The
Cinque Terre consists of five coastline fishing towns:
Vernazza, Corniglia, Riomaggiore, Manarola, and
Montorosso al Mare--all relatively small in size and the number of it's inhabitants. Brightly painted homes are pressed together and stacked upon one another, clothing lines are strung from home-to-home, boats rest on the calm water, and locals and tourists alike take turns jumping into the pristine crystal blue sea that is so clear, it's as if it were illuminated from below.
As we take a dip in the refreshing and cool embrace of the ocean's touch,
Il Gigante, Montorosso Al Mare's native Giant looms over us. A friendly giant, he holds the town together as he watches the frolicking and commotion in the water and on the beach below him.
I'm wearing the "ginger maillot" one piece from Anthropologie.
Here are some photos from
my Instagram. I couldn't manage to get any post-worthy photos on my main camera (although my friend did manage to get a few shots of some tall, dark, and handsome, speedo-clad Italians, but you wouldn't want to see that now would you? ;-)
Montorosso Al Mare had to be my favorite town of the five, only because it had the most beach space, shops, and it's very own giant! However, the other towns also had beautiful hiking trails with amazing ocean views that we didn't get to experience because we were limited on time. I know the next time I go back that is definitely on my to-do list!
Getting There: Getting to the Cinque Terre is fairly simple as you can take a train to La Spezia, which then takes you directly to the five towns.
Getting Around: There's a train pass called the "Cinque Terre Card" that cost us about 7 euros and will take you from town to town. Each town is about 5 minutes apart by train. However the trains were so packed full, no conductor came around to even check our tickets! You can also hike from town to town along the beautiful coastline trails, which will take you a few hours. If you have the time, I'd recommend this venture as the views looked beautiful!
