The past few days we have been in Cinque Terre taking in the sites and indulging in the food. Our first full day we decided to hike from Monterosso to Vernazza along the coast. The hike provided some amazing views and gave us a chance to see some of the towns from a different perspective. The hike itself reminded me of a Big Sur hike I did a couple of years back. The big difference was the towns instead of redwood forests and it was a lot hotter in Italy. While the heat was rough, it was nice to be away from the crowds that seemed to descend on the towns during the day. At the end of the hike we arrived in Vernazza where we chugged a ton of water and ate a couple of pieces of focaccia recommended to us by the table of Koreans from Pangyo who were sitting next to us. The day after the hike we spent the day on the beach at Monterosso enjoying some well deserved beach time. The last two days of Cinque Terre are still to come.

Vernazza from the harbor.

Conductors making sure everyone is on the train. There was no way we were hiking back in the heat.

One of the many small alleys through the cities.

Beach waves.

Looking down on Vernazza as we came in to town from our hike.

Walking through old vineyards along the coast.

Passion Flower in Riomaggiore

An artist at the end of the day.

Looking back at Riomaggiore

Riomaggiore’s harbor.

The view from the rocks.

A mural in Riomaggiore.

One of the many coastline views. The water was stunning.