An excursion to Cinque Terre (Five Towns) was a long desired journey before I even set foot on European soil. For those of you who have not heard of this hidden gem (maybe not so hidden anymore because of that damn Rick Steves), Cinque Terre is a small collection of five Italian villages set on the Mediterranean coast just north of Pisa. Each of the towns varies in how they are physically structured but share the common daily life of scaling the steep mountainous terrain in order to harvest a variety of crops. I took over 100 hundred photos in just one day, all of which merely beg you to climb inside the photo and transport yourself to these sun kissed, misty hill tops. The five towns, starting from the southern most, are Riomaggiore, Manarola, Corniglia, Vernazza, and Monterosso.

The best way to travel between each, in my mind, is to hike. If you’re up for the workout, strap on your most comfortable and durable pair of kicks and get to it. If you’re looking for the hardest terrain first, start in the north at Monterosso. Otherwise, the easiest trail has been mostly paved for you between Riomaggiore and Manarola known as La Via dell’Amore. This is a beautiful little section of trail where people express their love for one another with graffiti art or placing locks on the railings to display their unbreakable bond. Unfortunately for me this was the only part of the trail that was open for hiking due to hazardous conditions on other portions of the hike. You do, however, have to buy a Cinque Terre national park card (only 8 euro) that grants you access to the trails, museums and all the train rides you can handle for one day. So, a quick 2 min train ride from one town to the next and you can get off and explore what each distinct location has to offer.

As I mentioned before, be ready to hike and burn some calories even if you take the train from city to city. To really explore the region you have to climb the hills. I can’t even begin to express how amazing the scenery was. I was lucky with the weather for most of the day and could not have been more pleased with how those 24 hours were spent. I had no accommodations booked hoping to either camp or run into someone that knew of a good place to stay. The latter came true and I met a very nice young woman from Missouri who showed me a great place to crash before heading out the next day. It never gets old meeting new people that you can hang out with and share the experience with. So, my advice, visit Cinque Terre in the late spring or early summer to hopefully avoid the crowds. I would not miss this amazing area if you are anywhere near it when traveling to Italy. Next stop, Pisa.

You know those times, when things are exactly what you thought they would be like, this was the case with Pisa. It is basically a small city that thrives on the Piazza dei Miracoli, the open area where a number of monuments lie including the Leaning Tower of Pisa. I’m not taking away from the city itself, clean and full of activity, but not much else to see than the Bapistry, the Cathedral Santa Maria Assunta and it’s bell tower the Campinale (better known as the Leaning Tower). Worth a day trip for sure so you can just to snap some photos, and also grab some Italian cuisine for lunch or early dinner. I wish I had more to tell you about this nice little city, but just enjoy roaming the streets and soaking in the sites of the Piazza dei Miracoli, then plan the rest of your adventure through Italy.