Five little seaside villages on the Italian Riviera coastline with colourful houses and vineyards perched on steep terraced cliffs, harbours dotted with fishing boats, cliffside hiking trails and panoramic sea views. And it rained and it was cold and windy. The walks were closed due to the weather but there’s a train that stops in each village so access was pretty easy.

Breakfast in Monterosso

We started at the northernmost town of Monterosso, where the crazy boys went for a swim. The main beach was closed, the umbrellas were down but they found a sheltered pocket and went in for a dip.

Lunch at Vernazza

Afternoon tea at Manarola

(We skipped Corniglia)
Manarola was my favourite. If I were to go back I’d spend a day or two here.

Dinner in Riomaggiore

Too tired by the end of the day to be inspired by Riomaggiore. I contemplated going back to Manarola for some dusk shots but decided the weather was really too shit to bother. Pizza and Vino to watch the non-sunset and figure out the best way back to Lucca. Turns out it wasn’t as straight forward as we’d thought and we had to make a quick decision to get off the train at an earlier stop and hope to get the last train back to Lucca. And then there was confusion over which Platform was 1A and a last minute dash to jump on a train that luckily turned out to be heading in the right direction. Dealing with the transport was without doubt one of the most challenging aspects of travelling.
I did consider going back another day for the sunset/dusk shots at Manarola but I just didn’t have the energy. I do wish I had pushed myself to go back though.