Italy Retreat

PHOTOS of the torquoise waters of San Fruttuoso, a short ferry ride from Portofino on the Italian Riviera and some of us on the ferry.

It's a must to include travel by ferry when you're in Liguria because the view is extraordinary--almost other wordly. You experience a perspective of the region in a more expansive way than taking the train. The striated rock formations are unique and extraordinary. What is really surprising are the conglomeration of homes perched on the edge of nowhere (much further south of the five Cinque Terre villages and San Fruttuoso. The inhabitants must have to hike in as there were no roads to some of those tiny hamlets.

San Fruttuoso is a cove of torquoise water that’s quiet and idyllic. My friend, Jan, first told me to go there as she spent an afternoon swimming there last year. The monastary here is now vacant but was inhabited by monks.

The shore is rocky so wear water shoes or flip flops. My feet are tough but it still hurt being barefoot. The hike connecting San Fruttuoso to Portofino is high and steep but you are rewarded with a birds eye view of a heavenly scene of sky and water.

Wish you were here in Italy with me! Remember to follow your dreams as they are messages from your heart.

More on the Italy Retreat in days to come. I'm in Verona, Italy studying Italian and enjoying another region of Italy-the Veneto. Any suggestions for me to discover here?!
Just leave a comment.

There is something very charming about Monterosso even though it is bombarded with tourists each year from all over the world. Out of the five Cinque Terre towns, it has the best private and public beach areas and more restaurants and hotels. Here we are at Ristorante Carugio in Monterosso.

In my opinion, 4 of the 5 town are worth visiting as they are quaint in their own way.
Except for the entertaining bus driver, Corniglia is the town that could be missed. Not much happening at all there except it is connected to the trails that link all 5 villages. Since the trail was closed due to heavy rain the night before, we rode the bus up from the train station for dinner but the few restaurants that they do have were closed from 4-7:30. Since the last bus down to the train station stopped at 7:45, we opted to go home to eat at Monterosso.

On our final day in Monterosso (Nancy and I spent 10 nights there),several of us walked straight up the very narrow Via Buranco for 30 minutes or more. We were told it was a nice before-dinner stroll! We discovered Buranco Agriturismo where they were making wine from their vineyards. When we rounded the bend as we continued our climb, we were met with another sweet fragrance of pine needles and a breathtaking view above the town and sea, before arriving at the church where the monks were chanting. We couldn't see them, but the singing was beautiful. At first, we thought it was a recording, but it wasn't. So many things in Italy seem unreal to me! In the tunnel linking the historic section of Monterosso with the new area, we would hear beautiful classic or traditional Italian music most days, and we assumed it was being piped in. But each time we're greeted with live musicians on the corner.


Photo of Nancy and I overlooking Monterosso from our hike/stroll. Nancy was my assistant really helping pull together all the details during the week, so I was more free to teach the workshop. Thank you Nancy!


Anchovy Festival:
Saturday, September 19 was the Acciuche Sagra (Anchovy Festival) in Monterosso. I’ve read online that it usually takes place on the 2nd Saturday of September, but this was the third Saturday in September.
I was expecting something bigger, but it was small and... salty. I loved watching the local men make the bread dough and fry it for the salted anchovy, pepper sandwiches with extra garlic tossed in oil. A little white wine from local grapes growing on the hillsides rounded out the festival. I don’t really like anchovies, but I must say that the anchovies prepared with lemon juice and in a variety of ways, at most of the restaurants were actually tasty.

Part of the festival included about 10 artist's booths along the promenade outside the train station above the beach, in the newer area of Monterosso. As I walked by, one man was hanging a small poster from Fellini's film, "La Dolce Vita." I figured I'd go back to buy it since it was the title of my workshop, but the women on my workshop surprised me with it at our last meeting!

Wishing all of you la dolce vita!! More about the Italian Riviera later.

PHOTO of the 6 members of our La Dolce Vita Retreat by the entrance to the Via Dell’ Amore hike from Rio Maggiore to Manarola.
The days are zooming by in Cinque Terre at my La Dolce Vita Italy Retreat.
On Tuesday, September 15, the 7 minute ferry ride to Vernazza was fun and breezy with extraordinary views of mountains and terraced grape vineyards.
One of our goals for this workshop is to do something everyday that’s out of our comfort zone or something we’re afraid of doing.
Several of us have a history of getting seasick, so we took the chance to board the ferry. Of course it was a quick ride but if the weather permits, we’ll be journeying for up to an hour on other ferries in the next few days.
We hung out in 3 towns on Tuesday.

Vernazza flowers for sale in the little town center.
In Vernazza, we enjoyed pesto pizza under colorful umbrellas on the jetty. As far as I understand, the restaurants in Cinque Terre make their pesto fresh each day. I wanted to check out the Ristorante Castello that had a view of the sea, but after climbing 75 steep steps up to it, and seeing the opaque plastic that surrounded the outdoor tables, I didn’t think it was worth the climb if we didn’t have a clear expansive view plus I did have to stop and catch my breath a couple times.
In Manarola, red and white boats were docked on the streets—parked in front of their homes, like we would park our cars. Usually about 6 fishermen and other men and women transport the boats from the high sea walls, several blocks up the street, once they are moved onto wheels. We saw the pullies on the top of the high docks that lift the boats down to the sea and then up again at the end of the day.
I thought Manarola was very sweet as there weren’t so many tourists there as there are in the other Cinque Terre villages. We had a delicious dinner outside at Ristorante Porticiolla. Several of us ate the fresh catch of the day (sea bass), served with deep fried then grilled vegetables (onion, carrot, zucchini, eggplant, red bell pepper). Dessert was nut cake with ground walnuts inside almost like pecan pie with whole walnuts on top.
Beautiful ceramic stores are found in most cities in Italy, but I really enjoyed the small one in Manarola.
It’s Thursday and we’re catching the one hour ferry ride to Portovenere, Port of Venus. Did I mention that we are constantly changing all the plans that I’ve meticulously made because we are dodging rains storms? That means that many of the trails are closed. They’ve arrived early this year and there is rain in many parts of Italy right now.
We loved the easy hike we did on Tuesday, so I’ll fill you in on the Via Dell’ Amore Trail between Rio Maggiore and Manarola in the next post. It was a breathtaking walk high above the sea.

In January 2009, I started this Italy Retreat Blog about my workshop on the Italian Riviera.
Well, I have arrived and this is my second day in paradise, staying at La Colonnina Hotel
in Monterosso. It's a wonderful hotel in the heart of the historical center of town, a 5 minute walk from (the Ligurian Sea) which is a part of the Mediterranean. Turquoise refreshingly clear water at the end of a gorgeous mountainous hike that connects to Vernazza and then the other 3 Cinque Terre towns.

The flight over on Luftansa was very smooth and enjoyable. The airline stewardesses were actually friendly, efficient, and made sure we were all comfortable, and had lots to eat and drink. The pillows were soft, not the hard rectuangular ones airlines usually provide. Even the blankets were soft and cottony, not polyester. My Asian vegetarian meal was deliciously spiced panir, curried vegetables and rice. Kudos to Luftansa Airlines!
Today Nancy and I hopped on the train to Levanto to try to find a SIM card for the Italian phone my friend gave me. No SIM cards in the 5 villages of the Cinque Terre. But with all this beauty surrounding us, who needs cell phones?! Anyway, the Telephone shop closed at 12:30 for siesta and didn’t open again until 4:30, so no phone for the week as we didn't want to wait for four hours.

The Italy Retreat begins tomorrow and there won't be time to go back to Levanto as I have a busy week planned for all the workshop participants (who just arrived this evening after a 24 hour trip from the U.S and South Africa).

Our dinner last night at Pizzeria Ely was divine. Homemade ricotta ravioli with pesto sauce, minestrone soup that was the most flavorable soup I've ever eaten. We completed our meal with panna cotta (translated: cooked cream) dessert with fresh berries. I had to suppress my loud oohs and aahs. Delizioso!

I hope will keep you updated!

PHOTOS: That's me in Monterosso, Colorful fishing boats and signature umbrellas on the Monterosso beach,the arch leading to our Hotel La Colonnina.

Can you imagine the fragrance of a house made of lemons and oranges? This is one of the structures built during the lemon festival in Menton, France. Okay, it's not in Italy but Menton used to be Italy until it became part of France. It's on the Italian/French border.

If you'd like a list of the major festivals (sagras) in Italy, check out the GO ITALY website.



From: Fodor's Review:
Beautiful beaches, rugged cliffs, crystal-clear turquoise waters, and plentiful small hotels and restaurants make Monterosso al Mare, the largest of the Cinque Terre villages (population 1,730), the busiest in midsummer. The village center bustles high on a hillside. Below, connected by stone steps, are the port and seaside promenade, where there are boats for hire. The medieval tower, Aurora, on the hills of the Cappuccini, separates the ancient part of the village from the more modern part. The village is encircled by hills covered with vineyards and olive groves, and by a forest of scrubby bushes and small trees.

Monterosso has the most festivals of the five villages, starting with the Lemon Feast on the Saturday preceding Ascension Sunday, followed by the Flower Festival of Corpus Christi, celebrated yearly on the second Sunday after Pentecost. During the afternoon, the streets and alleyways of the centro storico (historic center) are decorated with thousands of colorful flower petals set in beautiful designs that the evening procession passes over.

Finally, the Salted Anchovy and Olive Oil Festival takes place each year during the second weekend of September. In 2009, the festival is Saturday, September 19.
Thursday, the market (Old town center. Thurs. 8-1) attracts mingled crowds of tourists and villagers from along the coast to shop for everything from pots and pans and underwear to fruits, vegetables, and fish. Often a few stands sell local art and crafts as well as olive oil and wine.

Traditionally anchovies were preserved in salt for practical reasons. Up till today, they are still preserved in the same way, seasoned in olive oil and kept in glass containers ready to be enjoyed with bruschette and a glass of local white wine.

At the end of month, Monterosso has another food event, the Tournament of the Nuts along the streets of the village.

12 more days and i'll be walking the streets of Monterosso. I'll be there for the anchovy festival and perhaps I'll find some other sagri(festivals).

Due Partite (2 games or matches) looks like a beautiful movie about eight Italian women-- mothers and their daughters. I don’t think it has been released in the US yet but when it is released, I think it is a 'must see.' Here is the trailer and partite finale on Youtube. It was originally a play written by Cristina Comencini.

Excerpt from ~ Nathan Southern, All Movie Guide: "In Italy circa 1966, four female friends meet regularly over a game of canasta, to discuss their hopes, fears and concerns. Frustrations also emerge - many tied to the women's histories of extinguishing personal dreams in exchange for the false promises advertised as nuptial bliss. Thus begins helmer Enzo Monteleone's intimate ensembler Due Partite. The setting then shifts to Italy in 1996, when the women's daughters begin meeting for canasta, reflect on their own lives, and ponder a tragedy that befell one of the mothers. The cast features Margherita Buy, Claudia Pandolfi, Isabella Ferrari and several other mainstays of the Italian screen."

Watch for the movie to be released in the US with subtitles.

One of the top 10 art festivals in Europe in being held this week in one of my favorite towns in Italy: Cortona. If you're in Italy, hop on over to Cortona in Tuscany. Yesterday the tour included a visit to the San Francesco church and by shuttle to ‘Le Celle’, the monastery where Saint Francis of Assisi lived in the 13th century, set in a beautiful rock sanctuary. My husband and I happened upon this church when we were there 3 years ago, and its magic is still present in my heart.

Enjoy the festival and all the photos on the Tuscan Sun site: http://www.tuscansunfestival.com/

Let me know if you attend!