New day new journey. In order to get to Cinque Terre from Venice, we had to get to Milan and change the train to Monterosso. I was slightly disappointed that we could not include Milan into our third leg due to limited time. Nonetheless, we managed to caught a glimpse of the famous Duomo di Milano (I think that was the building) while the train was heading to Milan's train station.



The views from the train was nothing but gorgeous at every angle. Perhaps that was the main reason sometimes taking a train from one place to another was way more expensive compared to other means of transportation, even by flight! That being said, travelling by plane in the Europe was therefore comparably cheap as they can get as low as 10 Euros or even lower depending on the seasons and place.


Day 1

Monterosso al Mare


After boarding the second train from Milano Centrale, we continued our journey to Monterosso which took another three hours. In total, we had spent about six hours int the train! Truthfully speaking, quite often our vacation time were occupied by us travelling in either train or bus as the journey would take hours from one destination to the next. Once we reached Monterosso, we were visibly tired and hurried our way to our accommodation.

However, we were surprised by the amazing beach views while we were walking to our hostels. More often than not I had heard of people complimenting Cinque Terre for their beaches and the breath-taking views but I was not very convinced until I saw them before my own eyes. Admittedly, the long hours of travelling to this place was certainly worth the hassle.


One of the downsides of getting around in Cinque Terre was the water issue. We found that the bottled mineral waters being sold in either the supermarkets or convenient stores were mad expensive. It was not that we were being nonsensical and absurd for not drinking the free tap water but we could not find a public water fountain near the place we were staying as we had yet to explore the whole island..


The big question was "Is it safe to drink tap water in Cinque Terre" or even " Is it safe to drink tap water in Italy?" at all. As we have read through the internet, we were advised that even though it was safe to drink tap water in all regions of Italy, most tourists remained purchasing bottled waters. This was because although the tap water was supplied through the water grid, some people might not find the taste of the acceptable and they could potentially cause stomach cramps.

Hence, we decided not to risk our stomachs or health at all by getting some bottled waters for the time being until we had found a public water fountain tomorrow when we explored more of the areas.

Gastronomia San Martino
With a very much needed meal to fill our non ending hunger, we walked to this little cosy Italian restaurant opened by the local at the old town of Monterosso. There were a plethora of choices and we could even find gluten-free food here! Not that it mattered much for us as we had no issues with gluten but it was worth knowing.





We had ordered some of the recommended food by the waiters and also few glasses of white wine to pair with the seafood (scampi) pastas and spaghetti with clams. The seafood were very fresh and the gnocchi was very fluffy as they were homemade and produced daily. The price was very affordable for local Italian dishes and the staff were very friendly as well!

Day 2

Cinque Terre were made up of five small fishing communities that were located on the "Costa Ligure of Levante". The villages from north to south in order were Monterosso al Mare, Vernazza, Corniglia, Manarola and Riomaggiore. All five villages had been part of the province of La Spezia since the year 1926. It was a great news for us as we were on the right spot to start exploring the villages, starting from Monterosso and ending at Riomaggiore.



Hence, on our second day in Monterosso, we woke up early in the morning so that we could go to all the villages as well as visiting the attractions on the island. What are the best way to move around Cinque Terre? one might ask. Walking was an option but it would take days and driving was another viable option. However, it would take nerves of steel to navigate around the narrow and curvy roads with hefty price of parking tickets. Getting around by sea was also an alternative but it would cause a hole in our pockets.


The best option to travel around Cinque Terre was through train. Fortunately the train line connected all five villages which made everything easier. Besides, it was also cheaper as we did not have to apy for parking fees.The only disadvantage of taking the train was that the trains were quite packed with tourists. Not to worry about that as we had endured these since the start of the trip anyway.

Wonderland Bakery









We went to this cute little bakery shop in search of breakfast as the aroma of the baked bread from this bakery was so nice! Inside of the bakery, there were freshly made doughnuts, focaccia, croissants and sandwiches. We got some of the breads before heading out for our adventures.

Vernazza









We kick-started our village hopping with Vernazza. It was said that this is the only village that had a proper harbour. The buildings at this island were astoundingly beautiful with a variety of vivid colours that brighten the whole area. Having said that, Vernazzo was also claimed to be famous for its elegant house at its cliff side town.





We were pretty excited to go to its beach area and take a dip as we have not been to any beaches in Europe due to the chilly weather. Are the beaches in Cinque Terre free for access? Yes and that made us even happier. True enough, we were impressed by the clear and sparkling deep blue sea water and the beach was really clean and free of pollution after walking for a couple of minute from the town area.

Image Source: bestofcinqueterre.com

Image Source: bestofcinqueterre.com

There were actually two beaches in Vernazza. One was located near the town which was slightly smaller and the second beach which could be reached through a caved passage rock near the main area of the village which was slightly bigger.

Corniglia














Next we went to Corniglia. Instead of situated on the coast, Corniglia was located on top of a cliff. Hence we had to climb down a 343 steps long staircase in order to get to the nearest beach area. Well it was not strictly a beach setting as the area was rather rocky but it was equally as stunning as the beaches in Vernazzo! We swam a little and got our legs injured by the bloody sharp and slippery rocks and stones. Moral of the story was to always bring a water shoes whenever we went to rocky beaches.







Caffetteria







After we took a swim we went to the town to get some quick bites. We stumbled upon this convenience shop that sold delicious pizzas and spaghetti. Also, they sold souveniors too in the shop. We waited for quite some time for the pizzas and it was worth the wait as the pizzas were freshly made with fresh ingredients!

Manarola


After Corniglia, we then proceeded to the next village which was Manarola. I had to admit that this was by far the prettiest village of all as we would hike up to a spot and took amazing shot of the entire village. The village did not have a beach but there was a small port or harbour which as rocky and there were many tourists flocking around the port.



We spotted a small seafood and fries stall with a lot of customers queuing up to buy food. Naturally being Asians with the kaisu-ness within us, we figured the food would be pretty amazing. We ordered some deep fried calamari rings and they were so delicious and fresh.The batter of the calamari rings were crispy yet the squids themselves were not overcooked and the textures were just right.




While walking around the port, we noticed there were some tourists and locals doing something which looked really fun but dangerous at the same time. They actually did cliff jumping! To of my friends who were the daredevils in the group actually went along and tried it. They mentioned that it was quite a jump but the excitement turned into anxiety and worries once they were in the mid air as the distance was quite far between the top of the cliff and the sea surface.

Riomaggiore












Lastly we went to the final village which was the Riomaggiore. Oddly, there was not many tourists at Riomaggiore at that time. Perhaps it was not as famous as the other four villages. There was quite a steep ravine which led to a tiny harbour. Here we finally joined the cliff jumping game. It took us quite a long time to gather our courage to went up the cliff and jumped down. It was pretty scary at first but we were quite satisfied to be able to do this challenge after being tempted by the daredevils in the group.

Statua del Gigante (Monterosso Giant)

After exploring four of the villages in Cinque Terre, we went back to Monterosso to clean ourselves before heading out for a walk and had our dinner. We stumbled upon this colossal statue when we first arrived Monterosso and it was a statue of Neptune holding the waves at bay which symbolised the town. Nonetheless we did not make the effort to go all the way to look at the statue in detail.

Monument a San Francesco d’Assisi

There was also a statue and a wolf that was located over the beach of Monterosso. It was the monument of San Francesco d'Assissi. We also did not walk over to the monument as it was quite a distance from where we lived and we were exhausted by then. Thus, we also missed the Convento dei Cappuccini e Chiesa di San Francesco (Church of San Francesco) and Capuchin Friars Monastery as the statue was near the church and the monastery as well.

Torre Aurora (Dawn Tower)

From the beach, we would see a tower from afar. It was the medieval Torre Aurora or Dawn Tower that separated the old part of the Monterosso from the new part which was known as the Fegina. The building was a big rectangular stone tower without windows that overlooked the sea from Monterosso.

Borgo Antico

We went to the old part of the town in hope of searching for some good restaurant to have our dinner. The old town was beautiful with narrow and quite hilly streets, old buildings yet well-preserved, small restaurants and traditional shops selling local items and souveniors. The old town was surprisingly lively and filled with tourists.

Ristorante Ciak





Initially we planned to head back to Gastronomia San Martino to have our final dinner at Cinque Terre but it was closed! Sadly we wandered around and went back to search for Restaurant Ciak which was in the itinerary. There were loads of people queuing and fortunately we did not have to wait for a long time to get our seats.







After looking through the menu, we ordered two big portions of seafood risotto and spaghetti with mussels. Both dishes were cooked to perfection and the seafood were very fresh and delicious! The price was quite affordable for the food and great customer service by the waiters.One thing I liked about Italian restaurant was the complimentary white breads that they served which was amazing to be consumed simply with drizzles of olive oil!

Midi Bar





We did no go to the bar as night came by. Instead, we spent our time at beach frolicking and hang out. In the dark, we sneaked into the private area of the beach that needed payment for the beach chairs which was closed at night. It was cool and breezy and we brought some beers with us as well, just laying one the beach chairs after testing the waters and just had some deep talks.



The next day, we packed our bags to head to another city, Rome! Cinque Terre was a very beautiful place indeed and we felt two days were too short to explore the whole area. While we had been to all the five villages and visited the beaches and harbours, we had yet to check out the hills and the remaining attractions on the island. i would definitely return to Cinque Terre in future. Stay tuned for my next post!

Cinque Terre Itinerary