Italy- Part 2 Cinque Terre (Monterosso al Mare, Vernazza, Corniglia, Manarola, and Riomaggiore)

After spending a few days in Tuscany, it was time to return our rental and jump on a train to Cinque Terre. After returning our car at the Pisa airport, we took the Red Line to Pisa Centrale. We had a connecting train at La Spezia Centrale and arrived in Vernazza in Cinque Terra.

While traveling around Italy by train, we quickly learned you can not rely on their public transportation system. If Florence, we were stuck for 4 hours. On this leg of our journey, we were getting on a train at Pisa and the workers all walked off and said they were on strike and we had to take another train... like 75% of the workers left and we had to figure out a way to get to Pisa to Cinque Terre. It was nuts but we figure it out. It took twice as long as expected but we found a way. It was funny though because the whole time we thought "this would never happen in Germany", lol.

The Cinque Terre "The Five Lands" is made up of five villages: Monterosso al Mare, Vernazza, Corniglia, Manarola, and Riomaggiore. Over the centuries, people have carefully built terraces on the rugged, steep landscape right up to the cliffs that overlook the sea. Part of its charm is the lack of visible corporate development. Paths, trains and boats connect the villages, and cars cannot reach them from the outside. 

While visiting CT, you can buy a Cinque Terre Card. We did not need to buy one because we only took the train 1 time each day. We either hiked out of our village or hiked on our return trip back. I believe it "pays for itself" if you use a train ride 3 times in one day.

Rob and I were very excited to spend some time in CT and hike all along the coast. We broke our trip down by visiting a village each day. We arrived around 3pm so after checking into our rental, we had plenty of time to explore the small village of Vernazza.

The apartment we rented was a 2 story, 1bedroom/1 bath high above Vernazza. It was quite a hike to just get to the front door but the view was well worth it. Rob and I slept on the top floor on the pull out couch and Rand slept in the bedroom the bottom floor (2 twin beds). The top floor (living room) had a couch, table and chairs and a refrigerator. There was a sink we used to wash dishes outside, right next to the door.

If weather was warmer, we would of loved to sleep with the door open so we could hear the waves crash below. 

We planned on hiking a lot during our stay in CT but I knew some of the paths would be closed due to the 

fall/winter season. Here is a link to CT's hiking trails and updates on their trails conditions.

While traveling to Cinque Terre we pulled out the Deuter carrier and noticed a bolt broke off during our flight from Germany to Italy. We asked around and the nearest hardware store was an hour away so we were stuck with a broken carrier. I pulled a "MacGyver" and every day put something together to get it through the day. I used everything from a lollypop stick, plastic bag, elastic hair ties and hair pins.

Vernazza

Vernazza is where we called home for a few days. This small village has a lot to offer. The Church of Santa Margherita d'Antiochia was built in 1318 and from inside has marvelous views looking over the ocean. Another attraction is the Doria Castle built in the 15th century as a lookout tower to protect the village from pirates. Tourists can climb the small tower to enjoy some more of the gorgeous views. The harbor is another beautiful site and a great place to sit and enjoy he sunset. During the summer, you will find lots of sunbathers and people in the water. Vernazza is also known for its fisherman. We were lucky enough to spot some lucky fisherman with buckets of fish to either bring home or sell to local restaurants. This small village also have a pharmacy and two small grocery stores. 

view from our place

 Shortly after sunset (around 4:30pm local time) we tried to get some groceries at the store but they were closed for riposo (Italy's midday siesta) so we headed back up to our rental till the restaurants opened for dinner (7pm). Here is a view from our rental of the sunset over the water. 

Monterosso al Mare

The next morning we headed of to Monterosso al Mare. We took a very short train ride from Vernazza. We wandered around the village after taking a walk on the beach and letting Rand play on the nearby playground. 



We ate a delicious lunch at Belvedere. Afterwards, we headed off on our hike back to Vernazza. The hike was about 3km/2 miles and took about 1.5 to 2 hours. The hike was absolutely stunning. We hiked through beautiful vineyards and olive tree, orange and lemon fields. We also enjoyed the stunning view looking out over the ocean. The path itself was also magnificent. These paths the locals once took to get to each others villages back in the day. As you can see in one of the pics, the mason work is very impressive and it is everywhere in Cinque Terra. 

The next day we headed to...

Corniglia

To reach Corniglia from the train station, you need to climb the Lardarina, or a long brick flight of steps or catch a bus up tp the village. The Church of S. Pietro from via Serra was built in the 16th century and has an impressive marble rose window imported from Carrara. 

After exploring the small village of Corniglia we started our hike back to Vernazza.

 The 4km/2.5 miles; 90 minute hike was very enchanting. Like the hike we took the day prior, we walked through many vineyards and olive tree, orange and lemon fields but the stone walls and small bridges really made our journey seem like it was out of a fairy tale. 

 I finally found some "wild" olive trees and 

picked some fresh olives. 

Towards the end of our hike we came across a restaurant owned by the family of the house we were renting in Vernazza. The restaurant "La Torre" has a very small menu but do not let that fool you, the food is amazing! We had the bruschetta pesto, the pesto lasagna and the lemon cake. It was all very tasty and wish we could have ate there more.  

We got back to our place in Vernazza and put Rand down for a nap while we enjoyed some wine and played cards. We got to enjoy another gorgeous sunset from our balcony while listening to the waves hit the shore.

 Riomaggiore and Manarola

Our last day in Cinque Terra, we decided to take a break from hiking and take a train ride from Vernazza to Riomaggiore and then one from Riomaggiore to Manarola and another back to Vernazza. 

Riomaggiore was built into a river gorge (name means river major). This village has a small harbor surrounded by large slabs of marble and alabaster. During the summer, you will see many sunbathers hanging around here. They say, Greek religious refugees moved here in the 8th century when escaping from the Byzantine emperor. 

Between Riomaggiore and Manarola is a famous path called "Lover Walk" but unfortunately the path was closed due to damage on the path. If you look carefully at the pic below, you can see some of the guardrail has fallen away. 

 Manarola

The picturesque village of Manarola is the center of olive oil and wine production of the region. We enjoyed strolling through this pastel colored city and enjoying some lunch near the harbor. 

heading back to Vernazza

Italy- Part 1 Tuscany (Pisa, Verona, Volterra and San Gimignano)

Yeah! Time for another travel post! Besides Rand and my trip across the pond to see family, I was getting cabin fever and ready to travel again! We planned a week long trip to Italy to celebrate our 7th wedding anniversary. We also enjoyed the thought of trading a Thanksgiving day turkey for some amazing Italian food. ;)

I found some great plane tickets through Ryanair out of Frankfurt Hahn to Pisa. I knew the weather wasn't going to be the greatest but wanted to explore the coast and spend time in Cinque Terra. We were also interested in spending a couple days in Tuscany and just relax... and I came across an adorable villa on AirBnB that I just had to see! 

After arriving in Pisa, we went to go pick up our car rental. I booked through Ryanair (usually I go through our insurance company to get the best deal) and will never do that again. They had all these hidden fees and was just annoyed with the company BUT the car was great and we got a great price on using a car seat for Rand. We put all our luggage in the car but left it in the lot to run over and get a throw pic in front of the leaning tower. We jumped on a bus from the Pisa Aiport to the train station to get on another bus to the "Torre" stop to get our pic. We later figured out we could of just stayed on the original bus ride to get there instead of switching buses at the train station. The Red Line and bus #21 both go to the Pisa Airport, Pisa Train Station and the "Torre" stop to see the leaning tower. Also, remember to validate your bus ticket when getting on the bus.

We headed back to the car and drove to our villa in Tuscany. I found this adorable villa on AirBnB which was about 30 minutes away from Pisa and just shy of an hour away from Florence. The owner, Chiara was super sweet and welcoming. Her husband owns a vineyard and is a winemaker. They have two children and living on the property are 3 dogs, 2 pigs, and an adorable pony. We had such great stay there. We were there for 2 full days before heading back to Pisa to catch a train to Cinque Terra. 

The first day we headed to Florence by train. We went out of Pontedera and the ride was under an hour.  We went to Florence back in 2013 when I was pregnant with Rand. I just had to do a throw-back pic of my baby belly and now with a 2.5 year old. 

 We didn't have any big plans for Florence except to shop... which I have to admit I was kind of disappointed with. I was on the hunt for a new wallet but ended up not getting one, BUT I did get a gorgeous silver bracelet from my hubs at the Ponte Vecchio. We wandered around the Piazza della Signoria, Piazza del Duomo and Palazzo Vecchio till around 5 which is when we headed back to the train station.

The next day we headed off to two smaller cities, Volterra and San Gimignano. The drive throughout Tuscany was just stunning. We took our time and made frequent stops to enjoy the views. Also, keep an eye out for small vineyards to buy bottles of wine or olive oil. You can spot many wine tasting spots all over Tuscany. 

Volterra is a charming medieval town in central Tuscany, It may sound familiar to some because it was home to the Volturi's in the Twilight series. It was a darling little city surrounded by big stone walls on the top of a hill. Volterra is known for its alabaster and the city has a few good shops filled with some beautiful alabaster artwork.

I can not recommend highly enough Il Pozzo Degli Etruschi Di Caciagli Paolo for a meal. The staff were very welcoming and the food was absolutely delicious. I especially enjoyed the wild boar stewed in chocolate sauce with pine nuts. 

Next, we headed 40 minutes northeast to San Gimignano. Known as the "city of beautiful towers", 72 towers once stood looking down over Tuscany's Elsa Valley. Now only 14 towers remain in this medieval city. This is much more of a tourist spot than Volterra with gift shops at every corner.

The San Gimignano Duomo, or Collegiata di Santa Maria Assunta, is a gorgeous church where the walls are completely covered with paintings. One wall is dedicated to the Old Testament and the other wall dedicated to the life of Jesus. 

Part 2 of our Italy trip in Cinque Terre is here

Vatican City

Our amazing apartment in Rome is minutes away from the entrance to Vatican City. We walked over in the morning and skipped the line and entered with our repurchased tickets we bought online. If you already have your tickets, go straight to the doors, not the crazy long line wrapping around the corner. 

Vatican City is not only home to the Pope but houses the world's largest Catholic church (St. Peter's Basilica) and has perhaps the best collection of artistic masterpieces in the world. I was very excited to see the Sistine Chapel along with some other beautiful masterpieces.

The Vatican Museum was a stunningly beautiful place! 

My neck was sore by looking up at the ceiling for more than half of the day.

Rand enjoying a pop

St. Peter's Basilica

After a nap, Rand was ready to run after some birds

I was determined to hit up some Italian fabric shops while in Rome. I found two. My favorite for buttons was Merceria. The workers were so helpful and super sweet to Rand. They just loved him!

 Not far from Merceria was the bigger fabric store, AZIENDA TESSILE ROMANA and I bought quite a bit from them. They were very helpful and had lots of beautiful fabrics. 

We just had to get more gelato on our way back to our apartment that evening :)

 While we were talking back to our place that evening, we came across a huge crowd of people. We walked over to see what was going on and saw James Bond's Aston Martin!!!
They were filming some of the new James Bond in Rome this week and got to get a peak of the cars!