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We arrived in La Spezia Saturday afternoon excited to finally make our way to one of our most talked about spots… Cinque Terre. After a hectic stop at the grocery store, (my mom always says never go to the grocery store the day before a big holiday) we were finally on our way to Corniglia! An apartment rental in the third of the five Cinque Terre towns is where we would spend the next four nights. Our instructions were to board the green shuttle bus when we arrived at the Corniglia train station and Elisabetta (the rental owner) would be waiting for us. As we stepped off the shuttle bus there she was… a petite lady full of friendliness and cheer whose excitement made it seem like we had come to visit her not just rent a place from her. She led us down a narrow walkway to the apartment and we were immediately in awe of where we were staying. (Especially for the price.) What ended up being our favorite place we stayed thus far was a two story apartment complete with a full kitchen and sitting area. The highlight, however, was not inside the apartment, it was the terrace
on top of the building equipped with a table and umbrella. Our first night in Corniglia was spent unpacking and savoring a delicious meal (salmon, tuna, risotto, and veggies) that I prepared for us.
Sunday morning we woke up refreshed and ready to enjoy a very special holiday, Easter. Our morning was spent at a small (but very ornate) church in Corniglia. Although the service was in Italian it was still very nice to take part in the experience. After church we returned to the apartment and immediately packed some PB and J and fruit… time to start hiking. We ended up hiking from Corniglia to the two cities north of Corniglia. The views from the peaks on the coastline as we hiked were spectacular. One of my favorites was the view back down at the Vernazza harbor as we hiked on to Monterosso. We ended our outing with some gelato in Monterosso and then took the train back to Corniglia… time to prepare our Easter feast. The food- pesto linguini with mixed seafood, asparagus risotto, grilled veggies, grilled tomato and mozzarella, salad, fresh foccacia, and dessert pastries! We filled the table with food and ate family style although it
was just the two of us. I forgot to mention Saturday night we decorated Easter eggs for each country we are covering on this trip. Be sure to see the pictures! Between the feast and the eggs we were able to enjoy our Easter at our home away from home in Italy despite being apart from family.
Monday was another full day of hiking. After a leisurely morning we headed to Manarola, the city just before Corniglia. From there we took a bus up the hill where we began our hike. The trail we chose linked Manarola and Corniglia far above the seaside. The views again were breathtaking! When we arrived at the fork in the trail above Corniglia we decided our legs still had some juice left. At the time we didn’t realize what we were getting in to… we hiked up, up, up, and up some more… all the way to the ridge far above the ocean. Once at the top we stopped for a picnic lunch… our long anticipated egg sandwiches were delicious! Especially since we were at the top with a view of all the Cinque Terre cities. We hiked back along the ridge and made
our way back down at Vernazza. Monday night we enjoyed our third consecutive home cooked meal… a very nice luxury when on the road as long as we are. Great end to an exhausting day!
Since two days of long hikes took their toll on our legs we decided our last full day in Cinque Terre would be a “chill day”. We grew to love our long meals on the terrace looking out at the ocean and playing skip-bo. Since we had not yet seen Riomaggiore, the first of the five Cinque Terre towns, we took the train there and sat out on the rocks looking up at the picturesque city. We returned to Corniglia for lunch on the terrace and then spent the rest of the bright and sunny day at the beach. Since it is such a long walk down to the beach in Corniglia it makes for a more secluded feel. We set up our music and plopped down on a large rock that was a short wade out from the shore. Enjoying the sound of the waterfall behind us and the bright sunshine on our skin form above, we relaxed the day away until just before
sunset. As the sun began its final descent we grabbed pizza and Peronis (cheap Italian beer) from a fantastic pizzeria and watched the sunset at the lookout near our apartment rental. Another great end to a perfect day!
We were definitely sad to leave Cinque Terre Wednesday morning- it jumped to the top of the list as a trip highlight… a toss up for first between Masai Mara and Zermatt. It is certainly a place I see myself returning to later in life and one I encourage all of you to visit… now on to Pisa!
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