Goodbye Cinque Terre

Sean and I are currently on the train heading to Pisa. We left Cinque Terre at the perfect time as the rain started today. Here’s a recap of the past few days where we visited the remaining four towns in this lovely region.

Vernazza

We were, understandably, exhausted after our hike to Vernazza from Monterosso and couldn’t wait to check-in to our Airbnb room so we could have a hot shower and some food. The hotel never gave us an address so Sean started texting them to figure out where to go. They STILL wouldn’t provide us with an address and instead gave us a general location so we decided to call them. They put Sean on hold for about 5 minutes when we ran out of calling minutes on our phone. Great. Needless to say, after about 2 hours, we finally found someone to speak to who was able to check us into our room at Gianni Franzi.

As of yet, this has to be our worst Airbnb experience. The bedrooms on each floor share a communal bathroom which was okay for the most part. However, at one point the toilet was clogged and so I decided to use the washroom on the floor above ours only to get reamed out by the maids that I was not allowed to use that washroom and had to use the one on my own floor. Ridiculous.

The one thing the hotel did have going for it was that it offered free breakfast on their terrace which was located on a cliff over the ocean where we watched the sunrise with our croissants and mochachinos. Sean and I would sit on that patio for hours with our books and get lost in the raw beauty of our surroundings.

Overall, we had a couple chill days in Vernazza and spent most of the time relaxing rather than sight-seeing. Our days were filled eating foccacia (a specialty of the region) and pasta. We visited Massimo at Il Pirata THREE more times before we departed — his food really is THAT good. He’s also an incredible host and spends time chatting to each table, making them laugh, and ensuring that they have a great time.

The first day we arrived in Vernazza, there was a wedding occuring at the church in the center square of the town. This church is my favourite of the bunch we have seen so far. It is not ornate like many of the big churches in the big cities; however, it’s simplicity is what I loved about it most. The church is about 700 years old and is completely made of stone with simple wooden benches for the seating. I can only imagine how beautiful the wedding was situated there. After the ceremony finished, the guests were all waiting outside for the bride and groom and as they exited the church people were throwing rice and confetti into the path as the church bells were ringing. It was so beautiful!

Afterwards, the bride and groom went to the balcony of one of the residences in the main streets and together, with the flower girl, were throwing handfuls of candies into the street for the crowd of people who were congregated below. They must have thrown a few large baskets of candy to the large crowd below. What a cool tradition!

Riomaggiore

After finishing up with Vernazza, we took the train to Riomaggiore, the last town of Cinque Terre. This town boasts a beautiful castle at the top that overlooks the ocean that has now been converted into a GORGEOUS conference center. This was by far our favourite spot in Riomaggiore and we came here both nights with a bottle of wine to enjoy the sunset together.

[gallery type=”rectangular” ids=”254,246,247,248,250,251,249,252,253,264,267"]

The second day we were here, we took the boat back to Vernazza as we heard that seeing Cinque Terre by sea was not to be missed. Seeing each town from the water was such a different experience and you could really appreciate the beauty of these small fishing villages that hug the rugged cliffs on the ocean.

The plan was to hike all the way from Vernazza to Riomaggiore so that we could say that we had hiked the entire Cinque Terre route. This trek was made a bit harder because of the fact that the last two legs of the main trail were closed due to landslides that occurred 3 years ago. Not to worry, though, as there are the harder red trails that bypass the landslides that allowed us to complete our journey.

This alternate route was a blessing in disguise as one of the mountain trails led us through picturesque vineyards that hug the cliffs over the water. The views were so beautiful that they often gave me shivers that ran up my spine.

The trek allowed us to visit the remaining two towns — Corniglia and Manarola — as well as a mountaintop town called Volastra. The small town appeared deserted midday, except for an adorable cat with big eyes that wanted cuddles and followed us around like a dog.

My favourite town in Cinque Terres would have to be Corniglia. This is the only town that doesn’t have direct access to the sea but was instead built up on the cliff. Due to this, it offers stunning views of the remaining four towns from its lookout. The town itself is made up of adorable narrow lanes with bustling shops and restaurants. It is touted as being the most romantic of the five towns and I completely agree!

[gallery type=”rectangular” ids=”266,262,261,259,257,255,258,272,273,277,276,275,274,280,279,278,283,282,281,284,285,286,287,290,291,289,288,292"]

Onwards!

We are now leaving the beach life behind and will be hitting up the big cities of Pisa, Florence and Rome for the next leg of our journey. I can’t wait to see all of the historic relics that these cities hold! Stay tune for a corny “holding up the tower” photo in Pisa. ;)

TRAVEL STATS

1. Churches: 12
2. Espressos: 18
3. Cities: 7
4. Gelato: 4