Cinque Terre= Stairmaster

Cinque Terre - a chunk of the Italian Riviera, located Northwest of Rome and  is made up of 5 small, quaint towns. Cinque means five in Italian.  The area off the coast known as “the five lands” is quite remarkable. With a view of the coastline as we pulled into the train station, I knew I already liked it.  Starting from the north and working your way down south, the five towns are : Monterosso, Vernazza, Corniglia, Manarola, and Riomaggiore. I stayed in Monterosso for two nights. Monterosso is known to be the “beach and resort” scene. Not the typical beach and resort scene, as it only took me ten minutes to stroll through the entire town. Although very small, it was absolutely beautiful. Like everything else in Europe, sitting on the beach doesn’t come free. With no towel and no euro to spare, I spent a lovely afternoon posted on a bench reading a book with the ocean view in front of me. This happened only after a rigorous exercise in the morning. One of the main attractions or “things to do” while visiting Cinque Terre is the 7 mile hike along the coast that goes from town to town. Ian and I started early one morning from Monterosso and made our way to Corniglia hiking along the coastline. Not as difficult as our Tuscany bike ride, but still quite the workout. Just from Monterosso to Corniglia was 8km..my guess around 5 miles. We would have continued to the last 2 towns, but it was closed due to a landslide. As each step grew steeper, the views became more magnificent than the last!!! I’d like to say I’m keeping “fit” with all the exercise we are getting in, but my sweet tooth wins every time I walk past a gelato stand after dinner! J

The last night in Cinque Terre was spent in Corniglia. Another very cute town. However, much smaller than the others with only 240 residents. This is the only town that is not on the water, yet I think one of my favorites.

All in all, Cinque Terre has been one of my favorite places in Italy along with Positano, Amalfi Coast, and Florence….okay okay so many to choose from! We’ll see what Venice has in store….

Cheers!