Cinque Terre

The train from Rome to La Spezia was 4 hours and gave us glimpses of the Mediteranean Sea along the way. In La Spezia we hopped on another train and 8 minutes later, after a long tunnel, we came to the Riomaggiore (the southern most of the 5 villages) train station. When we got of the train we looked out over the platform to see that we were 75-100 feet above the sea on the cliffs. At that point we simultaneously expressed our interests in not going to Venice and just staying there. Our pictures couldn't even capture how amazing and beautiful this place is. Our hostel didn't help either. It was a spacious two bedroom appartment with a large living room, kitchen and patio, that we shared with 4 Aussies and 2 other Americans and looked out over the village, half way up the cliffs. We finally conviced ourselves that we could leave when we promissed our selves we would return within 5 years.

A side note: Cinque Terre is 5 small villages in the Italian Riviera on the Mediteranean Coast. For many years the only way to access the villages was by boat. Now there is a train that cut into the cliffs through tunnels. There is also an ancient foot path that zig-zags the coast and cuts through their terraced vinyards and orchards. The terraces stretch far up the cliffs. We saw many pictures of this place and heard we should visit it by many people, but nothing prepared us for how amazing it would be.

On our first day we took the train to the northern most town, Monterosso and hiked the 9k (approx. 6 miles) down to Riomaggiore. The first 3.5 hours were fairly difficult, especially in the hot sun. There were times when the path took us through a little shade or a small brook, but for the most part we just tried not to trip down the mountain as gawked at the breathtaking views. That evening we made our own meal in the kitchen (1st time in 9 days!), hung out with our housemates on the patio and all went for a late night swim in the Mediteranean.

The next day we found a set of rocks at the far end of the Riomaggiore pebble beach and our own private place to sun and swim. That afternoon we rented a kayak and went south along the coast, finding caves and a waterfall. The water was a beautiful deep blue green and clear enough to see atleast 20 feet below.

Cinque Terre was the perfect place to truly relax and be on vacation. It has a great combination of beauty, nature, excursions and character and easily the most romatic place we've been so far. It is worth the trip if you ever get the chance.