Manarola in the Cinque Terre

The second selling point for me on this trip - the first being able to see Todd incredibly happy - was being able to spend 4 nights in Cinque Terre between the two races. I'd never heard of Cinque Terre until a couple of years ago when I kept finding stunning pictures of it on photo blogs I follow. Sold.

The Cinque Terre is, as Rick Steeves describes "a remote chuck of the Italian Riveria...there's not a museum in sight, just sun, sea, sand (well, pebbles)' wine and pure, unadulterated Italy."

There are five little villages tucked onto the mountainside, accessible by train or boat. From north to south, they are Monterosso, Vernazza, Corniglia, Manarola, and Riamaggiore. We're staying in Manarola (thank you to our friend Lisa for the recommendation!) in a lovely room overlooking the water. The window facing the water is almost as big as an American refrigerator and provides sweeping views and background music of waves hitting the rocks below. I'm literally in heaven.


Views out our window








Rooftop terrace


Rooftop terrace views





Our plan for our three full days here is to just relax. Sleep in, read in the sun, go swimming, and visit the other towns via boat or train. You can also hike between them, but the hikes are pretty tough according to everything I've read, so we're passing on those.

When we arrived in the late afternoon, we explored this town and got the lay of the land so today can be filled with reading and swimming.


Focaccia!!!!





The swimming spot


Boat ramp is apparently the prime tanning location





Views of Manarola