Bravo! Orchestra! Review with pictures of Med Cruise April 18-29, 2018.

[kathleen21]

In southern Europe you can pay with credit cards almost everywhere also. No great need to have cash, or big amounts of it anyway. Maybe for some places like street markets, or remote businesses like beach bars, small kiosks, ice cream parlors etc...

 

Medside, that’s exactly what we found. The more south we went the more requests we got for cash , especially to pay for sale items at small shops. Otherwise credit cards were almost expected. So easy. It’s very nice to know for future trips!

[kathleen21]

Pre-Cruise day -2

 

We were both wide awake at 0630, too excited and anxious about not missing the train. Lesson #2 yesterday was that it takes us twice as long as expected to get anywhere, so we were aiming to leave at 0745, stop for breakfast, walk the mile to the train station and catch a 0945 train to Cinque Terre. We did use some cash (finally!) at the hotel to pay the city tax of 14E, which is paid only in cash.

 

Our breakfast was the same as yesterday, but what a difference in the feeling at the Bar. Today was a workday, so there were no couples lollygagging at the tables. Instead, individuals carrying helmets and wearing backpacks stood at the counter, shooting back a small cup of espresso and powering down a pastry. Italian fast food breakfast! They were each in and out in about 5 minutes.

 

We hit our first snag of the morning when the train tickets I had previously bought from Go Euro, (and downloaded to the app where I saw them before I left!) would not load. And already it was time for lesson #3. Email yourselves a copy of all the tickets.

 

We asked at a counter and they told us to go to customer service. No one was talking to the available clerks, so I just walked up and explained our problem. Luckily, I had written down the confirmation number in my pdf file, so she could reprint our tickets. Unluckily, I hadn’t written down the confirmation number for the second part of the trip on the regional train from La Spezia to Levanto. Those tickets only cost us 8E to replace. But we were now ready to board. I looked around for Ray. He was standing in line to get a number to be helped by customer service! Turns out I just cut in front of everyone. Whoops! But it was a lucky thing, because we had to rush to catch our train. Lucky we had learned that “allow twice the time” lesson!

 

Our first train was Rome to La Spezia, about 5 hours. We then change to a regional train to Levanto, the town just north of the official towns of the Cinque Terre, where we had hotel reservations for the next two nights. That train would take about another half hour, so we estimated arriving at our hotel about 3:30PM.

 

We did notice that the 30 something, cute Italian couple across from us had MSC Orchestra paperwork in their hands! Turns out they had just gotten married and were on their way to the port of Civitavecchia to start their cruise. We would be getting on the same ship in 2 days! We used sign language, google translate and picture sharing to communicate. Hopefully we would see them on the ship…

 

 

 

I waited...

 

Our hotel was about half a mile walk downhill from the train station. The Oasi Hotel turned out to be so nice! Very friendly and welcoming people.

 

 

A nice gathering area for breakfast and happy hour. Water, coffee, fruit and pastries available to help yourself. We were welcome to use the cups and dishware as we liked.

 

 

Our room was comfortable and bright, with two balconies – so we could always find sun or shade. A couple of blocks away was a grocery store. After checking in we went to the store and bought the makings of a late lunch, Proscuitto and salad, which we ate on our balcony.

 

 

The hotel clerks were also very helpful with ideas for touring the villages. They had bikes we could borrow, and there is a nice bike path along the water in Levanto. We did want to explore some that night, but were too tired for a big adventure. We decided to go to Monterosso, the closest village, to explore the town and find dinner.

 

 

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[kathleen21]

I was as excited to be in the towns of the Cinque Terre as I was to go on this cruise! From Google – “Cinque Terre is a string of centuries-old seaside villages on the rugged Italian Riviera coastline. In each of the 5 towns, colorful houses and vineyards cling to steep terraces, harbors are filled with fishing boats and trattorias turn out seafood specialties along with the Liguria region’s famous sauce, pesto. The Sentiero Azzurro cliffside hiking trail links the villages and offers sweeping sea vistas.” The area is a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

 

I first learned of this area when it was a “Back Door” in a Rick Steves Europe tour guide in the 1980’s. The area has definitely been discovered now, with cruise ships stopping at a couple of nearby ports. Exploring is by train that goes through the mountains and stops at each town, a ferry that runs in good weather and hiking trails that link the villages, some of which require a pass that was easily bought at our hotel. Because it was after 5pm there weren’t many tourists around. The train tickets are 4E each way, or there are daily passes for 16E that include the hiking permit. We easily caught the train for the 5 minute trip to Monterosso.

 

 

 

We wandered up and down the streets of the old town, taking so many pictures, and buying a few small souvenirs. I also read all the restaurant menus, looking for just the right place for dinner.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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[Suzieanna]

Just checking in to let you know I am enjoying your report and photos very much! Thanks!

[kathleen21]

We headed along the waterfront to the new town area of Monterosso.

 

 

We were pretty hungry by now, but also feeling picky. We didn’t want to go pizza, but we didn’t want to spend a fortune in a touristy restaurant either. I am so glad we persevered. We went up a street a block or two from the main drag and found a great restaurant. Candles, linens, mood music -the atmosphere was perfect, and the wait staff at the door were friendly and welcoming.

 

When we got there-

 

 

Half an hour later after the college tour arrived-

 

 

[emoji23] actually it was a lot of fun listening to them. We have daughters the same age so we enjoyed the conversations.

We ordered the tourist menu. I know, I didn’t want “a touristy restaurant”, but this 3 course menu looked so good! I had pasta with mussels, for the first time ever, and it was delicious!

 

 

 

 

 

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[kathleen21]

My second course was fried fish of all different types – including octopus, anchovies and some squid looking thing – with salad and fat, hot, salty fries. And red wine, of course. Ray had a pesto pasta as his first course, followed by a thinly sliced beef steak with fries and salad. Both are meals were really very tasty.

 

 

 

They were accompanied by great bread to sop up all that delicious sauce. A delicious bruschetta appetizer and after dinner coffee rounded out the meal. This is what a meal in Italy is all about!

 

We took our time enjoying our meal and talking to the college tour group that near us, so we missed the train back. Next one wasn’t for an hour. Oh well, guess we need a little gelato and a stroll along the water to help us digest and plan for our day of hiking to come.

 

 

Restaurant = Restaurant La Taverna di Monterosso http://www.latavernadimonterosso.it Dinner 45E

 

 

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[Cullyman15]

On Orchestra in August so looking forward to reading your review! Thanks.

We are sailing Orchestra out of Warnemunde on Aug 30th with friends that have never cruised or been to Europe we are really looking forward to this trip

[kathleen21]

Just checking in to let you know I am enjoying your report and photos very much! Thanks!

 

Thanks for following along, Suzieanna. I love reading reviews too. My husband is hogging his computer tonight so I can’t get to the pictures to post anymore tonight. He did take most of the pictures though, so I am patiently waiting ;)

[kathleen21]

We are sailing Orchestra out of Warnemunde on Aug 30th with friends that have never cruised or been to Europe we are really looking forward to this trip

 

I just looked your cruise up. What a great itenerary! Looks like fun! Especially with good friends :D

[pukekolive]

I was trying to be so subtle when I took that picture. It cracked me up! Now if we could be eating the cannoli at the same time...

 

 

Our 'nun on the phone' moment came actually in St Peter's Basilica in The Vatican, a nun was using the phone whilst she was moving chairs around uin front of John Paul!

[Cullyman15]

I just looked your cruise up. What a great itenerary! Looks like fun! Especially with good friends :D

 

Many thanks Kathleen21, the best part is we booked this cruise 18 months out and paid $680 USD each for our cabins. We are also flying into Glasgow for 3 nights then on to Berlin for 2 nights After the cruise we are spending the night in Genoa then Venice for 2 nights and Finally Paris for 3 nights We are from Canada so this should be quite a trip for us.

[kathleen21]

Many thanks Kathleen21, the best part is we booked this cruise 18 months out and paid $680 USD each for our cabins. We are also flying into Glasgow for 3 nights then on to Berlin for 2 nights After the cruise we are spending the night in Genoa then Venice for 2 nights and Finally Paris for 3 nights We are from Canada so this should be quite a trip for us.

 

Wow! What a deal! You have a fantastic trip planned!

[kathleen21]

Pre-Cruise Day-1 (Yes, tomorrow we board the Orchestra! But first, hiking in the Cinque Terre!)

 

We actually slept in this morning. The bed was comfortable with a snuggly down comforter, and our tired bodies and excitable minds enjoyed the rest. Breakfast was a combination of a buffet of cold breads, sweets, yogurts and cereal and a hot menu that was ordered from the staff who served that to your table. We chose to sit “outside” in the glass enclosed patio.

 

 

Coffee was made “Americano” in a pot, or could be ordered (espresso, macchiato, etc) from the server. I drank all of those. [emoji15]Very good coffee, and a filling breakfast.

 

We relaxed on our room balcony while finishing my coffee.

 

 

Then packed a small backpack and headed out to hike and explore the other 4 towns. Our plan: 1. Train to Vernazza. Explore. 2. Hike to Corniglia. Explore, maybe eat lunch there. 3. Train to Riomaggiore 4. Ferry to Manarolia. Be there at sunset for photos. 5. Train to Levanto and have dinner at the seaside there.

 

We kept to the intention of the plan, which was to see each of the villages. However, the day had periods of rain (not when we were hiking, thankfully!) and taking the ferry didn’t work out. Also, I may have led us onto a train going the wrong way when we started out in the morning… between that hour delay and taking our time getting started in the morning it was 1100 when we arrived at Vernazza, our first town for the day.

 

Cinque Terre pass we bought at the hotel desk that included train travel between Levanto and the 5 villages, the hiking trails and use of the bathrooms at the train stations without charge. (Otherwise, have some euros on you. There is a man stationed there collecting,)

 

 

Market day in Vernazza

 

 

 

 

 

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[kathleen21]

More Vernazza photos- we walked through the town, down to the water and back to the train station, where the hiking trail starts.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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[kathleen21]

I guess that all for now, since the CC app won’t let me load anymore pictures at this time. ☹️Error reported. Lunch break is over anyway...

 

 

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[kathleen21]

so many pretty colors!!!

 

 

 

But wait! There’s more! [emoji41]

 

 

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[kathleen21]

The hike to corniglia was about 3 miles and took us around an hour and a half. There were a lot of steps and uphill for the first half of the hike. Beautiful views.

 

 

 

These signs were placed along the trail good to know.

 

 

That’s Corniglia in the distance.

 

 

 

 

 

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[kathleen21]

Walking into Corniglia.

 

 

 

There is an upper and a lower part to this village. From where the hike ended you could walk or bus down to the water or up to the train station. But we wanted a nice sit down lunch. Now. We found this cute restaurant with friendly people and an outdoor patio and settled in here for lunch. I ordered spaghetti with mussels. (My new fav) The first bite was so yummy! This is when the clouds that had been hovering all day let loose. It started pouring. My main reaction was to save the pasta! We squished in to the tiny reception area of the restaurant where they set up one table just for us.

The patio after the rain had passed-

 

 

After lunch we decided to hop on the bus that stopped right in front of us and to the train station and the town of Riomaggiore.

 

 

 

Church do San Giovanni Battista of Riomaggiore is the grey building in the center left of the town picture. Up the hill..

 

 

 

 

 

 

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[kathleen21]

Rigamorre is the most southern town, almost a city. Walked around, shopped a little, more exploring and photo opps.

 

There is a short pedestrian tunnel to get to the village from the train station.

 

 

 

Our last town was Manarola. We arranged our day to save this one for last because I had read online about how beautiful it was at sunset.

 

Church Of San Lorenzo-

 

 

 

Our day passes included free use of the bathrooms at the train stations but we forget and walked up a big hill. Neither one of us wanted to go back down. So I volunteered to buy a glass of wine at this cute patio winery so we could use their facilities. Such a giver, huh? We would have lingered here, it was scenic and the wine was good, but we had a trail to follow to get to the headlands area at the right time for sunset pictures.

 

The trail starts in these vineyards.

 

 

My first Italian Rose wine

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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[kathleen21]

Manarola- views from the path among the vineyards and out to the headlands.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Back up the hill and through the town to the train station. Done with these beautiful villages [emoji853] I would definitely come back here - hike more and go to the beach!

 

 

 

 

 

 

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[kathleen21]

We took the train back to Levanto and our hotel, rested a bit and then walked down to the waterside exploring and looking for dinner.

 

 

 

 

The Oasi hotel had smart phones for the guests in each room. We used that to locate a small, family owned restaurant for dinner. It was fun to chat with the man at the table next to us. I ordered the squid soup on his recommendation. It was just what I was looking for, warm, filling and tasty. Ray’s fish sandwich was rather boring. We didn’t mention that out loud because it turns out that the cook was our new friends wife. Their daughter owned the place, and the girl at the counter was their granddaughter!

 

 

We walked back to our hotel, had tea and pastries for dessert in the lobby and tucked me in early. I was beat by 930pm! Good to go to bed early because this is happening tomorrow!!

 

 

 

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[CruisingFox27]

The places you've visited so far have looked stunning, looking forward to hearing about your experience on Orchestra.

[Nimloth]

Wow! What beautiful villages. You certainly packed a lot into one day. I'm looking forward to your cruise review.

[kathleen21]

The places you've visited so far have looked stunning, looking forward to hearing about your experience on Orchestra.

 

If all goes as planned, I will be posting pictures on my lunch break tomorrow! :cool:

[kathleen21]

Wow! What beautiful villages. You certainly packed a lot into one day. I'm looking forward to your cruise review.

 

It amazing to me when I’m writing about it, actually. Especially because we weren’t rushing or pressuring ourselves.