Last month, one of my best girl friends, J, was in Italy for trade shows. Since she was there, we decided to meet up and do a mini vacation together. Since hearing about it ten years ago, Cinque Terre has been a dream destination of mine. Surprisingly, Cinque Terre is "relatively" untouched. It's a UN heritage protected zone and since the write wrote about Cinque Terre a few years ago, it has gotten a lot more popular, though it still has kept it's charm. In Cinque Terre there's not a single chain restaurant or hotel. All of them appear to be small locally owned places. I had high expectations of Cinque Terre and I'm happy to report, it lived up to them.
J and I are unconvential tourists, so of course, we did it unconventionally. Typically, most people start at the first town from La Spezia: Riomaggiore and make their way to Monterosso. But the distances are so short between the towns that by train it takes no more than 20 minutes from Monterosso to Riomaggiore and you can even hike in between the towns. Though hiking between the towns sounds cute and charming (and mostly is) unless you want to feel like a donkey, opt for leaving your luggage at a home base, between the heat, steepness of some of the terrain and incredible views, lugging luggage is going to be the last thing on your mind.
For the first two nights, we stayed just outside the five lands up in the hills above Framura. We stayed at a family run small b&b above the hills of Framura.
Each of the towns has their own charm. For instance, Mannarola is best for beaching. Most of the town is along the ocean and for less than 10 euros, you can rent a chair and umbrella and spend a day on the medditeranean.
Vernazza, is the most commercial of the town and probably the easiest accesible. You can walk from the train station to the harbour in no time and pass thru all the shops (Vernazza has the best shopping)
We didn't make it to the middle town: Corniglia, for a number of reasons. We ran out of time and it was the hardest to access. The trail between Manarola and Corniglia (the easiest way to get to Corniglia) was washed out and we didn't want to spend the effort to find another way to get there!
Manarola had the biggest harbour, but the town felt a bit disjointed. The town was divided into upper and lower parts but we enjoyed some good eats along the lower parts near the harbour where there were some amazing sunsets!
For 3 nights, we rented an apartment in Riomaggiore. It was high on the hills above town (read- lots of stairs up) had 2 balconies and a tremendous view of the medditeranean.
On our last night in Riomaggiore, we experienced quite possibly one of the more random sights... it was an end of season street party in front of the train station and the town put on a foam party. Having never been to a rave before, this was a new experience for me. So when I was all the sub 10 year olds playing in the foam, I was the first adult to join in. Many other adults, happily followed me and there we were. In the middle of one of the most beautiful places on earth, throwing foam (and having foam thrown at us) by 8 years olds.
It was a sad place to leave and a month later, J and I still envy the feelings of peace and beauty we had!
tips:
DO
* Book your hotels ahead. There aren't many of them and they book quickly.
* Have dinner at Pie de Ma in Riomaggiore. Every night there is a chef's menu and the sunsets from the cliff are amazing.
* Hike the trails. The most strenuous one is from Monterosso to Vernazza (though if you do it from Vernazza you avoid crazy narrow steep stairs that will make you feel like a donkey)
DON'T
* Don't go in July and August unless you find great comfort in crowds. One day in Riomaggiore, a cruise ship day tour was in town and I got a feel for what it was like and all I can say is: DON'T DO IT!
* As charming as it sounds, leave the luggage behind. With such easy access, stay at one or two spots and travel between them.
The Vernazza Harbour
Monterroso al Mare from the water
Doing the hike from Vernazza to Monterosso. The hiking boots are
because of this sign! We wanted to be ironic and hike in dresses. But we're still practical, so we had proper footwear!
The view of Vernazza on the hike to Monterosso
Along the hike was this cute old man playing tunes on his sax
The view of Monterosso halfway thru the hike
After our hike, some much needed beach time
The hills above Monterosso
the foam party in Riomaggiore
then the adults joined in.
One of the prettier and easier hikes. From Riomaggiore to Manarolo on the Via Del Amore (way of love)
On The Via Del Amore, couples come to "seal" their love. All of those things hanging on the rail are locks. Couple come to seal their love with locks. The cynic in me wonders if they come back and cut the locks off if the love doesn't work out...
1 comment:
This looks like an absolutely beautiful trip Kath!!! Looks like I'll be getting tips form you soon as to where to vacation!! ;-) xo -Jess
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