Cinque Terre

With Rachael coming to visit during my final exam week we really had to utilize every spare moment I had. Keeping this in mind we decided to turn my two "study days" into a trip to the Italian Riveria and Cinque Terre! I must say that I am very pleased with our decision. Cinque Terre is a National Park located right on the Mediterranean and comprised of five villages carved into the cliffs. The terraced hills surrounding the towns are full of grape vines and citrus trees which add to the already magnificent scenery. These towns are only a few miles apart but are connected only by a foot path, a train line, and the sea.



We arrived in the farthest village, Monterossa, and had plans on spending the day hiking through all of the towns on the way to our hotel in Riomaggiore. Mother Nature decided to throw a wrench in our plans and made it rainy and cold, not the most ideal of hiking conditions. Despite the bad weather Rachael and I were still feeling inspired by the beauty of our surroundings and decided to hike the trail anyway. As soon as we hit the trail the rain eased up and we were all smiles. The trail was well maintained and wound through the citrus groves and past waterfalls. When the beauty of the trail was coupled with that of the brightly colored buildings in the town below and the blue Mediterranean it was easy to see why this park has gained so much fame.





About halfway through the hike our smiles faded as the rain and wind picked up. At one point we stopped in a little valley with no towns in sight and we thought about giving up and just turning back. Despite being completely soaked we were able to summon the courage to press on and in just a few minutes were greeted with a bird's eye view of the beautiful town of Vernazza. Once we got off the trail we immediately began searching for a place to dry off and get some food. We found a little pizza place at the point of the harbor where we enjoyed our meal looking out over the water and into the town square. After we ate we chose to take the shorter drier route via the train to our hotel in Riomaggiore.





Riomaggiore looked like it came straight out of a postcard as it had brightly colored buildings, a grand old church, and clouds hanging just below the peaks of the cliffs. Once in our room we took advantage of the hot showers and warm dry beds for some much needed rest.



For dinner we went down near the harbor to sample the local fare. The menu suggested the local delicacy of seafood soup for two which fit our appetites and proportions perfectly so we decided to try it. What was served to us was nothing like what we had anticipated. The bowl was overflowing with every kind of baby sea monster you could imagine. There was almost everything in this soup including tentacles, squid, and what we think we were baby lobsters. Once we got past the initial shock and giggles it turned out to be rather tasty. We polished off the meal with cheesecake and then headed in for the night.



In the morning we went down to the harbor to take some more pictures and admire the scenery. We continued our tour by taking the train to the other two towns we had yet to visit and found them every bit as enchanting as the others. One of my favorite things about all of the villages was their reliance on boats as the main form of transportation. Evidence of this is seen in the streets near the harbors where people actually park their boats in front of their houses. I am not sure how they get the boats on the dollies or how many people it takes to push them up the hills but I am very glad that they do it. Even with overcast skies and empty streets Cinque Terre was still an amazing place and I hope to come back during the high season to experience it then as well.