brought down as far as he could to meet us.
We decided to skip Manorola in order to have time to stop in Pisa on the way back , and drove on to Corneglia and then Vernazza.
Each charming and different, we enjoyed the three towns. On and off there was some drizzle and it stayed fairly gray, but at one point we were able to take out our sunglasses and enjoy a few minutes of sunshine. Giovanni suggested lunch in Vernazza, so that is what we did. Off season, the best restaurant was closed, so we opted for another spot on the square. Two of us ate pizza and the others enjoyed their pasta with pesto, a local specialty. Next we drove to Pisa, a treat for my friend and for me since neither of us had ever been there.
