I left my heart in Cinque Terre. It was quite the adventure to get there, but one that I would do all over again to go back. It was breathtaking. We decided to rent a car. The map said 5 hours by car and 7 by train and the car was cheaper. They drive on the same side of the road as the US in Switzerland and Italy so, can't be that bad right? Oh so wrong. We started off noticing the car was a manual, not an automatic which made for only one poor driver option, me. Okay, we can do this, no big deal. It only took about 30 minutes to be driving up and down a mountain. But let me explain. It's not steep like straight up because that would be too steep to drive, so you wind up and down one mountain and then another, and then another, you get the point. Finally after my poor amazing sister in law to be was a bit nauseated we were on the highway. All was good until we got close. Then the windiness started again. Cinque Terre is made up of 5 tiny towns that for the most part do not have any cars, so the roads aren't in the best shape. Not only that, but news flash for us, it was an Italian Holiday in August so everything was packed! Every lot we tried to park in was full, then the gas light came on, then we had to pay a parking meter that was in Italian, etc. but we made it, and it was so worth it.
We stayed in Vernazza, the harbor town and in our opinion the most picturesque of all the towns. We stayed in a place called Gianni Franzi, that was so incredible as long as you are able to hike all of the stairs to get to your room. Our favorite part was breakfast every morning. With a traditional italian breakfast, you are tucked into the side of a cliff and overlooking the Ligurian Sea. I could not have painted a better picture.
We spent our days visiting 4 of the 5 towns by boat, laying on the beaches, shopping and trying to fit in with the few locals that are around. We went to Monterosso for the beaches, bars and restaurants, Manarola to explore and Riomaggiore to lay out and watch the cliff jumpers. We climbed to the top of Vernazza, we drank some fantastic Italian wine and enjoyed one of the best vacation spots I could have ever imagined. I could
