One of our dear Virginia Beach and DC friends, Brooke (one of "the twins") was in Europe for work this past summer so we made plans to meet in the Cinque Terre region of northern Italy for five days.
We booked a flat at a B&B in the mountains above the beach town of Monterosso al Mare. Every morning we had breakfast on the terrace with this-is-unreal-pinch-me views before we set off to hike, lounge on the beach, or slow-walk explore our way through the postcard cliff-side towns famous for pesto, seafood, and focaccia.
The national park area of Cinque Terre (meaning "Five Lands") on the coast of the Italian Riviera is made up of the villages - Monterosso al Mare, Vernazza, Corniglia, Manarola, and Riomaggiore. They all offer their own unique draws, are easily accessible via train (each town has a stop) or hiking trails, and are family friendly.
On the first day, after breakfast we set out on the hour long hike from Monterosso to Vernazza. We grabbed lunch and wine and hung out for the afternoon on the rocks and in the waters of Vernazza. We meandered through the tourist crowded streets (hello, Italy in the summer time) and then headed back to Monterosso to watch an Italy Euro Cup match in the piazza with the locals. We got there early to get a good seat in front of the tiny TV someone brought down from their flat. The owner kindly gave us seats in the third row (first two were reserved for his BFF's!). Simone took an epic nap in my arms while we drank local white wine and cheered on Italia along with a crowd of all ages.
The next day we went to a beach outside of town and then that evening took the train to Manarola for dinner, having some amazingly fresh pasta. I think we hiked one million stairs to get to the restaurant that looked out onto the sea and sunset. It was a tiny, quiet, posh joint (i.e. parental cringe moment). Despite being well past her bedtime, Simone behaved and ate/tore up/threw bread on the floor while Marco, Brooke, and I enjoyed a nice meal.
One of the best days of the trip was when we drove to nearby city Rapallo and took the ferry to the town of Portofino. Another beautiful town built into the mountains - it is full of villas, upscale shops, and restaurants. It was sleepy and not full of people despite the harbor being littered with sailboats and insane yachts.
Incredible trip! Something we didn't do that I wish we did was to rent a small boat for the day to explore the quiet, lesser known beaches. All in all, much needed Vitamin D.
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