The 5 towns of Cinque Terre, Italy

Being lucky enough to spend 3 nights in Cinque Terre we saw a lot of the 5 beautiful towns along Italy’s rugged coast line. Here’s my favourite part about each one.

Riomaggiore
This is the first town, where we stayed and also coincidentally our favourite. It was less busy and touristy, had some great food and a beautiful port for swimming, reading in the sun and taking photos of the gorgeous little town. It feels Italian and locals can be seen tending to their lemon trees or vineyards in the late afternoon. We stayed in an apartment, called Cinque Terre holidays which was 2 rooms crammed with 8 beds each but we were lucky and virtually had the place to ourselves. The apartment had a small balcony where we sat every morning to have breakfast and watch the sun rise, and every night for dinner to watch the sun set over town.
Things to try:
– sea food cones. There’s a small take away shop on the Main Street that sells cones of fresh hot seafood. They are delicious so make sure to grab one.
– fresh pesto. Pesto is sold in literally every shop and restaurant. We found a small deli that made their own and had pesto pasta with seafood one night. It was scrumptious!
– focaccia. Cinque Terre is the birthplace of this divine delicacy and Paulina’s bakery is a small shop near the top of the street that sells slices for cheap. Once you have one you can’t stop.

Manarola
Manarola is the 2nd town in line, and while lovely, it’s not a great place to take a dip. It’s very small and the Main Street leads you straight down to the port. The water was always very rough and difficult to get in and out. Instead cool off with some gelato and tuck into some local food. A small restaurant called Porticcioli serves the most amazing seafood spaghetti I’ve ever indulged in. The pasta was silky and al dente, the tomato sauce rich and bursting with flavour and the seafood tasted fresh. It was divine, I could of eaten it every day.
Things to try:
– the most incredible walk starts here and ends at Corniglia. It is a mountain walk, not coastal so it’s rather hard but worth the views.
– eat seafood spaghetti. Words cannot describe how delicious it is. I think I may of even licked my plate.

Corniglia
Set 365 steps up from the train station, the 3rd town offers some spectacular views given its higher location. Again it’s a tiny town clustered with houses and restaurants. We didn’t stay long in this town as we ended our big walk here and were exhausted but walk along the perimeter as well as through town to see gigantic mountains awash with greenery that descends down to a deep blue ocean. It’s a great place to stop and admire the view. Around the back of town is a small organic bar that sells their own wine and vineyards creep along the outdoor setting. It is a great spot to relax and enjoy the local products.
Things to try:
– relaxing and admiring the view.
– enjoy a glass of wine, or two.. No-ones watching and your on holidays!

Vernazza
The second last town is the best for swimming. The narrow road takes you straight from town to the water which is actually a little bay and perfect for taking a dip, then lie on the sand to dry off. Unfortunately it was hit by a flood in 2011 and signs of damage are still evident. Near the beach are tons of gelato shops so get yourself a scoop!
Things to try:
– swimming. No other town has a bay so enjoy the water.
– gelato. Pile scoops of fresh homemade gelato into a cone and enjoy. Italian gelato is like nothing else.

Monterosso al Mare
This is the last time and the most touristy and busy town of them all. It has a few beaches, the main ones being dotted with red and yellow umbrellas that are for hire. It has more than one street, and alleyways are filled with people browsing the shops and eating at the restaurants. There are also resorts here, which is unlike any other towns so be wary if you don’t like lots of people.
Things to try:
– more gelato. You need to try every flavour don’t you.. Treat yourself and enjoy one by the water
– varied selection of restaurants and accommodation. Want some luxury, or have a fussy travel companion that can’t decide on food.. Monterosso has the greatest selection of food and accom so there’s something for everything.

 

Our picturesque trip to Cinque Terre

Want to swim in aqua coloured water so clear you can see your toes? Or hike up lush mountainside to reward yourself with awe-inspiring views of a deep blue ocean stretching out in front of you with the sun casting its golden glow across the water? If none of them sound appealing, how about trying focaccia in its birth town, or munching on some of the best pesto pasta you’ve ever had.

A string of 5 towns on Italy’s rugged coastline is becoming well known for its beauty and is a perfect place to relax. Known as Cinque Terre it is becoming more and more popular, and for good reason. The 5 towns stretch up the ragged coastline, having been built into the rocks. Each one is quite small, consisting of one main street that runs on a vertical hill into the mountainside, and away from the water. Connecting these towns is a series of both coastal walks and mountain walks as well as trains. Trains run regularly enough and are incredibly packed but make an easy way to get around.

Four out of five of the coastal walks were closed due to landslides taking out the paths, however the mountain walks were all open. To walk the coastal walks you need to purchase a walking pass for €8 or a walking and train pass for €12. The lady at the information center in Riomaggiore, the first town, told us the mountain walks were too hard, she shook her head and muttered in heavily Italian accented English ‘no no, straight uphill, 1 hour of stairs, too hot, too hard, can’t do it’. And that was the first walk, which was meant to be the easy one! Feeling put off and not keen to walk an hour up stairs in Italy’s summer heat we bought the double pass for the train and coastal paths.

Feeling excited we were about to set off when three kiwi women overheard our conversation and told us they had done the mountain walks and were worth it. They exclaimed “If we could do it, you young kids can walk it to’… Needless to say we felt pretty lazy at this point. If middle-aged women were hiking up some stairs two 22years old should be able to as well. But we decided to do it the next day and start off early to avoid the blasting sun.

We are staying in the first town, Riomaggiore and from here catch the train to the 2nd town, Manarola. The narrow road from the train station snakes its way down to the port, which is not ideal for swimming, however there’s a small restaurant on the right that serves the most divine seafood pasta I’ve ever eaten. From here we catch another train to the 3rd town, Corniglia, which is 365, steps up from the train station. The next town is a minute ride away, Vernazza that was hit by a flood a few years ago and shows signs of the destruction still.

The only coastal walk open today was the walk from town 4 to 5, Vernazza to Monterosso al mare. It’s a relatively easy 1-hour walk along uneven terrain and winds its way along the cliff. The track is popular however not over crowded and overtaking slow walkers is easy enough. The walk offers gorgeous views of the coastline, and you can smell the salt in the air and hear the aqua water bashing against the rocks below. There are tiny deserted coves that poke out from the cliff face that would make a perfect private beach if you could ever reach them. The walk takes around an hour and a half and as the sun rises and burns the back of our necks we ache to pull off our sweaty clothes and go for a dip in the wondrous blue water.

As the path ends it widens to a road that leads down to the 5th town, Monterosso al mare, and we both start stripping off our shorts and tops and dive into the cool ocean. The water is clear and you can see every speck of honey-coloured sand. I duck dive again and again and again, relishing the cool water flowing over my hot body. The water darkens to a light blue, aqua then deep blue until you can no longer see the bottom. Pretty soon the hunger kicks in and we’re off in search of a classic Italian dish: pizza!

Most of the restaurants serve pizza and in a little alleyway are rows of tables and chairs stacked neatly against the stone wall. We take a seat and order a classic margherita. It’s so good it’s hard not to lick our fingers as we happily munch our way through an entire pizza while watching all the tourists walk through town. We spend the rest of the day exploring town, eating gelato and lounging by the water.

Pesto is famous here and for dinner we make mushroom flavoured pasta with a fresh homemade pesto sauce bought from the local market with some fresh seafood. We sit eating it in our apartment, which has a view over the whole town, and boy it is delicious! Fresh pesto just bursts with flavour.

The next morning we’re up early to start off on our mountain walk. We start at Riomaggiore, town 1 and walk to Manarola, town 2. Turns out the lady at the info center exaggerated and the walk takes us 40 minutes up and down! Not too hard at all. The view is spectacular from the top and we can look down on Riomaggiore, spotting the locals in their gardens, restaurants packed with tourists and people jumping into the water from the rocks. There’s a slight breeze that cools us down and the faint sounds of birds and rustling leaves echo around us.

 

Feeling inspired we decide to tackle the next walk to Corniglia, town 3 and set off. This one is a lot harder. We descend up hill, walking step after step for 45 minutes. Our legs are burning and shaking and sweat is dripping off every visible body part. All I’m thinking is what have we done to ourselves.. The slight breeze we felt before is gone and the near-midday heat is blasting down. After what feels like forever the path finally flattens out and we reach a small town. Following the directions we go around the left of the town, past a small church where other walkers sit in the shade catching their breath and continue along the small well-trodden path. We snake along the cliff face, with locals tending to their vineyards on either side of us. The mountainside is dotted with vineyards and lemon trees that give off a wonderful citrus smell. We weave through people’s property admiring the view of the great big ocean against the grey cliff face and lush green mountainside. Birds fill the air with small chirps and the wind sweeps up the cliff face. This view is worth the steps up and is my favourite walk of them all.

Overall it takes us 2.5 hours to climb up, along and then down to Corniglia. Our legs shaking, we perch on a ledge overlooking the water on the edge of town to rest and have a drink. Below us looks like a totally different place, it’s lush and green. Trees and shrubs have taken off and cast a lively green glow that stretches all the way to the water. It is so serene and so beautiful. For us the day is over and we catch a train back to Riomaggiore to spend the afternoon swimming and reading in the sun – our slice of paradise.

 

Sunday Snaps: The beautiful Cinque Terre

We spent 4 amazing days in Cinque Terre walking along the coast, hiking into the mountains, trying fresh seafood and pesto pasta as well as enjoying icy cold lemoncello. This if the 1st of the 5 cities, and our favourite, Riomaggiore.

Getting to Greece

Getting to Greece

My experience of getting to Greece.

This is a memory worth sharing. Its truly one of those moments that you’ll remember forever. Something you’ll look back on laughing while your tell your kids about (some) of the crazy things you did when you were their age.

We chose to leave Ancona, Italy a little port town on the coast all the way to Athens Greece on a ferry. It was the cheapest way of travelling and we thought 25hrs on a ferry was totally do-able, only 80 Euros it was perfect for our budget… couldn’t be that bad right?

Famous last words. It sucked! We spent 25hrs, over a full day on cold, hard, white plastic seats. Our butts ached and there was nowhere else to sit, let alone sleep. About 10hrs later it was getting dark and we were restless, bored and frustrated. We wandered aimlessly around the ship a million times and on impulse bought a couple of bottles of wine.

This helped. Soon we were all laughing and joking, our moods starting to pick up. We demolished these pretty quick and went back for a few more. Our night seem to pass a lot quicker, in a liquored state we found enjoyment in the small things, we laughed at how sore our butts were and at our ‘bed’.

I remember this single moment, where everything felt slower. It was a moment of pure joy, of un-adulterated happiness, the kind of feeling that cannot be taken from you and which only comes from being with your friends. It was the moment that wrote over the frustration experienced earlier, tainting our memories and letting us revel in being young and careless.