Cinque Terre, Italia

Five beautiful fishing villages + the mediterranean ocean + delicious italian food + family. What more could I want in life? For our last adventure while my family was in town last month, we took a five hour train ride from Lugano to the Cinque Terre and spent the weekend swimming in the sea, hiking along the ocean cliffs and exploring the towns. It was absolutely perfect. Even the train ride was pleasant, as we traveled through the italian countryside and then for the last hour went straight down the coast with the ocean right outside the train window. Too beautiful! Most tourists only stay a day or two in Cinque Terre, but even with three full days I feel as if I still could have explored more! So if you go, stay for at least the weekend and explore all five, each town has its own personality and I loved adventuring through all of them.

MONTEROSSO AL MARE 

highlights: swimming in the mediterranean + eating the most delicious focaccia ever 

VERNAZZA

bottom left photo: a house we passed by which was destroyed in the catastrophic mud slides of Oct '11 which caused billions in property damage to the five towns. The Cinque Terre are mostly recovered but three of the main hiking paths were still closed for reconstruction.

CORNIGLIA

Corniglia is the only village perched on a cliff (as oppose to on the ocean) we hiked from Vernazza to Corniglia through olive groves (top L photo) and vineyards (bottom middle) 

MANAROLA

historic church // rocky beach // exploring 

RIOMAGGIORE

bottom left photo: pesto + potato pasta, a local speciality! It was actually delicious. Fun fact: this region of Italy is where pesto was invented! 

If you are considering going to Cinque Terre I would suggest staying in Riomaggiore, Monterosso or Manarola. Corniglia and Vernazza are beautiful but not as convenient as the other three. We stayed at a bed and breakfast in Riomaggiore (the southern most town) and were more than pleased with the location. There is a regional train that links together all five of the villages and passes by every hour so it isn't too hard to travel between them. Although if you can, I highly recommend hiking from village to village, it's a breath taking view and worth the time. If I ever get the opportunity to go again I would take a boat ride between the villages, hike from Riomaggiore -- Manarola -- Vernazza ( these trails were completely washed out in the floods) and I would eat more homemade focaccia + nutella gelato!

Until next time Italy! xoxo

PS special thanks to my parents + sister Brianna for being superb travel buddies. It was the best ten days and one of my greatest adventures yet! #lovemytribe