Cinque Terre: Riomaggiore
Ten months in Scotland has taught us a lot. Largely that we are powered by sunlight and warmth, and so in September we went searching for the rays.
A trip to the Cinque Terre has been on the cards since we first found out we would be pseudo-Europeans. We bundled up recommendations (it seems we are not the first of our circle to visit this beautiful place), and booked ourselves five days in Riomaggiore.
The most easterly of the Cinqure Terre villages, Riomaggiore is also the most spectacular* (*in our very, biased opinions). The town is nestled between two mini-mountains, and is built up from a single main road that connects from the other villages down to the harbor.
Buildings the colours of poppies, tall and thin, red, orange, pink and yellow, lean onto each other. Adorned by green or brown shutters, and the lucky ones sporting balconies with succulents and sunbathing chairs.
The backstreets wind and climb the hill, the local grandparents know how to tackle these steps, and we follow many limber Nonnas on our adventures.
We swim once a day at the rocky beach, cooling off from the warm Italian sun and making the most before we are back in the cold of Glasgow.
The days end in the harbor, watching the sun set over the oceans, turning the brightly coloured buildings into a monotone deep red, then into grey as the night darkens quickly and we all rush into the shadowed side streets to find a table for dinner.
The bars and restaurants are filled with daytime tourists, but we get the pick of the menu at nighttime when they have mostly left on their cruise ships.
My kind of heaven is feasting on thinly sliced meat, the salty crunch of the local Lingurian focaccia and plump olives from up the coast. Sipping on white wine, made from grapes grown in the ancient (and UNESCO heritage listed) terraces, painstakingly dug and maintained in the hills above the five villages. Sometimes we do this for lunch and dinner and those are the best days.
To finish, a to-go gelato (the ‘Cinque Terre Special’, a take on rum and raisin was my pick) and a bottle of local wine shared on our little balcony. Reliving the relaxation of the day as we listen to the guitar playing from the street four floors below.
This place is certainly a go-to for many tourist buses, ships and groups, and sometimes it was too overwhelming for us (ironic as that might seem).
So it was the quieter side streets, filled with dads walking their daughters home from school, Nonnas packing down their washing and somehow springing up the stairs, succulent collections and some of the best restaurants in the town, that made this place so special for us.
