Through an unexpected detour, we made our way from Florence to Pisa to La Spezia and finally to Manarola, one of the five towns that make up Cinque Terre. Exhausted from our long morning, we got off of the train in Manarola to see a gorgeous view. We were right on the coast, looking out at beautiful blue water, calm and sparkling in the warm sun. We reveled in the peace and quiet for a few minutes, then started to wonder where our hotel was. We turned around to look at the view behind us and saw mountains. Rocks and hills were piled high, sprinkled with colorful, old houses and buildings on top. We glanced at our 50 lb suitcases then back up at the steep hill before us. My sister took our her video camera as we started our trek up the winding hill, half-laughing while mustering up all of our strength to lug our suitcases to the top.
By the time we got to the top and found our hotel, our original plans of hiking seemed impossible. Our "hotel" was more like a little apartment. The friendly Italian owner took us around the back to a separate building with the most beautiful ocean view. He opened an old, wooden door to reveal a a small winding staircase and two rooms, one decorated in blue and one decorated in pink. The whole place smelled like fresh flowers. Each room had a balcony that looked out over the ocean and the cobblestone streets winding down through the mountains. With the rooms, the view and the sun shining, it was hard not to be in a good mood. We decided to freshen up, grab something to eat and continue with our plans of hiking through the beautiful hills of Manarola.
We found a perfect little cafe' with sandwhiches and pastries for lunch. My ever-present sweet tooth took over and I ordered a big chocolate muffin with chocolate chunks and a chocolate coffee. My friend, Valerie and I were especially excited about the chocolate coffee! It was very hard to find any sort of flavored coffee in Italy. Almost everywhere only offered black coffee with cream. There is of course, no such thing as "too much chocolate," so my not-so-nutritous lunch was delicious. Decked out in our Nike's and yoga pants, we were ready to hike. We explored each and every pary of Manarola, of course stopping to take pictures of our view. It was a little chilly by the water, but the sun was shining and we were loving every second. After we had exhausted the small town of Manarola, we took a short train ride to another one of the five towns, Vernazza. We walked through the streets, pausing to duck into little shops along the way, and made our way down to the water. We sat on the rocks in the sun and ate our gelato cones. (I got Kinder gelato, a popular type of chocolate in Italy- delicious of course).
After returning back to Manarola, we went back to our rooms to change and get ready for dinner. We ate dinner at a small restaurant near the water, with a menu full of seafood. (We weren't very adventurous with the seafood, we all ended up with pasta dishes). By the time we got back from dinner we were all exhausted from a long day, but we knew our trip wasn't over. We had two days left and we had to catch a train to Rome in the morning!
By the time we got to the top and found our hotel, our original plans of hiking seemed impossible. Our "hotel" was more like a little apartment. The friendly Italian owner took us around the back to a separate building with the most beautiful ocean view. He opened an old, wooden door to reveal a a small winding staircase and two rooms, one decorated in blue and one decorated in pink. The whole place smelled like fresh flowers. Each room had a balcony that looked out over the ocean and the cobblestone streets winding down through the mountains. With the rooms, the view and the sun shining, it was hard not to be in a good mood. We decided to freshen up, grab something to eat and continue with our plans of hiking through the beautiful hills of Manarola.
We found a perfect little cafe' with sandwhiches and pastries for lunch. My ever-present sweet tooth took over and I ordered a big chocolate muffin with chocolate chunks and a chocolate coffee. My friend, Valerie and I were especially excited about the chocolate coffee! It was very hard to find any sort of flavored coffee in Italy. Almost everywhere only offered black coffee with cream. There is of course, no such thing as "too much chocolate," so my not-so-nutritous lunch was delicious. Decked out in our Nike's and yoga pants, we were ready to hike. We explored each and every pary of Manarola, of course stopping to take pictures of our view. It was a little chilly by the water, but the sun was shining and we were loving every second. After we had exhausted the small town of Manarola, we took a short train ride to another one of the five towns, Vernazza. We walked through the streets, pausing to duck into little shops along the way, and made our way down to the water. We sat on the rocks in the sun and ate our gelato cones. (I got Kinder gelato, a popular type of chocolate in Italy- delicious of course).
After returning back to Manarola, we went back to our rooms to change and get ready for dinner. We ate dinner at a small restaurant near the water, with a menu full of seafood. (We weren't very adventurous with the seafood, we all ended up with pasta dishes). By the time we got back from dinner we were all exhausted from a long day, but we knew our trip wasn't over. We had two days left and we had to catch a train to Rome in the morning!