After our long day of hiking Cinque Terre, I decided I wanted to savor some sweet Bailey’s. However, I really wanted ice to go with it, oh and the bottle of Bailey’s was in the car parked at the top of the mountain. Whatever! I had hiked enough that day, and if I needed to hike to the top of Riomaggiore and back to find a few treasured cubes of ice than it would be well worth the trip.

It was a beautiful evening, we could see the waves meeting the cove outside our apartment windows. I reassured the guys that I could go alone in search of ice and retrieving our Bailey’s. So, off I went, no makeup, natural and physically exhausted.  Little did I know, the rose I found earlier that day was foreshadowing my romantic evening to come.

Within 5 minutes I returned from a swift walk to a nearby restaurant. I did the most direct thing I could think off. I walked into the kitchen and asked the friendly staff in Italian for some ice. The owner of the restaurant magically showed up. A sweet, older Italian man named Caesar. He introduced himself to me, kissed me on each check (a typical Italian greetin), and seemed interested in me. I kindly thanked him for the ice, “Ciao grazie!” and made my exit.

The guys were amazed by how quickly I returned with the ice. I tossed it in our mini fridge/freezer and left immediately to hike to the car.

As I walked up the tiny cobble stone street, I had to walk through the restaurant once more. No, really, that was the only way to leave from Nuccia’s apartment. Their was Caesar again, grabbing my hand and asking me if I was from California. I kindly informed him I was from Michigan, and said some other cute things in Italian to make my escape. I had to rescue the Bailey’s from our Ford Fiesta.

After about a 20 minute hike up and down to the car I was once again (now holding a bottle of Bailey’s in a grocery bag), facing the inevitable and walk right through Caesar’s restaurant.

He saw me, grabbed me by the hand again with a hawk like move and seated me at a table across from a good looking 20-something Italian man. Caesar introduced me to his grandson who had thick dark hair and soft glowing eyes. What did I get myself into? In my best Italian I touched my wedding ring on my hand and described how much I loved my husband. I even quoted an Italian aria, “mi pizzichi, mi stuzzichi, mi pungichi, mi mastichi”, yes I said, “He pinches me, he squeezes me, he tortures me, he stimulates me.”

At this point Caesar and his good looking grandson were getting the point. However, Caesar began to pour me wine. But I exclaimed that I must return to my husband so he can love me tonight. I graciously thanked him and said my farewells, and quickly returned to Cup and Justin.

After telling them of my adventures, they decided I could have obtained dual citizenship, EU passport included in the package deal, as their would have been a Riomaggiore marriage proposal that evening if I would have stuck around any longer.

Google Maps

Hiking the Cinque Terre trail can be difficult – not because the trail is overly strenuous (although it does entail walking up and down a small mountain on rocky paths) but because it is so beautiful. The entire path offers breath taking views of the Mediterranean, vineyards, olive groves, and/or Italian cliff cities. The problem is that it can be difficult to look at the view and walk the path at the same time. I found it difficult to find a happy medium between watching where I placed my feet, the only way to avoid falling off a cliff, and enjoying the picturesque, views that were all around me. When I say happy medium, this is hiker code for “I stopped a lot to look around and take pictures”. This had the added benefit of giving me and opportunity to stop and catch my breath without looking like I was out of breath. I mean, it is a bit embarrassing to be passed on a mountain trail by an 80 year old Italian man who is breathing regularly while hiking up 500 stairs. I needed some type of excuse…right?

It took Natalie, Cup, and I about 5 hours to hike from Riomaggiore to Monterosso. If you go to Italy, this experience is well worth both your time and money (even if you are limited on both). The only downside is that many other travelers and tourist apparently feel the same way so the Cinque Terre area at times feels more like hiking with a tour group than a silent walk in the woods. Either way, it is a worthwhile endeavor.