Blogs from Cinque Terre, Liguria, Italy, Europe
May 9th 2012
Day 1 Today we had planned to walk path through the 5 towns of Cinque Terre, however due to flash flooding in October last year some of the paths were closed because of landslides. So we caught the train to the first town of Riomaggiore and walked along the Via dell'Amore (the lovers lane) to Manarola. The next 2 paths were closed so we caught the train the top town, Monterosso and started on the walk towards Vernazza. I now understand why tourists usually walk it the other direction as the stairs up the mountain were brutal!! We made it though and arrived in Vernazza! Beautiful town but we could see how the floods had actually affected the town. You can see the damage in the photos! We caught a ferry back to the first town ... read more
"It was a long hard road, but we got there"
Published: April 21st 2012Europe » Italy » Liguria » Cinque Terre
April 21st 2012
It was a long, hard road, but I did eventually get there. To Cinque Terre, that is. Let me explain... As I've come to learn about the Italian train system, it can be very unreliable. This is the case especially when taking the Regional train, the slow train that stops in every single small village. This said, Cinque Terre is not at all easy to get to considering its rural geographical location on towering seaside cliffs, making arrival possible only by car or by Regional (as opposed to intercity and eurostar which travel mainly to big cities) train. Also, as I've come to learn about Northern Italy, the weather can be very unreliable. February and March graced us with sunshine and 20+ degree weather while April is giving nothing but cold rain. Knowing this and having ... read more
October 27th 2011
Pisa This is my second time writing about Pisa, as my first entry deleted, and now I'm a little frustrated so this will probably be the condensed version. I ended the last entry with the first night in Cinque Terre, and didn't get a chance to talk at all about our morning. I only stayed for a short while, but the views were amazing, exactly like I had imagined, and the single reason I spent an entire day trying to get there. I wish I had been able to go to the northern cities and stay for the day, but I'm just grateful that I wasn't there a day before and didn't get caught in the disaster. After breakfast and taking a short look around town, I parted ways with my new friends and headed to ... read more
My crazy journey continues...
Published: October 27th 2011Europe » Italy » Liguria » Cinque Terre » CornigliaOctober 26th 2011
Solo travels continued... I should preface this entry with a word of caution; if you were worried about me being safe during this trip, maybe just skip this day. :) On the way to Cinque Terre, I hadto switch trains a few times. On my second to last switch, I noticed there weren't many people on it. I didn't think much of it, until everyone but me got off way before my stop arrived. a little worried, I proceeded with caution. My last switch was in Le Spezia, which I learned some people call "the hole" of Italy. I didn't realize there were two stops in La Spezia, so I got off at the wrong one. I am going to take it as a blessing that I did. When I got off, I found a total ... read more
September 25th 2011
Cinque Terre, Italy...Riomaggiore to be exact. Five towns perched on the side of numerous rising mountains overlooking the sometimes quiet, sometimes violent sea. I was certain that at any moment those tiny towns were gonna slip right down into the ocean. Well, they didn’t. Old Italian villas, narrow alleyways and hundred of steps just to get to any destination. Walking through the one main street in my little town (about 300 feet, or 15 stores long), there was something that felt very special about this place. Perhaps it was the ocean waves washing ashore to the hard concrete where town and sea became one, or the sounds of the old man singing as he diced his daily fish for the brave customers (the fish was quite exotic looking and smelly) or even the 6 old women ... read more
September 23rd 2011
Today we took advantage of the walking tracks in the Cinque Terre. We purchased a two day pass, which allows us on and off the paths, trains and buses during the period, and heaven forbid you forget to validate the ticket before getting on the train. Several people we have met have copped the 50Euro per person fine for not validating their tickets on the trains. The conductors are brutal, and have no tolerance for tourists claiming not to know! We trained to Riomaggiore, the first village of the Cinque Terre (Monterosso is the 5th, and walking is supposed to be easier in the direction from Riomaggiore. Easy, smeasy! Though there are some serious hikers around, and we have also seen many people (mostly ladies, I must add) in their 60’s and 70’s in their hiking ... read more
September 21st 2011
Well John has decided he likes Italian TV after all, as tonight’s program involves about 50 Italian girls in their bikinis. Some kind of pageant I think. We found out today that the festival we experienced last night in Parma was the Festival of the Pig (Parma Ham ring any bells – Parma is apparently very famous for its ham – I thought it was famous for Parmigana) and that it was the last day of 9 days of celebrations that happen twice per year in March and September. Monday (well I think it was Monday) we left Parma and headed to Cinque Terre, the Italian Riviera consisting of 5 (Cinque) Lands (Terre). 5 towns linked by walking tracks (some more difficult than others). We have a great hotel in Monterosso Al Mare, the last of ... read more
September 19th 2011
I have so much to say that I don't even know where to start! I haven't posted pictures for awhile because I failed to mention in my last blog that I broke my camera on that hike! Yup, dropped it while the lens was out...but I bought another one so hope y'all enjoy the new pics!! & check out the VIDEO of my jumping off the 1st cliff! So fun! If it doesn't upload correctly on here then go to: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f4xizASDlUw&feature=share We went to Florence again last Wednesday & did a couple tours of churches and the Galileo Museum (my favorite!! so cool!!). Afterwards we were on our own the rest of the day so naturally I looked at as many shops as possible & found SO many things I wanted but I didn't end up ... read more
September 18th 2011
We spent 2 days hiking in Cinque Terre. The trip did not start as we expected. 18th Sep happened to be a train strike. So we could not get the train to go from La Spieza. After waiting hours at the train station with lot of mixed information, we joined another couple and took a taxi to the first village. The day was looking cold and rain. We bought our tickets and headed out on the hike. The beginning was really nice. The hiking trail huggs the sea coast. The sea was really stormy this day and it made the hike lot more beautiful. As we headed out of Riomaggio, some slight rain started falling. We took a leasurely hike to next village Manarola. By now, it was a good drizzle. We were also very tired. ... read more
Hiking Cinque Terre and the nude beach
Published: September 1st 2011Europe » Italy » Liguria » Cinque Terre
August 24th 2011
Today we set out to hike the rigorous, 5 hour hike through all 5 villages. Starting at Riomaggiore, we look Lover’s Lane to Mangola. The walls are covered by people’s signatures, couples that have come to Cinque Terre. It’s also called Lover’s Lane because couples put a lock on the fence and throw the key into the sea. The path between Mangola and Corniglia was closed, so we hoped a 2 minute train ride. From there, we had to climb over 300 steep steps (so hot) to reach the village. It made me wonder how , or if, people in wheelchairs visit the place. Moving onto the next town, “ BEACH” was scribbled on a rock with sharpie pen, which is a little shady but it seemed like a good idea at the time. We didn’t ... read more
