Forty years ago Austin and I met in Italy. We both loved the country ever since, and now we are falling in love with Italy again here at Cinque Terre. We like the people, their exuberant way of living, the language, the food and of course the 5 beautiful villages tagged onto the cliffs above the Mediterranean.
People told us that we were in for some rugged walks yet we found this to be an understatement. It would be fair to say that to handle parts of the rocky treks one has to turn into a goat. But the views along the way are sooo worth it. Here are some of them:
Vernazza
Manarola
Vernazza
Corniglia
Monterosso
Monterosso
Riomaggiore
We stayed at Levanto just north of the 5 villages. It is a little less touristy here and easy to access the walking treks and villages by train using the Cinque Terre Card.
On our second night after a long walk, we enjoyed the opera concert in the oratory of Vernazza held every Wednesday and Friday evening from May to October.
Just for the foodies: A delicious and not greasy treat is "pesce fritto misto", crispy fried seafood (calamari, sardines, prawns, anchovies & baby octopus) bought at take away shops in a paper cone, or enjoyed for lunch at one of the restaurants.
A speciality of the area is "pansotti a salsa di noci", spinach-ricotta ravioli with a walnut sauce or the many pasta pesto dishes.
When ordering a cocktail, an aperol spritz or wine in one of the bars it is usually accompanied by a plate of appetisers, like farinata, little pancake triangles made from chickpea flour, water and spices - very tasty- together with pieces of focaccia or salami. During one of those long, balmy summer nights we ordered two drinks each and were served three plates of appetisers - no need for dinner that night!
On 2nd June the Italians celebrate Republic Day. Being unaware of this national holiday, we got the feel of what this area might be like in high season. Together with the tourists from all over the world, masses of Italian families descended onto the villages and beaches. There was music and dance in the streets, and of course lots of food and local wine which made us almost forget the crush at the train stations.
During the rest of our stay it was less busy and the weather was warm and mostly sunny.
And surprisingly on day 4 our lost suitcase arrived! Yeah!!!