Cinque Terre

thursday night, march 3rd we arrived by train to the Cinque Terre .               

meaning: "The Five Lands"                   

for who: the outdoor lover and hiker  

where: rugged portion of coast on the Italian Riviera in the Liguria region of Italy 

what: composed of five villages: Monterosso al Mare, Vernazza, Corniglia, Manarola, and Riomaggiore

transportation: boat and trains connect the villages, cars can't reach the area from the outside

to do: hike, swim, drink red wine, watch gorgeous sunsets & sunrises, honeymoon

as we walked into the hostel that was booked for the group we were welcomed by the loud shouting of teenage boys. (this was the point where Susanna Foster and I looked at each other and were ready to dial the closest hotel in the area. I know I can always count on Suse to be on the same page with me when it comes to accommodations.) we received our roommates and numbers and headed up stairs to our rooms before the group dinner planned for us later that evening. after making our beds and settling in we headed to dinner. as we ate the delicious meal we shared scary/creepy stories from our past. robberies, break-ins, and fears were shared around the table. Sallie Robbins had the creepiest i thought. someone she knew who was a photographer went camping by herself to capture pictures of the mountains (or something on those means). after the trip was over she obviously got the film developed. the pictures were picturesque with great landscapes, nature scenes, etc. except for one. she had a picture of her sleeping (she was alone...or was suppose to be). 

the next morning we packed our lunch, met our guide Marco, and began our hike up the mountain to the first town, Monterosso. 

Monterosso

At the beginning of our hike to Monterosso

Katie, Me, Sallie, Taylor, and Alex having lunch
on the walk to Monterosso

we hiked up the steep hills and rocky paths that overlooked the beautiful Ligurian Sea. some of us had a little trouble with slipping, i think all of us may have been winded at some point, but the outcome of the long day was amazing. getting to see the gorgeous landscape of the coast was what a lot of us needed to see. churches, monuments, and sculptures get redundant after awhile, but natural beauty is an art of its own. i think that night we all went to bed early. the next day we had the other four towns on our agenda, no mountainous hiking necessary. 

saturday's first stop by train was the town of Riomaggiore. this was probably my favorite island out of them all. the famous picture most see of the Cinque Terre is the one below.

Riomaggiore 

we took the via dell' amore aka lovers lane to the next village of Manorola. via dell' amore is known for lovers locking locks to various area on the way. we witnessed two lovers lock their love and offered to take pictures. this place is great when you're with your boyfriend but 20 girls...gorgeous though!

Lovers Lane

Lovers Lane Entrance 

in Manorola we had a cheap and delicious lunch from a Brooklyn born and raised Italian woman. if it wasn't so bust i would have asked her what her story was...why would a woman clearly from the New York City be in Manorola, Italy serving us panini's and french fries? 

from Manorola we stopped quick in Corniglia and lastly in Vernazza. vernazza was my second favorite of "the Five Lands". i would probably imagine it was because of gorgeous colors of the buildings that mimicked those of Riomaggiore.  

Vernazza

sunday morning after breakfast we were picked up by bus to head back to Ariccia. 

pit stop: Pisa

References:

http://www.ultimateitaly.com/unesco/cinque-terre.html

http://goeurope.about.com/cs/cinqueterr1/l/bl_cinque_map.htm

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cinque_Terre