Be sure to read Trip Recap 05: Milan. prior to this post.
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Cinque Terre is one of those places you fall in love with as soon as you arrive. Known as the Italian Riviera, Cinque Terre is made up of, you guessed it, 5 towns! Numbered 1-5 going South to North you have 1 Riomaggiore, 2 Manarola, 3 Cornigila, 4 Vernazza and, 5 Monterosso. Kel and I were staying in town #4, Vernazza. Each town is only about a half mile apart.
The story is that Cinque Terre really wasn't even on the "tourist map" until 1978 when a little known guy named Rick Steves literally put it there. There aren't really hotels or hostels, but you end up staying in rented rooms from the locals. We called up a woman named Ingrid we came across on the internet and simply asked if she had a room available...simple as that.
Here's a little view of what Vernazza and it's harbor look like...
and of course I had to hike up the adjacent hill for a few more shots...
I also went back up later that night to get a few sunset shots. Kel decided to chill by the water with a bottle of wine while she waited...
After I got back we cracked open some more wine and sat down for a picnic dinner along the water.
This is the backside of Ingrid's house, see Kelly up there in the window. There was also a small tunnel carved into the rock by the water that allowed the waves to lap up against the building. It was very peaceful to hear that every evening as you fell asleep.
A bit more about Cinque Terre...all 5 towns are linked by a train line which makes it super convenient to get from one to another. Years ago the Italians built this rail line from Rome to Genoa and just by chance these towns also got the benefit. Most of the trip along the coast is actually inside of tunnels, but every so often you pop out and get an amazing view of the ocean and steep mountains above.
On our first day in the area we didn't arrive until around 1pm after our train ride from Milan through Genoa, so we pretty much just explored the town of Vernazza, ate some good food, and drank a few bottles of wine. A good afternoon if you ask me!
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Day 2 in Cinque Terre [Tuesday May 19th] we decided to explore towns 1-3 and then return to #4, Vernazza. So, after a quick breakfast we took the 10 minute train ride down to Riomaggiore. I should also mention that in addition to the train line, you can also hike between each town. Some of the hikes take 20 minutes while others are a bit more challenging and can take up to 2hrs. The plan for us was to train down to Riomaggiore and then hike back to Vernazza, stopping at Manarola and Corniglia along the way.
I stopped to take a leak at the train station and encountered my first "hole"...easy for #1 and but I have no idea how you accomplish #2 here! Check out the little sticker I noticed on the tank too...
After the quick ride down we arrived into Riomaggiore and walked around for a little while before setting out towards Manarola, Corniglia and then back to Vernazza. The hike from Corniglia to Vernazza was the hardest and hottest! Took us about 1.5hrs and it was a lot of up and down, thus a dip in the ocean once we got back to Vernazza was in order.
And how cool is this shot of the back-side of Vernazza? This was taken up on the trail just before we started to descend down into town...you can actually see town #5, Monterosso, in the background.
After our hike we were beat and went directly to the water...talk about refreshing. That sure made our first dip into the Mediterranean well worth it!
That night we had a great dinner at a restaurant litterally outside of our front door and then relaxed along the harbor. There really isn't much to do in Vernazza save for eat and drink...
How about that dinner...one of our best the entire trip. Seafood risoto with shrimp and muscles! Of course we stopped for a gelato after too!
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Our next day in Cinque Terre we decided to take the ferry up to Monterosso and then hike back to Vernazza later in the day.
Monterosso has a few more shops and restaurants than the other towns, so we walked around a bit and then decided to just park it on the beach for the day. We rented some chairs and an umbrella and just relaxed. Like I said above, our original plan was to hike back to Vernazza, but after a long day at the beach we bagged that idea and just took the boat back!
One last shot from up on the hillside just as the sun slipped behind the moutains and the lights in town started to illuminate.
Early to bed as we'd be getting up at the crack of dawn for a long day of travel...
Stay tuned for Trip Recap 07: Nice, Monaco, Cannes.
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