Le Cinque Terre

Continuing on the Birthday fun, our good friends from New York came the following week for an Italian get-away. We decided to meet them in Le Cinque Terre before heading back all together to Bologna. After work, Giancarlo and I boarded a train and headed to the Italian Riviera. 3 hours later, and up a flight of narrow-makeshift stairs, we had arrived at La Mala. The views were breathtaking and we sat on the back porch overlooking the Mediterranean for a few minutes before indulging in the local aperitivo.

On the deck of La Mala.

Looking down.

A little package from New York with American goodies waiting for us in our room.

We had decided that we could only stay one night due to work, but seeing as it was roughly around 3 hours (more or less) from Bologna, it was the perfect mix of "not too much, and not too little". That night we headed out to eat at L'Ancora della Tortuga which served us a wide variety of traditional Ligurian dishes. Lots of fish, lots of pesto, and of course I only got a picture of the meat plate.

Antipasti!

Chowing down on the local cuisine.

We're gonna need a bigger boat...

Sunday, Giancarlo and I headed out early to take some morning photos of Vernazza.

Dad, this is for you!

Breakfast!

The best part was the focaccia that they give you for breakfast with your cappuccino and brioche. At breakfast we discussed the route that we were going to take for our "short hike." Le Cinque Terre is full of all sorts of beautiful walks, or rather butt and gut workouts from one city to the next. We decided to hike from Vernazza, where we were staying, to Corniglia, a small town to the south. The hike is about an hour and half. And... mostly uphill.

Starting on our hike, the view of Vernazza.

Higher we go...

Our lovely, and ever-so-safe hiking path.

There's Corniglia, here's the bar.

Italian architecture at its finest.

The secret beach. Shhh!

Another photo for dad!

A well-earned seafood lunch.

And some pasta as well.

View of Corniglia from the sea.

One last stop in Vernazza before heading to the train back to Bologna.

So far, this has been the most beautiful place in Italy I've seen. Giancarlo tells me to wait until we go down south to the Amalfi coast before I say that, but so far if I could move back to the west coast... Italian style, I would in a heart beat. I'll be coming back for more.

For the rest of the photos click here

And for New York Times' 36 hours in Le Cinque Terre with a list of goodies for those staying longer than 24 hours, check it here.