Cinque Terre, Italy

As a continuation of Brian's birthday, we took Friday off and jumped on a plane to Pisa, Italy! We didn't hang around the city long, though. Not even long enough to get a picture of the tower that leans (sorry, Janet!). We rented a car and headed north to Cinque Terre. We had found a B&B in Vernazza and planned to relax and hike all weekend!

A couple of thoughts. First, we were really surprised by the terrain and beauty all around Pisa - we got a great view from the plane and we really enjoyed the scenery on our drive. Next, we were starving once we were on the road, so we stopped at a road-side quick shop. We ate two of the most amazing panini sandwiches we've ever had! Although our mouths were pretty scratched up by the bread. We decided that Italians must have callouses in their mouths :) But the sandwiches were worth the pain - yummy cheese and meat.

We loved the drive to Cinque Terre - only about 1.5 hours and non-stop, beautiful views. We had a standard Ford Fiesta, and Bri handled it like a champ. Some of those roads to Vernazza were steep, narrow, and just plain crazy, but Brian made them look easy. I played DJ, and we had a great time road-tripping in Italy.

When we arrived in Vernazza, I hadn't done my research on the parking situation (whoops). The B&B owner had made it sound like it would be pretty obvious what we were supposed to do. Apparently, we missed all the signs and drove too far. We were enjoying the view of the outskirts of the city when all of a sudden we were stopped by a crazy old Italian lady who was not happy with us. She was trying to talk on the phone and talk to us in very broken English - it was not working. But we figured out that we weren't supposed to drive there - it was for residents only, so Brian somehow turned around on that narrow road and we headed to higher ground for "non-residential" parking.

On the way to find parking on a road that was barely wide enough for a Ford Fiesta, we encountered another car driving toward us. He "attempted" to back up (went about 3 feet backwards) and then just decided for the both of us that it would be easier to pass each other. Let's just say that all mirrors were folded in, our windows were rolled down and we were so close that we could have kissed the driver as we passed him, our tires kept bumping into each other as we turned the steering wheel, and there was an onlooker Italian shouting out "EHH!!" when we got close to hitting something, but he really wasn't being helpful at all. Literally we MIGHT have had an inch of clearance on either side of our car. But we made it! Nice work, B!

We enjoyed a nice, warm walk down to the town and met the owner of our B&B near the train station. He is a stone mason and his wife is an American from San Francisco, and they own a great B&B tucked away in the hills of Vernazza. We loved talking with him and hearing about his life in that gorgeous tiny town.

B and I settled into our adorable room and set off to explore the town. Brian's description of Vernazza was really perfect: "The whole city is like one big tree fort."

Our room, hand-built by the owner

View from our balcony

Path leading to our place with a lemon orchard on the side

One of the first things we found was a gelato shop. I can't ignore an ice cream shop - it's in my genes. B and I shared the gelato named after the town, which was the best decision ever. Lemon sorbet-type gelato with strawberries - YUM!

Bri - enjoying the view and the gelato

We also found a little wine shop, where we purchased a local red, and then we headed to the coast to enjoy the sunset! The town seemed to be dedicated to the sunset, like it was a ritual or something. We found a great spot on some rocks and made ourselves at home!

Our view

The sunset was awesome

We love Vernazza already!

After the sunset, we made our way back to our room to read and partake in our wine! It was so quiet and peaceful. Then we went to dinner at one of three restaurants in the town - this one was highly recommended by our B&B owner. And for good reason! The food was great and the ambiance was exactly what we were hoping for.

Streets of Vernazza

The next morning, we woke up early and went to the local market to get some bread, cheese, butter, and OJ for breakfast, and we found a great bench in the sun for our feast!



After breakfast, we began wandering through the town. We were looking for a trail leading to Monterosso, but it was quite hidden! We saw the church and lots of fun alleys, and the search brought us to some great views.





We finally found the trail! It was an awesome trail - a lot more intense and involved than I had expected. Luckily we had both dressed in layers! We started in jackets but ended up in t-shirts. Yay - it was so fun to be in short sleeves!! Every corner we turned brought a beautiful view, but it also brought a lot of elevation gain! At some points, the trail was no more than a foot wide. We had a great time hiking it!





And then we rounded a corner and saw Monterosso! Although it was still quite far away :) But that meant we still had some good hiking to enjoy.


We were starving and thirsty by the time we made it to Monterosso, so we explored the town, looking for a promising pizzeria where we could eat lunch and hydrate. We spent the rest of the afternoon eating, drinking, reading in the sun, and seeing Monterosso.

Oh, and we found more gelato - pistachio this time :)

We also found this creepy carving of a man on this building. He's holding up the roof of the porch and facing the ocean. Can you see him?

Skipping rocks and watching hang-gliders land (or crash) on the beach

We rode the train back to Vernazza because our legs were tired and we wanted to make it in plenty of time for the sunset! We tried a different local wine and repeated our sunset "ritual".



Saturday night we ate at a different restaurant. We like trying new things, but after eating the food, I wished we had eaten at the other place again. Following a local's advise would have been wise in this situation. Anyway, the food wasn't the best, but oh well - the wine was good :) Also, an American mother and daughter were seated next to us, and we had a great time talking with them about their travels!

On Sunday morning, we packed our bags and ate a local raisin-bread-type-dessert for breakfast - it was SO dense and delish. Then we hit the road to catch our flight in Pisa. Sunday was the only overcast day we had, but it made for some really cool views on the water on our way back to the airport.


La Spezia, a city just outside of Cinque Terre, had sunny weather on Sunday, so we stopped for a cappuccino and a walk along the marina before making our way to Pisa. This vacation was so relaxing and beautiful and natural - we loved it and hope to make it back!