Cinque Terre, Italy
We are getting down to our last few weeks here in Italy. Classes are starting to finish up and we only have papers and presentations left to complete. We have 3 weeks left of school and two more weekends to travel, which made this weekend the perfect time to visit Cinque Terre!
After our last Italian Food and Hospitality class on Friday, Christina and I left for Cinque Terre. Emily's parents were in visiting this week and wanted to visit Cinque Terre with us, so all 5 of us took the short 3 hour train ride across the beautiful countryside of Italy. We stayed in Monterosso, the smallest city on the far end of the park (oh ya, Cinque Terre is an Italian National Park). After we checked into our airbnb and Emily and her family into the hotel, we met up with Emily's family for dinner. We walked along the beach to get to old town Monterosso, where we found an amazing seafood restaurant. Emily and her mom aren't big fans of seafood, but Christina and I had a blast trying new seafood dishes with Emily's dad. We had some fresh oysters, raw shrimp that we had to suck out of the shell, and raw sea bass. For dinner, we each got pasta, Will (Emily's dad) and I both got pasta with claim sauce and they brought it out in these huge bowls that were twice the size of my head. The seafood was so fresh and it was absolutely delicious! We ate a lot and drank a lot, but the night didn't end there. After dinner, we stopped at this wine shop across the street to buy Emily's parents some wine to take home with them, and we started talking to the two guys working the shop, and the next thing we know, we are taking shots and trying samples of a bunch of different types of liquor and buying a bunch of alcohol. It was a lot of fun!
We decided we wanted to do a sunrise hike along the Cinque Terre trail. On Saturday morning, the five of us got up at 5am and were on the trail by 5:30. It was pretty steep, and there were a ton of stairs, which were a little difficult when you're half asleep and it's dark outside, but it was an adventure. When the trail leveled off, we could look out over the water and see each of the 5 cities and we got to see the rising sun. It was unbelievable! The cities aren't very far apart, but we were taking our time and enjoying the views. By the time we got to Vernazza, we were in need of a pre-breakfast snack. We stopped for coffee and focaccia in Vernazza before continuing on to Corniglia. The cities were small, but so beautiful and peaceful against the rising sun. It was breathtaking. The photos don't do it justice.
By the time we reached Corniglia, we had been hiking for a few hours and were getting tired, so we took the train back to Monterosso for breakfast and to explore for the rest of the day. We had free breakfast that was included in our airbnb at a little focacceria on the water. Focaccia is one of the regional foods of Cinque Terre, and let me tell you... it was so good! We had cheese and tomatoes on top of our focaccia, and man was it good. After breakfast we changed into our swimsuits and headed down to the beach. We met up with Emily and her family on a quite little beach away from all the tourists, and spent the late morning to early afternoon swimming in the ocean, and laying out on the beach. We saw a few interesting things over the weekend. One of which was an older woman walking around and tanning topless on the beach with about 50 kids running around. It was quite the scene.
In the afternoon, Emily and her parents left to go back to Reggio, and Christina and I stuck around in Monterosso. We walked around the city, went to old town, got a snack, went shopping, and just wandered the streets of Monterosso. While we were exploring, we came across an old cemetery on top of a hill overlooking the city and the ocean. There were huge family tombs that dated back to the early 1800s. It was really cool! With our broken Italian, we were able to read some of the headstones and learn about people's lives. It was so secluded and tucked away from the hustle and bustle of people, that it was a relief and a lot of fun to just explore.
After heading back down to our airbnb, Christina and I went to the beach to watch the sunset. We sat there collecting sea glass and watched the sun fall over the hills and turn the sky pink and purple. We went to dinner at a cute little bar/restaurant along the water and just enjoyed our time together. After we ate, we were looking for a fun little dessert, and decided to walk back into the wine bar from the night before. As we walked in, we were greeted by the same two guys working and they yelled out, "My friends! My friends!" It was so funny that they had remembered us. They offered us a few new shots before we settled on a lemoncino drink for dessert. Christina and I wanted to drink it that night, so the guy was nice enough to offer us the chilled bottle he had stored at the bar, and gave us two plastic cups for us to enjoy our drinks. We went down and sat on the beach in the dark for about an hour just visiting and taking in the sparkling lights of each of the cities. It was so fun and so peaceful. I absolutely loved Monterosso!
Sunday morning we slept in. We had breakfast at the same focacceria before checking out of our airbnb. We went back into old town Monterosso where we did a little more shopping and bought some souvenirs for family and friends. We had most of the day to just hang out and relax. We went to the beach for awhile, until we decided to head to Manarola and Riomaggiore. At the Monterosso train station, we met a group of older Italian couples who appeared to be on vacation together. Christina and I were surprised by how much of their Italian we could pick up. They were so funny telling each other stories and cracking jokes. It was hilarious!
By the time we reached Manarola, we were pretty hungry, so we stopped at a local restaurant for some Coke and lunch. If you haven't had the chance to experience soda in Europe, I would highly recommend it. I'm not a huge soda fan, but the drinks in Europe are so much better than they are in the US. They have a lot less sugar, and are a lot more refreshing. Especially after a hot day on the beach. ;) Anyway, our plan was to have lunch, then do the second part of the Cinque Terre trail to Riomaggiore. When we got to the start of the trail, there was a huge sign blocking the trail stating that the path was closed. So that was a huge bummer. But we wanted to visit all 5 cities when we were there, so we hopped back on the train and went to Riomaggiore. We explored the city, bought granitas, and went down to the beach to hang out. We spent most of the afternoon just enjoying the beach and taking in the views. We watched a bunch of little kids playing in the water, we watched a bunch of guys go cliff jumping... it was so nice to relax and have fun in the sun before returning to our papers and presentations back in Reggio.
We took a later train home and got home around 9pm. We got to watch the sunset from the train and it was unbelievable! The colors were so vibrant and beautiful against the mountains. It was a great way to end the weekend.
This weekend might have been one of my favorite weekends in Italy. I have always wanted to visit Cinque Terre, it was even on my list of 10 ten places to see while abroad. It was even better than I had hoped! There were a ton of people there, lots of tourists, but still an amazing trip!
Ciao!
After our last Italian Food and Hospitality class on Friday, Christina and I left for Cinque Terre. Emily's parents were in visiting this week and wanted to visit Cinque Terre with us, so all 5 of us took the short 3 hour train ride across the beautiful countryside of Italy. We stayed in Monterosso, the smallest city on the far end of the park (oh ya, Cinque Terre is an Italian National Park). After we checked into our airbnb and Emily and her family into the hotel, we met up with Emily's family for dinner. We walked along the beach to get to old town Monterosso, where we found an amazing seafood restaurant. Emily and her mom aren't big fans of seafood, but Christina and I had a blast trying new seafood dishes with Emily's dad. We had some fresh oysters, raw shrimp that we had to suck out of the shell, and raw sea bass. For dinner, we each got pasta, Will (Emily's dad) and I both got pasta with claim sauce and they brought it out in these huge bowls that were twice the size of my head. The seafood was so fresh and it was absolutely delicious! We ate a lot and drank a lot, but the night didn't end there. After dinner, we stopped at this wine shop across the street to buy Emily's parents some wine to take home with them, and we started talking to the two guys working the shop, and the next thing we know, we are taking shots and trying samples of a bunch of different types of liquor and buying a bunch of alcohol. It was a lot of fun!
We decided we wanted to do a sunrise hike along the Cinque Terre trail. On Saturday morning, the five of us got up at 5am and were on the trail by 5:30. It was pretty steep, and there were a ton of stairs, which were a little difficult when you're half asleep and it's dark outside, but it was an adventure. When the trail leveled off, we could look out over the water and see each of the 5 cities and we got to see the rising sun. It was unbelievable! The cities aren't very far apart, but we were taking our time and enjoying the views. By the time we got to Vernazza, we were in need of a pre-breakfast snack. We stopped for coffee and focaccia in Vernazza before continuing on to Corniglia. The cities were small, but so beautiful and peaceful against the rising sun. It was breathtaking. The photos don't do it justice.
By the time we reached Corniglia, we had been hiking for a few hours and were getting tired, so we took the train back to Monterosso for breakfast and to explore for the rest of the day. We had free breakfast that was included in our airbnb at a little focacceria on the water. Focaccia is one of the regional foods of Cinque Terre, and let me tell you... it was so good! We had cheese and tomatoes on top of our focaccia, and man was it good. After breakfast we changed into our swimsuits and headed down to the beach. We met up with Emily and her family on a quite little beach away from all the tourists, and spent the late morning to early afternoon swimming in the ocean, and laying out on the beach. We saw a few interesting things over the weekend. One of which was an older woman walking around and tanning topless on the beach with about 50 kids running around. It was quite the scene.
In the afternoon, Emily and her parents left to go back to Reggio, and Christina and I stuck around in Monterosso. We walked around the city, went to old town, got a snack, went shopping, and just wandered the streets of Monterosso. While we were exploring, we came across an old cemetery on top of a hill overlooking the city and the ocean. There were huge family tombs that dated back to the early 1800s. It was really cool! With our broken Italian, we were able to read some of the headstones and learn about people's lives. It was so secluded and tucked away from the hustle and bustle of people, that it was a relief and a lot of fun to just explore.
After heading back down to our airbnb, Christina and I went to the beach to watch the sunset. We sat there collecting sea glass and watched the sun fall over the hills and turn the sky pink and purple. We went to dinner at a cute little bar/restaurant along the water and just enjoyed our time together. After we ate, we were looking for a fun little dessert, and decided to walk back into the wine bar from the night before. As we walked in, we were greeted by the same two guys working and they yelled out, "My friends! My friends!" It was so funny that they had remembered us. They offered us a few new shots before we settled on a lemoncino drink for dessert. Christina and I wanted to drink it that night, so the guy was nice enough to offer us the chilled bottle he had stored at the bar, and gave us two plastic cups for us to enjoy our drinks. We went down and sat on the beach in the dark for about an hour just visiting and taking in the sparkling lights of each of the cities. It was so fun and so peaceful. I absolutely loved Monterosso!
Sunday morning we slept in. We had breakfast at the same focacceria before checking out of our airbnb. We went back into old town Monterosso where we did a little more shopping and bought some souvenirs for family and friends. We had most of the day to just hang out and relax. We went to the beach for awhile, until we decided to head to Manarola and Riomaggiore. At the Monterosso train station, we met a group of older Italian couples who appeared to be on vacation together. Christina and I were surprised by how much of their Italian we could pick up. They were so funny telling each other stories and cracking jokes. It was hilarious!
By the time we reached Manarola, we were pretty hungry, so we stopped at a local restaurant for some Coke and lunch. If you haven't had the chance to experience soda in Europe, I would highly recommend it. I'm not a huge soda fan, but the drinks in Europe are so much better than they are in the US. They have a lot less sugar, and are a lot more refreshing. Especially after a hot day on the beach. ;) Anyway, our plan was to have lunch, then do the second part of the Cinque Terre trail to Riomaggiore. When we got to the start of the trail, there was a huge sign blocking the trail stating that the path was closed. So that was a huge bummer. But we wanted to visit all 5 cities when we were there, so we hopped back on the train and went to Riomaggiore. We explored the city, bought granitas, and went down to the beach to hang out. We spent most of the afternoon just enjoying the beach and taking in the views. We watched a bunch of little kids playing in the water, we watched a bunch of guys go cliff jumping... it was so nice to relax and have fun in the sun before returning to our papers and presentations back in Reggio.
We took a later train home and got home around 9pm. We got to watch the sunset from the train and it was unbelievable! The colors were so vibrant and beautiful against the mountains. It was a great way to end the weekend.
This weekend might have been one of my favorite weekends in Italy. I have always wanted to visit Cinque Terre, it was even on my list of 10 ten places to see while abroad. It was even better than I had hoped! There were a ton of people there, lots of tourists, but still an amazing trip!
Ciao!
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