A weekend trip in August to Cinque Terre

      Living here in Volterra, Tuscana, Italia for nearly 2 months has been wonderful! The weather is changing to autumnal colors and smells: bright orange and red leaves, lavender buds, ripe figs, full grown pomegranate, ripening olives, and of course, grapes. Now is a perfect time to mention our trip we took to Cinque Terre over a month ago when the Tuscan sun was blazing with heat. We were anxious to go visit the seaside wonders known as the "five lands". Although we had visited Italy 12 years earlier, we never had the opportunity to travel up north of Tuscany to a place so splendid with color, architecture, culture and sandy beaches. Our family decided to do things a little bit differently. Instead of booking a hotel room, planning out where we would go, and what we would see....we decided to live a bit more on the edge. We loaded the car up in the afternoon and began driving! We figured we would head to a town close to Cinque Terre the first night and just ask the locals what they thought would be a good place to stay! We drove for quite a while, stopping for gas and noticing the mountainous wonder of Carrara along the way. We could see what looked like snow but instead it was the side of a mountain completely of marble!! It was mind blowing!!

     After traveling through many tunnels of high altitude under the cover of darkness, we came across a sweet hamlet town above Riomaggiore, the first of the five lands. This hamlet had a sweet little bell tower, it's own red cross station, adorable homes built into the hillside, and a restaurant that was just beautiful! Very quaint and elegant in it's own way. The servings that passed us by were mouth-watering and thick with aromas of lemon-infused seafood. Contrary to what you might believe about a small town, this little village had locals who were so friendly and kind that we felt right at home. We took a seat and ordered a lovely, delicious meal. As dinner went on, my husband, Bill stood and spoke with the owners. He explained that we were Costa Rican residents who had expatriated from the Philadelphia suburbs of Pennsylvania 4 years earlier. That was when he met Madeline and Paolo, business partners. Madeline was from New York, her husband from Cinque Terre. Paolo a Cinque Terre resident himself. They made fast friends and a promise to exchange homes someday. This was when we had great fortune: Paolo had a local friend with a place we could stay overnight. It was called L'acciuga and located in another little hilltown closeby named Biassa. It had been recently been remodeled and was perfect in size. The young lady who owned the new inn gave us a sweet gift: a poster-sized aerial photo of the quaint Cinque Terre town of Vernazza, which ironically turned out to be my favorite of the five towns.

Liam enjoying the view!
 Siena doing her Davy Jones impersonation!
My first Seaside meal, so delicious!

                                                                     Bill And Paolo!

 

  Upon waking in the morning, we took in a breathtaking view from our parking area, it was Riomaggiore from a distance, just calling us to visit! We drove down the inclines, parked and walked down a steep, beautiful incline. Such gorgeous, rich colors on the tall, slender houses, tourist shops, with the aroma of espresso in the air! Perfect! We grabbed a delightful, expat breakfast complete with eggs and a smile. And we were off to enjoy Riomaggiore. As we walked a bit we ran into Madeline. What a surprise! She talked for a bit and showed us her home located just steps away, above the butcher shop! It felt good to know someone who lived there! We walked the many streets and alleyways and climbed many stairs in search of that glorious view of the Mediterranean Sea. And when we reached the landing it was so BEAUTIFUL! Various shades of blue and turquoise waters. Sailboats, motorboats, and fisherman. We caught a glimpse to the right and further inland of the train that runs through each town and the walking paths that lead for miles on the cliff's edge. We were in HEAVEN!

 

 

 
 

 

The Many shops and homes along the inner hillsides!

 

      Once we drank up the view, We made a plan to catch the train to the furthest of the five towns and work our way back through the day. We boarded the train and headed straight to the beach town, the Italian Riviera-looking Monterosso al Mare. We walked bits of town and then headed to the beach. It was so pretty, The sun was hot, but the sea was chilly. Certainly not like the warm bathwater feel we were used to in Costa Rica. The kids played while we took photos until we felt it was time to head to the next town.

 We can never pass up any kind of surf and turf, beautiful food and great company!

 

     Town by town, we took in the local art, ceramics and cultural flavors. We especially enjoyed Vernazza! So romantic with it's faded, yellow bell tower, docked boats swaying with the waves, oceanside restaurants, the historic fort built on it's edge and the huge waves that ferociously slam against the rocky shore. Yes, my daughter and I stood on the rocks to enjoy the huge, salty splashes of sea water that came to play with us! We never giggled so hard! We jumped on the train and headed back to Riomaggiore, We grabbed a simple snack of various seafood yummies in a cone easy to eat like popcorn and headed to a lookout point to catch the sunset! What a day! Again, we had no plans for the night, just the idea to find a quiet place to stay overnight before we headed home the next day. And we got lucky! Found a two bedroom apartment up on the second floor above a narrow, shallow set of stairs...a little storybook-like. It was located in a quaint part of the main road in town with a sweet balcony to share the next morning's breakfast. My daughter, Siena and I had the idea of getting some Italian style foods for breakfast: Nutella, breads, provolone cheese, salami and juices. And then it happened: we heard rumbling and constant splashes. Without warning, a rainstorm began and we were about to be caught without an umbrella. We decided to just enjoy the rain. We ran laughing from awning to awning dripping with rain carrying our precious breakfast. It was a sweet memory. Watching the streets wash with heavy rain in the faint city lights. We returned to the apartment, dried off and hit the hay. It was a great weekend to experience serendipity, whim and joy together as a family. We'll have to do it again somewhere else, soon!

 

 

loved Vernazza's energy!

 sculpted breads in the shapes of fish!

 Vernazza!!!

Breakfast in Riomaggiore!

We even managed to stop in Pisa!!!

 

Il Palio August, 2013 Preparations: Part Two

Here is the scene of the one contrada as they traveled down to Il Campo that Tuesday before Il Palio. Very strong, so awesome they were. I apologize for the lack of audio and the amateur vertical video faux pas I have been told that I commit. Next time, I will work to improve the quality of my posts.  Thanks for your patience! And now, I continue below....

The day of horse assignment was very exciting but incredibly hot! It must have been 90 degrees F and in dry heat. And the heat was part of the excitement! One by one, each of the 10 designated competing contrade paraded in singing with echoed glory inside the Palazzo's walls. As the time passed, the center of Il Campo began to fill in. People standing in the shade of the Torre Manga~ a sight for sure. Then, it happened...the heat got to me and I suddenly became a Sienese citizen! A girl, maybe 17 years-old started to lean on me, and it was hot.  I was sweating standing still and not used to this close bodily contact with strangers. She was trying to craftily push me into the sun and save space for her "girls in the hood" well, I suppose, my evil twin pushed back a little to let her know, "eh, I am a momma and I do not play". Well, girlfriend got huffy and decided to cross in front of me in an effort to get a "new space". Evil twin stuck out my foot so mean girl could feel a little trippy - poo. She looked and said " EHH" I smiled and said Lo Siento in my best Spanish to let her know it must have been a fluke~ after, I shook my head and returned to my normal Lynore sensibilities. It was time for Gelato!

Huge, glorious, mountains of Gelato!

We enjoyed walking about town as the singing and posting of horses continued!

Then it happened again, the contrada of Lupa passed us on the street. apparently, we were in their neighborhood. But this was exciting! They were singing while they escorted their newly assigned Palio Horse, Lo Specialista, to their church stable to be cared for and guarded until Friday. Another incredible experience! We were astounded! If anyone would like to hear any of the footage, message me privately, I will forward it to you!

We went for a lovely lunch nearby with Suzi and Debi and sat for what they call Pomi Giourno ( similar to a Mexican Siesta) We ate noddles and drank prosecco and red wine before we called it a day and headed home. Next, the day of IL Palio: Friday, August 16, 2013!

Another bit of research helped me to uncover that each contrada has their horse and their jockey blessed in their contrada's church prior to Il Palio, a tradition. So, we decided to pick a contrada to root for and it turned out to be Lupa ( the she-wolf, mother of Romulus and Remus) Very fitting! So, we bought flags for the contrada and set out to find the church. We found it noting that we needed to return by 1:30 and headed into town. Debi had given us a tip that the bank in Siena : Banca dei Paschi di Siena has ancient relics of banking dating back to the 15th century! For the record, it is Europe's oldest established bank! By tradition,  It's museum is only ever open to the public on the day of Il Palio. It houses collections of art, old money minting machines, and ancient written documents and bookkeeping. We climbed inside, enjoyed and appreciated the many relics, tapestries and paintings and we even climbed to the top, on the roof to catch a glorious view!

Now, onto the Contrada of Lupa~

We arrived at 1:45pm in time to see people entering the church. It was small and there were no benches in the center, like they were cleared away for the crowd. The alter was incredibly gorgeous complete with frescoes and family crests the size of bathroom tiles lined up side by side to show the age of the church. We were lucky to establish ourselves close to the front. and once again, it was HOT! Mandingo crazy Hot! Knowing the starting time of the horse blessing was at 2:30 was daunting. More and more people came... the air became thick with the smell of musk and wet paint, neither smell easy on the nose nor the stability of the stomach. So, with the heat you can imagine what happens next, E? Well, I had my Ipad ready to shoot video and shots of Lo Specialista when he entered the church. Once the well costumed group of parade participants came out and stood before the altar, I began shooting. Then, this cute little Grandmom suddenly stood to my right. She was smiling. We communicated with winks, smiles and nudges. I held up my Ipad with sweat literally weeping from my thumbs. She encouraged me to keep my arms up and film so she could see (her height came to my shoulder). When I would bring my arms down for a rest and recirculation, the crowd behind me would say "ahhh" but in a whisper. I became the human jumbotron (quite funny). Then, my grandmom friend became bent and angry but, not at me, (thank God) but at what seemed like her long time contrada rival. He must have been 70 and he was pushing his way to the front of the church and using a cute, little kid as his hostage to gain sympathy. You see in Italy, children are adored, and doted upon with love and care. She was livid at his behavior and motioned for me to shove him. I shook my head no, I was merely a guest visiting. So, what did Grandmom do? She hauled off and rammed into my right shoulder shoving me into him. Thankfully, the crowd held me up. And I did not fall over, But I was embarrassed and amused all at once. I felt her disapproval and I liked her retribution! The crowd calmed and just a bit later, the horse entered the church from the side door with his jockey! A HORSE IN CHURCH? It was wonderful! And I understand the superstition is if the horse poops on the alter, it is very good luck. No poop today!

Following the horse and Jockey's blessing, the men of the contrada began serenading the Jockey wishing well to lead them to victory! Lots of love, lots of pressure!

Then, simultaneously, all the contrade from the whole city exited their churches and joined in a formation of a parade route. It was glorious with drum cadences, flag throwers, and well-costumed men! something to behold.

We had made an arrangement to meet Donna Zena, the woman who owned the apartment we were going to enjoy the parade from. She found us while we watched the parade and took us into an alley which led to the Il Campo parade entrance.  We arrived just before they closed a main gate. She walked with her two grandchildren: Mauricio and Julia.

We were able to see the parade horses for many of the contrade and to our surprise, was Lupa's parade horse ready to go.

This was not Lo Specialista, but a horse that enters the parade in Il Campo to introduce the contrada. The race horse is usually walked in behind the contrada to absorb the high energy of the audience.

Once inside the apartment, Siena made fast friends with Julia. Her mother is Argentine and Julia speaks Spanish and Italian. Since Siena is fluent in Spanish, it was a treat to see them have fun together and communicate well.

Donna Zina was adorable and very helpful to us, we gave her gifts of appreciation and hugs of joy!

We had to climb several steps to get to the apartment while carrying so many foods and drinks but we did so in awe of the architecture and the excitement of the event.

parade watchers ready to get out of the heat!

 Siena  and friends watching the parade in shelter as we witnessed some people carried away on stretchers!

In the end, Il Palio after the regalia of the parade is a 90-second horse race. Contrada Lupa held the lead two loops around Il Campo only to bump the baracade and fall to 6th place. The contrada, Onda, meaning wave and represented by a dolphin, was the ultimate winner !