On Sunday, September 9th we headed out for our European adventure to Italy and Greece. Thirty six hours later, after two flights and three train rides and minimal sleep we arrived in Vernazza, one of the small towns in Cinque Terra, Italy.
We've wanted to visit the area for a number of years as there are plenty of photo opportunities for John and lots of sea swimming for Sara (who grew up on the coast of England). Cinque Terra stands for "Five towns" and is a string of five fishing villages high on the Italian Riviera. Until recently the only access was by train, water, or the footpaths along the top of the cliffs. We had rented a small apartment for 6 nights in the town of Vernazza, and planned to use the train to explore each village, including finding the best spots for sunsets.
Tuesday we got up fairly late and after breakfast headed out to explore. First stop was the town of Corniglia, which is perched high on top of a cliff. Along with the other train passengers we disembarked and headed along the footpath following the signs to village center. About 35 flights of stairs later we reached the top. Since John wasn't walking last year this was a major achievement on his new knees! The first thing John said at the top was "If there's a bus we're taking that down". Turns out there was a bus, included in the three day pass we had purchased, we took it back down to the station later in the day!
We spent several hours wandering around the town, taking pictures, and also stopped for a fabulous lunch. One of many great meals we were to have over the rest of the trip. The towns are small, with typically only one main street and many smaller alleys, all without vehicles. The area is very busy with other tourists, and we were glad we hadn't visited in peak season.
After Corniglia we got back on the train and went to the next village of Manarola. This town is on the coast, and has a main street that leads down to a harbor, and a great swimming area. It was a really hot day and Sara immediately said "I'm taking a swim". The water was wonderful and it was a lot of fun swimming around the rocks in the harbor area where a lot of people were having fun. After swimming we walked up a path to an area that had an awesome view of the town and waited a couple of hours for sunset. It was a perfect end to the first day.
Wednesday (12th) we went to Monterosso for the morning. After a quick walk round town (it was hot and busy) we went to the beach for a few hours. We both swam, and Sara rented a stand up paddle board, and ventured out along the coast for about an hour. After our sea activities we ate a late lunch overlooking the sea, another great meal!
To finish off the day we went to Riomaggiore, the last town in the line and explored the small town and of course took some photos. We bought some food for a picnic dinner and headed home. Of course when we got back to Vernazza we stopped for Gelato, which was to become a daily habit! More to come on the remaining day, but for now click on the hyperlink below to view the photos!
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