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| Riomaggiore |
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| Manarola |
On Tuesday we left Lucca for a 2 day journey to Cinque Terre, the five towns on the Italian coast where the mountains meet the Ligurian Sea. The towns are within the larger Cinque Terre national park and are only accessible by train, although you can travel between towns via hiking trails or ferries. With an early morning arrival and walking through the first town, Riomaggiore, we continued by train to Manarola and then Corniglia. In Corniglia we decided to take the hiking trail to the fourth town of Vernazza. Now this was no walk along the beach. This was an hour and 30 minute workout on a rocky path that winds its way up and down the cliffs until our final descent. In Vernazza, we agreed that it was time for a well deserved local seafood lunch.
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| Vernazza |
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| Vernazza |
Monterosso Al Mare was the last town of the five towns we visited, and needless to say, we arrived by train. While the first 4 towns were small little seaside villages built into the mountains, Monterosso was much larger but had a pleasant Mediterranean beach resort vibe.
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| Monterosso |
Our overnight stay was located 7km east of Monterosso, in a peaceful setting on a mountain top overlooking the sea. Our booking was at the Santuario Nostra Signora di Soviore, or the Sanctuary at the shrine of our lady of Soviore. The church dates back to 740, and the adjoining sanctuary, once offering accommodations for religious pilgrims, now is a guest house. While the rooms were basic with clean white walls, there was a restaurant on site which provided us with more local seafood.
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| The Sanctuary |
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Our room was on the second floor next to the bell tower.
We were always aware of the correct time. |
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| Coming from coastal New England, we love our Seafood! |
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