Cinque Terre (II)
When I left you last, we had just left Vernazza. The sun was high as we were gazing into this amazing scene ...
The walk from Vernazza to the middle town of Corniglia is not as hard the first walk, but it still took us a good hour or so to get there.
We powered on.
The view of colourful Corniglia came closer and closer to our vision - and this kept our spirits high.
And then, we finally arrived.
Corgnilia is a little smaller and quieter than Monterosso and Vernazza. But all of the towns are very small - there are only 5,000 residents across all five villages in Cinque Terre.
We explored the little side streets in Corniglia and treated ourselves to gelato and Italian ice.
After a little snack, it was time for a rest.
This little kitten looked as cute as a button having his afternoon nap.
We all decided to sit down for a well-deserved break too.
The last two walking tracks between Corniglia to Manarola, and Manarola to Riomaggiore, are currently closed for maintenance. So unfortunately, you can't do the full hike between all of the towns any time soon.
I know I should be upset about this, but that would be a terrible lie. I was pretty relieved to be done with walking. I know, I know - this makes me a terrible traveller.
But in defence, my dirty little feet simply could not have taken any more walking for the day!
So off we all hopped to the train station in Corniglia.
You can take the train between all five towns if you want a more leisurely experience of Cinque Terre. The trains run back and forth regularly throughout the day (around every 20 minutes depending on the time of day) and each stop is less than ten minutes away from each other. Very close and convenient, indeed.
On the downside, the train ride won't give you sweeping views of the towns set along the Riviera like the walk does.
Instead, you just arrive at the station in the heart of the town and walk straight out into something like this. Welcome to Manarola!
Can you tell what time of day is now?
Aperitivo hour.
My favourite time of the day in Italy.
It's the time of afternoon when you finish work or whatever you were busy with during the day, meet up with friends at a nearby bar and order some of these refreshing delights ...
The orange refreshment is an Aperol Spritz. It's a light aperitif with bitter orange flavour originating from the north of Italy - Padua, in fact. So simple to make (Aperol, prosecco and soda water) but I don't often see them back home in Australia.
During Aperitvo hour, it's standard to get served little snacks like olives, chips and peanuts with your drinks.
But no need for me to explain - let Danny show you how Aperitivo is done Italian-style ...
As the others sipped their Spritzes, I wandered down to admire Manarola from the seaside.
Bellissimo, no?!
By this time, we were all happy enough with our cocktails and our prime spot next to the water - so we stayed in Manarola to watch the sun set across the horizon.
With the daylight disappearing in the distance, there wasn't enough time to visit the last town of Riomaggiore.
We stayed in Manarola for the evening and ordered wood fired pizzas for dinner, before catching the train back to our hotel in Monterosso.
I'm a little sad about missing out on Riomaggiore. But for every place that I visit and fall in love with (as I did with Cinque Terre), I like to think I will come back one day. And for that reason, it's always nice to leave something out to give you a reason to come back.
So Riomaggiore, I will come back for you!
Until then, buona notte.