Cinque Terre

The Five Lands or Villages, called the Cinque Terre, are nestled on the rugged coast of the Italian Riviera. For hundreds of years people have carefully built their homes and businesses into these steep hillsides right up to the cliffs overlooking the sea. There is no new development visible, and the villages are connected only by paths, trains and boats. For years I’ve been longing to visit this beautiful part of northern Italy…and I finally found myself there last week when we spent three days staying in the village of Vernazza. 

We took a regional train out of Florence and had to switch trains in both Pisa and Sarzana to reach Vernazza. The whole trip was under three hours…and Logan was thrilled to be going to “the beach.” When we were back home on the Central Coast of California, going to the beach was a regular event for us. Logan knew Avila by heart. He was very excited when the ocean came into view from the train window!

We arrived in Vernazza, exited the train station and made our way to our room. It was a two minute walk up the hillside through a narrow alley of stairs lined with front doors, cats snoozing the afternoon away, and hikers making their way down the hill from the neighboring town of Corniglia. We made it to the gate where we rented a room with a private bathroom and terrace. Looking up we saw two levels of narrow spiraling stairs…and found out later that they led directly to our room. 

Turns out that the view we got at the top was well worth the effort. With the help of some kind fellow travelers, all of our luggage and the stroller made it to the top where they remained until three days later when we checked out! 

Vernazza, it turns out, isn’t the best of the five towns to stay in when toting a toddler with a stroller. We apparently got some bad advice from a travel book on the best of the Cinque Terre for children. Good thing Vernazza is a very tiny little village, and so it was no problem for Logan to walk everywhere with us. 

After our arrival it was time for Logan to take a nap. We grabbed a quick margarita pizza to go, milk for Logan, beer for Taylor and a bottle of wine for me. Then we parked ourselves on our gorgeous terrace while Logan snoozed in the room. It was the perfect way to begin three days of slowing down, because that’s what life is like in the Cinque Terre. Not much to do but hike between towns (we couldn’t do this), relax the day away at the beach, sleep, and eat. We chose the latter three.

For dinner the first night we sat on the main street at a small restaurant and enjoyed homemade pesto pasta, stuffed muscles, and a delicious veggie quiche. Pesto originally came from this part of Italy, and Taylor and I both had been looking forward to eating a lot of pesto while we were in the Cinque Terre! After dinner we meandered down to the harbor where people were enjoying the evening by lazing around on the jetty, skipping rocks into the harbor, eating gelato, and relaxing in any number of ways. 

In October, 2011 the Cinque Terre was devastated by a huge storm, flooding and landslides. Vernazza was among one of the worst villages hit. For hours the main street was a raging river of water headed downhill to the sea. When it was over, more than 13 feet of mud filled it’s main street, homes and businesses. Entire flats had been washed away and three residents lost their lives. The mudslide was so powerful that it blew a hole through the bottom of a cliff and the silt and mud from the slide settled there creating what is now referred to as Vernazza’s “new beach.” The beach is filled with gravel and large boulders that came down the mountainside. You can easily find pieces of rusted metal and broken yet polished glass and terra cotta. For the last three years people have been pulling this debris from the beach and there are piles of metal scraps where visitors place them to be removed. While the creation of the beach came from a terrible event for this town, it is now a popular place to relax and enjoy the Tuscan sun. 

We spent our first full day in Vernazza at the harbor and at the “new beach.” Logan loved jumping in the ocean and then running up to splash through the fresh water stream that trickled down the mountain and into the sea. We arrived early (around 10am) and watched as the beach slowly filled up with tourists and locals alike. 

Some fellow travelers near us stepped away around noon and returned with some amazing looking pesto focaccia bread. I was determined to find out where they got it. It didn’t take me long to search our tiny town and find the place that made them. They were six inches squared and I bought three of them (only 3-euro each)! We sat by the harbor and dined on warm, freshly made focaccia bread (soft with a crunchy bottom). One was smothered in pesto, one with cheese, and the other was like a margarita pizza. Delicious! (Can you tell I’m fully enjoying the Italian food?!) After lunch Logan napped again while I sat on the terrace with wine and a book, and Taylor explored the town with his camera.

We decided that we should see at least one more of the five towns while we were there, so on our second night we took the quick train ride north to Monterosso al Mare. This is the town we should have stayed in! Once you exit the train station and go down a few steps, it’s mostly a flat  town with a long walking path along the ocean leading one way to the “old town” and another way to the “new town.” It would have been perfect for a stroller…but alas, we already had our place in Vernazza and we were making the best of it. However, for any of you who want to visit the Cinque Terre in the future with a stroller, or even young children…Monterosso is the town for you! We followed the path to the “old town” along the coast. There were tons of umbrellas and lounge chairs lining the beach, as well as a handful of plastic children’s play structures. We knew these were private beaches that rented their lounge chairs and umbrellas by the day. Watching the families enjoy this flat, family-friendly beach, we decided to spend our final full day in the Cinque Terre here. 

When we reached the “old town,” we discovered a wonderfully huge playground for Logan to enjoy! It was another little gem of Monterosso for people with children. We had chosen a place for dinner from our travel book, so while we waited for them to open for the dinner hour (we are early bird eaters by European standards), we let Logan play. 

At dinner we ordered the gnocchi with crab sauce and the pasta ravioli with cheese and pear. We also got the misto al mare (mixed plate of seafood) as an appetizer. We sat outside in an alley off the main piazza; down the way somebody played live music. The night was cool and beautiful with a few drizzles of light rain. The mixed seafood was fun to try, we got a sampling of at least ten different things ranging from marinated muscles to calamari soup. My pear and cheese pasta was heaven! The crab gnocchi was a bit interesting and not like we expected. Taylor made the best of it considering he wasn’t planning on pulling apart a whole crab! 

We had to catch a train back to Vernazza around 8:30pm so we headed back along the coastal path to the train station knowing we would be returning the next morning. 

The next morning we got an early start and made our way back to Monterosso. We rented a spot in the front row of chairs by the ocean. 

For hours we took turns entertaining Logan or taking him into the water, while the other person relaxed on the lounge under the umbrella and read a book. The day passed quickly despite the lack of activity. We attempted to get Logan to nap on the lounge chair (a long shot but worth a try). It didn’t work so we headed back to Vernazza in the late afternoon to put him down for a nap in our room. 

We have been making the absolute best of traveling with a toddler, and we have figured out that as long as Logan is fed and not overtired, he’s a pleasure to be around. Once he gets tired or hungry, it’s a different story. So we are careful to keep him on a nap schedule, for all of our sakes!

Our last night in Vernazza was relaxed. We had amazing pesto pasta and a margherita pizza from the awesome focaccia place. We took a final lap around the harbor while enjoying delicious gelato (which we indulged in quite a bit on this trip). 

Logan made some “friends” with a group of traveling Americans in their 20s. He would throw himself on the ground saying “I fall down!!!” Then they would all accompany him on the ground as well. He thought it was hilarious that they were falling down with him. Later after they headed to catch their train out of town, Logan and I continued the game. He was just tickled that mommy would also fall down with him!

Our room and terrace were connected to buildings and terraces on both sides. Next door to us was an American family, and while we were all enjoying our next-door patios, we got to talking. There was a little boy with them named Jack, who is a week older than Logan. Logan and Jack played over the rail that separated our families while we chatted with his parents. Turns out, Jack and his parents (Malia and Josh) are doing the same thing we are doing…traveling as a family for the next 7 months! They were granted a season of life, like us, where they had an opportunity between school and jobs where they could take off and travel. I was astonished to meet another young family doing the same thing that we are doing! What a rare, and exciting thing! It turns out that Malia, Josh, and Jack were headed to Florence the next morning on the same train as we were. We met up with Josh and Jack at the park so the boys could play together, and we plan to meet up whenever our paths cross over the next few months!

While stepping away from the bustling city of Florence was nice, and the relaxation and food of the Cinque Terre were wonderful…I was a bit disappointed with it in some ways too. The towns we saw appeared very run-down. The paint on the buildings are peeling and mold covers walls and rooftops. Drying laundry waves in the breeze overhead no matter where you are (a part of European life). I am hoping this seemingly unkept feeling is because the towns are still recovering from the devastation of the 2011 flooding. I know it caused over 100 million euro in damages. The return of tourism is hugely important to their recovery and I hope that in a few years the buildings will be repainted and vibrant once again.