Cinque Terre

After dropping off our car in Nice, we took a 3 hour bus ride to Genoa and then the train to Monterosso, the first of the five villages that make up the Cinque Terre. 

A. and D. had been there in the summer of 2004 in the village of Vernazza, and it made such a positive impression that we wanted to return as a family. Monterosso is one of the larger villages and has stretches of beach where you (or your kids!) can enjoy playing in the Mediterranean. 

Our Airbnb was small and perhaps the dampest place we have ever stayed. In fact, the laundry we washed never truly dried during our time! However, the yard was full of lemon trees and we could pick as many as we liked. We were also fortunate to be next door to an incredible bakery that made farinata, a flatbread made from chickpea flour that A. was able eat (and thoroughly enjoyed). 

One day, we took the train to Manarola and hiked to Corniglia and on to Vernazza. Unfortunately, due to landslides(several years ago, the walking trail from Riomaggiore to Manarola and Manarola to Corniglia were inaccessible. We took an alternate route higher up the hillside which allowed us to walk to Corniglia with impressive views. We had a wonderful meal of seafood risotto in the quaint village square in Corniglia.

The views along the hiking trail were as beautiful as we remembered. We were grateful it was a semi-cloudy day, so we didn’t suffer too much from the heat. 

We capped off our trek with gelato in Vernazza, then hopped on the train back to Monterosso. Unfortunately, the ticket agent gave us (and about 30 other people) the wrong information, so we boarded a train for Levanto. We looked around the train in confusion as we barrelled past the Monterosso train station. Fortunately, there was another train back to Monterosso shortly after we arrived in Levanto. 

Surprisingly, due to the popularity of the Rick Steeves’ guidebooks, we were surrounded by many North American tourists. More so than we had encountered anywhere else on our trip. 

We enjoyed the rest of our time in the Cinque Terre walking the shore and through the streets of Monterosso.

Next stop: Parma!