Fresh sunshine, endless focaccia, and Italian hospitality: the perfect recipe for a fabulous summer vacation. 
These are some images from day 1 of our Italy trip. We arrived in Pisa after a grueling international flight to discover that we still had to board three trains to get to Cinque Terre. When the last train pulled into the station, I saw a gorgeous, vibrant village clinging for dear life to an ocean cliff. It took my breath away! My exhaustion disappeared.
Cinque Terre is made up of five teenie, tiny towns in the Liguria region of Italy: Riomaggiore, Manarola, Corniglia, Vernazza, and Monterosso al Mare. It’s still a working fishing region today. Each morning, we saw the residents in their little boats head out to sea to catch the night’s dinner. I’m pretty sure we ate some of their bounty at the village restaurants. Although tourists like us ran rampant throughout the area, the towns haven’t lost their friendly charm and authenticity. Cinque Terre is a national park and a world heritage site, so it’s devoid of chain hotels or franchise restaurants to ruin the beautiful landscape. Our accomodations were a humble but clean pension owned by a friendly local named Tony who greeted us each morning to tidy our closet-sized bathroom. True community is alive and well here. The locals greeted us each day with smiles. Pesto and focaccia were our staple diet here. With it’s narrow cobblestone roads, hidden doors and staircases, the Cinque Terre region was definitely my favorite area in Italy.
We started out in the morning of our first day hiking the five towns under the hot Mediterranean sun. It was 100 degrees and we drank water like camels.
The hike was gorgeous. We could have taken the easy route of hopping on a train that traveled between the five cities. But even with suffering the humidity and heat, the trail was so beautiful, it was worth it. I trained the husband on using the DSLR while in Italy. I must say, he’s becomming quite proficient with the camera. A proud wifey, am I.
The residents of Cinque Terre planted vineyards above their cities, so we were able to hike the higher elevation vineyard paths for a gorgeous view below.
Cinque Terre colors are truly amazing! Yellows and reds were a perfect contrast against the blue ocean.
My silly touristy straw hat kept me sunburn free for 14 days. Too bad it couldn’t keep the mosquitoes at bay.
This was part of the pathway connecting Riomaggiore and Manarola.
Below are two images of Vernazza, the town in which we stayed. Each of the towns had its own personality. Some were more resort-like. Others were removed from the water and quieter with less tourists. Vernazza had the perfect mix of restaurants, a tiny beach, and a central plaza–an ideal place to sip a glass of red wine and people watch.
For the vacation, I rented a tilt shift lens that broke on the very first day, which is too bad because I didn’t get a chance to learn how to use it correctly.
One thing I learned about Italian people: they can make a beach out of anything.
In Cinque Terre, there is a pathway connecting the towns Riomaggiore and Manarola called Via Dell’Amore (Love Walk). It’s said that when the road was built, the dating options of the residents were finally expanded for these extremely isolated cities. Lovers would meet each other along this pathway between the villages. Today, couples inscribe their names on padlocks and attach them on the gates lining Via Dell’Amore to symbolize the locking of their love forever.
Each city had a small church to serve the residents. I believe this one was in Manarola (but it’s been so long, they’re all blending together now, so I could be wrong)
Our very first real dinner in Italy. Octopus cerviche and pasta with mussels. Not pictured, Andrew also ordered a dish of pesto, which the Liguria region is known for. BEST PESTO EVER. If you ever visit Cinque Terre, try the pesto and the focaccia. It is a MUST, as it was far tastier in Cinque Terre than in any other region of Italy we visited.
I can’t believe all these images were just from day 1 of our trip! More to come…
