Cinque terre: we came, we saw, it was beautiful, we’re exhausted!! What a fantastic, picture-perfect day to be out on the Italian Riviera! Cinque terre is an Italian National Park consisting of five historic villages nestled along the cliffs and terraces of Italy’s northern coastline, the famed Italian Riviera. Until recently, all five villages were connected by a series of hiking trails; however a massive flood in October 2012 caused landslides, which washed away parts of the trail system. The regional train system still connects them, and runs regularly, so it is relatively easy to train hop and see all of them in one day. And, we did!
We started at the southern-most town of Riomaggiore and made our way north, after a slight snafu with the trains. All five villages are similar but unique in their own ways. They definitely cater to the tourists, offering a plethora of shopping, wine bars, and restaurants. Of course, we sampled some of the offerings in each town. Of note are delicious cones of fried seafood and carafes of local wine. We had the opportunity to put our feet in the Mediterranean in Vernazza and climbed through the olive and grape orchards on the hillside above Manarola. Oh, did I mention the postcard perfect setting for flawless photography? There are no bad pictures from this crew!
We wrapped up our day with a great dinner at a lovely little take away restaurant tucked away in the winding side streets of Monterosso al Mare. The proprietor and his wife were very friendly offering us extra pasta on top of generous servings. We then caught the train back to Genoa and crawled to our beds. What a great day!
Ciao!
Kendy