Travel Throwback: Cinque Terre

I went to book club last night to discuss Beautiful Ruins, and it really had me reminiscing about Cinque Terre, Italy's famous five little fishing villages linked together by a trail of seaside steps.

I visited Cinque Terre for a few days back in 2007 with my friend Erin while we were studying abroad. Since we were students, we tried to travel on the cheap. That resulted in some... interesting accomodations... like a room that was, quite literally, a hole carved in a rock-face cliff, with an extension cord coming in for electricity. I think the technical term for it is "cave." 

The view, which immediately made up for the cave.

Cinque Terre can be described in just a word: Romantic.

Even the names of the five towns sound romantic. Say them: Monterosso. Vernazza. Corniglia. Manarola. Riomaggiore.

The other defining feature of Cinque Terre for me was the aerobics. If you eschew the train and choose to walk the trail, which you should, you will be going up steps and down steps. Up steps and down steps. Up steps and down steps. Stop and pretend to take a picture so you can catch your breath. Up steps and down steps. And so on and so forth.

We hiked each of the five towns along the coast, sampling fresh seafood, local spirits, and stopping to swim when we could. 

Strawberry milkshakes, in retrospect a strange beverage choice while swimming.

This is definitely one of those places that you leave a little piece of your heart behind. Has anyone else left a piece? I hope it's keeping mine company.