Cinque Terre

Hype is a huge thing when travelling. The expectations we had on this place were obscenely massive, talking to our friends who had travelled there would result in this “you’ve gotta go” type of look on their faces. After being there for 4 days, if anyone wants to talk to me about the Cinque Terre, I’m going to be giving you the same look! Italy in all its glory; coastline and villages that make your eyes stop and stare in wonder at their beauty. If there is any chance anyone of you reading this are heading anywhere near Europe, this is the one and only place I implore you to visit. We had a massive day in transit from Florence by train, due to some cancellations and the electronic departure board at Florence termini shutting down! In the end, it all didn’t matter when we arrived at Manarola, the second village and the home for the next 5 nights. We were just in total shock the first few days, the place is amazing, and nothing a camera will ever capture. We found out that one section of the walk was closed due to mudslides, we were shattered as we wanted to complete the entire walk. But as we had dinner one night we were chatting some Americans who told us about another hike we had to do instead. So, we searched through our packs for our expert hiking boots, I went for the Nike Air Max, Patricia chose the ever reliable Asics Tigers. And we hiked, we hiked, we hiked some more, and then hiked some more. We hiked for 5 hours in total, going from Manarola high up into the mountains, and hiked right along the ridge to the other villages. It was an amazing view up that high, as you could see all five villages from one point. We then hiked the coastal routes also so we could see the other villages. Vernazza and Manarola to us were our favourites, and we were lucky to stay in Manarola as the two little restaurants were unbelievable. Patricia had this spicy lobster pasta for 8 Euros, it was so good, and will feature in the “food post” shortly on the blog. In short, the Cinque Terre blew our minds and confirmed its place in my Top 5 destinations of all time.