Cinque Terre

Kristy and I in front of Manarola

This was the highlight of Italy for me. Cinque Terre, put on the map by Rick Steves himself is a mountainous region on the western coast of Italy comprised of five different towns connected by hiking trails and a railroad. Each town is comprised of colorfully painted buildings with their own unique charm. In my preparation for the trip I learned that although the towns are close to one another they have their own dialects of Italian for example one town might say 'meh' while the other says 'mi' because the terrain is so hard to cross they don't have much of a history of interacting with one another. I of course was not able to differentiate while there so I'm just taking the sites word for it.  We stayed in Riomaggiore one of the end towns.  We didn't do much exploring of the town itself for the hill just to get to our hostel was enough to convince us otherwise.  Our hostel here was also the best of the trip, we were friends with all 9 people staying in the 12 bed apartment.  Each night we ate dinner while drinking some wine and getting to know one another getting ideas for what to do in Cinque Terre as well as what to do in other parts of Italy and Europe. 

We got to Riomaggiore in the afternoon so we went on the first trail to Manarola where we did some exploring up the hills and made our way to the sea where beautiful Italians were tanning in their itty bitty bathingsuits as well as a good number of tourists eating gelato and enjoying the beauty all around us. We kept going and got halfway to Corniglia, we couldn't make it all the way because of a landslide earlier in the month. So instead we discovered a little place where we could climb all through the rocks and we considered swimming but Kristy is more of a chicken than I am when it comes to icky things on rocks so we both chose instead to soak up the sun and find a place that we could jump in later.  We got a gelato on our walk back to Riomaggiore and took a very long pit stop to watch the sunset on rocks with our feet in the water, writing this is making me so nostalgic for those rocks, they were so terrific. 

Kristy and I playing around with her camera watching the sunset

Chilling in the rocks between Manarola and Corniglia

The next day we got ourselves as prepared as we could for a hike starting in Monterosso the farthest town from Riomaggiore. Vernazza is considered the “resort town” it has sandy beaches and tons of tourists. It was great, but nothing compared to the others.  We took a train to Monterosso in order to save time and energy.  When we got to the entrance to the hike path the woman informed us that this was the hardest hike and that we should be careful.  

Towards the end of the hike view of Vernazza

We shook off her warning and kept going.  Then we reached the first uphill climb, they had created a type of stair and we walked up them for at least 25 minutes the only thing that kept me from turning around was the beautiful views of ocean, fields, and terraced vineyards all around us. It was wonderful. We even saw a good number of men tending to their vines, seeing them made me wonder if they climbed up the “stairs” to get to the towns or if they still lived simply by making and growing all of the things they need.  When we finally reached Vernazza we were exhausted and in serious need of some kind of rest so we sat by the water munching on nuts and seeds we bought in Florence watching the locals tend to their boats and the clouds forming a storm.  

Vernazza

By the time we got up ready to take on the next hike the storm was brewed and the rain began so we hopped on the next train back to Riomaggiore where we waited out the weather to go back out.  When we did we were determined to see the last city Corniglia, known as the “city on a hill” on our way there walking through a tunnel I heard “Oh My God! Claire Dickey!!!” It was my two friends from high school Aubrey Armento, and Susan Monk.  I knew they were going to be in Italy, but I knew the chances of seeing them was slim to none so I had put the prospect into the back of my mind. They were leaving Cinque Terrre early the next morning but they would be in Rome when we were so we made plans to meet in Rome by the Trevi fountain two days from then.  So bizarre!

The steps to Corniglia

Kristy and I climbed 300 steps to Corniglia, my favorite of the five towns it was the most untouched by the tourist boom. Probably because it was so hard to get to, but it was wonderful in its quietness we ate a gelato in a square looking at a beautiful little church searched around a bit more and headed back to Riomaggiore where we enjoyed another walk to Vernazza with our roommate Mike watching the sunset and huge waves, such a difference from the day before. 

Our gelato in Corniglia

Riomaggiore, the dark rocks where the waves are crashing are the ones where we watched the sunset.

                                                    

The next morning we had until around 1:00 so we spent them lazing on the rocks by the harbor in Riomaggiore to make it to the train station just in time to go to Rome. 

Kristy and Riomaggiore

My happy place

If I was to recommend a place in Italy that’s a little off the beaten path I would hands down say Cinque Terre.  The natural and man-made beauty creates a harmony that is absolutely unforgettable.