This past weekend myself and a few friends felt adventurous and decided to head down to the Italian coast and spend a few days in Cinque Terre (Five Lands). Boy was it worth it.
The train brought us from Milano Centrale (as usual) to a tiny three-track train station in Levanto, about 10 minutes from Cinque Terre. The ride was absolutely beautiful and the train view of the mountains from the train station was as good as a post card.
The piles of gravel aren't in the postcard...
From there we had to catch a regional train to the town that we were staying in. Once into Monterossa, the main town of Cinque Terre, we had to situate ourselves and myself and three others had to find a cab to take us to our hotel while the others could simply walk to their hotels. At first I was a bit off-put about not being able to stay at a hotel right on the beach and having to take a taxi to the hotel every time, but after five minutes of being in the taxi my regrets were all forgotten. First of all, sitting in the passenger seat of the tiny cab as it zooms past oncoming cars and through the seemingly single lane mountain roads had me feeling like our driver was Ayrton Senna incarnate. Then after a few more quick minutes we were able to look out the window to see the miniature town of Monterossa in the distance being flanked by lush mountains and with the sea infinitely behind it.
We finally settled down at our pleasant, apartment-like hotel. We almost immediately got on our bathing suits and caught the hotel shuttle back down to the beach to meet up with the rest of our group and relax on the beach.
We spent the rest of the day relaxing and then we got some dinner at a nice ocean-side restaurant with quite a view.
View from the restaurant
We turned in early that night, because Ashley and I were getting up bright and early (for me) to go hiking in the hills of Cinque Terre.
I was totally unsure of where we were going, how long we were going to be out, or how difficult the trail would be, but I knew that I would get some nice pictures. Using an actual map (not a phone!) it took us a few tries to navigate from our hotel to the start of the trail. Once we found it, the real adventure began.
Photo creds to Ashley
The trail was absolutely stunning, as expected. The views of the vineyards and the small houses dotting the sides of the mountains were priceless and uncapturable (although I of course tried).
We ended up following the trail for around 16 miles and somewhat accidentally ended up in the colorful town of Riomaggiore.
We wandered for a bit after finding a water fountain to refill our water bottles and after about 30 or so minutes we decided to take the train back. At one point in the ride Ashley suggested that we could get off a few stops (towns) early and hike back to Monterossa. She was obviously in much better condition than I was.
When we exited the train in Monterossa we decided it would be nice to relax on the beach for a bit. Unfortunately it costs $15 to use the beach chairs, so we ended up with the rest of the freeloaders - laying on a rock sea wall, absorbing the sun into our chests and pebbles into our backs. Although honestly, it was pretty relaxing. The only uncomfortable moments were trying to get up or lay down.
We caught up with the rest of our group and headed back to the hotel to shower and get ready for dinner.
Even though the trip was mentally and physically taxing at times, I will never regret it.