Cinque Terre

This morning we all got up early so that we could be out the door by 6:30 in order to get to the train station for a morning ride to Cinque Terre.  Despite the fact that we were not all fully awake, we made it to our train on time.

The train took us from Genoa through Cinque Terre to the southernmost city – Riomaggiore.  We disembarked from the train and wandered through the winding, narrow streets until we reached the small port.  From this point we had an excellent view of the picturesque town and its colorful buildings.  We did not spend as much time in this town as we did in the others, and after exploring for a bit, we took the short train ride north to Manarola.  After exploring this town for a while and stopping briefly for a snack, we decided to head to the third town – Corniglia.

Corniglia is different from the other towns that form Cinque Terre in that it is the only one that is situated on a hilltop rather than down around the water.  Most of our group decided to take the train to Corniglia while a small group of us decided to hike there from Manarola.  While it was strenuous at times, the views of the towns and the Mediterranean were breathtaking.  After a little over two hours, we finally made it into Corniglia where we met the rest of the group who had just finished lunch at a restaurant in the center of town.  The rest of us went up the street to a different restaurant off a small square and ate lunch in the garden out back where we had a view of the vinyards in the surrounding hills and the Mediterranean.  After eating and relaxing for a while we continued on.

Our next stop was Vernazza, where several of us stopped to sit by the sea.  Others went to explore the town and walk up through the narrow paved paths to reach the castle.  This was an excellent vantage point to see the town below and the surrounding Mediterranean. On our way back to the train station, we took time to stop for gelato and to buy souvenirs in order to remember our trip.  We were all very tired at this point, but still excited to see the last town – Monterosso al Mare.

It was in the last town that we had dinner.  Our group split and ate at two different restaurants: one being Emy’s, the other was Gastronomia “San Martino”.  Emy’s was a small, local restaurant that was owned and operated by Emy, a very friendly and entertaining gentleman who was glad to have us there and serve us.  The food was absolutely delicious, with many of us getting a variety of dishes that had pesto – something for which the region is known for.  At the other restaurant, San Martino, the owner is a gentleman who offers a variety of Italian dishes that he serves every night and a few tables outside.  The group that went here, however, took their food to go down to the waterfront and enjoy the view.

Once we had eaten dinner and strolled through the town to enjoy the view of  the sea, we caught a train to Levanto.  Unfortunately, the train times back to Genoa were far apart, so several of us caught a train back to the city at around 9:00 pm while others spent the rest of the evening in Levanto and caught a late train back to Genoa at 11:40.

Needless to say, we were all extremely exhausted after a long day at Cinque Terre, so as soon as we got back to the villa we went straight to sleep so that we could be well rested for another day in Genoa.

Ciao!

Benjamin Walker