Cinque Terre National Park

Next up: Cinque Terre, a picturesque collection of five towns (literally translated to "five lands") along the Ligurian Sea. From north to south, the towns that make it up are: Monterosso, Vernazza, Corniglia, Manarola, and Riomaggiore. We stayed in Manarola which was as beautiful as it was steep (seriously, we had to shower every time we went back to our Airbnb due to the climb). Even though it felt like we were always clibing uphill, it was worth it since Manarola has one of the best view points of the colorful buildings nestled into the cliffs by the water. On our first day, we decided to to hike to Riomaggiore, just south. The hike was a little over a mile but it was straight up a hill and brutal (not a switchback to be found); apparently there is an easier route that hugs the water, but it was closed while we were there, so our only hiking option was straight up and down the mountain. The reward was Riomaggiore- built around a cove with beautiful colorful houses and crystal clear blue water. We went down to the water and relaxed to mentally prepare ourselves for the hike back to Manarola. We survived, but our legs were exhausted (and Mel's may have been a little scratched from a minor fall).

The next day we took a train to Monterosso and prepared to hike south along the remaining towns back to Manarola. We had a quick breakfast in Monterosso and began our hike to Vernazza. Monterosso was nice and clearly a bigger town than ours, but we didn't find it quite as charming. The hike was yet again a lot of climbing up and downhill, and our legs weren't as fresh as they could have been after the previous day's hike to Riomaggiore, but the view approaching Vernazza was worth it. Vernazza is another stunning colorful collection of buildings nestled into the hillside right on the water. We walked through the town and cooled off near the water. After a quick break, we set off for the next town of Corniglia. On the way, we stopped at a bar in the hills for some shade, and enjoyed a lemon slushee and a quick snack overlooking the water. We made it to Corniglia, which was different than the others since it was the only town of the five that was built above the water and didn't have direct beach access. This didn't make it any less stunning or impressive! We also enjoyed Corniglia because we stumbled on a very small local shop with a deli where we grabbed sandwiches of prosciutto di Parma, cheese, and local pesto for only three euros each (we thought they mistyped the order, but nope!). Maybe it was the hard hiking, the great deal, or just the sandwich itself being so good, but we both agreed it was one of the best things we ate in Italy. From Corniglia, we then set off for the last and steepest leg to our final destination of Manarola. We had to go up another mountain through the town of Volstad due to a another trail closure. While the hike was difficult, it provided different views of the wine terraces above Manarola that we had previously only seen from afar. After surviving our long hike (and the steep hike back to our Airbnb), we walked to the beach in Manarola and relaxed in the sea. People were jumping and flipping of the tall rocks while we preferred to observe and float. Cinque Terre was absolutely beautiful, but we were both surprised by the difficulty of hiking between the towns. If we ever come back, we'll probably invest in the train card! All in all, we stayed for two nights, and that seemed like the right amount of time for us. We thought it was definitely worth doing more than a day trip here, since we found that the crowds really died down in the mornings and evenings after the tour groups left and allowed us to relax and appreciate the views with less people around.