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Cinque Terre
GIMME FIVE
Every tourist we talk to who has been to Cinque Terre says we MUST go. It’s one of their favorite places not just in Italy, but in all of Europe. The secret on these five towns is out – they’re very in. And it’s easy to see why: pastel villas nestled between rugged mountains and strong surf on the Italian Riviera:

Monterosso at sunset. Our hotel is the orange building at the left. You can see the other five towns in the distance. Well, maybe not in this shot, but they’re there.

Jen and I make up a descriptive mnemonic to remember the names of the five towns in order from South to North (from Pisa up to La Spezia train): RMCVM - Rugged Mountains on the Coast: Very Magnificient stands for Riomaggiore, Manarola, Corniglia, Vernazza and Monterosso. We stay in Monterosso, but catch the UFO boat to Riomaggiore to visit each town in order.

1. Riomaggiore is built into the Rugged hills.



2. Manarola is built right into the Mountains


3. Corniglia is on Cliffs high above the Coast. It’s the only city that doesn’t have a port.


4. Vernazza is one of the more Very picturesque towns.


5. Monterosso is the Most Major town, Magnificient, which only means several hotels, souvenirs shops and the net cafes.



Nightlife: Not a whole lot to do in these small towns, so we eat a big dinner. We grab a great seafood dinner in Monterosso. Jen orders a fresh sea bass and they bring the entire fish out – head and all – and cut it for Jen right at the table. We also order a trough of seafood pasta. Jen celebrates with sweet white wine, saying “If you drink, it’s a crime not to drink well in Cinque Terre.”

After Cinque Terre, on to Rome.

Corniglia is perched atop the cliffs.


Jen shows the great view from our Monterosso hotel window – we can fall asleep to the ocean waves just 50 meters or so from our hotel.



The charm of Cinque Terre is these pastel Italian villas perched on these dramatic mountains against a wave-crashing sea.
 

We eat dinner on a porch not overlooking, but literally on top of the crashing waves

I end up drinking five cups of cappuccino in one day in Cinque Terre, which is one cup per terre.



That’s Jen in Riomaggiore



On our hike from town to town, we meet up with Juan Carlos from Honduras (on a fellowship in Italy) and his friends.


Cliffs between Riomaggiore and Manarola.

Vernazzo dock