In love with cinque terre

This past weekend myself and two fellow sailing team members (Sarah & Vanessa) ventured to Cinque Terre. I can honestly say that I can die happy after this experience. The views were just so breathtaking....my photos don't do it any justice!

Vanessa met Sarah and I after my class and we hopped on a 1:30 train to Pisa. From there we transferred to La Spezia, and from there one quick train ride to Riomaggiore (the first of the "five towns" and the one that we were staying in). The train station, like the rest of the area, is right on the cliffs overlooking the water. After walking through a gorgeous tunnel that was covered in beach-themed mosaics we emerged at the center of town (although its more like a quaint street) only to find that our hostel was anapartment with two other girls staying in it in a separate room with.....you guessed it....breathtaking views of the water. After a little snafu in our room assignment (can you blame the other girls for trying to steal the room with the balcony and the views?) we settled in, had ourselves a bottle of wine on the balcony, and headed to dinner. We went to "La Lampara" and had ourselves an excellent meal! A bottle of house white, a side of grilled eggplant, and some seafood spaghetti for me. It was all so fresh and tasty! Starting off this glutenous weekend right, dinner was promptly followed by some gelato. We decided to make it an early night to prepare for our hike, but not before finding out just how much fun sleep sacks are and settling in listen to a great thunderstorm.

Saturday we were woken up by a rooster and then the sun. We got ready for the day, grabbed some cappuccinos and croissants (my more-or-less daily breakfast), and purchased our trail passes that would allow us to access the trail and take the train between cities. The start of the trail at Riomaggiore was a little congested because the trail from Riomaggiore to Manarola is an easy twenty minute walk. This, however, was our first glance at the truly breathtaking views on the cliffs. Part of the walk goes through Via dell' Amore where couples put locks up with their names and paint "love" graffiti all over the walls.

Manarola, the next town, was very very cute. There are a few more shops and restaurants there than Riomaggiore, in addition to a larger marina area. There we decided to hike up the hills a little bit that cut through all the vineyards. We also soaked in the sun a bit on the large rock formations that are in the harbor with the intentions of returning the next day for a swim.
(Manarola)


The path from Manarola to Cornigilia was closed due to trails being out so to get to the next town we had to take the train. We were so glad it was a short (less than 5 minute) trip because it was jam packed with people. Once we arrived we found that we had to climb 382 steps to actually get to the town. If I thought I was in shape when we arrived I was sorely mistaken after panting my way to the top. Because of its isolation, Cornigilia was much quieter than the other towns. We found this "mid-point" a perfect spot to stop for lunch. I had my favorite panino as of yet, ricotta and spinach on foccaccia! We didn't stay in town long because we knew the next two legs of the hike would be the hardest part and we wanted to get a move on.

The walk from Corniglia to Vernazza was definitely a hike full of ups and downs, lots of steps, sometimes shady paths, fellow American and German hikers and of course those views. We made pretty good time on the hike even with our countless stops just to take it all in and appreciate the views. [Sidenote: on this part of the trail we met a new "friend", a woman who was hiking by herself in flip flops and a dress. She proceeded to stop me four times on the trail to take a picture of her. We also saw her again in Vernazza and counted at least a dozen other occasions of her stopping people to take pictures of her. Weird and annoying.]

By the time we we spotted Vernazza we were very excited to be at the next town and take a little break. The entrance to this town was really cool because we had to walk throughout a very residential area before arriving at the main part of town. Vernazza was also very beautiful. There were a bunch of restaurants, shops, and even a little beach. We stopped here for a bit and indulged in cinnamon ice cream (a competitor with dark chocolate gelato).
(Vernazza in the background)


The last leg, from Vernazza to Monterosso was the most exhausting just because we had been walking around all day at this point. It was also definitely the least maintained part of the trail. One thing we noticed on this hike was how by weaving in and out of cliffs and the "forest" we felt like we were going through so many different climates. We experienced desert, forest, jungle, and beach it seemed like all in one day! We reached Monterosso after about an hour an a half (a suppposed 2 hour hike-go us!) We realized that Monterosso was the most touristy with even some cars there. We explored the area for a bit, but were drained at this point so we decided to hop on the train back to our hostel and change for dinner.

After seeing a GORGEOUS sunset on the marina at Riomaggiore we took the train back to Vernazza for dinner. We ate at a cute little place tucked into town where we got a nice red this time and I had delicious minestrone soup. We conversed with an Indian couple who were seated next to us for awhile and even had gelato #2 before heading back and PASSING OUT.
(Sunset at Riomaggiore)

Although it was freezing the next morning we put our swimsuits on under our clothes with the hopes of going for a swim in the beautiful water. I helped myself to some nutella crepes for breakfast (Dad they don't even compare to yours). We headed back to Manarola, but once there realized the water was a little too rough for swimming in. We decided instead to sunbathe/read/nap on the rocks and we spent quite some time there lounging which felt really nice after the busy-ness of the day before. After grabbing lunch we decided to slowly start making our way home. The sudden downpour that happened soon after really motivated us. Although we came back "home" a little earlier than expected I really had a great time and am truly in love with this are of the world!

More photos:

http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2076879&id=1340550020&l=08988d95ae