In
2001 my friend Douglas and I spent a month in Italy. We
visited Rome, Orvieto, Bavagna, Gubbio,
Cortona , Florence and Venice. Of course they all differed and were
wonderful but we’d saved the last week for a special treat. We had
decided to visit the Cinque Terre, the five small villages clinging
to the coast of the Italian Riviera. It was the one place where we
had no reservations but we’d read that all you needed to do was
show up and someone would appear with rooms to rent so we decided to
give it a try.
After
a full day’s train ride from Venice we arrived at Montrose al Mare
the uppermost village of the 5 and the one in the picture above. As
had been promised we’d barely put our luggage down when a lady on a
bike approached asking if we were looking for a place to stay and we
were able to rent a wonderful villa at an amazingly low rate.
Everything
seemed magical at the Cinque Terre but a favorite memory was when
Douglas
stopped dead in his tracks
and said, “Oh, my
…” and I turned to see a young woman approaching. She wore no
makeup and her dress was modest but she was regal enough to be a
queen and on top of her head was a huge wicker basket filled with
lemons. I knew she was real
but it felt like she’d
just walked out of a painting !
A
lot of our time was
spent trekking
the rugged, steep paths that separated the 5 villages and it was
fascinating to see how they differed. Here is Douglas taking a rest
between villages.
On
our trip home to the States Douglas
and I agreed that we
traveled well together and we talked of future adventures.
Unfortunately he passed away
about a year and a half later
and our plans died with him. However his friendship and the month
that we shared in Italy will always be one of my most cherished
memories.