Last day in Cinque Terre! It was really nice staying in the same place for a few days, especially because the room was cozy and Riomaggiore had great food options.
When we woke up, Sean went out to get coffee for himself and breakfast for both of us. Our previous day’s breakfast haunt wasn’t open for some reason, so we had to settle for some less-than-amazing chocolate croissants. It’s a hard life!
Our only goal for the day was to complete the Cinque Terre trek.
We were a little slower going than I wanted, and it was really to no fault but my own. We kept waking up early and then just sitting in bed for some reason, wasting away the cooler early morning hours. When we did finally make it to the train station, there was a short line at the ticket machine, and there was an older lady in front of us that was very slow and a bit confused.
I noticed that she was operating the machine in French and having issues, so I finally hopped in and just did the transaction for her. She was very sweet, and because I responded with a quick, “Oui,” she assumed I spoke French! It was actually very fun to get a tiny bit of French conversation in, despite… Missing our train lololol. You win some; you lose some.
A half hour later, we hopped on a train to Corniglia to pick up where we left off.
I’m so glad we saved this trek for a separate day because it is the longest of the four segments. After the stairs from the train station to Corniglia proper, we were met with yet more stairs, and more steps, and more up, up, up!
Corniglia was super cute from above.
Like the previous day, I chose to hike in my swimwear. It’s long-sleeved for sun coverage, and I don’t feel gross if I get soaked in sweat!
Most of this hike was through winding, shaded forests and vineyards. We passed several of these rickety single-track cart lines that allow the growers to easily navigate their hilly plots of land.
At the very top, we were delighted to find a little wine bar tucked into the vineyard hills. We got a glass of local wine and a plate of bruschetta plus Chinotto, some kind of delicious sarsaparilla-type soda. Hit the spot!
When the employee was pouring our glass of wine, he was like – pour, pour…. Eh. And then he essentially shrugged and just dumped the rest of the bottle in, bahahaha. The result was a very full glass of wine! A stark contrast to what was essentially a tasting pour at dinner the night before for twice the price!
The man also noticed and commented on Sean’s camera sunglasses. They’ve come quite in handy when we don’t want to pull out our phones. Some of the pictures in this blog were even taken with them!
I could have just stayed at the wine bar for a while, but eventually, Sean prodded me on to the downhill portion of our hike.
Manarola got closer and closer!
Huzzah! We made it. Does this look like a fairytale land out of a Disney cartoon, or what?!
To celebrate, we got some (stupidly expensive) mocktails at a little bar with a great view of the town. I think mine was maybe passion fruit, and Sean’s was a violet something. Tasted like a flower!
We’d already been to Manarola once before, but we wandered down to the water to look at the swimming hole again.
I was being super annoying and fickle about whether we should swim, but Sean was a good sport and didn’t get cranky when I changed my mind about six times.
In the end, we swam!
It was super fun and very worth it. We jumped into the refreshing water and swam around the little path between the rocks. Then I found a cozy spot in the shade to float in while Sean climbed the center rock and jumped off! Some kiddos gave him some encouragement. It was very cute.
After our swim, I had a big smile on my face, and we decided to keep up the momentum by taking a ferry back to Monterosso.
I’ll be honest – I like the towns a lot better from the land side, haha. They’re just so tiny from the water! And you can’t fully appreciate the pretty colors of the buildings!
When we disembarked, we wandered in search of a snack. Again, I was being annoying and fickle and Sean just wanted to rest on the beach, but I was very hungry, and he was very patient with me! Thank you, honey!
We settled on some delicious toasts. Mine had burrata, tomato, and pesto. Sean’s had burrata, olives, and sundried tomatoes. So tasty!
My favorite part, though, was the Sciacchetra – it’s a local dessert wine, and it was sooooo yummy. So sweet – it was almost like a syrup. Sort of like mead. I was very pleased!
Monterosso was very pretty in the twilight as we made our way to the beach.
I was almost in big trouble for procrastinating our beach time because the first umbrella spot we came to was already closed for the night! Luckily, the next was open and running a late-afternoon discount. Phew!
It felt so nice to relax on the beach. I jumped in the water right away to cool off, and then Sean and I took turns going for a dip and then on the lounge chairs.
I had to keep scooting my chair forward to stay out of the sun, and I did actually get a little chilly! Better that than sunburn, though. Half the other loungers were turned to face directly to the setting sun for the warmth and the tan. Different priorities!
I think I may have also finished my book right around this time. It was a bummer, for sure! On the one hand, it meant I would finally have the discipline to work on the blog. On the other hand, I wanted to keep reading! Sean was also enjoying some peace and quiet (and his own audiobook) with me so preoccupied, hahaha. Even when I wasn’t reading (like while we were hiking), I was often just thinking about my book. He’s probably never seen me so quiet! I’ll have to retrain him to entertain my neediness again.
Our Airbnb was really starting to feel like home, and it sure felt good to get back and shower. We made a dinner reservation on our way in at a restaurant right outside our door and admired the golden hour.
The restaurant ended up being pretty fancy!
We got these tiny meatball tasters before a mackerel dish to start. Then I had some super rich tortellini (with 70-month-aged parmesan that was soooo rich), and Sean had some sort of veal dish. All with a nice view, too!
I really liked my pasta, but the rest of the food was maybe a 7-8 out of 10. Not all pretty food is the best tasting! Still better than our other dinners in the area.
This was our first night awake to see the city in the dark.
And then it was time to hit the hay!
In the morning, I wandered all the way down to the water. Though we were staying in Riomaggiore this whole time, we’d never actually ventured all the way through the town!
For breakfast, I had a super yummy smoothie bowl, and Sean had a pita sandwich thing. There was quite the line for breakfast, but it was worth it, and the ladies working there were super sweet. So many different toppings!
On my walk through town, I saw a couple drinking/ eating some THICK drinking chocolate, and I decided that I needed some in my life. Unfortunately, the waitress mistakenly assumed I wanted American hot chocolate, so that’s what I got, instead.
Bummer. Still one of the best hot chocolates I’ve ever had, so I can’t complain too much. It was deliciously rich and chocolatey.
We had one last pretty walk through town, and I bought a watercolor of Riomaggiore.
And then it was time for our train to Pisa! I almost had a meltdown trying to buy our train tickets. It was not pretty.
There were only a couple ticket machines spread throughout the station, and the main one had a pretty long line. To try and beat the rush, I went to a different kiosk inside, but the two groups in front of me in line either didn’t know how to work the machine or didn’t know what ticket they wanted to buy. It was completely irrational, because we had thirty minutes until our train anyway, but I got to the point where every passing second just grated and grated on my nerves so that I was wound tighter and tighter into Frustrated, Angry Lizzy Zone.
After nearly ten minutes, it was finally my turn, and then the machine wouldn’t accept my credit card! I’m not sure why, but this keeps happening at ticket vending machines, though it works literally everywhere else. It’s also not every time – sometimes it works; sometimes it doesn’t.
I had to start the transaction over multiple times, and I even pulled out my debit card to try, and that also didn’t take! By now, there was a small line behind me, and I was the problem.
All bets were off. I was officially Angry Lizzy, feared by boyfriends and travel companions everywhere.
Sean had been waiting for me on a bench, and he’d even called to see if I was having issues. I stormed out of the station, threw my backpack onto the bench next to him, and got in line at the original ticket machine without a single word. I figured that at least my card had worked there before, so maybe I would have some luck.
The poor English lady in front of me could tell I was impatient, and she even apologized that she took so long after I (somewhat curtly) helped her figure out the machine.
And then, lo and behold, neither card worked again! I was dangerously close to angry-crying before I finally decided to try my backup credit card, and it somehow worked finally.
I think the moral of the story here is to either find a ticket machine that doesn’t have anyone in line, have cash handy, or tap in your travel companion when things get dicey emotionally. I will keep these things in mind in the future.
I made sure to be on the northeast side of the train this time for the views, and they did not disappoint! The pictures didn’t come out well due to window glare, but trust me that the mountains were very pretty!
When we arrived in Pisa, we dropped our bags off at the station. This is one of my absolute favorite traveling abilities, and it’s a huge bummer that a lot of cities don’t provide lockers in their airports and train stations. Most of them cite security and safety reasons. Meh. The existing ones don’t seem to have an issue! And it is so nice to trust that your bags are safe while you wander unencumbered!
Our first order of business was a snack and another coffee. (Sean has been hitting the caffeine HARD, and I have been rising to the occasion, myself.)
Somehow a salad sounded like just the thing, and I was aghast that Sean ordered a caramel macchiato after I ordered an iced coffee! His tasted so much better than mine, and he refused to trade! Bahahaha.
The salad and coffee really did hit the spot, and it re-energized us to continue on.
I had originally planned for us to split our day between Pisa and Lucca, but because of our slower start, I removed Lucca from our itinerary. I’m very glad Sean was onboard for whatever, because this ended up being a very full and fun day even without Lucca involved.
It’s funny because I have very intact memories of the Tower of Pisa, the field and church buildings around it, and the old city walls. However, as we made our way in that direction, I realized I didn’t have any memory of the big, bustling city that is Pisa today. That’s the funny thing about these ancient cities – most of them are alive and breathing, modern and filled with shops and universities and people, and their borders extend far beyond their original walls.
It was like I was experiencing the city for the first time. Very fun, indeed!
Sean lost track of me at one point when I was sidetracked by a bag store. I’ve been eyeballing this one style of purse for nearly a decade, and every time I see it in Europe, I pine after it and then somehow decide I don’t need it. But it is always there, waiting for me to change my mind!
By 3pm, we made it to the Tower. Sean stood in line to fill our water bottles at a fountain, and I had the foresight to check on tickets. Good thing! The earliest available slot was 5:15pm, and tickets were running out. I quickly purchased the package that allowed entry to the surrounding buildings.
I love this fallen angel statue, and Sean was equally obsessed:
The first building we entered was Camposanto Monumentale, a cemetery. We spent a lot of time here enjoying the cool shade and admiring the artwork. Sean was even getting tattoo ideas from some of the symbols on the graves. For himself or someone else? Unclear!
I’m not sure why, but we stared at this fresco for a very long time. It seemed very random that demons seemed to be stealing people away on the right side of the image, but on the left side, some dude was just busy milking his deer. We had a good laugh about that.
Next, we wandered outside a bit before entering the baptistry.
There was a cute little guard doing laps around the top floor. I feel like security guards are usually pretty bored seeming, but this guy was just zooming around and around, belly first. It was pretty hilarious.
At one point, an employee walked into the center of the building and began singing a wordless, haunting melody. He cupped his hands around his mouth and purposefully rotated as he sang to help the sound echo through the chamber. It was so beautiful! At first we thought somebody random was just making echo noises, but it was very official, haha.
Next was the cathedral itself. The ceiling here is one of the most beautiful things!
The brass doors are also very beautiful.
We still had some time before our tower climb, and we were both a bit peckish, so we snuck off to find some quick dinner. Please enjoy these tower-righting attempts on our way:
For a restaurant right next to a big attraction like the Tower, the one we chose was 10/10! Sean got a smoothie and the most adorable little pesto gnocchi balls, and I got ragu tagliatelle (at the recommendation of our waiter) with a mimosa. Both pastas were fresh and handmade. Yum!!!
Our waiter made fun of us for rushing the heck out of dinner. I had to get a little box for my leftovers, and when we asked for the check less than 10 minutes after getting our food, the waiter stopped in his tracks. I can’t remember his exact words, but the effect was something like, “You eat, you go? Stay! No? You eat, you go? Okay, okay!” As we tried to laughingly explain that we had to make our tower climbing time slot. We assured him that everything was delicious, though!
We had just a few minutes for some tower shenanigans. Notice the perma-red face from this heat! Yikes!
And then it was time for our climb!
It’s a fun climb and a fun tower with a great view! You can really feel the lean from the top floors.
We spent quite a long time up at the top! Was very nice and relaxing.
Buuuuuttt… I still needed some more relaxation, haha. I think I had a little bit of a headache – probably from the heat. So we did the sensible thing and napped it out in the shade of the cathedral. 10/10. (Peep Sean’s glasses reflection!)
When Sean finally roused my from my rest, we had a few more shenanigans.
And then it was time to walk the old city walls! The views are so good!
When we were still near the Piazza del Duomo, we heard a little girl screaming and laughing. But at some point, it became hard to tell whether she was screaming with laughter or terror. When we were able to look down into the lawn, we saw her being chased by a puppy. “Aw, that’s sweet,” we thought, until her screams shifted into shear terror zone, and we realized the dog was not hers. She began screaming, “Ma-ma! Ma-ma!” Interspersed with pure fright.
The parents were not concerned, nor was the dog owner. As far as we can tell, she originally thought the game of chase was fun, and then, when it didn’t stop, she decided it was no longer enjoyable, hahaha. It was pretty entertaining, and the dog left her alone once she finally just stopped running and went to her parents.
Sean really liked the walk once we got going and the sun started going down. Such a relaxing way to end the day, and the clouds were putting on a show!
Unfortunately, I messed up with my long nap, and we got kicked off the wall early for closing time. Dangit!
But I was a tiny bit excited because we ended up seeing this beautiful flower patch we would not have noticed otherwise!
Off the walls, we were forced to walk the streets like normal people, but it was still nice and pleasant.
And check out this gorgeous sunset!
Please also enjoy our Airbnb’s wifi password, hahahaha.
We managed to find an Airbnb that was literally a 5 minute walk from the airport. Somehow, we never heard any loud plane noises, but it came SO in handy for our 6:30am flight the next day.
After check-out, I was heartbroken to receive my first bad Airbnb review! The host called me “uncommunicative and resevered” despite leaving the house “in great condition.” I’m sorry I didn’t have time to respond while I was out and about all day! Seriously so sad. Meh.
In the end, though, a very fun trip to Italy. I thoroughly enjoyed it, despite the heat and sweat. I’m glad Sean got to hike and eat lots of pesto. Two happy campers.
Until next time!
Ciao!
Lizzy-wa