Italy 2015 - Cinque Terre

Italy 2015 - Cinque Terre

We woke up very early and made our way to the train station in Genova so that we could catch an early morning train down to the Cinque Terre. If I remember correctly it was a 1 1/2-2 hr train ride to Monterosso al Mare which was going to be our first stop. Our plan was to start in Monterosso and hike the blue trail between the villages.

The train ride down was pleasant and there were some beautiful views as we made our way down the coast.

The view of the sea when we got off the train in Monterosso was beautiful. We had a bathroom break at the train station and encountered our first squatter toilets of the trip. I was surprised to see it in such a popular tourist destination as the Cinque Terre.

We explored the village and beach area of Monterosso before heading off on the blue trail.

The blue trail starts out paved and wide with bench areas built into the wall.

As we proceeded further down the trail it became a dirt path that took us through terraced farms and wilderness. At some parts it was very wide and level and in other parts it became narrow with steps. I would not recommend hiking this trail in sandals but a good pair of sneakers/running shoes will do you fine, hiking boots are not required.

The views between Monterosso and Vernazza were beautiful and it was a peaceful and relaxing walk. Maria, my stepmother, refused to look at the view as she was "too scared". As you can see from the pictures this trail is in no way dangerous and I thought it was a shame that she refused to enjoy the beautiful view because it was "scary". I have hiked in the Canadian Rockies with Maria and my Dad many times and this trail in no way was challenging or dangerous in comparison so I'm not sure why she was frightened?

It took us about 1 1/2-2 hours to walk the rail between Monterosso and Vernazza. We were taking our time though and stopped frequently to enjoy the view and take pictures. This trail could be completed much more quickly.


Close to Vernazza we found this little cat sanctuary where food and water and toys were left for  these sweet kitties.

Looking down at Vernazza.

When we arrived in Vernazza we went down to the water and explored and then found a place for lunch where we enjoyed a meal of pesto pasta.

After lunch we climbed up the blue trail for another view overlooking Vernazza. We decided to sit down at a restaurant with a beautiful view of the sea and Vernazza below us.

We decided we didn't have time to hike to the next village so we caught the train in Vernazza back to Genoa. In Genoa we had dinner at a restaurant by the train station before turning in for the night.

Italy 2015 - Genova

Italy 2015 - Genova

We took the train from Milan to Genova/Genoa. Dad was using his points for a free night at the Holiday Inn Express and we would use it as our base to explore the Cinque Terre.

We arrived in Genoa in the late afternoon and walked the ten minutes or so from the train station to the hotel.

Already my opinion of the city was mixed. It was very busy and had the outer appearance of wealth while also looking dirty.


We had no specific plans for Genoa as we were really only using it as a base for the Cinque Terre the next day. So that evening we just wandered around historic Genoa to see the city. We wandered around looking at the old beautiful buildings and visited a couple churches.

Trump-l'oeil is a very popular form of art in this region and was seen on many of the buildings. It is crazy how easily the eye can be tricked.

In the Piazza de Ferrari the fountain water had been dyed fuchsia in support of some cause although I can't remember what it was. Dad was disgusted with the colour, thought it was tacky so I made him take a picture in front of it and then I pretended to push him in which resulted in him actually almost falling in. Some of my favourite photos of the trip. lol

Genoa very much gave the impression of faded wealth. You could tell from the buildings that this used to be a centre of great wealth and power but did not appear to be so anymore. The streets were dirty and many of them smelt like urine. We were not charmed by Genoa. As the sun set we actually started to feel a bit unsafe wandering around and so we hurried back to the hotel to find a restaurant for dinner.

That night we ate dinner at a Chinese run Italian restaurant. That is one thing we noticed about Genoa in comparison the the other places we had visited in Italy, it was very cosmopolitan and diverse. Perhaps due to its being a sea port?