Whenever I see picturesque photos of Cinque Terre or maybe other cliffside towns basked in sunshine, I would think 'Wow! Wow!' but always assumed it would be logistically challenging to travel to such towns.
As I surfed the web for more travel activities to do in Florence, I chanced upon Cinque Terre. TP was keen as after heavy dose of architectural immersion in Vienna, Rome and Florence, he wanted a change of landscape?! (It IS possible to do a rushed day trip to and from Florence but I had to give up the day slated for the museums).
Internal struggle ensued - there is a very highly unlikely chance that I will have the opportunity to do a Cinque Terre/Italian Riveria(which is also a UNESCO world heritage site) travel in the future, but to miss the Statue of David? It was a TOMORROW or NEVER option...
The Cinque Terre Day Trip
We eventually settled on the compromise of covering the obligatory Statue of David followed by a very-rushed day trip of Cinque Terre (we decided that we just had to forego Uffizzi).
We took the direct train from Florence to La Spezia. It was a nice train ride except for a k.couple speaking too loudly between Florence and Pisa train ride. We accidentally stopped one stop before La Spezia, and needed to catch the next local train to La Spezia. We were momentarily frazzled since we were already starting this day trip late, but luckily, the next train came by rather quickly.
Cinque Terre "Five Earths"
It is a coastal area in the northwest of Italy. It is west of La Spezia and comprises of Monterosso al Mare, Vernazza, Commigia, Manila and Riomaggiore, which combine to form the Cinque Terre National Park (UNESCO World Heritage Site).
Vernazza
As we only had enough time to visit two of the five towns, we took the recommendations of the staff at the visitor centre to visit Vernazza and Riomaggiore.
According to travel websites, Cinque Terre is a popular tourist destination. Car travel to Cinque Terre is very limited and owing to it being winter, their off-peak season, there were only around 20 other visitors alighted from the train.
We followed the crowd and reached the Vernazza town centre. TPs needed to have a proper lunch and we spent about more than 1/2 hour to eat (Grrr.... a chocolate bar or sandwich could have done the job). We had an okay lunch of seafood.
Most of the shops were closed except for a few souvenir shops and cafes. Maybe because the town was quiet, the town looked like pictures straight out of magazines of quaint, quiet and small European towns (where photos could be perfectly shot without any crowd!).
We followed the footpath on the left edge to get a birdeye view of the town. I wondered who decided on the different colors for the houses?
Since we had just about enough time before the train departure for Riomaggiore, we climbed up to the footpath for Vernazza-Monterosso (Sentiero Verde Azzuro) to get another viewpoint.
It was well worth the climb!
We lingered to take in the spectacular view of the sea, cliffs and colourful houses. Luckily, it was a nice and sunny day, making for postcard-like scenery.
Before we went off, we explored a small cave-like passage in the cliff despite a warning sign, which lead to the sea.
We made our way to the train station to catch the train to Riomaggiore.
Riomaggiore
Again, we followed a group of tourists who alighted at Riomaggiore to the seaside.
A underpass links the train station to the seaside.
Wow! the cliffside was steeper and there are many more houses scaling the cliff. With the setting sun casting a warm glowing light on them, it was indeed a beautiful sight to behold.
If only there was more time to sit longer, and not be constrained by the train schedule. Imagine seeing the villages from out at sea, wouldn't that be stunning?
We walked through the town, appreciating the blend of colouurs around us.
On closer inspection, the individual buildings were actually quite unremarkable on their own, with the paint on many flaking considerably and losing their shine. In effect, the beauty of the town comes to life when taking it in as a collective whole of different houses. This, coupled with the daily happenings of seaside village weaved into the cliffside gave the town an overall charming feel.
As I took at a last look at the town, I was thankful that I made the trip.
Thought
The towns were very quiet during the winter period. It makes one wonder how many residents stay permanently in the villages? While many restaurants and certain attractions were closed during this period, it was a completely new travel experience and discovery.
As I surfed the web for more travel activities to do in Florence, I chanced upon Cinque Terre. TP was keen as after heavy dose of architectural immersion in Vienna, Rome and Florence, he wanted a change of landscape?! (It IS possible to do a rushed day trip to and from Florence but I had to give up the day slated for the museums).
Internal struggle ensued - there is a very highly unlikely chance that I will have the opportunity to do a Cinque Terre/Italian Riveria(which is also a UNESCO world heritage site) travel in the future, but to miss the Statue of David? It was a TOMORROW or NEVER option...
The Cinque Terre Day Trip
We eventually settled on the compromise of covering the obligatory Statue of David followed by a very-rushed day trip of Cinque Terre (we decided that we just had to forego Uffizzi).
We took the direct train from Florence to La Spezia. It was a nice train ride except for a k.couple speaking too loudly between Florence and Pisa train ride. We accidentally stopped one stop before La Spezia, and needed to catch the next local train to La Spezia. We were momentarily frazzled since we were already starting this day trip late, but luckily, the next train came by rather quickly.
Cinque Terre "Five Earths"
It is a coastal area in the northwest of Italy. It is west of La Spezia and comprises of Monterosso al Mare, Vernazza, Commigia, Manila and Riomaggiore, which combine to form the Cinque Terre National Park (UNESCO World Heritage Site).
Vernazza
As we only had enough time to visit two of the five towns, we took the recommendations of the staff at the visitor centre to visit Vernazza and Riomaggiore.
According to travel websites, Cinque Terre is a popular tourist destination. Car travel to Cinque Terre is very limited and owing to it being winter, their off-peak season, there were only around 20 other visitors alighted from the train.
We followed the crowd and reached the Vernazza town centre. TPs needed to have a proper lunch and we spent about more than 1/2 hour to eat (Grrr.... a chocolate bar or sandwich could have done the job). We had an okay lunch of seafood.
Most of the shops were closed except for a few souvenir shops and cafes. Maybe because the town was quiet, the town looked like pictures straight out of magazines of quaint, quiet and small European towns (where photos could be perfectly shot without any crowd!).
We followed the footpath on the left edge to get a birdeye view of the town. I wondered who decided on the different colors for the houses?
Since we had just about enough time before the train departure for Riomaggiore, we climbed up to the footpath for Vernazza-Monterosso (Sentiero Verde Azzuro) to get another viewpoint.
It was well worth the climb!
We lingered to take in the spectacular view of the sea, cliffs and colourful houses. Luckily, it was a nice and sunny day, making for postcard-like scenery.
Before we went off, we explored a small cave-like passage in the cliff despite a warning sign, which lead to the sea.
We made our way to the train station to catch the train to Riomaggiore.
Riomaggiore
Again, we followed a group of tourists who alighted at Riomaggiore to the seaside.
A underpass links the train station to the seaside.
Wow! the cliffside was steeper and there are many more houses scaling the cliff. With the setting sun casting a warm glowing light on them, it was indeed a beautiful sight to behold.
If only there was more time to sit longer, and not be constrained by the train schedule. Imagine seeing the villages from out at sea, wouldn't that be stunning?
We walked through the town, appreciating the blend of colouurs around us.
On closer inspection, the individual buildings were actually quite unremarkable on their own, with the paint on many flaking considerably and losing their shine. In effect, the beauty of the town comes to life when taking it in as a collective whole of different houses. This, coupled with the daily happenings of seaside village weaved into the cliffside gave the town an overall charming feel.
As I took at a last look at the town, I was thankful that I made the trip.
Thought
The towns were very quiet during the winter period. It makes one wonder how many residents stay permanently in the villages? While many restaurants and certain attractions were closed during this period, it was a completely new travel experience and discovery.