By: zoe.kaatz
Europe, Italy

Cinque Terre

SUNDAY

Katy and I started our day catching a train to Monterosso, bright and early, at 7:45 am. We had planned to hike from Monterosso to Vernazza, and then from Vernazza to Corniglia.

  1. Monterosso
    • We went to Il Massimo della Focaccia to get some focaccia bread. Unfortunately, they were out of pesto focaccia, so I just got some plain olive oil and salt bread, and it was delicious. This place is located right next to the train station.
    • We wandered up and down the streets
    • We started walking on the wrong hiking trail, thinking it went to Vernazza, but there was a sign that said not the “trail to Vernazza”, so we had to turn around. It’s not the trail that is right next to the water. It’s the trail that goes straight up the mountain.
    • It’s the hardest trail of the five, and it took us about 1.5 hours to go 2 miles. Lots and lots of stairs going up and down, but the views are great.  DSC_0142edDSC_0145edDSC_0149edDSC_0167edDSC_0214DSC_0239DSC_0261edDSC_0266edDSC_0268edDSC_0273edDSC_0294edDSC_0322edDSC_02012ed
  2. Vernazza
    • Said to be the prettiest town of the five, the town curves around a little harbor.
    • We wanted to get pesto pizza here, but the wait to get it was FIFTY MINUTES, so we said no and got more focaccia bread.
    • We also just wandered around the town for a bit, mostly looking for food though.
    • The 2.5 mile from Vernazza to Corniglia took us about an hour and fifteen minutes to complete.  DSC_0354edDSC_0376DSC_0381edDSC_0398edDSC_0434edDSC_0442edDSC_0454edDSC_0456edDSC_0466edDSC_0479edDSC_0487edDSC_0494edDSC_0501edDSC_0523edDSC_0527ed
  3. Corniglia
    • We didn’t spend much time in this town. There is really not much to do in the actual town itself
    • The walk down to the train station was very long
    • The hikes from Corniglia to Manarola and from Manarola to Riommagiore were closed, so we had to the take the train to the last two towns.  DSC_0576edDSC_0583edDSC_0591edDSC_0593edDSC_0598edDSC_0606edDSC_0611edDSC_0631edDSC_0635edDSC_0643DSC_0644DSC_0657edDSC_0672ed
  4. Manarola
    • We absolutely hated taking the train. It was so crowded on the trains, we felt like sardines. Could not move without hitting someone.
    • The town itself is so cute and pretty though
    • I got some lemon gelato and it was delicious
    • We walked up to where the classic Manarola postcard photos are taken
    • We only had about 45 minutes until we had to catch the last train back to Florence. We went back to the train station, and it kept saying that the train was going to be 20 minutes late. Then they said it was going to be 30 minutes late. Then 40 minutes late. Luckily, it came only 5 minutes late. We decided once on the train that we were going to skip the last town (Riomaggiore) and just head to La Spezia to catch the train home.  DSC_0688edDSC_0719edDSC_0721edDSC_0740edDSC_0775DSC_0455

Overall this trip was great. The scenery and the water were gorgeous. You really can’t take bad pictures here. We saw dozens of cute dogs and all ages were hiking the two trails we went on. The weather was so warm and nice. If you do decide to go hiking, you should buy the Cinque Terre Card. Unfortunately, it was quiet crowded for some reason, and it caused some traffic jams on the trails. I would have liked to stay the night there to watch the sunset in Manarola, but we planned this trip last minute.

I officially only have two more weeks of school left, but I will still be in Europe for another month. Next weekend I am headed to Lake Como and St. Moritz.

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