Cinque Terre

Oh Cinque Terre... you are so beautiful! Cinque Terre in Italian means Five Lands. The area consists of five towns that are in close proximity to each other and are dotted along the Lingurian Coast of Italy.

We had been saving this trip for the end of our time here for a couple of reasons. One is because in October 2011 the area suffered massive flooding with landslides destroying two of the towns for quite some time, making it impractical to visit the area with that heavy damage. Two is because we wanted to do a bit of hiking in the area and we didn't want it to be cold and rainy during our time there - so we put it off for warmer months. There are many Italian cities that you can visit all year round in all kind of weather, but since this area is better known for its hiking and beaches it's best in the warmer weather.

We flew into Genoa from Naples and decided to drive into the city of Genoa to walk around and have lunch. We stumbled upon a few things like the house of Christopher Columbus, a pretty piazza, and remnants of a castle. Since we were in the area known for its pesto we had to sample the local cuisine. We both ordered trofie with pesto (trofie is a thin twisted pasta) and could not have been more satisfied with our order! With our stomachs full and riposo starting we walked back to the car to continue on our trip.

Christopher Columbus's House

We're not sure what this is, but it looked nice

A quiet street during lunch time

Piazza de Ferrari

We drove to Monterosso al Mare, the northernmost Cinque Terre town and where our bed and breakfast was located. The town is divided into two parts, the old and the new, with Cinque Terre's only extensive sand beach. It is the largest out of the five villages, and it also serves as one end of the hiking trail between them.

Our "hotel"

Monterosso al Mare

One of the biggest reasons people visit Cinque Terre is for the hiking. There is a cliffside trail which connects the five villages, while also providing stunning views of the sea and coastline. We wanted to see each of the five towns and since we enjoy hiking this was perfect for us. The first part of the hike is from Monterosso al Mare to the next town of Vernazza. This is actually the most challenging section of the coastal hike mainly because there are very steep inclines and declines with pathways so narrow that at times only one person can fit at once. It took us one hour and five minutes to hike to Vernazza (books state that the average is 1.5 hours... go us!) and when we made our way down to the town we browsed the shops and refreshed ourselves with some water.

Monterosso al Mare from afar

Vernazza from above

Almost there!

Vernazza

After a short break we left the pretty town of Vernazza and walked up towards the trail on the way to Corniglia. Corniglia is the smallest of the five towns and is the only one not accessible by water. Because it is on top of a hill, no matter which way you come from you have to head up. We had a very steep uphill start from Vernazza and from there it was a mix of uphill with small breaks of flat path for us to follow (though still pretty narrow). This section took us about 1.5 hours. By the time we made it to Corniglia we were out of water and were famished! We quickly found a cute restaurant that served all we wanted to eat that weekend, pesto, and cooled off. Afterwards we spent about 30 minutes walking around the town. Corniglia feels smaller and quieter, but is just as charming as the other towns, if not more. There's a little piazza with a tower where people sit to pass the time, narrow car-free streets to wander through, and an overlook to take beautiful pictures of the sea.

Leaving Vernazza

Corniglia. In the distance you can see Manarola. 

From the outlook point in Corniglia.

Now we had a decision to make. Because of landslides blocking the trail, the 1.2 mile coastal section between Corniglia and the next town Manarola was closed. We wanted to keep hiking so we decided to take a route that would take us UP and around the other trails in order to get to Manarola... about 2.5 miles. It winds up to the small town of Volastra and then all the way down to Manarola. So up we went. We went up so much that we really didn't think it was possible to go up anymore. But then we would turn a corner and see another set of treacherous rocks to climb up and there was no other option but to keep going. After making it somewhat to the top, the rest of the trail consisted of small ups and downs, a nice reprieve from climbing. We made it to Volastra, followed the signs to Manarola, and finally went down. It seemed like we were descending way more than we had ascended in the beginning. The hike ended with 1,200 steps and though our calves were starting to tense up, we finally made it to Manarola two hours from when we started in Corniglia.

Leaving Corniglia

A steep climb up!

Manarola from afar

Corniglia 

Getting a little bit closer

The descent begins

Almost there... maybe!

Don't fall! 

Trying to keep my balance

Finally!

We were finally at the last section between Manarola and Riomaggiore, which is the more well-known part called Via dell'Amore, Lover's Lane. It's the easiest part of the trail by a long shot consisting of simply a straight, paved, 20 minute walking path, which actually would have been a nice end to our long all-day hike. But this section is also closed due to rockfalls that injured four hikers last September, and they are still working on deciding who is responsible for the rockfalls which has caused a deadlock in any progress in reopening the section. Disappointed that we couldn't walk the last part, though determined to get to the fifth town, we took the train from Manarola to Riomaggiore.

Riomaggiore

After spending some time in Riomaggiore, we took the train back to Monterosso al Mare. But our hike didn't end there. From the train station it was at least a mile uphill (why is it always uphill??) to our hotel, which at this point we felt like it was never going to show. We calculated that we hiked a total of 12.15 miles that day, including walking in the towns a little bit... not bad for me being 14 weeks pregnant at the time!

After breakfast the next day we wanted to stop at some small beach towns on the way back to the airport. Our first stop was to Rapallo. We walked along the water and stumbled upon a local market selling typical products of the area. We bought some pesto (what else?), fresh pumpkin gnocchi, and trofie pasta.

Second on our list was the small fishing town of Portofino, about 4 miles away from where we were. Unfortunately, about 2 miles away from the town police officers weren't letting anyone drive in since it was already overcrowded with day trippers, locals, and tourists. The only way to get into the town at that time was to take a ferry or take the bus, both of which we didn't have time for. Disappointed, we drove on. We tried to go to Camogli, but parking was also a major issue there. We ended up stopping in the town of Recco, another beach town that had one parking spot left for us! We had a pesto pasta filled lunch, then bought some gelato and walked (hobbled?) along the water.

View from our drive

The beach in Recco

Recco

We really enjoyed our time in this area of Italy and this was our favorite hike so far out of all of our hiking experiences here. Not only does the hike give you stunning views of the sea during the trek, it was pretty cool being able to hike to the different towns and take in the scenery and characteristics of each one. Each town has a different feel to it, but all seemed to hold onto the quaint fishing village theme of the area. It was a great area of Italy to save for the end of our time here!

Athens, Greece

Our last stop on the cruise was to Athens, Greece. Athens is one of the world's oldest cities and has been one of the most important and influential cities of the Western world. The peak of this occurred during a period known as the "Golden Age" for 70 years in the fifth century B.C. Many efforts were made in architecture, literature, math, science, philosophy, and medicine, with many famous men leading the way such as Socrates, Aristotle, and Hippocrates.

We hired a private guide/driver for the day to take us to all of the important sites in Athens. Our first stop was the Acropolis. The word acropolis comes from the Greek words "akron" meaning edge or extremity, and "polis" meaning city. This impressive area is situated on top of a large hill overlooking the city of Athens and contains the remains of several ancient buildings of great historical and architectural significance, with the most famous being the Parthenon.

We entered the Acropolis through the Propylae, the monumental entrance to the sacred area. It consists of a central hall with two wings on either side. We saw the Temple of Athena Nike, The Odeum of Herodus Atticus, the Theater of Dionysus, the Erechtheion, and of course the impressive Parthenon.

Temple of Athena Nike

The back of the Propylae

The Odeum

The Theater of Dionysus

The Parthenon

The Parthenon, courtesy of Ashley & Kamalan Selvarajah who had clearer skies than we did!

The Erechtheion

East side of the Erechtheion

Female statues used as columns at the Erechtheion

After our visit at the Acropolis our driver drove us up to Lycabettus Hill. It is the highest point in Athens and has a great 360 panoramic view of the city.

Next we drove to Maximos Mansion, which is the residence of the Prime Minister of Greece.

Jon and I standing outside with the guard who isn't allowed to move. 

We also went to Panathenaic Stadium, which is the site of the first modern Olympic Games held in 1896. It was reconstructed from the remains of an ancient Greek stadium.

We took a quick stop at the Olympian of Zeus, which started construction in the 6th century BC. It was a massive temple (the largest in Greece) that was dedicated to Zeus, the king of the Olympian Gods.

Olympian of Zeus from the Acropolis

Next we went to the Roman Agora, the marketplace of that time. It was built in the 2nd half of the 1st century BC, with the intention of transferring the commercial center of the city to it from the Ancient Agora.

Our driver Sakis then dropped us off for lunch at what he called the best place to have souvalkis. Souvlakis are very similar to gyros in that small pieces of meat and/or vegetables are grilled on a skewer and are put into a pita bread (or not) with a sauce like tzatziki or something similar. The souvalkis we had were fantastic! They were just what we wanted for our last Greek lunch.

After lunch Jon and I walked around the Plaka area of Athens. Plaka is the oldest historical part of Athens. It's built on top of the residential areas of ancient Athens and is clustered around some of the Acropolis. Plaka is full of labyrinthine streets and tons of shopping. We spent a good amount of time here picking up souvenirs and gifts, including a very nice cherry wood backgammon board (we heard that Greeks love backgammon).

One of the wider streets in Plaka.

Our last stop of the day was to the New Acropolis Museum. Having just opened in 2009, the New Acropolis Museum is very modern and is a beautiful place to spend an hour or two learning about the Acropolis and seeing items from the "sacred rock", although many of the original items are in Britain - a big controversy for the Greek people! There is a glass floor where you can see results from excavations. Pictures weren't allowed in the majority of the museum, but this is what we were able to capture:

The Acropolis from inside the museum

Excavations underneath the museum

By the time we knew it our day had come to a close and Sakis was driving us back to the ship. There is so much history here and to be able to see this city before we leave was truly fantastic.

Kusadasi, Turkey (for Ephesus)

After Istanbul, our next stop on the cruise was to a beach resort town called Kusadasi in Turkey. One of the main tourist attractions to see here is the ancient city of Ephesus, one of the great Greek cities in Asia Minor. It is also home to the Temple of Artemis, one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World. The town is further a sacred site for Christians due to its association with St. Paul, St. John the Evangelist, and the Virgin Mary (where it is believed that she spent her last days and died there).  Within the vicinity of the ancient city one can visit the ruins of St. John's Basilica and the religious shrine of The Virgin Mary's House.

Our time in Kusadasi turned out to be our worst weather day the entire trip. Not only was it pouring the entire time we were there, but it was also thundering and lightning. The lines to see the House of the Virgin Mary were 45 minutes to an hour long outside and, for people like Jon and I, we definitely could have skipped this part as it doesn't hold much religious significance for us. But we can appreciate the importance and meaning of it so we waited. We walked through the small house and then down a ramp where we were led to three different types of holy water. One was for health, one was for love, and one was for money. We got ceramic containers beforehand and we filled them with a third of each kind of water to bring back as souvenirs for friends.

The small house!

Holy water

Prayers and notes 

We then drove to the site of the ancient city of Ephesus. Ephesus is the best preserved classical city of the Eastern Mediterranean and was actually built four times in history. Just like many of the ancient ruins that we have seen during our time in Europe, this one did not disappoint. It's astonishing that these structures were built without the use of modern technology and even more so that they are still standing today.

Celsius Library - dates back to 2nd century AD

Grand theater - capacity of 25,000

Magnesia Gate 

Fountain of Trajan

Arcadian Way

Temple of Hadrian 

After leaving Ephesus we spent some time in Kusadasi shopping at the markets and eating a fantastic Turkish lunch. Not long afterwards we walked back to the ship and got ready to head to our last destination, Athens!