Tempting picture right? Well lucky for me, this was the town I stayed in this past weekend! Even though it was my last weekend trip of the semester, I spent it in one of Italy's most beautiful locations: Cinque Terre.
Cinque Terre, which literally translates to "five lands," is a region in Northern Italy along the Mediterranean Sea consisting of colorful towns built into the hills along the coast. Many were originally fishing towns, but today these famous five are popular destinations for tourists.
After getting a minuscule amount of sleep on the night train from Rome, my friends and I arrived in Riomaggiore around 5:30am on Saturday. We walked through the deserted town to the beach to watch the sun rise.
Once we had checked into our apartment, the town came alive and both Italians and tourists were bustling through town. We took off on a hike through the hills to the next town over, Manarola. The trail was like nothing I had ever been on before and basically consisted of a giant crumbling staircase both up and down the mountain. However, hiking was worth it for the views we had.
Once we reached the bottom, we had arrived in Manarola, the second town making up Cinque Terre. We walked through town and grabbed some panini for lunch.
After eating down by the marina, we saw some people jumping off rocks into the ocean. Of course, we decided to do that too! The water was a beautiful blue that was the clearest I had seen in all my life! After a quick one, two, three, I was in the chilly waters of the Mediterranean.
The group split up after our time in Manarola; three went hiking to the next town, while I joined the group taking the train to the fourth town. After waiting quite a while for the train, one finally arrived and we arrived in Vernazza. Just like the past two towns, it was very picturesque.
After a full day running on little sleep, we headed back to Riomaggiore and took in the beautiful sunset.
We made ourselves a pasta dinner. I had pesto on mine since that region of Italy is famous for pesto! With full bellies, all six of us hit the hay (before 10pm!).
On Sunday, we woke up to cloudy skies and a train strike, but that wasn't going to stop us from getting to the last and largest town in Cinque Terre. With the trains out of order, we took a ferry boat to Monterosso. It was actually a very unique and beautiful way to see all the towns.
In Monterosso, we walked around town, exploring all the cute shops. We stepped into the church when the gospel was being read (it was Palm Sunday, so it was the story of The Passion). I found an adorable new beach cover-up for this summer too (you're going to love it, Grandma)! We even found a small trail along a stream a bit out of town lined with lemon trees.
Am I back in Texas with all these cacti?!
Through a tunnel, we emerged into the newer part of Monterosso. We sat on the beach for a while and climbed a huge rock that sticks out into the ocean.
After gelato and snacks, it was time to take the ferry to the main train station and head back to Rome. I had a blast this weekend and couldn't have spend it with better friends. It's crazy to think that all the traveling is now over, but I know I've made some great friendships along the way.
Arrivederci,
Gina
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