The Cinque Terre greeted us with beautiful weather and even more beautiful sunsets. These five villages (Riomaggiore, Manarola, Corneglia, Vernazza, and Monterosso al Mare) are set on the western coast of Italy, north of La Spezia and south of Genoa.
Though I had read as much as I could about this Italian paradise before we made our trip arrangements, we didn't have a good feel for where we should stay. We heard from some people that it can be very difficult to find a place to stay during the high season, but since we were not arriving until the end of the season we had quite a number of options. We could have skipped the reservations entirely, but being the eternal planner and avid risk avoider, we made reservations at two bed and breakfasts. We were both pleasantly surprised and a little bit disappointed. We spent two nights at Eremo sul Mare (The Hermitage Over the Sea) in Vernazza and three nights in Manarola. Our accommodations in Vernazza were incredible! We still think back to those two relaxing nights and fabulous Italian breakfasts and wish we were there right now. After Eremo sul Mare, just about anything would have been a disappointment. We stayed in a fine bed and breakfast in Manarola the remaining three nights, but found ourselves continuously wishing that we were back at Eremo sul Mare.
Beautiful Sunsets
Below are two photos of the incredible sunsets we watched during our stay in the Cinque Terre.
Monterosso al Mare
Monterosso al Mare is the resort town of the five. They truck sand in every year to cover the beach for the summer tourists.
Vernazza
Vernazza was our favorite town of the five. Not only is it home to Eremo sul Mare, but it is also home to Il Pirata 5 Terre (a bad owned by two Sicilian men who serve the most incredible pastries. These two guys were the most friendly people that we met in all of the Cinque Terre.
Eremo sul Mare
Below is the view from our room and one of the resident cats, Marie.
Corneglia
Corneglia sits up on a cliff, approximately 383 steps up from the train station. We hiked up and down all of them twice during our stay. Fortunately, at the top, we were rewarded by treating ourselves to some fabulous gelato.
Manarola
Manarola was a beautiful sight at night. There is a little garden that sits on a cliff above the town from which one can watch the sun set and the town light up as the great ball of fire falls below the surface of the water.
During the day the pastel village relaxes in the sunshine.
Riomaggiore
Riomaggiore is the southernmost town and the first you see when arriving by train from La Spezia. As you pop out from the tunnel, the sunlight bouncing off the pastel buildings is blinding.
The walk from Riomaggiore to Manarola is called Via del Amore (Lover's Walk). It's flat and paved and easily accessible by all, unlike some of the other hiking trails between the villages. The sights are breathtaking. There's a new adventure for the eyes just around every bend.
Terraced Vinyards
The terraced vineyards are amazing, particularly when you realize that they were built by hand so many years before.
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