A journey of discovery through the landscapes, art, food, and people of Italy
Day 10: Cinque Terra
We woke up to another glorius day, ready to hit the hiking trails and explore the towns of the Cinque Terre. This was our "vacation from a vacation" day, so we had nothing planned with the group. David and I started out just after sunrise to hike from Montorosso to Vernazza to see the beautiful view of Vernazza from above. The first part of this hike is not for the faint of heart! We had to take a few breaks, but it was incredibly beautiful, so we didn't mind. We had purchased some snacks for breakfast from a store in Montorosso, but we were hungry again by the time we arrived in Vernazza, so we got some delicious focaccia with pesto on top.
We quickly learned that there was no way we could hike to all the villages, so we used the train pass Donald had given us to ride from Vernazza to Corniglia. When you arrive at the train station in Corniglia, you can take a little bus up the hill to town, and we recommend this. We didn't wait, and regretted that decision as we walked up a steep set of seemingly never-ending steps to get to the top.. There are much better ways to spend your precious time here, so wait for the bus! We wandered the little town of Corniglia and grabbed some more delicious gelato before heading on the path that would take us to Manarola. Once again, the first part was hard, but we were rewarded by beautiful coastline views as we hiked through terraced vineyards.
After arriving in Manorola (and snacking on the best foccaccia of the trip! This stuff was seriously good), we raced for the train to take us to Riomaggiore. Our plan was to take the boat from Riomaggiore to Montorosso to see the towns from the water, and we had heard this boat can sell out. We got tickets and joined the line to get on. We weren't lucky enough to snag top deck seats, but we were able to squeeze in by a window on the lower level so we could still see the view. Photos of out bus ride are below. It is just as beautiful as we had dreamed!
We finished off our perfect day in the Cinque Terre with dinner in the main square of Montorosso. We ate on the deck were we could see the ocean and people watch and shared a giant crock of the best risotto of our lives. We coulld surely spend the rest of our lives here happlily, but we sill have more to see! We are off to Siena tomorrow!