Cinque Terre

If anyone has ever been in a car with the temperature outside at least thirty degrees with no air conditioning and the windows rolled up for nearly two hours I know how you felt. We were more than relieved to get off this train and be in Monterosso. We went to the tourism office and the lady working there was very nice. We picked a hotel out of our travel book and she phoned them to see if they had room. We got a room and in the process met a couple of Americans from Seattle. We all set off for the hotel. I love how in Italy you ask for a “matrimonial” bed if you want a double bed...hahaha. Our room was large and had a big window that let in plenty of light. I think the sea-foam green decor was an au natural form of air conditioning because even without a fan or air conditioner the room actually felt cool. We wandered around the little town and peeked in some of the shops. I saw a dress that I had also seen in the market in Milan- however it was 25 more euros in Cinque Terre! We got some gelato and watched the sunset by the water. Later on we met up with the Americans for dinner. I really enjoyed strolling in the evenings- the air was so warm and the shops were so cute. We had some Limoncello samples at a shop selling liqueurs, wines, jams and honey. We then went for a drink at a local bar.

The next day Steve and I set out on the Cinque Terre trail. We should have left earlier because by 10am it was already hot out. The alloted time between the first two towns was 1h40mins. The terrain was up hill and up steps for sometime and then leveled off a little. Then all the elevation gain is lost when you enter the next town. The views were beautiful and we entered the next town of Vernazza hot and hungry. We went for a quick dip in the water and then had a piece of pizza. Looking at the map, we opted to take the train to the next town Corniglia as it was another long hike with elevation gain. From Corniglia we took the trail to Manarola- this is the Cinque Terre town that seems to represent the whole area- we walked around the corner and there it was in all its quaint, colorful, old world charm. The last leg of the trail took us through the famed tunnel of love and on to Riomaggiore. From here we took the train all the way back to Monterosso and went out for dinner and gelato with the Americans.