Easter Break Part 2: Cinque Terre

(3/25) I woke up in my sleeper-car bed about 2 hours before we reached Milan, so I went to the dining car to relax for a bit and get a glass of juice. The girls showed up about 30 minutes later so we chatted until the train arrived. In Milan we first went to buy tickets to La Spezia, which is the main train station for the Cinque Terre region, then we went to get something to eat. We were hoping to find some normal breakfast food, but we ended up just getting some McDonald's. After food we still had about 1 hour to kill so we just went out and sat in the sun outside the train station until time to leave. We took the train from Milan to Monterosso, which is the northernmost of the five towns. From there we were going to catch another train for the short 10 minute ride to Vernazza where we were staying, but we just missed the next train leaving that direction so we hung out in Monterosso for an hour and ate some pizza. Once the next train arrived we hopped on for the quick ride to Vernazza. In Vernazza we got off the train and went to a shop near the train station per the instructions of the owners of our villa. The people at the shop called the villa owner, Michelle, and she came down to show us to our room. We walked up a hill behind the town to our room which was tucked away on the hillside. We dropped our luggage off and took a quick walk through town and up to the castello on the hill near the bay. The view was absolutely stunning as the sun was just setting over the hills. We headed back to our room to shower up and get changed then we went to a restaurant in the city square as recommended by Michelle. The pesto at this restaurant was so ridiculously good. After dinner we went back to the room and crashed.


(3/26) This day will forever be known as "Il Giorno di Cinque Gelato" (The Day of Five Gelatos). We woke up around 10am and grabbed some croissants and lattes in the square in Vernazza. Fueled up we hit the trail for the hike from Vernazza to Monterosso. This stretch is the hardest of all the hikes in Cinque Terre, but it was certainly worth it. The views from the hillside were beautiful, with Vernazza fading behind us, Monterosso growing in front of us, and the Mediterranean sprawled out beside us. After about 1.5 hours we arrived in Monterosso. We walked along the waterfront road from one side of the town to the other through the tunnel. When we emerged on the other side we found a small gelato shop and got our first cone of the day. My choice was fragola (strawberry) and it was one of the best gelatos I've ever had in my life. We walked around the town and along the beach to the Gigante statue and then went to the train station to catch a train to Rio Maggiore, which is the southernmost town of the five.

When we arrived in Rio Maggiore we walked through the tunnel to the other side of the city and grabbed some pizza at a small takeaway. We sat down to enjoy our pizza in the sun before walking down to the bay. We took in the sights for a little while before grabbing our 2nd gelato of the day, for which I chose nocciola (hazelnut). With gelato in hand we set off to the Path of Love which connects Rio Maggiore to the next town of Manarola. It was an easy, paved walk along the oceanside and the main highlight of the walk is a tunnel that is painted to depict famous scenes of love.

We didn't stay in Manarola too long, but long enough to get gelato number 3, for which I chose frutti de bosco (mixed berry). We took a short break and then hit the trail again en route to Corniglia.

The end of the hike to Corniglia was pretty brutal with 385 steps leading you into town which was up on a hill. Corniglia was quite a bit different from the other towns because it had more terraced farming and it was located high up on a hill instead of down along the water. As you can guess now that we were in Corniglia it was time for gelato number 4, this time it was limone (lemon). Sadly, the trail between Corniglia and Vernazza was closed so we walked back down the steps to the train station and caught a train back to Vernazza.

Back in Vernazza I went straight to the gelato store to get my fifth and final gelato, banana (banana). I should mention that this whole thing with five gelatos arose out a challenge that Lauren thought up. It was quite funny because she is a bit lactose-intollerant so she was suffering by gelato 3 whilst I was crusing all the way through. Jade and I had a few laughs at her expense. Anyways, with all of my gelatos complete I headed up to the room to get cleaned up. After a shower and getting changed I went out onto the terrace to watch the sunset with a glass of wine. It was really a beautiful sight and a relaxing end to a strenuous day. After sundown we descended into town to a fancy little restaurant near the shop from the first day. The food was alright, not as good as the first night though. After dinner I walked with Lauren to the square so she could get her fifth gelato of the day. With the challenge completed we went back to the room and passed out.


(3/27) Sadly it was time for us to leave beautiful Vernazza. We packed our stuff up and headed down to the shop in town so we could check out. The rain had started to come down so after checking out we hid under the canopy at the train station and waited for our train to La Spezia. Next stop Florence!!!


Cinque Terre Photos 1

Cinque Terre Photos 2