After the wedding, a few of us attenders from afar decided to take a quick trip to Cinque Terra (five lands in Italian). As the name suggests, it's a series of 5 small villages along the northern Italian coast, known for its colorful and charming cliff-side towns. They're all conveniently connected by a hiking trail and a local train.
We'd be staying at a guest house in the southernmost village - Riomaggiore. From Milan, it takes 2 train rides and about 3-4 hours. Beautiful scenery along the coast.
The train station in Riomaggiore is located near ocean level, while our guesthouse was up the cliff. With luggage (yes, we were all lugging around heavy suitcases!) it'd be a nightmare chugging along the steep, uneven paths. Hmm….
Let's see what the tourist information has to say…There's a nice one right at the station. Good thing. Found out that we could actually take the elevator across the street to the top. And with a Cinque Terre card, it would all be free. Brainless decision.
FYI - For 8 euros, the card gives you access to the coastal hiking trails, the local trains connecting the villages, and of course, the elevator : ) A must purchase!
With our luggage put away at the guesthouse and off our hands…Time to explore!
Riomaggiore is a very small town (as is most of the remaining 4), so there's very little distance to cover. The fun lies in simply wandering around the main (ie. touristy) street and enjoying the color and antiquity of the buildings (view from our balcony):
And of course, having some gelato and focaccia (my favorite with anchovies - YUM):
Although we'd be hiking through the villages tomorrow, we figured we might as well cover one of the legs today since the days were long.
So, we took this very coastal trail to the next town over, Manarola:
Which is also known as La Via Dell'Amore. 
Since we had the Cinque Terre pass, we could've taken the train back to Riomaggiore. But the trail was nice, the weather pleasant (plus, we'd been pigging out in Italy - not too hard to do), so we opted to retrace our path again. Perfect timing to watch the sunset:
Which is also known as La Via Dell'Amore. Basically "The Lover's Way". Sound very romantic, right?!?!?! But sadly, it was just us 4 girls so no romanticism involved at all! Haha.
Manarola was quite similar to Riomaggiore. We wandered through some churches and along a stream with VERY fascinating ducks. Don't ask : )
And because it was late afternoon when we got there, the lighting for photography was perfecto! The buildings are certainly pretty, but I love the color contrast between the buildings and the hanging laundry:
I noticed a lot of old Italian men just sitting around and enjoying each other's company in the streets. They looked so cute and happy!!!! And made me smile. I had to take a photo with them:
Manarola was quite similar to Riomaggiore. We wandered through some churches and along a stream with VERY fascinating ducks. Don't ask : )
And because it was late afternoon when we got there, the lighting for photography was perfecto! The buildings are certainly pretty, but I love the color contrast between the buildings and the hanging laundry:
I noticed a lot of old Italian men just sitting around and enjoying each other's company in the streets. They looked so cute and happy!!!! And made me smile. I had to take a photo with them:Wouldn't it be wonderful to live out your retirement days in a beautiful seaside, cozy village, hanging around with your buddies, waiting for time to pass?!
Since we had the Cinque Terre pass, we could've taken the train back to Riomaggiore. But the trail was nice, the weather pleasant (plus, we'd been pigging out in Italy - not too hard to do), so we opted to retrace our path again. Perfect timing to watch the sunset:
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