Gems of Italy: Swoon-worthy Cinque Terre, +1

When I first discovered we wouldn’t be staying in any of the five dreamy villages of the Italian Riveria region the Cinque Terre, I was a little disappointed. Levanto, a town just north of the “fifth” town, Monterosso al-Mare, isn’t technically part of the Cinque Terre. But, as our trip had gone, and how Italy had not disappointed even one iota, Levanto – I quickly discovered – was the place to stay while visiting this ever growing tourist attracting Italian coast.

Between lazily swimming in the Ligurian Sea, hiking the cliffside trail between Vernazza and Corneglia, and gazing upon cliffs of grapevines and olive trees – oh, and eating the out of this world local seafood/food – our two days in the Cinque Terre and Levanto were utterly magnificent.

As a side note, it’s incredibly difficult to discern which photos to post, as I took so many throughout Italy. Cinque Terre was no exception to this dilemna!

Our first stop, the northern-most of the 5 villages, Monterosso al Mare.

Monterosso al Mare

 

Monterosso al Mare

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North of Monterosso al Mare was our town of Levanto. We arrived late in the afternoon, and for dinner had one of the best meals there, a delightful Tuscan feast of local seafoods (and rabbit, and pesto that the chef made for us as a demonstration beforehand!)

 

Fresh mussels, anchovies, calamari, crab, bruschetta, pasta with pesto, risotto with porcini mushrooms. Profiteroles and limoncello. A very memorable meal.

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Levanto

 

Levanto

Levanto

Morning in Levanto

We were up very early the next morning to get the train to hike the trail from Vernazza to Corniglia. The train here runs thru tunnels to connect the 5 towns, and beyond, and was built in the late 1800’s – fascinating when you see the engineering feet required to do so!

 

Cinque Terre: Vernazza

A few pretty pictures in Vernazza while walking to the trail head entrance (above).

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In about 2.5 miles, and ~60 flights of stairs later, we would be in Corniglia – just in time for breakfast and more beautiful views!

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Leaving early gave us the narrow trail mostly to ourselves. We were told it can get quite busy, and my hike mates Paulette and Charlie were early birds like me; we made for pretty decent hiking partners 🙂

 

Vernazza

Vernazza

Vernazza

Vernazza

Tiered vineyards

Looking back at Vernazza as we ascend the beginning of the trail. Stunning!

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Gorgeous Ligurian Sea

Most of the trail was narrow like this, with lots of up!

Charlie checking out the Olive tree grove

A section of train tracks thru the hills

Lots of interesting flora along the way.

Some highlights from our hike (above).

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Olive tree nets, which sure looked like hammocks to me!

Baby olives!

The olive tree nets (sprawled out when harvested) sure looked like hammocks to me!

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Corniglia

Pretty Cinque Terre

Corniglia in sight! Fortunately it was mostly downhill from here 🙂

 

Gorgeous Ligurian Sea

Oratory of the Disciplinati of Santa Caterina

The hills of Corneglia.

My hiking buddies, Paulette and Charlie

The bathroom we used had quite the view!

A well deserved breakfast in a little village in Italy. Who could ask for more? And the coffee – every cup, everywhere, was wonderful (my usual, cappuccino). Also, I discovered Spremuta d’arancia – wonderful fresh-squeezed orange juice. That too became a ritual for me in Italy!

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Lovely Corniglia

Heading down to the train (about 1/2 way there), which we took back to Levanto. I believe for those coming up, it’s about 33 flights of stairs 🙂  We’d already paid our dues on the other end!

Back in Levanto, enjoying a lovely evening by the Mediterranean Sea.

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