Travel Diary // Cinque Terre

Cinque Terre was one of those places that I’d always dreamed of going.  Those iconic pastel colour houses, perched upon cliffs at the ocean’s edge.  It was a non-negotiable on our itinerary and if I regret anything, it’s that we only spent 3 days there.  It was everything I’d ever imagined and more!

We arrived early afternoon on a Saturday in mid September.  After missing our scheduled train from Florence due to our poor time management and the confusion that is Italian train travel, the morning was off to a rocky start.  Unable to contact our airbnb coordinator, we felt slightly unsure if we’d be able to find our accommodation at all being that our arrival was now about 2 hours later than we’d anticipated.

Our second train, leaving from La Spezia, rattled along the tracks, as we sat in awe of the first glimpse of coastline.  Just small cutouts in a tunnel revealed that familiar blue sparkle, until whoosh!  The tunnel ends and there’s nothing but beautiful ocean and steep rock cliff for miles.  I’ve lived by water my entire life and I still get overcome with happiness when I see glistening ocean.

We were about as awkward as we could be as we battled the massive crowds of tourists around the Vernazza station.  At one point, while Adam and I tried to find wifi, we looked up from our phones to realize we’d been completely surrounded by a German tourist group, who’d swarmed around us and our bags, intently listening to the leader yell-speak to them about what I can only assume was the history of the town.  Once the crowd slightly thinned, we spotted Gian all dressed up.  He was with friends and en route to a wedding, but he still felt it necessary to make sure he greeted us.  With his scheduling conflict, it was his Mama who, in broken english, grabbed one of our bags and guided us down the main street and up a bunch of stairs to our airbnb room.  Which was, in fact, my favourite place that we stayed on our entire trip.  The room is essentially in a castle and decorated so beautifully.  I wanted to live there forever.

It was tough to decide which town to stay in, but we took a chance on Vernazza, which is the town that experienced a devastating flood in 2011.  Things were rebuilt/repaired and you wouldn’t even know they’d suffered so much damage just a few years ago.  It was quaint and darling (and best seen when all the bus loads of tourists had left for the day).  We spent our days wandering to each of the towns by train or hiking.  Stopping in little shops and searching for the best coffee and food.  Below is just a snapshot of this gorgeous corner of the world, one that if you haven’t seen for yourself needs to be added to the list.  Like, right now!

 

Up next… our full guide to Cinque Terre including which town to stay in, the amazing airbnb we happened upon, the best meals, and our tips for hiking the area.

If you’d like to catch up on the rest of our Honeymoon in Italy, you can check out my Travel Diary for Rome and Venice, 24 Hours in Florence, and my Venice Travel Guide.  Our full Italy Itinerary, Guide to Rome, and highlights from our week in Positano will also be coming up soon!