Saturday, March 7, 2009

Cinque Terre in the summer

Isn't it beautiful? It's not a picture I took, but we did visit there. Cinque Terre ("five lands"), situated on the Northwest coast of Italy, on the Ligurian Coast (Portofino or Genoa sound familiar to anyone? They're located on the same coast.)


Cinque Terre (pronounced chink-weh-terr-aye) is actually a UNESCO World Heritage Site. For years the area was untouched and largely ignored by most of Italy due to its isolation, until a railroad was built to connect the five small seaside towns to each other and to La Spezia, a large city just south of Cinque Terre. The five fishing villages are all very beautiful, with colorful houses built right into the cliffs overlooking crystal-clear water that are filled with aquatic wildlife. There are no cars in these towns: just bikes, boats, and your feet (and, now, the small train connecting you to the next town).


Until the arrival of the train, the townspeople were mostly fishermen, exchanging goods with each other and basically living off the land (and water) with occassional boating trips to nearby ports for supplies. After the train made commuting so much easier, Cinque Terre residents began exporting their local products, which include wine and Limoncello. Today, tourism dominates this area's industry. In fact, in the summer months, the crowd of tourists (Italian and otherwise) are almost too much to bear in my opinion. However, despite the kitschy souvenier stores and hoards of people flocking to the tempting waters, Cinque Terre maintains a part of it's original charm, beauty, and importance.

In 1998 the Italian Ministry for the Environment designated Cinque Terre’s waters as a protected natural marine area to protect the natural environment and to promote socio-economical development compatible with the natural landscape of the area.

Then, in 1999, the Parco Nazionale delle Cinque Terre was set up to conserve the ecological balance, protect the landscape, and safeguard the anthropological values of the entire location (land and sea).

"Tourism?! Environmental protections?yeah, yeah... but what's Lim...lemo...?"

Limoncello. Lee-mon-chell-oh.

Limoncello is a specialty liquor made from lemons. It's sweet and potent, used mostly for mid-afternoon or after-dinner apertifs, and is always served cold. On a warm day, it's a perfect dip into a cool lemon pool for your mouth. And that bright yellow color? Totally natural. It's a relatively new liquor on the scene... older than all of us combined, but a child compared to wine.

And, because the weather is amazingly beautiful today (cool, bright, and clear) and the lemons on my deck are fully ripened, I looked up some limoncello recipes online. The one found on the following website looks like a great tutorial on how to make your own at home to enjoy this summer: http://www.italylogue.com/food-drink/limoncello-recipe-in-pictures.html

If you don't have access to grain alcohol, use good quality vodka.

I suggest we all try it out.

Homemade

first-summer-BBQ-of-the-year

party favors anyone?!?



The five towns of Cinque Terre
(CLICK ON THE NAME OF THE TOWN FOR A PICTURE OF IT):
1. Monterosso ("Red Mountain")
2. Vernazza (pronounced Ver-natz-ah)
3. Corniglia (closely pronounced like Cornelia)
4. Manarola
and, 5. Riomaggiore (Rio-mah-jor-reh, the biggest/most modern)

Below are pictures we took of our short one-day visit to all five of the towns. Unfortunately, I was recovering from a sinus infection and the antibiotics that the doctor prescribed did NOT agree with me. The heat combined with the intense nausea I felt from the drugs made the day almost intolerable for me and prevented us from hiking the 5-6 hour trail that connects all the towns together with gorgeous views. However, the feel of the cold, clean water and a tasty Farinata helped a bit, and we stuck to doing the easy milling about, taking pictures, and relaxing under our 14euro/hour umbrella at the beach. We should return again soon in good health this next time.



9 comments:

Anonymous said...

taken place in the operating theatre. She had certainly never thought that her long-term health -- or even her life -- was under threat. All she had been told http://buyviagraonlineauviagra-au.com#2436 buying Viagra written by acknowledged world authorities. Preface. Developmental regulation of ascarid energy metabolism -- R Komuniecki and PR Komuniecki; 5-Hydroxytrytamine glucose transport and intermediary metabolism of helminths -- DF http://buyviagra100mgcostviagraonline.co.uk#4,84522E+43485 viagra online 266 It's not sexy now but what you can do about it? I'm not going to discuss the consequences it can have physically and emotionally for some people as every person is unique, but I hope you will have seen a solution at the end of this article

Anonymous said...

Home remedies lack this advantage, and the possibility of stopping your treatments too soon is very real lumigan 1
- If there is one particular ingredient you find the best on your hair make it a constant component for your hair recipes, use it as a standard part of all your masks cymbalta Over 90 percent of children and adolescents who commit suicide have mental or depressive disorder.
Secondly, you might also be doing it involuntarily because of the intense sensations inside Viagra for women pills If your son or daughter is insecure about being a part of a team, exercise with him or her
Small amounts are great for the healing process of your condition and your skin, but too much is harmful iressa price Just before playing the NCAA Championship game, one of the UNC Tar Heels star players revealed their winning strategy
In most cases non-invasive procedures will be sufficient; the most common of these procedures is extracorporeal shock wave lithotripsy, which breaks the stones into smaller pieces which are passed out of your body through your urine Janumet This new dieting product will be on its way to you and you will be on your way to maximum gain in the shortest amount of time

Anonymous said...

Only yellow maize in only lutein and zeaxanthin, white corn is not., osx server vpn. This auction site is an easy, comfortable and safe way of shopping. Do you get the picture! draft balus l2vpn vpls 802 1 ah. Good quality properties are in demand. vpn di 804hv

Anonymous said...

We also need to stop eating when we are physically full, not when the packet or plate is empty, or the television programme is over viagra Many people have financial, health, family, job related or relationship stress 5x5 Training: buy cialis uk We are going to take a look at a cardiovascular workout method that will burn fat off fast

Anonymous said...

The kids would switch to other toys if they find it more interesting. Our cultural perspectives of health is further integrated in our ethical approach to heath which shows that heath is seen as a reward for living according to the divine while ill heath is seen as a form of punishment for going against the divine powers., vpn iphone nortel. Which of the following will assure the most redundancy and quickest recovery time? small business server 2003 and vpn

Anonymous said...

A good credit score is the key to getting a car loan at a good interest rate. Apply it into your wedding gown. virtual elite. The influence of internet in the field of marketing, advertising and business promotions cannot be ignored. After complying with all the needed requirements, the certificate of company incorporation is granted to the attorney., powerlan ethernet. They at times host a special engagement party. knee high socks girls

Anonymous said...

Then you come home and find a small piece of sand paper to abrade the oil place slightly. This has been found to be contributed by many different factors., telindus nd adsl usb. This exceptional growth added 1. administrative tools server 2003

Anonymous said...

[url=http://www.audio-transcoder.com/how-to-rip-audio-cd-to-mp3-files]convert cda to mp3[/url]

ivanka hot said...

It is amazing that you have finally reached this point. i think that you had to overcome many obstacles that require the good physical availability.