After about a week of museums, churches, history, and walking in the hot Italian sunshine it was time for a little relaxation.
From Florence, our group hopped a commuter train to Pisa and then a fast train that took us up into the Italian Riviera to Cinque Terre.
Cinque Terre is a string of five, century old villages set along the Mediterranean Sea. Over the years, colorful buildings have been built into the steep and rugged coastline giving the area charm and character.
Our stop was at the furthest north village, Monterosso al Mare. As the train’s doors opened we were greeted by a view of crystal blue water and salty, hazy beach air. The beach was lined with umbrellas that looked like a classic European post card.
Monterosso is the largest of the five villages and is also home to the only sand beach in Cinque Terre. (Many European beaches are made of stones.) The village is divided into New Town and Old Town by a long tunnel that caters to many people on foot and the very few cars in the town.
We stayed in Old Town in a three bedroom apartment that Kylie found on Air BnB. It was fun to be together and also to have amenities like a full kitchen and laundry at this point of the trip.
We had full intentions of cooking in “said” kitchen, but quickly found out that the restaurants in Monterosso were too good to pass up.
Just outside of our apartment was Trattoria Da Oscar, a cozy yet understated restaurant.
You know that saying about how the best things are sometimes right in front of you?
That was the case for us.
I am pretty sure all six of us ate there twice… if not more.
And, not only did Adam and I eat there twice, we also ordered the same thing twice: Seafood spaghetti.
The order was huge. Very easily enough for two. And, it was chock full of fresh clams, mussels, squid and prawns tossed with a light red sauce and spaghetti noodles. It was fantastic and surprisingly light compared to similar pasta dishes in the States.
To this day, all six of us are probably still having sweet day dreams of Trattoria De Oscar’s fried calamari. The just-caught combination of huge pieces of calamari and squid were gently fried in a light batter. It was so tasty and full of brightness after a quick squirt of lemon.
We found that, by the water, the seafood was unmatched. We devoured it while visiting Cinque Terra.
At Ristorante Belvedere, a large place near the beach, Adam and I split pesto pasta and another huge seafood platter complete with sea bass, sword fish, prawns and anchovies.
Pesto and anchovies from Monterosso are famous all over Italy and they are the star of many of the local dishes. Adam loves both, but particularly loves anchovies. He was in heaven the whole stay.
Monterosso is also famous for it’s super fresh lemons. Lemon trees grew every where in Cinque Terre and limoncello (a lemon dessert liquor) was served at the end of every meal.
While having a couple post-dinner glasses of rose with Adam at Enoteca da Eliseo, a great wine bar in Old Town, our waitress asked if we wanted to try the house limoncello.
Never one to say “no” to something home made, we eagerly gave it a try.
It was so good and full of fresh lemon flavor… and strong. (Limoncello is pretty much just grain alcohol, sugar and lemon juice.)
… So, naturally, at the end of the night, we skipped back to our apartment with a bottle of our own to take home.
Okay.
I get that at this point it sounds like we didn’t do anything but eat our way through our stay at the beach. But trust me, we earned Every. Single. Calorie.
All five of the villages in Cinque Terre are considered a National Park and the area is full of many trails that connect each town.
Hiking these trails is considered a “must do” when in the area. Due to it’s popularity, we decided to hit the trails early to avoid crowds and the heat of the day. At a little after 7:00 in the morning, the six of us headed south to the next town, Vernazza.
However, it turns out that to go south… we had to go up. And, up. And, up!
The first twenty minutes of our hike was not for the faint of heart.
And, honestly, the rest of the two hour hike to Vernazza wasn’t exactly a walk in the park. The path was made up of uneven, steep steps. Some places were narrow. So narrow, that there were a few areas of the trail where we were pretty positive that if we took the wrong step we would be tumbling down the cliff into the Mediterranean.
Good sneakers, water and being in at least average shape are necessities for the trails.
Fortunately, the views made up for all the sweat.
It was seriously breathtaking.
Words, and even photos, don’t even begin to do it justice.
The vistas from high in the jagged landscape are amazing. Adding to the spectacular scenery, vineyards and lemon trees grow alongside much of the trail.
And, as you begin the descent into Vernazza, you are treated to the best view of all: Warm, colorful buildings, an Italian beach town signature, that are built into the sides of the cliff welcoming you into the town.
After a great breakfast in Vernazza we decided to hop on a boat to see the rest of the five towns by water. This was Adam’s favorite thing that we did in Monterosso. The water is so incredibly blue and each of the colorful towns cast glistening reflections that dance on the water like a Monet painting.
My favorite Monterosso moment was when all six of us decided to ditch the crowded, hot beach full of weekenders and rent some kayaks. We packed a few beers and a couple splits of prosecco and wondered the coastline.
From the water we found caves and an old “pillbox” fort that was used to protect the coast from pirates and invading countries in World War Two.
After a little exploring, we pulled all three of the kayaks to an empty piece of shore line and just hung out. We climbed around and lounged on the large rocks. We took dips in the cool water and the boys skipped stones.
It was totally relaxing.
And, speaking of relaxing, the final day in Monterosso we purchased lounge chairs and umbrellas at the Old Town beach and just sat.
All day.
Only to get up to cool off in the water… or to get a cocktail at the nearby beach bar.
PS- It was the 4th of July while we were in Monterosso! We managed to find a bar (playing recent country music hits, no less) with fresh margaritas, daiquiris, and- amazingly- Budweiser to celebrate.
It was almost like we never left!
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