This had to be one of our favourite holiday locations ever. I would rate it in my top 5!
Cinque Terre is absolutely amazing! It is made up of five seaside villages which you can walk/hike between. Those being - Montorosso, Venezza, Corniglia, Manarola and Riomaggiore. We stayed in the largest village - Montorosso.
Cinque Terre is where the Italian's spend their summer vacations. It was bliss being surrounded by the sound of Italian (and not that of an English/Australian/American tourists!).
We arrived into Montorosso on Sunday afternoon to a balmy 40 degrees. It was damn hot. Usually we would be able to handle the heat but having spent almost six months in London, it was a rude shock.
We found our apartment and immediately located a restaurant where we had beers and fresh bruchetta while we waited for Pip and Evan to arrive on their train. Once the guys had arrived, we decided that the crystal clear blue water was too inviting so we headed for the beach. Italian beaches are much the same as French beaches - they hardly have sand. Their equivalent is pebbles or even sharp rocks. But the water was amazing and so relaxing.
The villages in Cinque Terre are made up of colourful worn buildings down alley ways designed to escape the heat. The colours were amazing especially against a stark blue sky.
For dinner on Sunday we ventured into the Old Town of Montorroso and feasted on traditional Italian pastas and pizzas and carafes of red wine. On our stroll back to the hotel we found everyone letting lanterns drift into the water. We also stumbled across some samba/tango dancers which were amazing to watch. Couples of all ages were dancing passionately in the cool summer breeze. We will never forget that night.
We rose early the next day, had a quick espresso and headed for the first hike. We have since learnt that this walk is the one that shouldn't be done in the order in which we did it. It was steep, narrow, consisted of about 600 stairs and it was stinking hot with no breeze. Not to mention the fact that it took 2.5 hours. But the views were incredible especially when we entered Vernazza - the next village. We treated ourselves with another swim and another awesome lunch. This time we tried a traditional Cinque Terre pasta made with Pesto. Cinque Terre is actually the home of pesto and it was amazing!!!
We then feasted on gorgeous gelati (apple, hazelnut, pistachio - our favourites) and decided to catch the train to the next town (Manorola) to have a look around and you guessed it another drink. After that we walked to Riomaggiore which was a very flat, easy 30 minute walk. The walk is actually called the Lovers Walk and all the way along are messages to lovers and locked padlocks. Riomaggiore was just stunning and we found another secluded "beach" to have a swim. We stayed in Riomaggiore for dinner and it was incredible! I had a Lobster Pasta and S had a seafood risotto and we shared the most amazing tiramasu. This was our standout dinner for sure - we laughed because we were so hot and sweaty in our hiking clothes sitting in a fancy restaurant having the most amazing meal.
On Tuesday we decided to have a relaxing day and stayed in Montorosso for a swim (it had the best beach), daiquiris and another delicious lunch. S and I decided to check out the Old Town some more while the others had siestas. We then met everyone in Manarola for a swim. Manorala had to be the best place to swim as you looked up at the village high on the cliff and swam around large rocks and sapphire blue water.
We had a very interesting evening on Tuesday night. We thought it would be good to have dinner at Corniglia. Little did we know that Corniglia was one of the only villages that sat high on top of a cliff. A massive 365 stair climb high (one for each day of the year). We arrived at about 9pm and realised that the hike up in the dark was only going to leave us an hour before we had to catch the last train. So we trudged back to the station where we had to wait for our train that got delayed and then delayed again. The station was deserted except for a crazy drunk man that kept bashing the walls until the alarms went off. This really wasn't necessary considering the train stations let out an annoying bell without provocation everytime a train arrives or is on its way. We played games in the cool air and ended up eating at a beach side restaurant in Montorroso.
On our last day, we decided to have a relaxing breakfast and then give Corniglia (our last town) another chance. It did not disappoint. It was the quaintest by far and the least touristy. The views over the coast were unbelievable. We could see miles of mountainous vineyards and crystal clear blue water. After walking the narrow, cool streets we retired for our last lunch together - I had yet another local pesto.
Bridge, Mark, S and I decided to visit the Leaning Tower of Pisa before we boarded our flight back home. Pisa was a massive town but had a very dodgy strange feeling about it. It seemed like a ghost town until you got to the tourist area around the tower. Seeing the Tower itself was amazing and surreal. It really is on a large angle.
Something that always strikes me about Italy is how much it lives up to its Italian stereotypes - the accents, the culture, the food, the people. What an amazing treasure of a place it is and what an absolutely amazing sun and food filled holiday we had.
A few pictures, which do not give it justice, below.
E&S
xoxo
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