The Five Lands of Cinque Terre

Florence was so beautiful, and I am really happy we got the chance to go there. But honestly, it was time for us to get back to the Beach.  I cant seem to stay away for very long... 

So on to our next location: Cinque Terre!

We found a decent hostel in Levanto, which is not one of "The Five Lands" but only a short train ride away.

It was a great location because it was not super crowded and the beach was a 2 second walk away from the hostel.

We purchased a two day train pass which worked for any of the local trains and also granted us entrance into the park's pathways between each town.

We traveled first to the most southern village in Cinque Terre known as Riomaggiore. 

Hello up there!

Hello down there!

For those of you who don't know all the towns in Cinque Terre are connected with walking and hiking trails within the National Park.

We decided to walk to Manarola the next town over.  

Unfortunately, the easy hiking path along the coast was closed due to falling rocks so we had to take the more extreme hikers route...

Which was basically just like climbing up the side of a mountain.

I have never hated stairs so much. 

It wasn't the most extreme hike but it was definitely a hard workout.  But of course the view made it all worth it.

I have never been somewhere so pretty in my life. 

If you are not up for hiking you can take ferries from town to town. 

Half way there Thank GOD!

Going down the other side of the mountain was much easier, but the stairs were steep and slightly treacherous.

Meg and I wore tennis shoes which worked out fine, but I would definitely recommend hiking shoes if you have them.

Finally out of the mountains....

And into to town we go. 

I will dream about the color of the water for the rest of my life.

We decided to reward ourselves with a little snack and prosecco. 

So refreshing. 

We walked around town a bit, but they are really quite small. 

And enjoyed some fresh calamari with a spectacular view. 

Manarola was my favorite out of the 5 towns, it was so beautiful to look at. 

It was so gorgeous it was hard to leave.  

Being that our legs felt like jello, we took the train back to Levanto. 

And enjoyed the beautiful sunset from the beach next to our hostel. 

And then promptly passed out dreaming of the beauty tomorrow's hike would bring us.