Corniglia

The rain fell and hard throughout the night. With the terrace doors open, the sounds and the smells made for beautiful sleeping (when I wasn’t stressing about a flood!). We woke to no rain but still overcast skies, but it was clear the storm had passed. By the time we were finished with breakfast we knew it was going to be a beautiful day.

We had heard that the 13 victims of the 2011 flood were buried at the town cemetery on the hill above town. Our first order of business was to go pay our respects.

There was also a 14th century church on this hill that provided the most magnificent views back on Vernazza.

After paying our respects and looking with fresh eyes on the upper areas of town that had been devastated by the flood, we headed for the trail to Corniglia.

We were excited to finally be able to walk to one of the neighboring towns. But, again, our plans were thwarted! When we reached the hut where you pay the toll to walk the path the attendant told us that because the rain had been hard, the trail was muddy and deemed unsafe for travel today. But the village view was still incredible!

Back to the train station to execute Plan B. Luckily the regional trains run about every 10-15 minutes, so there is never much of a wait. The ride was short and sweet, through one long tunnel to Corniglia. This is the only one of the five towns that is not accessible by ferry. And when you arrive you see that it really doesn’t have much of a harbor presence. The walk from the train station to town (either stairs or road) is the furthest of any of the 5 Terre. We chose the stairs up.

Corniglia was probably my second favorite town after Vernazza, small and tucked away in the hillside. The center is a matrix of a few streets with the requisite cafés and bars, a church and breathtaking views of the sea.

We found a yummy café close to the church and just outside of the heart of the town. We had a light lunch in anticipation of our dinner at Belforte later that night.

Street scenes were fun and authentic.

We chose the road for our return (much easier on the knees) and caught the next train back to Vernazza. A rest, with feet up, was in order. Checked in with girls – – Paige successfully arrived in London (for work) and Ali was getting ready for work. Although we are limping along with only WiFi at our lodgings, I love the technology that keeps us connected. We do, however, turn off all devices at night because the texts and weather alerts continue to bombard us!

Just prior to 7 p.m. we made our way around the corner to Belforte Restaurant. Those with and without reservations were queued up on the stairs in anticipation.

Waiting in line for a table at Belforte!

We had made a 7 p.m. reservation for tonight when we arrived in Vernazza, knowing the restaurant’s reputation and popularity. At 7 p.m. they began letting people in; those with reservations and the unlucky ones without, who were turned away.

We were extremely fortunate to secure a corner table on the upper terrace. Perfect to enjoy the last of the sunset and views in both directions.

There really wasn’t a bad choice on the menu. At James’s suggestion I ordered the squid ink pasta with shrimp, Tom had the zucchini and shrimp pasta and we shared a side of grilled vegetables. Accompanied by good local wine we were sated and happy.