San Bernardino

We parked our car at the La Spezia Central Station and took the train to Monterosso to start our Cinque Terra trip. Monterosso is the biggest of the five villages. At Monterosso, we saw the Monument of San Francesco d’Assissi, Spiaggia di Fegina (rock formations in the sea), the Giant (rock sculpture on the side of the hill) and a cemetery. From there, we took the ferry to Vernazza. Short 10-minute scenic ride.

In Vernazza, we walked through the village. Got Bruschetta and Gelato to share and then started our 90-minute hike to Corniglia. This was a tough hike but every view and picture is a postcard shot. There is a small cafe at the hilltop considered midpoint of the hike. We stopped there for a much-needed break. Not used to hiking in the blazing sun we all were a bit winded and tired. We enjoyed the orange and lemon juice and some splendid views before moving on to complete the rest of the hike.

As we entered the village we stopped at the first restaurant for lunch. I had spaghetti with pesto which was fresh and tasty, it was gobbled down in minutes. After lunch, we walked through the village. Instead of going to the next village we decided to go back to La Spezia back to our flat to rest and then return later in evening for the sunset and dinner.

Manarola is supposed to have the best sunset views. We got back to Manarola around 8 pm and headed straight to Nessun Dorma for dinner. It has over 4000 reviews for the best sunset views. And the place surely lives up to it. From a food perspective it only has cafe food which was great but for dinner, I was hoping to get some past and meat. After an amazing time, we took the train back to La Spezia and ended the best day of our trip so far.Read more