pinkbirdflies

Took a local train from La Spezia to the famous and spectacular coast made up of steep and rugged cliffs dotted with five (cinque) villages. The train runs right along the edge of the coast but includes a lot of tunnels! We got off at the village of Manarola and took a local mini bus about two thirds of the way up the mountain and then hiked along a track through vineyards, olives, vegetable gardens and farmhouses finally descending at the village of Corniglia which was really pretty. After lunch we descended hundreds of stairs to catch the train again to explore Vernazza which is very picturesque with a small harbour. After sipping cafe macchiato and tasting Italian Crostata (jam like tart/slice), took another train to Monterosso where we finished the afternoon in a bar with cocktails.

A Riad is an old mansion in the medina. A door of an alleyway leads to two storeys built around two courtyards. It is where rich and important men lived with their various wives whose rooms are upstairs. Beautiful tiling, painted patterns on all the woodwork and ceiling, moroccan lanterns. It is cool and peaceful and you would not know it was only five minutes from the busy square. Their is a restaurant with an Italian chef and the food has been just lovely. Of course I finally succumbed to some bug and felt ill and needed the toilet but thankfully it was here!

Arrived late to our hotel and walked through an impressive, new and modern Marrakech to the central square, Place Jamaa El Fna passing MacDonalds on the way! True to form the square was a chaotic, noisy place filled with crowds and entertainers of all sorts…musicians, henna tattoo artists, snake charmers, a tooth puller, food stalls, a funny fishing game they play here, fortune tellers and loads of other things. We actually ate at a ‘restaurant’ in the thick of things for our last night as an Intrepid group.