Cinque Terre

First, we should tell you that Cinque Terre means “five little towns” in Italian - and that’s exactly what this place is. Mountains dive right into the sea along the coast and in between the little valleys between the mountains little towns have been built. They’re all quite close together - and while they are all right on the sea and have great views all around, they each have their own differences. The mountains that surround each village have vineyards filling their slopes and the towns themselves are filled with a few hotels, a couple restaurants, vibrantly colored homes and narrow alleys between buildings that wind their way up the sides of the hills. Hopefully that sets an image for everyone (if not, there’s always our pictures) - but this is one of our favorite places on the whole trip - so if you get the chance to go here...go! Oh, and make sure you like cats - they roam everywhere in the little villages. Anyway...

We started our day of exploring by taking the train from Levanto (where we stayed for the night) out to the furthest village, Rio Maggiore. From here we planned to hike between villages and make our way back closer to Levanto. Rio Maggiore is a tiny little village and after we walked its few streets we joined a coastal walkway that wraps around the mountains on the way to the next village, Manarolla. On the way, and as we enjoyed the crystal clear ocean and mountain views from our clifftop perch, the path continued on through a covered portion that has graffiti all over the walls. This part of the path is called the “Via del amore” which in Italian means the “path of love” - and couples are encouraged to leave their own marks on the walls as they pass through. We left a little message on the wall and took some photos.

We continued along our path to Manarolla and as we got there we explored this next tiny village and continued on our way to Corniglia - which is perched at the top of seaside cliffs. This second walk was a bit more of hike and less of walking a paved path like the first portion had been - and it was getting quite hot out by now - so Kristen and Scotch decided that when we got to Corniglia they would take trains to the next villages to explore them. Matt, Phil, and Monica decided to continue along with the hike. Before parting ways in Corniglia, though, we grabbed a bit of lunch and filled up our water bottles.

The three person hike continued, and at this point on the way to the 4th town of Vernazza, we were climbing up and down the mountains on tiny tiny paths. It was a lot of fun and the views were well worth the effort, but it was tiring at the same time. By the time that the three of us arrived in Vernazza (almost 2 hours after leaving Corniglia), Kristen and Scotch had just gotten to the town as well. So while Matt was hiking up and down mountains, Kristen was wandering around villages, shopping, and enjoying focaccia...nice. Vernazza was the most bella of the villages (beautiful). This little town was so clean and beautiful - with great food and shops - and even better views to boot. We said hello quickly but continued on our separate ways as we knew we’d be back to this town later that night.

The hike from Vernazza to Monterossa was another 2+ hours and once again involved climbing up and down mountain paths and along the top of little cliffs. The path was well worn in - and we saw a lot of people on this path --- there were a lot of stairs in the steeper portions of the path as well. I figure we hiked about 10km overall that day and along the way climbed a couple thousand stairs!

We made it to Monterosso though and Matt hopped on a train back to Levanto to get cleaned up and to relax for a little while. An hour or two later Kristen arrived at the hotel fresh from her village shop adventures with Scotch. (Monterosso, btw, was the largest village - but by this point seemed to be more of the same. Not to downplay it, it was also gorgeous, we’re just running out of ways to describe these fantastic places!)

That night, after some relaxation in Levanto we decided to go back to Vernazza for some dinner - this time directly by train which was only 2 stops away... We had dinner right by the water - the food was amazing and the views of the sunset were spectacular. We also got some fantastic photos - including what is probably our best panoramic shot yet. You’ll see this shot hanging in our home for sure. We had a blast -- and it was a perfect way to cap off a tiring day. Vernazza is one of the best places we’ve been to yet!