While I tend to downplay Cinque Terre, known as the five towns in Italy strung out on the Liguria coastline, their beauty is undeniable. Sure, I might appreciate the area more without all of the crowds, but this view is something crowds can’t wreck or ruin.
My grumpy nature for these five towns may have something to do with how I arrived to Riomaggiore. Traveling with a friend who just arrived from the US to visit, we ended up waiting 6 hours in the Florence airport for his lost bags. Just barely making the last train to Cinque Terre out of Florence, our train connections were hop-on, hop-off every two minutes it seemed. By 11PM the train slowly rolled into Riomaggiore, but we didn’t get off.
The train stopped in what appeared to be a tunnel. I motioned my friend to go see if this was our stop. He shook his head that it was not. As the train started moving again, the giant sign “Riomaggiore” flashed before my eyes. This redhead was not happy. Getting off at the next stop, we waited another hour to get the last train of the day back to Riomaggiore. Please forgive me Cinque Terre for my crankiness. You are still beautiful.
Riomaggiore, Italy
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Sarah and I stayed in Riomaggiore – god I loved that place. I loved the entire Cinque Terre despite all of the people. Undeniable beauty. And a sense of the simple life buried in there somewhere.
Beautiful pic Suzy. Not taken at 11pm I assume.
We are off to spend the next week in La Spezia and environs as well.
Gorgeous photo! I haven’t been to Cinque Terre yet–maybe I’ll wait and go after the tourist crowds of the summer 🙂
Amazing picture! Sorry to hear about your difficulties to get there though, so typical eh…
Awww, unfortunately that’s just a part of travel! Gotta look at it as another adventure. That pic is GORGEOUS!!!
I’ve been dying to go to Cinque Terre ever since I heard about it, and this just makes it worse. THANKS A LOT SUZY.
😉
Suzy,
I’m glad you were able to look past your grumpiness and embrace Cinque Terre 🙂 You should revisit in the off-season though. When no one is there, it’s absolutely amazing. I really got a sense of the local village feel during my visit in March.