June 1 - Cinque Terre, Italy

Sunday
The hotel breakfast ($10 for the two of us, included with our hotel cost) was WONDERFUL -- cereal, yogurt, cappachino, all kinds of rolls and toppings, juice, and cheese -- we ate until we were full. We decided that it would really simplify things with our bags and trying to find a place at Cinque Terre to just stay here again tonight and negotiated a $10 drop in price with the hotel management because they don't need to clean and change the bedding/towels.
This turned out to be another day that exceeded our expectations! Rick Steves had painted a grand word picture of Cinque Terre, and we wondered if we would like it as much as he did. We LOVED it.



The views of the 5 towns, the unspoiled mountains and seaside, the walk between the first 4 towns -- it was like riding our bikes through the countryside, but we were walking instead.
We had expected some rugged walking. Steves had said that there were 382 steps up to Corniglia,



but he hadn't told us that there were a great many more rocky steps to take us high above that town on our way to Vernanzza.



The path was a lot more rocky and hilly than we had expected, but we totally enjoyed it all.



We were so thankful to be able to enjoy a walk that was this strenuous, knowing that many people our age would not be able to walk this route and enjoy it. We remembered trips with a broken bone in my foot, trying to walk with a pulled groin muscle and Verle being so exhausted that we feared for his health walking on the Multnomah path in Oregon.
The homes in the towns along the path are clustered on the mountainsides,



which are terraced with stone walls and covered with vineyards. The sea and the seacoast are gorgeous, both at sea level and from high above the sea. We did decide, by the time we reached Vernanzza, that to walk the last stretch to Monterosso was unnecessary. Our legs were getting a bit weary and there was no point in risking injury or total exhaustion by going on to Monterosso when the path between the first four towns, Riomaggiore, Manarola,, Corniglia, and Vernanzza had been so very enjoyable.
Another observation: Why is it that the Italians, who can so smoothly maneuver cars, buses and motorcycles on narrow winding streets, can so shamelessly push themselves into the front of a crowded line of people?
We were able to catch the train back into La Spezia (there was a railroad strike from 9 p.m. last night to 9 p.m. tonight, and there was some concern that the train would not run). We stopped at the train station and got our itinerary and necessary reservations for our trip to Disentis, Switzerland leaving at 6:40 a.m. tomorrow.
The Kebab cafe where we got our sandwich last night beckoned us again, and we had a great time with the manager as he made us each another panino for 3.50 Euros.



What a meal that makes! He also gave us free French fries as a gift and we took his picture in front of the store.
Since we're leaving early in the morning, we paid our bill at the Hotel Mary.
They gave us five hours of Internet use for free and offered to have breakfast available at 6 a.m. instead of 7, as posted. We took pictures with the manager and his daughter, whom he says looks like Madonna! Unfortunately, Verle and the manager were later unable to make the wireless connection work, but we appreciated the kind gesture. We did use their computer to try to find housing in Andermatt tomorrow, but couldn't find anything reasonable, so we'll have to find something (hopefully) when we get there. The bike trail we will be riding is called the Rhine River Trail. We hope to get some kind of map at the train station.