Planes, trains, and automobiles – done. We boarded at Pisa Central Station and arrived at Monterosso in Cinque Terre National Park an hour later.
The first challenge was the lack of lifts at the station, I was soon regretting the purchases we had made along the trip so far, our bags were both approaching 30kg. Time to drink that wine!
There were people everywhere, we had been told it was busy but this was crazy. It was also very beautiful. It was only a short walk but we decided to grab a cab to the Airbnb, to save getting lost and carting the bags, and ended up sharing with a couple from Melbourne.
10 minutes later, after lots of people dodging on what looked like foot paths, we were at our hotel. Again no lift, so I carried the bags up two flights of stairs checked in and then the lady said – ah you’re in the apartment next door on the fourth floor – no lift!!! So I carried the bags back down, walked 50m and then started the hike up the 8 flights of stairs. This time we paired up to carry the bags, one at a time, and we were finally at our apartment – a very nice place with ocean glimpses.
We settled in, freshened up and then headed back towards the beach to check out the town. A seaside village that was the last of 5 fishing towns in the park as you head north. It consisted of tightly packed apartment blocks and shops confined by the mountains either side. It had the normal Italian feel but different once again from any of the other places we had visited and a very relaxed vibe.
After looking around we found a restaurant by the beach for an afternoon snack and drinks, such a beautiful place.
Walking back to our apartment we stopped at the deli to buy some salami and cheese, and then spent the evening on our balcony enjoying it with the Chianti we badly needed to get rid of before carrying our bags back down the stairs 😄. There was a cooling breeze, great view, and all you could hear was the chatter of people talking in Italian to other units from their balconies.
Wednesday morning we started with a hike to Vernazza, across the mountains and down the coast south of us. We left at about 9, after a coffee, to beat the afternoon heat.
The trail started out moderately steep, and then just got steeper and steeper with long flights of stairs. While it wasn’t too hot, it was humid so lots of sweating along the way. Thankfully we were on the shady side of the mountain. There were other people on the trail, but it was relatively quiet – half the people we spoke to were Aussies.
There were great views of Monterosso and the bays below on the way up.
Once we had conquered the stairs to the top it was reasonably easy going with a few stairs here and there, and more great views.
About an hour or so in we spotted Vernazza in the distance which marked the start of our descent.
We wound our way down many more stairs – Bel said that we had smashed all previous stair records including Santorini- taking photos along the way.
And then after an hour and a half we were there. A fun walk if you’re reasonably fit – highly recommended.
We grabbed another coffee and lots of water when we reached the town centre, and rested by the water.
Next we explored the village. We did some shopping, and then we both had some amazing gelato – cheesecake, pistachio, cookies and cream- mmmm.
It was only a small village so it wasn’t long before we were back by the water soaking our feet.
We caught the ferry back (no way were we walking) and were back in Monterosso by 12.30. A quick light lunch of bruschetta and we were on the beach in our pre-booked beach lounges😊.
We spent the next four hours on the beach. Lots of swimming and people watching. There was a beach bar too, so we shared a bottle of wine. The weather was perfect once again making for a great afternoon.
Back at the apartment we shared the remainder of the salami and cheese and then headed out for dinner and ate far too much again. We finished the night with a walk through the mountain tunnel to the new side of town – we were staying in the historic side.
Thursday we had a train booked for 12.17, so we had a lazy morning and breakfast and one more quick look around town.
Things all changed at 10.45 when I realized that 12.17 was the arrival time and our departure was 11.07. We madly grabbed bags scrambled down the 8 flights of stairs, ran past the checkout to drop in the keys, and then ran to the station. We arrived with 5min to spare a sweaty mess. The train came in, we hopped on, but couldn’t find our seats so I checked with the conductor- wrong train!! We jumped off at La Spezia and could see the sign for our original train – running 30 min late – WTF!! At least we were able to get back on track.
In the rush I left my sunglasses and hat in our room, so they are now being posted to Positano for us. Next stop…. Florence.