I am the Walrus (Lucca, Livorno, Vernazza, Porto Venere)

After a full day exploring, we were pretty ready for bed, dear reader, as the next day was another early start. Immediately after breakfast, we were on the move again; this time, a forty minute drive to the town of Livorno. Here we were to go shopping at the Mercato for all manner of produce in preparation for cooking classes over the next few days.

The market entrance.

The aim was to arrive reasonably early to avoid the crowds and ensure the items on the existing shopping list would still be available. It was Saturday and things would sell out, not to be replenished until early the next week. This was evident in the seafood section where two merchants had already sold out, their display fridges empty.

A place to sit and enjoy a coffee.

First stop was a coffee and after that pick me up, we wended our way through the meat section to select a massive piece of bistecca and then headed for the fish mongers where much deliberation and discussion ended in the purchase of three large fish for tonight's dinner. They were probably sea bass. The price of the seafood surprised me, there were uncooked tiger prawns that were €40 a kg.

Anyone for an eel or two?

Then we headed out of the covered Mercato to the open air produce markets to secure various vegetables, zucchini flowers, 3 kinds of tomatoes... we were quite surprised here because we thought Italian etiquette has always been that you do not touch the produce - you let the vendor select what you want. Here we were handed paper bags to fill for weighing.

Fresh fruit and veg as far as the eye can see.

With this part of the shopping list sorted, we headed back inside to go to the egg providore to buy special eggs with more solid membranes, suitable for poaching (who knew these existed?) and some other eggs for pasta making later in the week. I have never seen egg shells so white.

The egg man (and woman) not the walrus.

I am the Walrus by The Beatles was an obvious choice of song title for today. If you are too young to understand, click on the link.

Then it was off to the olive oil guy for a tasting of his prize winning oil as well as one infused with oranges. The other taste sensation came from a pistachio paste - think Nutella but green. I bought a bottle of the olive oil and will now wrestle with the concept of using it before we head home or tucking it away in the suitcase.

The good oil.

Then we wound back to collect the gutted and cleaned fish and the bistecca after which it was time to drive back to the villa for a cooking class using some of the produce, to create a multi-course dinner for this evening.

Bistecca.

Lunch after shopping.

We were warned that tomorrow would be a big day with an early start so it would be advisable to retire earlier that we had been. Good advice, except that the 'light' dinner became 6 courses and we were still eating dessert after 11pm! Very Italian, I'm sure.

Zucchini flowers.

The sea bass pre-salting.

The salted fish going into the fire.

Dinner service.

Anyway, after an 11:30 pm bedtime, we were on the road the next day at 7:30am, stopping briefly for breakfast at a roadside café. We deftly managed to beat a busload of tourists inside by entering thorough the exit to order our coffee and pastries first. While Jayne was ordering our coffees, the server asked what kind we wanted and she replied, espresso, not Americano which met with loud appreciation from the bus driver who happened to standing behind her.

Once fed, not that we needed it, we headed back to the vans to continue the 90 minute drive to La Spezia where we would catch a sardine tin, I mean train, to Cinque Terre, specifically to Vernazza, the fourth town. Again the early start was to beat the crowds as it was a Sunday.

All went to plan with the drive and the parking and then we headed to the train station to buy tickets to board the train. The ticket queue wasn't too bad but then we went to platform 2 which was already extremely crowded and only became more so as we waited for the train to arrive.

The train was a peak hour crush and required the Tokyo 'pushers' to get people on board. The doors kept trying to close and people pulled them back open. We were travelling in a group of 21 and split into two groups and hit either end of the same carriage. Matt had all of the tickets on one receipt but it was obvious there would be no ticket check on the train. I squeezed on, the doors closed and then they opened again another three or four times as more people crammed into other carriages.

There were no unoccupied seats and the end part of the carriage was blocked at the top of the steps by two women who were clearly not moving to allow anyone else access to the standing room in that aisle. Riomaggiore was the first stop and the first of the five lands. Happily the entire end of the train, including the blockade women, departed. It was one tour group. We moved quickly to the comfort of the seats and relaxed until Vernazza.

Across the bay to the church.

We had some time to wander around or go swimming. We opted for a hydrating beer, dear reader, the more sensible option. While we were sitting and chatting with others from our group, a woman at the next table kept turning to look at us. Weird, I thought. When they stood to leave, the three of them came over and asked if we were Kiwis. The matriarch of the group was originally from New Zealand and couldn't quite tell if we were Kiwis or Aussies. She now resides in Seattle and her daughter and granddaughter also live in the US but in the Carolinas. This was a girls' reunion tour, with the matriarch driving the car from Switzerland to Italy.

Enticing.

Acclimatisation done, we walked back to the train station and checked out the shops on the way back down to the water. A swim was tempting as the heat rose and the water looked more and more inviting, but no. We opted for a seat in the shade and looked up at the mountainside and all the walkers coming in from Monterosso, the fifth town. I even pulled up the blog post from that fateful day Jayne decided to indulge me and walk from one town to the other. I'm still laughing, in a positive, supportive way. After a quick look inside the church. It was dark and unremarkable except for the cat ensconced on the front pew.

A comment on the sermon perhaps.

You are never far from a feed or drink on a tour with Matt and lunchtime came around quickly. Our restaurant was La Belforte, famous for its view. The food and service were excellent as well. Watching the vapid and vacuous climb the stairs, gape at the view and then be told no reservation, no seat, was the best fun I'd had all day. One woman, clearly miffed, whined, "but I only decided this morning". So sad. No seat for you. Or the 20 others who were turned away while we were there.

The restaurant is the top deck.

Happily there was no train ride back; we caught the ferry to Porto Venere and had a relaxing afternoon admiring the villages clinging to the cliffside. We were able to identify the apartment we stayed in at Riomaggiore back in 2017.

Riomaggiore.

The sun was shining, the sky was blue and there was not a cloud in sight. Our day at Cinque Terre was perfect. Porto Venere was a delightful seaside town with some serious fortification and we had some time to kill as Matt, Drew and Alex stayed on the ferry back to La Spezia and were driving from there to pick us up.

The church and castle.

After a walk to the church and the castle we discussed our options. A toilet was my first priority and I was amazed, dear reader, to find a no-charge toilet and then devastated to discover it was a squat. Ahh, memories of working in China.

Eventually a number of us gathered by the water's edge at a bar and enjoyed a beer and chat before the vans arrived to drive us back to Lucca. There was no need for dinner, but we had a 'light' meal anyway. Then bed. Bliss. It was a long day, a 7:30am start and we arrived back around 8pm. Bed was most welcome.

Alla prossima.