amore per l'italia

A few weeks back, while we were with some friends on the metro, we spotted an ad for Cinque Terre, five small villages along the Italian Riviera. We'd talked about going but thought since we lived on the coast last year, was it really worth a visit? Our friends talked about their visit until we exited the metro... so of course it was on our minds. Fast forward three days - we had a flight booked. With a Thursday holiday at the end of May, we couldn't pass it up.

Welcome to Vernazza! Cinque Terre consists of Monterossa al Mare, Vernazza, Corniglia, Manarola and Riomaggiore. It's not the easiest to get to and lodging is a bit tricky but it was so worth it! After doing a little research (and I mean very little), it looked like Vernazza was the spot for us. The village has a population of 1,500 and doesn't really have any hotels. We found a few residents who rent apartments and started emailing. Since we booked a little last minute... only 3 weeks in advance... a lot of things were already taken. We really wanted a place on the water, but that didn't seem like it was going to happen either. We couldn't really be picky! We arrived very late on Wednesday night, after a flight to Pisa and a two hour train ride, to find a guy standing in front of the Farmacia named Christian waiting to show us to the apartment. His mother was the owner but we were told he spoke a little English so we decided to call him while we were in the train station instead. He didn't think he would be in town when we arrived so he gave Mark directions to the apartment and said he'd leave it unlocked. Most of what Mark understood was that we should look for a green door. Thank goodness he decided to wait for us because ALL the doors were green! 

The next morning, we had to change apartments. We were supposed to find Christian or his mother, Tilde, at their shop on the corner. And then we had to ask for Caterina at a restaurant to check-in. Well, we found Tilde and of course she had heard we were renting from Caterina for the rest of the weekend and of course Caterina was nearby chatting with some friends. Gotta love small towns! Tilde called Caterina over and we exchanged some smiles... because we don't speak Italian... and followed Caterina to her apartment, just as her other guests were leaving.

Coastal paths connect all five villages. Unfortunately, only two of the paths were open the first day; a twenty minute, very simple, hike between Riomaggiore and Manarola and the two hour, most difficult, path between Vernazza and Monterosso. We paid our fee and were on our way to Montorosso. It was difficult, but nothing tennis shoes and a bottle of water couldn't get you through.

We made our way to Monterosso for lunch, rested on the beach, and dipped our toes in the cold ocean water before deciding to hike back to Vernazza instead of taking the train. A lot of the path was steps and most of town was steps... but when we returned to Vernazza we drug ourselves, with shaky legs, to the top of the city to make a reservation at one of the restaurants in town.

Not a bad first day to a last minute vacation!