The actual Cinque Terre tour begins 03/30/09

03/30/09 – afternoon

The rain had completely stopped falling. Our host at the Villa Margherita was gracious enough to give us a lift across town and up the winding coastal road to the breathtaking location of La Giada.

We were early and quickly checked into our room and relaxed for a bit before the first meeting.

Our room was one of five, each named after one of the Cinque Terre villages. All five rooms were on the seaward side of the La Giada. The view of the coastline from our window and the patio was unbelievable.

The time had come to meet the group. We knew we were traveling with an essay contest winner from the magazine Cooking Light, but we were not sure of the particulars. As we entered the lounge of the La Giada we were met by the smiling face of Doug. Doug we learned was a photographer on assignment for Cooking Light magazine, he was to capture the week’s activities. A short time later, Doug introduced us to Alison, a immediately personable journalist from Lonely Planet, also on assignment for Cooking Light magazine. Alison would craft the article. Soon Pamela Sheldon Johns entered the room; Pamela is the quick-witted author of many successful cookbooks and a very interesting woman. She is passionate about her craft and about the success of her tours. We knew we were in for a treat. Next we met the actual tour participants, Wendy and Karen, two very fun sisters from Berkley California and then, Tim and Jennifer from Kentucky, Jennifer being the essay writer who had won this trip from Cooking Light. So it would be intimate, six people on the tour, two professionals recording the tour, with Pamela directing the tour.

No hiking this afternoon, we will take a quick five minute drive to Monterosso where we meet Kate Little who will guide us on the hiking and naturalist portions or our trip. As we head into the village, Kate tells us a little about her life in the Cinque Terre.

I found this lemon stand interesting.

Ann found the bicycle in front of this shop interesting.

Kate, a tall blonde from Texas, could easily have been one of us, "a tourist". That notion quickly vanished as she made her way through the narrow village streets, the locals greet her warmly, she has made this region her home for the past twenty years. She meets Piero, who invites our small group into his family cellar. The room, entered from street level, is the bottom floor of a multi-story building. This building, like many others, is attached to one of the sheer canyon walls that border the center of town, sharing the near vertical rock as a rear wall. The room is lined with wine-making paraphernalia. The wine created in this humble atmosphere is made from grapes grown and picked on his families plot, near by from one of the ancient terraces that define the region. We sit on an eclectic collection of stools and chairs surrounding Piero as he shares his story and his wine with our group. The wine, the hospitality, and the reverence of sitting in this man's five- generation cellar left me with an overwhelming feeling of welcome and privilege. We thanked Piero for his hospitality and headed back into the cool evening light. Kate answers many questions as we make our way to the next rendezvous point with Pamela in the northern part of town. We soon find Pamela, she tells us we are in for a treat. We are going to be the guests of Daniella and Piero Guagliardi. Originally a Chicago girl, Daniella we would find had also been captured by the magic of the region and also no doubt by the charm of Piero Guagliardi.

Shuttled in Pamela's van to a small street just minutes from the village center we arrived at our destination. We were lead up over 100 steps to the Guagliardi villa. Daniella and Piero chose a unit at the top of the building, with each villa totally consuming a level, they had traded interior space for exterior space in the form of an open terrace. The sea and hill side views from the terrace were well worth the sacrifice. We are invited onto the terrace for an aperitivo and to taste the local wines. Kate, a sommelier, introduced us to both the Ligurian and Cinque Terre wines as we took in the view fron the Guaglairdi terrace. The cinque Terre wine are small productions of less then 4000 bottles annually.

Later we moved inside, seated intimately around the family table, Daniella and Piero put on a fantastic feast, local fare with stories of origin and preparation. We enjoyed tuna mousse and pesto rosso with pinzimonio, Lasagna al pesto, fresh fish al forno ligurian style, grilled radicchio and roasted asparagus, and walnut orange olive oil cake. Daniella demonstrated the making of limoncino; Piero shared his personal Italian liqueurs. The evening was perfect.

Jennifer and Tim take in the festivities from the terrace. We were especially careful negotiating the 100 steps leading down from Daniella’s back to the road for journey back to Levanto.