Cinque Terre è Bellissimo

Here's what you need to know about Cinque Terre (or at least what I knew before I went there):

• It's freaking gorgeous.
• Cinque Terre is a collection of five fishing villages that have since become adorable beach towns: Monterosso, Vernazza, Corniglia, Manarola, and Riomaggiore.
• All five villages are connected by trains and by hiking trails. Cars are all but outlawed, which makes sense, considering that the vast majority of the "streets" in Cinque Terre look like this:

• The towns are along a very cliff-like coastline, which means incredible views of the Tyrrhenian Sea. It also means rather steep streets and hiking trails. 

I don't remember the first time that I heard of Cinque Terre, but I do remember that as soon as I saw pictures of the string of 5 colorful seaside towns along the Italian Riviera, I knew I HAD to go there.

I mean, just look at it!

So after one last cappuccino in Rome, Lauren and I parted ways at the train station; she heading northeast to Parma, and me heading northwest to Cinque Terre.

After a very scenic train ride along the coast, I arrived in Vernazza, the 2nd-northernmost of the five towns in Cinque Terre. My Airbnb host met me at the train station and showed me to the cutest little room that was to be my home base for the next two nights.

Most adorable Airbnb yet!

Vernazza is a teeny little beach town; the main road leads right from the train station to the small beach, which doubles as the town's harbor. I spent most of the afternoon wandering up and down the streets, just getting oriented to the town and snagging some spectacular views before hitting the beach to soak up some sun.

It was really starting to feel like I was on vacation.

I'm sure it will come as no surprise to you that I squeezed in two trips to the gelato shop before calling it a night.

The next day, I got an early start, and after a cappuccino and Nutella croissant--man, I could go for another one of those right about now--I headed south out of town along the hiking trail to Corniglia.

What should probably have only taken me an hour and a half turned out to be about a two hour hike, because I kept stopping to take in the mind-bogglingly beautiful views:

Eventually, I made it to Corniglia, where I cooled off--you guessed it--with some gelato as I meandered along the winding streets.

It was in Corniglia that I first discovered the appeal of the rocky beach. After following a very steep set of stone steps, I arrived here: 

 

SO. FREAKING> GORGEOUS.

Anyway. Major advantages of rocky beaches include:

1. Less crowded.
2. Sand doesn't get all up in yo bidness. 
3. The water is so flipping clear (no sand clouding it up). 
4. The aforementioned sand doesn't get all in your stuff. 
5. Way more interesting scenery; watching waves hit rocks is way better than watching waves hit the same smooth stretch of sand over and over again. 
6. No sand to stick all over you and your shiznit. (Have I mentioned this already?)

Being the dingus that I am, I didn't have my swimsuit in my daypack; I'd dressed for a day of hiking without considering the possibility of getting in the water. (I know, I know....like I said: dingus.) 

I consoled myself with some more gelato before heading south out of Corniglia toward Manarola, only to find that the trail was closed for maintenance. (Apparently there had been some flooding earlier in the year, and the trails from Corniglia to Manarola and from Manarola to Riomaggiore were both closed.)

I chose to interpret it as a sign from the universe to head back north, and after a brief stop back at my Airbnb in Vernazza to grab my swimsuit--see? I can learn from my mistakes!--I hiked an hour and a half north to Monterosso. 

I was almost to the town when I spotted a side path down toward the water. I say "side path." It was really more of a trace of a trail along a foot-wide ledge. 

I'm all about following whims when I travel, so I (very carefully) edged my way along the path until I arrived here: 

I spread out my towel on a large rock before scooching into the clearest water I've ever swam in outside of a swimming pool. After about an hour of soaking up the sun and sea, I watched as two guys climbed up to a ledge about 20 feet above a cave. After they spent 5 minutes debating how deep the water below them was, one of them belly-flopped off the ledge into the water. The other guy followed with a little more technique.

You already know this adrenaline junkie was next off that ledge.

It wasn't quite high enough for me to check cliff-jumping off my bucket list, but it was still pretty dang fun!

As the sun started to set, I toweled off and headed into the town of Monterosso in search of dinner.

I forgot to take a picture of my asparagus risotto (I was so hungry it was gone before it occurred to me to Instagram that shiz), but take my word for it, it was pretty darn tasty. A couple of glasses of wine later, I headed for the train back to Vernazza, stopping along the way for some gelato at a shop that was blasting 80's music.

I caught several of my fellow passengers eyeing my pistachio and dark chocolate cone jealously on the train.

On my last morning in Vernazza, I spent most of the morning lingering over a cappuccino and croissant with a view of the harbor, before catching my train to Venice. 

Cinque Terre, I'll be back! And until then, you'll be on my mind.