Camogli, Italy – A Closer Look at Affordable Travel – InkFreeNews.com

By Shari Benyousky
Photographs by Tony Garza

My hand hovered over the buy button as I looked at the Rail Europe screen for the third time. Whenever I tried to book train tickets overland from Turin, Italy to the coast, the little red warning that there was not much time to change trains in Genoa appeared and I chickened out. “Did you watch to see what Rick Steve said?” Tony looked up from his book through the French doors onto the Airbnb balcony.

“Right.” I threw some words in the search function on Rick Steve’s Community Forum, and of course another traveler said how many train lines dock in the station and how long it might reasonably take to change trains. Ten minutes was more than enough. I hit the buy button and for less than $40 we had three adult tickets taking us the 2.5 hours from the mountains to the coast for part II of our Italian adventure.

POINT: Rick Steve has a business that brings over 30,000 people to Europe every year. We think his method of travel is way too long in a day, but his advice on logistics is sound.

OFFSET TIPS

“Your eyes.” Tony shook his head. “It’s time to go.” We were in the second largest Egyptian museum in the world, surrounded by mummies and the 70 foot long Book of the Dead. Gold from a nearby hoard reflected in my glasses. I have wanted to visit this place for a decade. But Tony was right. After a few hours of searching, my eyes went blank, my brain went blank, and I wanted nothing more than a cup of coffee and a chair.

Everyone loves getting high every day overseas too. We get it – there’s so much that MUST be seen. So many museums and churches and tombs and monuments. Everything is OLD. It makes the hair on your neck stand on end to think that a battle was fought here or that Da Vinci stood HERE. But here’s the thing, if you fill every moment of every day with these amazing things, you never have time to sit down and revel in them. All the magic turns into a confusing mesh of painted bambinos and placid Marys, and instead of feeling impressed, you just wish your feet would stop hurting from so much walking.

To enjoy the magic of travel, rule #1 is to schedule downtime. Lots of downtime.

It might be the trip of a lifetime, but you won’t remember it if you don’t strategically schedule time to reflect and rest. Camogli, Italy was supposed to be such a place. Three days sitting on the terrace overlooking the Mediterranean (technically the Ligurian Sea). Total cost for three days of an Airbnb with an outdoor shower and a kumquat bush laden with ripe fruit – $563 for three people.

POINT: Camogli, like the rest of the Cinque Terre coast, is built on the mountainside. Walking to a restaurant or to the beach was a good workout.

PLAN FOR THE UNEXPECTED

Just outside the Airbnb doors, a path wandered up the mountain. There were no signs and the stones in the path were worn down from thousands of years of foot traffic. We hiked around the mountain ending with a monastery at the top with the best views of the beaches below. We had the whole terrace to ourselves. And the flowers and the bees and the sprawling sunset stretching from horizon to horizon.

The next unplanned day took us to the black marble stone beaches. After a few hours of this we strolled down to the pier and took a ferry for the one hour trip up the coast to Portofino. Gelato in Portofino? Why not.

POINT: It is common on European beaches to see topless people of all ages and genders. Sometimes kids don’t bother with bathing suits at all.

POINT: After a boat trip, stop for the famous Camogli focaccia which is everywhere. We recommend the traditional and wonderful Revello. Do not worry; the line moves quickly. Otherwise, look for fishermen who dock and fry their fresh catch off the back of the boats. You will have a frito misto paper cone to eat.

AIRBNB ADVENTURE SUNSET CONCERT IN A VINEYARD

We made an article planned during our days off: a Airbnb experience (this is a different section of the site that offers interesting experiences hosted by locals instead of accommodation. You can find boat rides, museum guides, etc.) that combine a concert pianist with the retreat with wine, dinner and an ocean sunset. That evening, we took a train to go up the coast to Riomaggiore where we met our driver.

We arrived at sunset to meet our host Emanuele who showed us the remains of a Roman road he had discovered on his property. Emanuele moved to Cinque Terre, hand-rolled his grand piano up the mountain to his new old cabin, and replanted a vineyard. He handed us all the golden glasses of wine he had prepared as we walked through his vineyard high above the ocean. He answered our questions about the grapes and led us to a table overlooking the mountain in the evening blue. The table contained fresh bread, mushroom risotto, bruschetta and lemon liqueurs which he had also prepared. While we ate and chatted about life with an American couple from New York wearing cowboy hats, Emanuele opened the doors of his stone cottage and played Bach on his grand piano. Seriously, can you imagine anything better?

We best remember museums and churches, endless amazing food and tour guides, because we took a mental and physical break in the middle. Oh yes, and the Airbnb experience is only $65 per person, including the round trip through the national forest. On the way down, our driver stopped at hairpin bends to point out the various bright tourist villages of the Cinque Terre (as well as the old villages that still don’t have running water or electricity). He told us that one day he wanted to have enough money to spend a year in the United States and drive to every state. He wanted to know if any of us in the car had done such a thing. The four of us in the car had to admit that was not the case. He shook his head in astonishment. Then he wondered where Indiana was in the United States. “We don’t get a lot of people from Indiana here,” he told us. “You may be the first one I meet.”

Do you know of an interesting place, statue or restaurant that you would like to see featured in this column one day? Send SB Communications LLC an e-mail to [email protected]