Byer Family: Our Final Days... Cinque Terre (Part 1)

We got an early start from Venice on our way to Cinque Terre. We took regional trains from Venice to Cinque Terre, and it took much of the day to travel to Cinque Terre. Our trains were running a bit late, and we missed our connecting train from La Spezia to Manarola. We had to wait an extra hour to get to Manarola by early evening. Fortunately, the travel company we booked through was still at the office.

We spent the most time in Cinque Terre, and it was 100% worth every second. This was the most beautiful place Patrick and I have ever been. Pictures do NOT do it justice. It is absolutely incredible! Using Trip Advisor, we decided to rent an apartment for the 4 nights we stayed in Cinque Terre. We booked with a company called Arbaspaa. We found the apartment on Trip Advisor, and it had great reviews. We wanted a private balcony overlooking both the city and the ocean... we got exactly what we requested. Upon arriving in Manarola, we made our way to the travel company's office. We were led up the hill... way up the hill (thank goodness we had backpacks and not large suitcases) to our amazing apartment overlooking the town of Manarola and the ocean. WHAT A VIEW! After checking out the place and getting settled, we walked down to the grocery store and bought some delicious wine and snacks. We enjoyed watching the sunset on our balcony before heading down the hill to dinner.

We woke up on our first full day in Manarola ready to hike! We enjoyed some time on our balcony before grabbing a couple of AMAZING croissants at the base of the hill in Manarola... chocolate croissants. Mmm! Once finished with our breakfast, we headed out on our hike to Corniglia. It took us well over a couple of hours. It was hot and steep, but we love to hike, and the views were spectacular! We made it there in time for lunch, enjoying wine and pizza in a central cafe.

After lunch, we walked down A LOT of steps from the center of Corniglia to their boat harbor where we enjoyed some time spent by the gorgeous ocean. After taking a little dip and sunbathing on the flat rocks, we took the train back to Manarola. Once back in Manarola, we spent some time sunbathing on large boulders set out into the ocean a bit and swimming. It was a bit like a dream, it was so beautiful and relaxing. We topped off the evening with time spent on our balcony with wine and snacks and then a delicious dinner at Trattoria dal Billy, a restaurant just steps from our apartment in Manarola. This restaurant comes extremely highly recommended by many online. It was delicious and very fun!