Beautiful beach in Vernazza

Saw this on our hike to the beach in Manarola

It is a longtime tradition to come and put a lock on the fence with your soul mate and throw the key in the water so your love will last forever 

Rebecca and I on the rocks in Vernazza

Well it was a successful day in Cinque Terre! After waking up at 6am, we joined our school group (Study Abroad Italy) and took a 2 and a half hour bus ride and a 30 minute train ride to the first of the five villages. Cinque Terre stands for the "Five Terraces" right off coast in the Italian Riviera. Monterosso was our first stop and it was my favorite! It had the biggest beaches with gorgeous rocks. Since we were only in Cinque Terre for a day then we didn't have much time in each village so we picked one thing to do in each one.

Our first village was Monterosso so of course we took advantage of the beach! It was only 5 euro to have a beach chair and access to changing rooms and bathrooms. In the second village, Vernazza, we had a nice long lunch break by the water. Most of us enjoyed the pasta with pesto, it was delicious! The third village was Corniglia and we went on a nice 20 minute hike to get down to the beach. There was no sand but there were smooth black stones that were nice and hot to lay on. The fourth village was Manarola where we met up with the rest of the group and had a 20 minute hike to the last village. The trail was right on the side of the mountain with a perfect view of the water. For any photographer, this was heaven to have so many photo opportunities! And in the last village, we were running a little bit behind schedule so we didn't get to see the city. 

After a long day of touring, the group headed home and got back around 9:30. It was a full day to say the least! 

For anyone going to visit Cinque Terre, I would suggest staying for a whole weekend so you don't feel rushed to see all that the villages have to offer!