One of Italy's best secrets... (Jan 28)

We boarded our train at 6:30am and arrived in the Cinque Terre at about 10am. It is a series of 5 small towns that thrived here shielded from the rest of Italy by the mountains. It has remained mostly the same for hundreds of years! We stayed in town #1, Riomaggiore, and LOVED it there. There is one main "street" that sees only pedestrians and emergency vehicles. The rest of the town is navigated by a series of "secret" stairways and passageways. Andrew and I couldn't even walk side by side they were so small!

That afternoon we took the Dolce de Vita stroll, a path the connects the 5 towns. We started out wearing coats and scarves and Jen ended up in a tanktop! It turned out to be a great day and a harder hike than anticipated. I think our photos say it all here...

Terraced Vineyards:


Manarola on the cliff:


The Mediterranean:


View of Riomaggiore from our balcony:



Our only downer of this place was the room we stayed in. It looked huge and nicer than we expected... it was actually a 2 bedroom apartment with a full kitchen and bathroom. The temperature at night was... well, we could see our breath. Only one heater in the whole place worked, and it didn't work well. Our toilet leaked. Freezing, in many layers, and exhausted, we snuggled into a twin bed together to stay warm. We were in bed with lights out by 8pm!